The openended responses were tabulated, and the most frequently mentioned responses (14 items for both fast food and
chain restaurants and luxury hotels) were selected as the scale items for their respective category. In addition, three other variables such as ‘‘long history’’, ‘‘differentiated from other brands’’, and ‘‘familiar to me’’ were supplemented to both categories (Aaker, 1991; Keller,1993). All of these items concerning brand image were measured on a seven-point Likert scale with 1 for ‘‘strongly disagree’’ and 7 for ‘‘strongly agree’’. Here, we presume that a high scale point of brand image indicates that the brand not only has a positive image to the customer but also exhibits a greater level of brand image
strength in comparison with others.