Drivers of Foreign Brand Aspirations: A Moderated SEM Analysis of Luxury Car Consumption in Emerging Markets

Understanding the drivers of purchase intention toward foreign branded automobiles has become increasingly important in emerging markets characterized by rapid economic growth and evolving consumer aspirations. This study investigates how cognitive, social, and value-based factors shape consumer responses toward foreign car brands by applying the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) framework. Data were collected from foreign branded car owners across southern India and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Environmental concern, perceived economic benefits, social influence, perceived price and performance expectancy were examined as stimuli, while Attitude represented the organismic evaluation process. The study further explored the moderating roles of gender, brand trust, and word-of-mouth in the attitude–repurchase intention relationship. Findings reveal that while cognitive and social factors significantly shape attitudes, these attitudes do not directly translate into repurchase intention. Instead, Brand Trust functions as a critical psychological mechanism, significantly moderating and strengthening the conversion of favorable attitudes into behavioral commitment in luxury consumption contexts. The study contributes to consumer behavior and international branding literature by highlighting the conditional nature of attitude–intention relationships in high-involvement luxury consumption contexts within emerging economies.