THE EFFECT OF HOFSTEDE CULTURAL DIMENSIONS ON BRAND EQUITY: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF PERCEIVED USEFULNESS

Consumers are inherently shaped by their culture, which plays a crucial role in developing and formulating brand equity. Considering culture’s significant role in shaping brand equity, this study aims to determine the impact of cultural dimensions on brand equity, with a mediating role of perceived usefulness and a moderating role of gender in the relationship between perceived usefulness and brand equity. The data were collected through face-toface surveys administered to 356 respondents and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results of the study revealed that the dimensions of uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, and indulgence/restraint have a positive and significant impact on brand equity, while power distance does not significantly influence brand equity. The study also found that perceived usefulness fully mediates the effect of individualism/collectivism and masculinity/femininity on brand equity. Furthermore, perceived usefulness significantly enhances brand equity, whereas gender does not significantly moderate the effect of perceived usefulness on brand equity.