EFFECTS OF NOSTALGIA PRONENESS ON CONSUMER-BASED BRAND EQUITY: A CASE STUDY ON THE EASTERN EXPRESS

Nostalgia refers to individuals' feeling of longing for past periods and the emotional connection between people's past and present. Nostalgia proneness is very important in consumer preferences; it is seen that consumers who have nostalgia proneness reflect these characteristics to their product and service preferences. Consumer-based brand equity is defined as the differentiator brand perception resulting from the comparison of the information of a brand with the information about other brands and the customer response that occurs thereafter. In this study, it is aimed to reveal the effect of the nostalgia proneness on consumer-based brand equity. The scale of nostalgia proneness used in the research consists of one dimension and the scale of consumer-based brand equity used in the research consists of four sub-dimensions which are perceived the image, perceived quality, brand awareness, and brand loyalty. The survey form developed for this purpose was applied to the individuals traveling with eastern express. The study is conducted with valid 415 survey forms. According to the analysis, nostalgia proneness affects the perceived image, perceived quality, brand awareness and brand loyalty which are sub-dimensions of consumer-based brand equity significantly. In addition, nostalgia proneness varies according to age, but it does not differ according to gender, occupation, and region