Does an absence of brand equity generalize across product classes?
沿用先前方法，检验了在爆米花、咖啡、录音带、可乐和汽车五类产品中品牌资产是否缺失，结果再次对品牌资产在消费品市场中的存在性提出严重质疑。
A previous study viewed brand equity as a price premium measured by the increment that a brandname contributes to the price of a product when controlling for its quality (as determined by an assessment of the relevant attributes, features, or characteristics). Using two samples of data drawn from Consumer Reports and the Crutchfield Catalog this earlier research found a striking absence of brand equity thus defined across a variety of product categories in the general area of consumer electronics. These findings raise the important question of whether this apparent absence of brand equity in the case of consumer electronics generalizes to other product classes. The present study uses the approach developed earlier to investigate this question in the context of five nondurable and durable categories: popcorn (N = 51), coffee (N = 82), recording tapes (N = 84), colas (N = 27), and automobiles (N = 96). Again, with minor exceptions, the results cast serious doubt on the viability of brand equity in the markets for consumer products.