Abstract
Although the brand equity concept has been validated in the nonprofit organization (NPO) context, little is known about its applicability to religion-affiliated NPOs, especially those in East Asia. Religion-affiliated NPOs’ unique characteristics and objectives require a bespoke brand equity analytical tool. In response, this study develops and validates a brand equity questionnaire for religion-affiliated NPOs. The questionnaire items are adapted from previous studies of for-profit and nonprofit organizations. By controlling gender and participation status, the questionnaire is consistent and reliable when tested with a stratified sample of noninvolved female respondents in Taiwan (N = 600). Results show both brand awareness and brand trust are critical to brand equity from the perspective of noninvolved consumers. Marketing goals, such as creating a consistent image or choosing a narrow cause/campaign that is relatable and aligned with noninvolved consumers’ perceptions of the affiliated religion’s philosophy, may increase brand awareness and brand trust for religion-affiliated NPOs.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive input. We also acknowledge the contribution of Yi-Wen Chen in data collection and the cooperation of our respondents in Taiwan.
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Funding received from Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology: MOST 110-2410-H-035-009. The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
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Yen, WH., Caskey, D. & Warden, C.A. Development and Empirical Study of Religion Affiliated Nonprofit Organizations’ Brand Equity Questionnaire: Testing Brand Awareness and Trust Among Non-members. Voluntas 34, 1081–1093 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-022-00527-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-022-00527-x