Product failures in emerging markets: product design vs. brand. Insights from an experimental study on automobiles

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A company needs to innovate and develop new products to be successful. However, some products fail after launch while similar products from other companies succeed. We study the effects of design and brand, the main intrinsic and extrinsic factors of a product, thus addressing the gap of integrated research on the combined effects of design and brand on product success in the context of the automobile industry in an emerging market. A 2 × 2 experiment, with product design and brand as two factors, was conducted to test the effects of these on customers’ purchase intention. Results show an interaction effect of brand and product design on purchase intention. A high brand equity product is seen to be less susceptible to any product design dissatisfaction felt by the customers. Product design is seen to be critical for companies yet to establish their brand or entering a new market. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.