Modeling the selection of fast-food franchises among Japanese consumers

By linking the Brisoux-Laroche Model and the Extended Competitive Vulnerability Model, this study offers a more complete understanding of the brand choice process in the Japanese fast-food industry. The existence of the four sets of awareness, proposed by the Brisoux-Laroche Model of brand categorization, was first established using fast-food brands and then the causal relationships among brand cognition, attitude, confidence, and intention in each of the sets were examined. After finding direct effects among the constructs in the consideration, hold, reject, and foggy sets, the Extended Competitive Vulnerability Model was tested using the two most popular fast-food brands in consumers' consideration sets. Our results empirically validate the proposed model of brand competition, thus providing new insight into how consumers select one fast-food brand over another. Following a demonstration of the interrelatedness of brand evaluations, a discussion of our findings, with respect to brand management in the fast-food industry, ensues.