Abstract:
The major purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which brand associations influence the purchase decision of business students on clothing items in tertiary institutions of Bayelsa State. The study answered four research questions and tested four hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The population of the study consisted of 666 students of business both Niger Delta University Wilberforce Island and Isaac Jasper Boro College of Education Sagobama all in Bayelsa State. The sample sized of the study was 250 business students. A structured questionnaire consisting of 38 items was developed and used for data collection. The instrument was face-validated by three experts, two from Niger Delta University while the other was from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Cranach Alpha method of establishing reliability was used to determine the internal consistency of the instrument and this yielded a reliability co-efficient of 0.93. A total of 250 copies of the questionnaire was distributed to respondents (students) by the researcher and three instructors who assisted him. The data collected were analyzed using mean score while analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the four null hypotheses at 0.05 level of study revealed that the various types of brand associations like customer benefits, product attributes, product place of origin and price of the produce do influence consumers (students) in their purchase decision on clothing items. Based on the finding of the study and conclusions drawn, the researcher recommended that manufacturers should endeavour to brand their clothing items before introducing them to the market for this will enabled them to properly differentiate, position and segment their clothing product for increased sales. Likewise, consumers (students) should also endeavour to know various types of brand associations which in turn will assist them in making an informed purchase decision on clothing products.
