Aspara, J. (2009). Stock ownership as a motivation of brand-loyal and brand-supportive behaviors. Journal of Consumer Marketing. 26(6). Pp. 427-436. Retrieved from: http://www.yconomie.com/aspara/articles/aspara-2009_stock_ownership_brand_loyal_behaviors.pdf In this work, Aspara investigates the psychological motivations underlying stock ownership and its influence on brand loyalty as well as finding empirical evidence to support the explication of these motivations. The author points out that, although consumption and investment psychologies, respectively, have been seen as separate realms, the study reveals that they can have a significant mutual influence. Indeed, the author has found that many individuals who become stockowners in a company also experience a positive and increased motivation towards brand loyalty for that company. Positive word-of-mouth has also been found among individuals becoming stock owners in a company.

What this means for the study to be conducted on brand loyalty among the youth in the United States and Kenya may not be considered in terms of stock ownership specifically among the young people being investigated, since it is unlikely that they will have the means to invest significant amounts of money in such stockownership. One might, however, consider the positive attitudes of the youth in terms of stockownership among their parents.

Bae, S. And Miller, J. (2009). Consumer Decision-making Styles for Sport Apparel: Gender Compraisons between College Consumers. Journal of Research. 4(1). Retrieved from: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ903481.pdf

The authors of this study have focused their attention on the decision-making styles of college students as influenced by their gender. Specific areas of investigation included fashion, impulse, and brand consciousness. While significant differences were found in these areas, no significant differences were identified between college classifications or gender and college classifications.

This work can be significant in identifying important issues for potential present and future study. While many differentiating factors have been identified to determine the similarities and differences in brand loyalty among countries, gender can lend another interesting dimension to this.

Bang, Y.T. (2009). Image and Customer Loyalty. Retrieved from: http://www.wbiconpro.com/18.%20Yong-Korea.pdf

In order to determine the importance of brand image in relation to customer loyalty, Bang investigated Chinese wine consumers and their purchasing behavior at a hypermarket in Yentai, China. The variables in question were brand image, corporate competitiveness image, corporate...

The image variables were found to positively correlate with customer loyalty.
Image is yet another interesting factor that can be applied to developed and developing countries when investigating brand loyalty. It is expected that different image factors will have different impacts on young consumers from the different environments.

Boyle, B.A. And Magnusson, P. (2007). Social Identity and Brand Equity Formation: A Comparative Study of Collegiate Sports Fans. Journal of Sport Management. 21. p. 497-520. Retrieved from: http://miha.ef.uni-lj.si/_dokumenti3plus2/196078/aaker_cmanagementr_1996.pdf

Boyle and Magnusson focus their attention on the way in which sports teams create a social identity with and for their fans, and how sports apparel marketers can use this identity to gain brand loyalty. To accomplish the study, Undderwood, Bond, and Baer's social identity -- brand equity (SIBE) model is used to investigate a university men's basketball team. According to the model, factors that would influence social identity to a team would include venue, team history, rituals, and social groups.

For the current study, social identity will necessarily be an important part of the investigation, relating to the differentiating social and cultural aspects between the countries being investigated.

Chien, P.M., Cornwell, T.B. And Pappu, R. (2011). Sponsorship portfolio as a brand-image creation strategy. Journal of Business Research. 64. pp. 142-149.

To investigate the nature of and correlation between sponsorship and brand image, the authors conduct two experiments to suggest that a categorical relationship between sponsor and sponsored event will enhance the image of the brand acting as sponsor. Indeed, there is an enhancement of brand meaning in terms of consistency and clarity when sponsoring events and service providers that correlate in terms of category.

In other words, if Speedo were to sponsor a university swimming event, its brand is highly correlated with the activity of swimming, which creates consistency and clarity in the mind of consumers. Sports apparel sponsors therefore need to consider carefully whether or not to sponsor certain events and/or clients.

Cho, H., Lim, Y. And Ryu, Su. (2009, Nov/Dec). An Apparel Brand's Channel Strategy: The Case of Oliver in Korea. Journal of Business Case Studies. 5(6). Retrieved from: journals.cluteonline.com/index.php/JBCS/article/viewFile/4728/4817

The authors describe a case by which a Korean children's apparel brand "BoKids" designed a channel strategy to distribute its brand efficiently. Although…