THE IMPACT OF PRODUCT QUALITY, PRODUCT DESIGN AND PRICE PERCEPTION INCREASING PURCHASE DECISIONS MEDIATED BY BRAND IMAGE IN LOCK N LOCK INDONESIA

This research analysis uses PLS-SEM to process data to identify the impact of Product Quality, Product Design, and Price Perception on Brand Image and Purchasing Decisions in Lock n Lock Indonesia. Accidental sampling was used as a sampling technique with 230 respondents who wanted to make a purchase. The research findings have important theoretical implications, showing the positive impact of product quality and price perception on brand image and the significant influence of brand image on purchasing decisions. This study also found the negative impact of product quality, product design, price perception on purchasing decisions and product design on brand image. The implications of these findings provide an in-depth look at how companies can design more effective marketing strategies to improve brand image and customer purchasing decisions in Lock n Lock. The study also contributes to the marketing and brand management literature by discussing the complex interactions between product quality, product design, price perception, brand image, and purchasing decisions in the context of the household product industry.


A. INTRODUCTION
The need for practical and functional storage containers is increasingly urgent in modern lifestyles.Lock n Lock has cemented its reputation for providing secure and durable storage solutions.In food and beverage storage containers, the combination of advanced features such as double-lock systems, reliable sealing technology, and high-quality materials are the characteristics underlying the popularity of this product.With continuous innovation and focus on consumer needs, the product can maintain its reputation as a market leader in the storage container category.The company's success in combining the reliability of its products will certainly create a good brand image for the company.Vásquez et al. (2013) define branding as a representation process involving specific practices in the production, consumption, and distribution of brands between organizations and consumers.Keller (1993) defines brand image as a view of a brand reflected through the product quality, product design, and price perception on purchase decisions (Ababil et al., 2019;Ariella, 2018;Setyarko, 2016).Therefore, brand image is needed to support product quality, product design, and price perception to improve consumer purchase decisions.
A purchase decision is buying a product at a particular brand that is in high demand, but something exists between the purchase decision and the purchase intention (Kotler & Amstrong, 2008).When making purchasing decisions, consumers are often unable to conduct an in-depth evaluation of all available options and consequently often use a two-stage process to make decisions (Song et al., 2021).If the purchase decision is by the norms or rules adopted by someone, buyers consider the product or service to have a higher value (Hartmann et al., 2020).Purchasing decisions are often closely related to consumer perceptions of product quality.Consumers tend to choose products that are considered to be of good quality and meet the expected standards.
According to Kotler et al. (2005), product quality is the overall characteristic of a product or service, which is its ability to meet stated or implied needs.Consumers who emphasize product quality tend to have lower conformity levels, which reflects less conformist consumers paying more attention to product quality (Kichko & Picard, 2021).According to Loudon et al. (2005), product quality is not determined internally but centers on customer perception and evaluative criteria.Therefore, products that are reliable and have high-quality product designs have the potential to build consumer trust.Research by Ryananda et al. (2022) explains that product quality influences brand image.Azzahra & Paludi (2023) revealed that purchasing decisions are influenced by product quality.Other research by Melati et al. (2021) and Octhaviani & Sibarani (2021) shows that quality does not affect brand image or purchasing decisions.DOI: https://doi.org/10.24176/bmaj.v7i1.11898104 Product design must also be considered because an attractive and unique design will attract consumers.Product design is the initial phase in the product life cycle that directly impacts subsequent steps, such as manufacturing, delivery, use, and end-of-service phases (Sudarsan et al., 2005).De Fazio et al. (2021) explain that product design is a key factor in improving product durability, repairability, upgradeability, and manufacturing capabilities.
Every aspect of product design, such as the layout and content of product presentation, can be a driving factor determining a product's extrinsic characteristics (Tang & Zhou, 2012).
Consumers are often attracted to a product's aesthetics, practicality, and functionality.
Attractive and innovative product designs can increase consumer appeal, strengthen brand image, and ultimately influence purchasing decisions.This idea is supported by research conducted by Rachman & Santoso (2015).Niar (2019) states that product design influences brand image and purchasing decisions.However, product design does not influence brand image or purchasing decisions described in the study (Meiliani & Ferdinand, 2015;Priandewi, 2021).
The price perception factor that consumers consider when deciding to purchase.Price is the first criterion when making decisions (Grewal et al., 1998).In addition, price perception includes consumers' judgments and emotional responses to prices set by sellers and their comparison with prices from other parties to determine whether the price is rational, acceptable, or justified (Lee et al., 2011).Consumers have different perceptions of price, so their attitudes and behavioral intentions also vary.Therefore, marketers are reminded to pay attention to price perceptions in the long run (Bolton, 2003).Price perception is related to how consumers thoroughly understand price information and give deep meaning to it.The higher a person's perception of the product, the higher the product design they want to get, and the higher the level of decision-making to buy the product.This is in line with Afwan & Santosa's (Afwan & Santosa, 2019) research, which explains that brand image is influenced by price perception.
Muharam & Euis' (2017) research concludes that price perception affects purchasing decisions.Ryananda et al. (2022) explain that price perception does not affect brand image.Purchasing decisions are also not influenced by price perceptions expressed by Mendur et al. (2021).
Therefore, it is important to design product quality, product design, and price perception to build brand image and consumer purchasing decisions.This is done by increasing the production of quality goods, attractive or rare designs on a product, and affordable prices to provide a positive perspective on consumers to make decisions.From this statement, this study aims to test with a model that describes the influence of product quality, product design, and In the available literature, there are indications that the perception of the product quality of a brand by how well the brand is distributed through stores has a positive image (Yoo et al., 2000).Lee et al. (2011) state that brand image formation becomes the foundation for making more effective strategic marketing decisions for targeting specific market segments and product placement.Brand image is a view of a brand as reflected through a group of associations that connect consumers with the brand name in their memory (Del Río et al., 2001).By having good product quality, of course, the products in a brand will be a consideration for consumers when determining a purchase decision.Ryananda et al. (2022) show that product quality directly affects brand image.
Purchasing decisions result from buyer considerations that can be influenced by financial conditions, technological developments, political factors, prices, locations, and promotional efforts (Prihartono, 2021).Kotler (2002) states that consumers often consider factors such as time, location, and payment method in the purchase decision-making process, shape their preferences for the appropriate combination of these factors and available options, and then form purchase intentions based on preferred choices.Yani & Ngora (2022)

Product Design
Product design is the process of creating products that meet the needs and desires of users, both functionally and emotionally (Fenko & van Rompay, 2018).In addition, product design is a set of artifact characteristics encompassing unique aspects of look and performance that come together holistically through the integration of form and function (Luchs & Swan, 2011).In product design development, the importance lies in the materials' characteristics (Pascoal Faria et al., 2023).Product design also focuses on creating a positive user experience and ensuring sustainability and efficiency in the production process.There are product design indicators according to.Kotler & Keller (2016) explain that product design has three indicators: reliability, ease of repair, and shape.
Design that matches brand values and image can strengthen brand recognition and influence consumer perception of products.Therefore, brand image and product design are closely related because product design can shape and reflect brand image.Brand image is the image that comes to consumers' minds when they interact with a brand.In another rich customer assessment of a brand name, consumers naturally consider the various features inherent in the brand (Lahap et al., 2016).When customers commit to a brand or company, they participate actively and sideline competitors, contributing to the company's long-term profits (Hur et al., 2011).Product design has a direct impact on brand image.Consumers often associate product design with brand value, quality, and style.Product design, which is based on the brand image, can increase product attractiveness and strengthen consumers' positive perception of the brand so that they can make purchasing decisions (Djohan, 2016).
Product design should support all factors people use in purchasing decisions (Norman, 2013).Purchasing decisions are a person's actions in choosing a product or service from a company over its competitors (Kim & Sung, 2009).Purchasing decisions can be influenced by product design.If the product is designed attractively, functionally, and according to consumer tastes, it can increase their chances of buying it.Good design can add value, enhance the user experience, and create visual appeal, influencing purchasing decisions.Therefore, it can be concluded that: H3: Product design directly affects brand image H4: Product design directly influences purchasing decisions Price Perception Schiffman & Kanuk (2018) explain that price perception is how a customer or consumer sees the value of a certain price, whether it is considered high, low, or reasonable, and has a strong money influence on purchasing decisions and satisfaction with the purchase process.
Price perception plays an important role in consumer purchasing decisions, and manufacturers and retailers have developed various pricing strategies to create a more favorable impression of price for consumers (Hardesty et al., 2007).There are 4 indicators of price perception, according to Kotler & Armstrong (2018), namely affordability, price competitiveness, price suitability with product quality, and price compatibility with product benefits.
Consumers perceive price in different ways.Consumers see price as a fair amount they are willing to pay to obtain a product that is beneficial to consumers (Benhardy et al., 2020).
How consumers value a product's price can affect brand image directly.If the price is proportional to the product's value, this can enhance the brand image as a valuable option.Keller (1993) states that brand image is a set of associations that consumers have about a brand, which can be measured through attributes, benefits, values, personality, and the brand's relationship with consumers.Brand image has a huge impact on consumer purchasing decisions.Consumers often choose products or services with a positive brand image because they are perceived to reflect a certain quality, reliability, or value.A strong brand image can build consumer trust and motivate purchasing decisions.
A consumer can engage not only with a product but also with the consumption of the product and the purchasing decision for that product (O'Cass, 2000).The purchasing decision is the process by which consumers choose products or services that they consider will provide the maximum level of satisfaction (Fader & Lodish, 1990).Purchasing decisions are essentially the actions or behaviors of customers in determining whether they will buy a good or service.
The number of customers making decisions determines whether the company can achieve its goals (Rachmawati et al., 2019).The perceived price of a product or service often influences consumer purchasing decisions.If consumers perceive the price to match the value provided, they are more likely to buy.The relationship between purchasing decisions and price perception reflects price's role in consumer decision-making.Conforming price perception with value is expected to provide a positive impetus to purchasing decisions.Therefore, it can be concluded that: H5: Price perception directly affects brand image H6: Price perception directly influences purchasing decisions

Brand Image
Brand image is how consumers perceive a brand, reflected as a brand relationship stored in their memory (Rindell & Iglesias, 2014).Brand image is also considered one of the most important intangible assets that impact consumer perception of the company (Martínez et al., 2014).By expanding the range of products, companies can leverage existing reputation and brand awareness, increasing potential customers' awareness of their brand image (Kremer & Viot, 2012).Therefore, there are 3 indicators of brand image (Kotler & Keller, 2012): the excellence, strength, and uniqueness of brand associations.
Developing a brand image is unique to humans because the brand shows certain characteristics (Hofmann et al., 2021).Images are formed in customers' minds through the effects of promotions, advertisements, public relations activities, word of mouth, and customer interaction with products and services (Kandampully & Suhartanto, 2003).Of all promotions, consumers choose products or services that have a positive image and match their values or lifestyle.The brand image creates a perception of a product's quality, reliability and value, influencing whether a person decides to buy.Therefore, brand image has a close relationship with purchasing decisions.Therefore, it can be concluded that: H7: Brand image directly influences purchasing decisions

Purchase Decision
Purchasing decisions are a person's actions in choosing a product or service from a company over its competitors (Kim & Sung, 2009).Buying is part of a bigger picture of consumer behavior (Rosa, 2021).The purchase decision is most likely formed from the consumer's view of the company's offer and brand reputation.Therefore, purchasing decisions can be interpreted as a series of stages consumers take before purchasing (Hanaysha, 2022).
There are 3 indicators, according to Kotler & Amstrong (2008): need recognition, information search, alternative evaluation, purchase decision and post-purchase behavior.
When making purchasing decisions, consumers are often unable to conduct an in-depth evaluation of all available options and consequently often use a two-stage process to make decisions (Song et al., 2021).A customer usually makes a purchasing decision based on several product features (Liang et al., 2020).In addition, product recommendations from users' close friends support them in making purchasing decisions by providing the right experience (Zhang et al., 2019).It can be concluded that consumers tend to consider product quality when making decisions and the extent to which the product meets their expectations and needs.Product design can affect its attractiveness and functionality.Price perception is also a key factor in DOI: https://doi.org/10.24176/bmaj.v7i1.11898109 consumers' assessment of the extent to which the price of a product is proportional to the value they receive.Therefore, the relationship between purchasing decisions, product quality, product design, and price perception creates complex dynamics in consumer behavior.

Thinking Framework
The statement of theory and the development of the hypothesis above, the frame of think is described as follows:    Sources: Data is processed using smartPLS version 3, 2024

Description of the respondent
A loading factor is a number that shows the relationship between a question item's value and an indicator's value that measures a certain construct.Loading factor values above 0.7 are considered valid.However, Sarstedt (2017) states that in the initial examination, a loading factor value of about 0.3 meets the minimum requirements, a value of about 0.4 is considered better, and a value of more than 0.5 is generally considered significant.In this study, the loading factor threshold used was 0.7.Based on data processing using SmartPLS 3.0, the loading factor results are shown in Table 2, where the amount of cross-loading on each variable indicator > 0.07 so that the data used can be concluded as valid and reliable.The validity of the discriminant is determined by examining the cross-loading value of the construct measurement.This value indicates how strong the relationship between each construct and its indicator is, as well as the indicators of the constructs in different blocks.A measurement model is said to have sufficient discriminant validity if the correlation between the construct and its indicator is higher than its correlation with indicators from constructs in other blocks.After data processing using SmartPLS 3.0, the results of cross-loading can be shown in Table 3. cross the maximum limit of 5.0, indicates no multicollinearity problem in the data.Therefore, this research can continue without concern for significant similarities between constructs.Sources: Data is processed using smartPLS version 3, 2024

Coefficient of Determination (R 2 )
The Q2 value, which indicates the relevance of the model's prediction in measuring endogenous latent variables, is calculated through the blindfolding process.All values in Table 7 were found to have positive results and are above zero (Brand Image=0.146;Purchase Decision: 0.047), which describes the predictive relevance of the model for two endogenous constructs.In the SEM model, Q2 values greater than zero for reflective endogenous constructs indicate the predictive relevance of path models for those constructs (Hair et al., 2014).for structural models is 0.05, which is below the threshold of 0.8 as suggested by Henseler et al., (2016).This indicates that in Table 8, the PLS path modeling used today has a good fit overall.

Hypothesis Test
Figure 3. Hypothesis Model Sources: The model is processed using smartPLS version 3, 2024 This study tested its hypotheses using SmartPLS (Partial Least Square) software version 3.0.
The results were obtained through the bootstrapping process.The criteria applied in this study were that t-statistics must be greater than 1.96, with a significance level of p-value of 0.05 (5%) and a positive beta coefficient value.The results of testing this hypothesis are shown in Sources: Data is processed using smartPLS version 3, 2024 Table 8 is the result of a hypothesis test that evaluates the direct influence between variables in this study.Each row presents data for specific relationships between variables.The relationship between Brand Image -> Purchase Decision shows a statistical t-value of 1.998 and a p-value of 0.023.With a p-value less than the significance level of 0.05, it shows that this hypothesis has a positive and significant effect, so the hypothesis is accepted.The Product Design Hypothesis -> Brand Image with a statistical t value on this relationship is 0.188 (<1.96) with a p-value of 0.425 (>0.05) hypothesis is rejected, indicating that there is no significant relationship between product design and brand image.Likewise, with the Product Design hypothesis -> Purchase Decision with a statistical t-value of 1.529 (<1.96) and a p-value of 0.063 (>0.05), the relationship between product design and purchasing decision is not significant because the p-value is greater than the significance level of 0.05.

Discussion
Based on these findings, purchasing decisions can be predicted by improving a product's brand image.This research clearly shows that brand image positively and significantly affects purchasing decisions.This means that consumers with a positive brand image will be more likely to buy the product.Product quality is one of the important factors that determines the success of any company.Seawright & Young (1996) define product quality as a structure that can be objectively measured, encompassing several attributes or characteristics of a product and service.The findings show that product quality positively and significantly affects brand image.Consumers who rate product quality as good will have a positive brand image.
One of the things consumers are looking for in choosing a quality product is a good and attractive design.Good product design can improve brand image and purchasing decisions.In this case, companies need to understand the factors influencing product design, such as brand image and purchasing decisions, to design effective and efficient product designs.Therefore, optimal product design is one way to achieve efficiency in the company (Nyamekye et al., 2023).However, some consumers do not consider the design because of several other factors, such as price and promotion, and consumer psychological factors, such as personality and lifestyle, that the company cannot control.The findings showed no significant relationship between product design and brand image or between product design and purchasing decisions.
Product design does not significantly affect brand image or consumer purchasing decisions.
In addition, the findings found that product quality positively affected purchasing decisions but was insignificant.This may be due to other factors, such as brand image, price perception, or consumer psychological factors.Thus, product quality is the number of product features required to be used properly (Aytatlı, 2023).Furthermore, the findings showed that price perception positively and significantly affected brand image but did not affect purchasing decisions.This perspective suggests that other factors, such as brand image and consumer preferences, may keep consumers from purchasing the product.Price becomes the extrinsic cue of consumers in forming a prominent aspect of monetary value perception (Zeithaml, 1988).If customers have a positive price perception, it positively affects purchase intent and vice versa (Alford & Biswas, 2002).Thus, companies can improve consumer purchasing decisions and increase sales by focusing on their brand image and product quality.
The flow of purchasing decisions is a complex process that is influenced by a variety of factors.Understanding these factors can help marketers and entrepreneurs to develop more effective strategies to reach consumers and influence their purchasing decisions.

Figure
Figure 1.Hypothesis Model Sources: Illustration by Researchers, 2024

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Structural Model Sources: The model is processed using smartPLS version 3, 2024 All indicators shown in Figure 2 are above 0.05.The dependent variables in the model below are brand image and purchase decision.The independent variables are product quality,product design and price perception.The validity of the convergent, which scored the loading factor condition >0.05, was tested in the modeling, so it was explained that everything was effective and could be used in this study.

Table 2 .
Convergent Measurement Items, Reliability and Validity.

Table 3 .
Test the validity of the discriminant with Cross Loading criteria

Table 4 .
Inner VIF value analysis

Brand Image Product Design Purchase Decision Quality Product Price Perception
Based on the data in Table4, the VIF value for the brand image is 1,293, while for product design, product quality, and price perception, the VIF values are 1,151, 1,224, and 1,281, respectively.This range of VIF values, which are between 1.224 and 1.293 and do not

Table 5 .
R-Square and Adjusted R-Square Analysis Analysis of Variance (R2) or determination test is carried out to measure how much influence the independent variable has on the dependent variable, represented by the coefficient of determination value.Based on Table 5, Brand Image variables are influenced by product quality, product design, and price perception variables as much as 22.7%, while other factors influence 77.3%.Meanwhile, purchasing decision variables were influenced by product quality, product design, price perception, and brand image variables by 8.5%, and other factors influenced the remaining 91.5%.

Table 6 .
Prediction Accuracy Analysis Result

Table 7 .
Fit Model Analysis Result Model fit shows how well the developed model can account for existing data.In model fit testing, based on PLS model estimation, the Standardized Root Mean Square (SRMR) value

Table 8 ,
and the visualization of this research model is illustrated in Figure3.

Table 9 .
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24176/bmaj.v7i1.11898117Thishypothesis is supported by the relationship between Product Quality -> Brand Image; it is seen that the statistical t-value reaches 3,973 (>1.96) with a very low p-value, which is 0.000, thus indicating that the relationship between product quality and brand image can be accepted as significant.In the Product Quality -> Purchase Decision relationship, a statistical Indirect Effects