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1 – 10 of over 9000Yi Xie and Xiaoying Zheng
This paper aims to examine the role of learning orientation in building brand equity for B2B firms. The present research proposes that learning orientation contributes to the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the role of learning orientation in building brand equity for B2B firms. The present research proposes that learning orientation contributes to the development of innovation and marketing capabilities and, in turn, leads to enhanced industrial brand equity. Furthermore, the moderating effect of firm size in these processes is investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
The hypotheses are tested by administering a survey with a set of managers of manufacturing firms in China.
Findings
Innovation capability and marketing capability serve as the mediators between learning orientation and industrial brand equity. The mediating path through innovation capability is stronger for small firms than for large firms.
Research limitations/implications
Learning orientation provides a cultural base for B2B firms to cultivate brand equity. Measurement of industrial brand equity and contingency of its effect requires further investigation.
Practical implications
To transform learning-oriented culture into brand equity, firms need to develop and manage innovation and marketing capabilities. The learning orientation–innovation capability route is more beneficial for small firms.
Originality/value
While a majority of prior literature ignores the impact of organizational culture in driving industrial brand equity, the present research explores learning orientation as a key cultural antecedent of industrial brand equity. A more refined industrial-brand-equity-building mechanism from learning orientation to corporate capabilities and then to brand equity is proposed and tested. The mechanism varies with firm size.
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Jing Zhang, Yanxin Jiang, Rizwan Shabbir and Miao Zhu
The paper aims to explore how brand orientation impacts brand equity via internal branding, presented brand, word-of-mouth and customer experience from stakeholder interaction…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to explore how brand orientation impacts brand equity via internal branding, presented brand, word-of-mouth and customer experience from stakeholder interaction perspective in industrial services context. Brand orientation has emerged as an attractive business philosophy for industrial service companies who believe that brand plays an influential role in delivering customer value and improving firm’s performance. However, the impact of brand orientation upon brand equity is not clear yet, and the active roles of multiple stakeholders in co-creating brand equity are largely neglected in business-to-business (B2B) branding literature.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire survey was conducted among 258 pairs of firms located in mainland China. A total of nine research hypotheses related to how brand orientation impacts B2B service brand equity were examined by structural equation modeling technique.
Findings
The research findings indicate: a company with high level of brand orientation will both actively communicate its brand to customers and implement internal branding among employees; internal branding enhances willingness and skills of service employees so that they can provide customers with excellent service experience, which will lead to positive word-of-mouth; effective brand communication, pleasant customer experience and favorable word-of-mouth can result in positive brand association in the mind of customers and finally build up corporate brand equity.
Research limitations/implications
The major limitation of this paper is that some other potential stakeholders and additional interactive processes among organization, employees and customers, which have potential to impact brand equity, are not included in the model.
Originality/value
This study makes theoretical contribution by addressing the gaps in the branding literature with respect to industrial services context and stakeholder interaction perspective. It also provides practical implications for B2B service firms as to how to develop a strong brand by implementing brand orientation within the network of core stakeholders.
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Ke Ma, Xin Zhong and Guanghui Hou
This study aims to examine the role played by brand equity orientation and failure type in service recovery. Specifically, through the lens of forgiveness, the way brand equity…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the role played by brand equity orientation and failure type in service recovery. Specifically, through the lens of forgiveness, the way brand equity orientation and failure type influence consumer response to recovery is revealed.
Design/methodology/approach
This research tests a novel model using data collected from 1,589 consumers in two scenario-based experimental studies. The statistical product and service solutions (SPSS) program with the PROCESS tool was used to test the mediation and moderated mediation effects.
Findings
The research findings suggest that forgiveness plays a mediation role in the relationship between recovery and satisfaction. Brand equity orientation moderates the mediation effect of forgiveness on the relationship between recovery and recovery satisfaction. In addition, failure type also plays an important role and there is a significant three-way interaction effect (service recovery × brand equity orientation × failure type) on recovery satisfaction under certain circumstances.
Research limitations/implications
Building on the extant literature which focuses on the cognitive process when investigating recovery and consumer reaction, this research advocates the significant role played by the psychological process, namely, the feeling of forgiveness, in explaining the effect of distinct recovery strategies on consumer satisfaction. This research also unveils the effects of brand equity orientation and failure type on recovery outcomes.
Practical implications
When addressing performance failure, brand equity orientation and failure type need to be identified. Businesses could develop recovery strategies to arouse consumer forgiveness, which would lead to increased recovery satisfaction. When designing recovery strategies, managers need to be mindful of the effects of brand equity orientation and failure type.
Originality/value
This research is one of the few which reveals the mediating role played by forgiveness on the effect of recovery. Taking brand equity orientation and failure type into consideration, the findings of this research provide new insights into the recovery literature.
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Changju Kim and Bin Hu
Drawing on the resource-based view, this study aims to investigate the conditions under which small- and medium-sized retailers can improve competitive benefits through the lens…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on the resource-based view, this study aims to investigate the conditions under which small- and medium-sized retailers can improve competitive benefits through the lens of brand equity and strategies for competitive advantage in retail buying groups.
Design/methodology/approach
This study collected 241 samples from small- and medium-sized supermarket retailers who joined retail buying groups in Japan.
Findings
This study offers two key findings. First, the results indicate that a buying group’s brand equity partially mediates the relationship between member retailers’ strategic integration and their buying group benefits. Second, member retailers with a stronger differentiation orientation strengthen the positive impact of strategic integration on the buying group’s brand equity and buying group benefits. The moderating effects of low-cost orientation were not found to be significant.
Practical implications
To highlight the sustainable growth of small- and medium-sized retailers in retail buying groups, which are often ignored in the extant literature, this study offers practical guidance on the importance of a buying group’s brand equity. In addition, based on the findings, this paper postulates that member retailers pursuing differentiation orientation, rather than low-cost orientation, are more beneficial to retail buying groups in terms of relational outcomes and performance consequences.
Originality/value
By conceptualizing brand equity in retail buying groups, this study suggests a novel approach for retail management that investigates how a buying group’s brand equity is linked to strategic integration, strategies for competitive advantage and buying group benefits from the viewpoint of member retailers.
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This study seeks to examine whether or not the effect of personal cultural orientation on brand‐related consumer behaviors functions invariably at the individual level in two…
Abstract
Purpose
This study seeks to examine whether or not the effect of personal cultural orientation on brand‐related consumer behaviors functions invariably at the individual level in two culturally opposite countries (South Korea and the USA).
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from college students from South Korea and the USA. A total of 415 eligible questionnaires were collected: 212 South Korea and 203 USA. Data analysis was conducted using Multivariate analysis of variance.
Findings
It was found that personal collectivistic orientation had a significant effect on both brand loyalty and equity among both Americans and Koreans. Brand loyalty was higher among people of high collectivism than those of low collectivism across brands in both the US and South Korean samples. Likewise, brand equity was also higher among people of high collectivism than those of low collectivism across brands in both countries. These findings indicated that regardless of their national culture, collectivist consumers would show higher brand loyalty and equity than individualist consumers.
Research limitations/implications
One limitation was that only one product category was examined in only two countries. Future research will need the validate the findings by including more product categories across more countries. In addition, other types of personal cultural orientation need to be investigated.
Originality/value
One major contribution of the study is that it examines the personal cultural orientation, not stereotyping consumers by their country or subculture membership. The other contribution is that the effect of personal collectivistic orientation holds regardless of country‐level culture.
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Nuria Rodríguez-Priego and Maria Palazzo
This chapter describes the main issues in scientific literature related to industrial branding. First, we set the background focusing on industrial branding, followed by brand…
Abstract
This chapter describes the main issues in scientific literature related to industrial branding. First, we set the background focusing on industrial branding, followed by brand equity and measurement, and brand orientation in business markets. The second section relies on controversies and problems inherent in the gaps in theory and implementation of branding. The third section proposes several solutions and recommendations for academics and practitioners, followed by proposals for future research directions and conclusions. We also present a case study and several case questions arising.
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Dmitry Kucherov and Victoria Tsybova
The purpose of this paper is to identify the differences in employer branding between the companies that participate and those that do not participate in employer ranking.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the differences in employer branding between the companies that participate and those that do not participate in employer ranking.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative data were collected through a survey from 188 companies operating on the Russian labour market. Descriptive statistics, frequency analysis, correlation analysis and multivariate analysis of variance were used to analyse the collected data.
Findings
The findings revealed specific profiles of the companies that participated and did not participate in employer ranking. Companies differed in their employer branding orientation, internal branding, employer branding strategy, employer branding programmes and employer branding communications tasks. At the same time, brand orientation did not differ between participants and non-participants of employer ranking.
Originality/value
This study integrates the employer brand equity theory and the signalling theory to better explain the differences between participants and non-participants of employer ranking.
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Yen-Tsung Huang and Ya-Ting Tsai
Building a strong brand is an important way to build a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Brand-oriented companies regard their brands as strategic resources, and they…
Abstract
Purpose
Building a strong brand is an important way to build a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Brand-oriented companies regard their brands as strategic resources, and they create value and increase competitiveness by building a strong brand. However, studies on how companies become brand-oriented and how brand orientation influences brand performance are still rather limited. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to propose a theoretical model explaining what factors contribute to brand orientation, as well as the impact of brand orientation.
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaire surveys were distributed to branding companies in Taiwan. The sample data of 106 branding companies were collected in order to test the theoretical model using partial least squares (PLS).
Findings
The empirical results showed that organizational resources (product differentiation capability), organizational structure (cross-function departmental integration), and organizational culture (members' organizational identification and long-term remuneration criteria) could facilitate the building of brand-oriented companies. It was also found that a higher level of brand orientation contributed to better brand performance.
Practical implications
According to this research, corporate managers can understand how to build brand-oriented companies by shaping their organizational context. In other words, if companies want to become brand-oriented, they should build product differentiation capabilities, promote cross-functional integration among departments, and develop an organizational culture with high organizational members' identification and long-term remuneration criteria.
Originality/value
This paper is the first study to propose some antecedents of brand-oriented companies based on the organizational context perspective. The empirical results of this study illustrate how companies can become brand-oriented by arranging their organizational context, as well as the impact of brand orientation on brand performance.
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Haizhong Wang, Yujie Wei and Chunling Yu
There is a growing interest in brand formation and brand valuation among global firms today, but global marketers typically ignore one of the key factors of brand building …
Abstract
Purpose
There is a growing interest in brand formation and brand valuation among global firms today, but global marketers typically ignore one of the key factors of brand building – corporation ability association (CAA). This paper aims to explore the structural relationship between CAA and consumer‐based brand equity variables and its product‐market outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Utilizing Aaker and Keller's theoretical framework of brand equity, this paper develops a brand equity model combining customer‐based brand equity with product‐market outcome approaches. A set of scales are developed and tested on a national sample of Chinese consumers.
Findings
The data provide support for ten of the 12 hypotheses. The results indicate that CAA is an important factor in building and preserving brand equity. CAA and brand awareness have impact on quality perception, which has positive impact on brand resonance, brand extensibility, and price flexibility. Brand resonance has positive influence on brand extensibility and the intention to repurchase.
Practical implications
For global marketers operating in China, brand equity is a cultural market‐based asset and global companies must focus on building corporation ability association in China in order to enjoy the substantial competitive and economic advantages provided by brand equity. Theoretically, the proposed brand equity model is an extension of the model proposed by Keller.
Originality/value
For the first time, CAA is integrated into fhe brand equity model. This may provide a theoretical base for further research in the endorsement role of company ability in brand equity building.
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