Hur varumärket påverkar ansvar vid en produktåterkallning - en kvalitativ studie

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to expand and deepen the knowledge of how companies Brand equity and Brand associations influence customer reactions on product recalls. Methodology: A qualitative study with hermeneutic-phenomenological approach has been implemented. The study can be viewed as abductive with interplay between induction and deduction. A theoretical framework has been designed based on scientific articles and books on brand equity and product recalls. The empirical data has been collected from ten in-depth interviews and analyzed on the basis of the framework. Theoretical perspectives: Two brands have been analyzed based on theories of brand equity and brand associations. The brands were then examined based on fictitious recalls using attribution theories. Empirical foundation: Ten in-depth interviews were conducted with individuals aged 25-60 who owned a car or who had the financial capacity to buy a car. Interview time ranged from 20-50 minutes Conclusions: Analysis of the collected material resulted in a number of conclusions, suggestions for future research and proposals for practitioners. How a company is affected from a customer perspective is assessed based on the associations a company has, whether they were relevant to the company's recall or not. The study could be useful for marketers in sensitive industries to achieve greater insight into how the business is attributed liability for recalls based on different associations in different markets. Future studies could have a similar arrangement but could be conducted using a more specific group of costumers or analyzing another country’s costumers.