Formation of Brand Evidence in Retail Banks

Purpose: The retail bankung industry has become increasingly competitive in Taiwan after the government’s policy of deregulation and internationalization. Banks not only have to satisfy customers but also have to meet customers’ needs and the changing preferences more effectively and effectively than their counterparts in order to maintain long-term competitive advantage. Building strong brand evidence in order to gain customers’ attention has become one of the key issues in the industry. Nevertheless, relevant literature on the topic in the arena of retail banking industry, which plays an important part in the economy in Taiwan, is sparse. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to explore the dimensions of brand evidence in the context of retail banking industry in Taiwan. Design/methodology/approach: The study is conducted from the customers’ perspective about how they perceive brand evidence in retail banks. The methodology employed is a combination of both qualitative and quantative methods including in-depth interview, focus group interview and factor analysis. Findings: A questionnaire was established based on the result. After expert opinions and pretests, 200 questionaires were then distributed. The collected data were analyzed via factor analysis. The empirical results demonstrated that brand evidence was composed of five factors including employee service, core service, self-image congruence, brand name, and price. Originality/value: In the practical aspect, the study presents the dimensions of customer perceive value and thus provide directions for retail bank parctitioners to enhance the customer perceived value. In the theoretical aspect, the result helps to establish a foundation for future development of a customer perceived value measurement scale specifically suitable for the retail banking industry in other contexts. It can also provide a theoretical base for further investigation on the relationship amongst value and other constructs.