The Influence of Product Quality and Service Quality on Brand Leadership: An Empirical Study of Fast-Food Industry Consumers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56532/mjbem.v2i2.256Keywords:
Product Quality, Service Quality, Brand Leadership, Fast-Food Industry, MalaysiaAbstract
This study examined the influence of product quality and service quality on brand leadership among fast-food industry consumers in Malaysia. Guided by Aaker's brand equity framework and adopting the conceptual model of Hanaysha and Ghani (2013), the study proposed that product quality and service quality positively influenced brand leadership, and it tested two hypotheses using a quantitative, hypothetico-deductive design. Data were collected through an online questionnaire distributed to fast-food consumers using a convenience sampling technique, yielding 107 usable responses. The measurement scales for product quality, service quality and brand leadership each demonstrated excellent internal consistency, with Cronbach's alpha values of .849, .856 and .861 respectively. Multiple regression analysis showed that product quality and service quality jointly explained 33.5 percent of the variance in brand leadership (Adjusted R squared = .335, F(2,103) = 27.506, p < .001). Service quality emerged as the stronger predictor (Beta = .435, p < .001) compared with product quality (Beta = .203, p = .059). Pearson correlation analysis confirmed significant, moderate positive relationships between product quality and brand leadership (r = .492, p < .001) and between service quality and brand leadership (r = .570, p < .001), supporting both hypotheses. The findings suggest that fast-food operators seeking to build brand leadership should prioritise service quality while continuing to safeguard product quality, and the study offers practical implications for brand management in the Malaysian fast-food sector.
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