What drives business-to-business brands to be conscientious?
Journal of Product & Brand Management
ISSN: 1061-0421
Article publication date: 25 December 2023
Issue publication date: 15 January 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Business organizations are evermore expected to behave conscientiously, but a lack of clarity remains regarding this strategy for business-to-business (B2B) brands. This paper aims to develop and validate a B2B brand conscientiousness model that identifies what factors are driving this approach.
Design/methodology/approach
The research model is validated through a three-stage study that collects insights from high-level executives, mid-level managers and employees in B2B firms. Whereas the first two exploratory stages follow a qualitative approach to identify what factors motivate B2B firms to be conscientious and develop a model, the third stage empirically tests the proposed model through structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results suggest that brand conscientiousness is viewed as an important strategy by B2B stakeholders. Whereas perceived risk discourages, external and internal stakeholder expectations and a firm’s financial commitment to a cause encourage, brands to pursue a conscientious approach. Furthermore, a B2B conscientious strategy must be perceived as authentic. Long-term commitment to the cause, strategic alignment of brand values with the cause and a congruent delivery of the brand’s promise are the drivers of this perceived authenticity.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the emerging knowledge on B2B conscientious brands by confirming the importance of this approach in a B2B context, identifying the factors that B2B stakeholders – executives, managers and employees – believe are driving it and highlighting the importance and identifying the factors that drive its perceived authenticity.
Keywords
Citation
Guzmán, F., Ahmad, F. and Johnson, R.W. (2024), "What drives business-to-business brands to be conscientious?", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 33 No. 1, pp. 138-161. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-07-2023-4595
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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