**Hypothesis 3 (H3).** *The external part of corporate brand identity influences brand reputation.*

We conducted CFA with the three second-order constructs: brand relationships, corporate brand identity, and brand reputation, using a total of 34 measures, detailed as follows:


We began by developing measures for the concepts we intended to connect: brand relationships, corporate brand identity (external part), and brand reputation. First, we tested construct reliability and unidimensionality for the proposed measures for brand relationships: trust, commitment, and motivation. The same procedure was followed for brand reputation. The measures that formed corporate brand identity have been analyzed previously, and the construct has been found to be reliable and unidimensional. Next, we developed the measurement model for the brand relationships concept (using CFA). The results regarding the selected fit indices were considered acceptable. After dropping one item from the trust dimension, we developed the second-order model. The results revealed robustness regarding the selected criteria. Finally, we tested the structural model, using brand relationships as the cause of the salience of the external part of corporate brand identity and brand reputation as the result of the management of corporate brand identity (external part), using a relational approach.
