Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose and test a model to better understand brand equity. It seeks to investigate the effects of this construct on consumers’ responses using data from two European countries. Design/methodology/approach – Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). Measurement invariance and stability of the model across the two national samples was assessed using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. Findings – Results indicate that brand equity dimensions inter-relate. Brand awareness positively impacts perceived quality and brand associations. Brand loyalty is mainly influenced by brand associations. Finally, perceived quality, brand associations and brand loyalty are the main drivers of overall brand equity. Findings also corroborate the positive impact of brand equity on consumers’ responses. In addition, the general framework proposed is found to be empirically robust across the studied countries. Only a few differences are observed. Research limitations/implications – A limited set of product categories, brands and countries were used. Practical implications – Findings provide useful guidelines for brand equity management. Managers can complement financial metrics with consumer-based brand equity measures to track brand performance over time and to benchmark against other brands. Building brand equity generates more value for corporations since a more favourable consumer response results from positive brand equity. Originality/value – This study contributes to the scarce international brand equity literature by testing the proposed model using data from a sample of consumers in two European countries. It also enriches the brand equity literature by empirically examining the relationships among consumer-based brand equity dimensions and its effects on consumers’ responses.