Determinants of brand image and their impacts on purchase intention of grab

Abstract

Today, Grab is the leader of ride-hailing platform and most of the drivers and passengers in Southeast Asia prefer to use Grab application. Therefore, this study aims to explore the impacts of electronic referral (e-Referral) and electronic word-of-mouth communication (e-WOM) on Grab brand image, as well as the effect of e-Referral, e-WOM and brand image on purchase intention of GrabCar. A sample of 95 respondents was selected for the data collection using convenience sampling technique. Questionnaire is the main instrument for data gathering and the data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The results show that e-Referral and e-WOM are positively related to Grab brand image. E-WOM is the strongest predictor for Grab brand image. In addition, brand image has a significant and positive relationship with purchase intention. The findings of the study are significant to Grab to develop marketing strategies in order to attract more customers to use its digital platform for car sharing service. Also, the marketer of Grab should focus on e-WOM and e-Referral to increase its brand image and to position Grab brand in consumer’s mind as a good quality and reliable service.