The Anatomy of Brand Name Translation Under Skopos Theory: A Model of Customer Satisfaction, Awareness of Translation Strategy Use and Purchase Intention

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to apply structural equation modeling (SEM) to build relations among customer satisfaction (CS), customers' awareness of translation strategy use (CA), and purchase intention (PI) on English-Chinese brand name translation. To ensure construct validity, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was first applied in a pilot study (N = 150) to extract factors for each latent variable, including semantic ambiguity, faithful reflection, and smoothness under CS; grammatical competence, illocutionary competence, and sociolinguistic competence under CA; willingness to try the sample products and willingness to be updated about the products under PI. In a formal survey (N = 550), three self-report scales were administered on customers chosen through stratified sampling from a database. Results showed that CA exerted a direct effect on both CS and PI. In addition, CS exerted a direct effect on PI. Moreover, CA exerted an indirect effect on PI through CS as an intervening factor.More importantly, the indirect effect of CA on PI through CS was statistically more significant than the direct effect of CA on PI. This is good proof that CS assumed a critical role in the model. The model drew implications for marketing and advertising sectors on the potential value of translation strategy use and CS in brand name translation. Theoretically, the findings substantiated the referential/informative, expressive and operative functions in the realm of Skopos theory and highlighted the dual roles that translators need to play both linguistically and social-culturally when orienting strategies for brand name translation.