Giving form to future branding realities

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to question the prospective relevance of conceptual articles on branding.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper advocates the development of conceptual articles with prospective relevance by emphasizing two key elements – the form and the context of discovery. The paper is illustrated with empirical data on how some branding researchers have produced such conceptual articles.

Findings

To author such articles the researchers might focus more on the initial phase of theorizing, when their intuition makes it possible to imagine new reality through alternative forms. The paper also highlights a need to reconsider the role of essays in branding research, particularly in writing conceptual pieces of prospective relevance.

Research limitations/implications

The connection between intuition and form is crucial to producing prospectively relevant conceptual articles. By evolving along the middle ground, without falling into empirical production on the one hand or guruization on the other, the researcher can give form to emerging branding phenomena.

Originality/value

The paper renews the debate on the need for more conceptual articles by focusing on a forgotten but crucial dimension: foresight relevance.

Citation

Cova, B., Cantone, L. and Testa, P. (2022), "Giving form to future branding realities", Journal of Service Management, Vol. 33 No. 3, pp. 417-427. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-02-2022-0048