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Managers often use positioning models to understand the perceptual structure of markets and make strategic plans. The objective of this paper is to improve strategic planning by suggesting how positioning models can be used to understand, measure, and manage brand uncertainty. A theoretical framework is developed by unifying the results of studies conducted in several disciplines and this framework is used to document the effects of brand uncertainty on brand perceptions and performance. An experiment that empirically establishes the utility of Multiscale in measuring brand uncertainty is designed and conducted. Its results are favorable. A consideration of the limitations of conventional positioning methods leads to the conclusion that, for marketplaces where brand uncertainty exists, such methods provide erroneous and incomplete information. Ways are suggested in which the information provided by Multiscale can be used to improve the breadth and quality of marketing plans.

The primary purpose of this study is to identify if and how international terrorism has altered the rank and value of brands, and whether the increasing uncertainty of globalizing risks need an adaptation of international brand management.

The methodology for this study was exploratory and quantitative at the same time, and utilized longitudinal brand ranking and a cross‐sector and cross‐industry data in a comparative research design. Both descriptive and relational statistics are used to analyze the data.

The key findings reveal that, in the five consecutive years after 9/11/2001, brands have experienced significant moderation in rank and value. A significant gap in the evolution of US and non‐US brands was found in this period of time. The evidence calls for brand management that reflects the risks that globalized at the same pace as brand reach.

The limitations to the study are that the findings cannot explore all possible causes of uncertainty, but it nevertheless provides strong indications.

Managers should not assume that terrorism and other globalizing risks only cause direct physical destruction; they need to be adequately prepared to handle indirect impact that can alter the rank and value of their brands. The paper identifies specific areas for future megabrand strategy and calls for its internationalization.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the performance effects of brand identity in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The authors examine whether brand identity mediates the relationship between brand orientation and brand performance, and further, whether brand performance leads to better financial performance. The authors also study whether these performance effects are moderated by customer type and industry type. Differing from earlier research, this study analyzes brand identity through its constituent components: brand values, brand vision and brand positioning. The data include altogether 721 effective responses from Finnish SMEs. Structural equation modeling is used for testing the research hypotheses.

Brand positioning and brand vision have a direct positive effect on brand performance, which in turn, positively affects financial performance. Brand orientation drives the components of brand identity. Importantly, there is variation in some of the relationships between brand orientation, brand values, brand vision and brand positioning across business-to-business firms and business-to-customer firms, and across firms in service industries and in production industries.

The research is based on a single-country sample. Including additional factors for the model with the potential to moderate the described relationships is also called for. Future research could also consider new potential brand identity components currently not addressed in the paper.

This paper contributes to the literature by increasing the knowledge of SME branding.

The purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically examine a comprehensive model that attempts to identify the factors that explain competitive advantage of implementing electronic business (e-business) in an emerging market. It seeks to fulfill an inevitable lack of conducting rigorous and intensive empirical studies on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in which the internet use and e-business applications are on the rise.

This research is descriptive in nature where a quantitative research methodology is deployed. Data are collected using both interviews and e-survey for a sample of 302 Egyptian companies serving in diverse industries. A multivariate partial least squares technique is employed to analyze the collected data.

This study explores various e-business modes and applications widely employed in the MENA region. It also addresses a set of e-business-driven competitive advantages that are mainly generated from supportive ICT environment, major market forces and strategic opportunities, and at last, from electronically driven customers’ relationship initiatives. A number of e-business barriers are claimed to moderate the relationship between those forces and the resulting competitive advantages.

Although this research main framework incorporates important variables based on theoretical and empirical foundations, integrating other factors may extend understanding of how these factors, independently and/or interactively, explain the adoption of e-business and its merit to create distinctive competitive advantage.

This work helps managers and e-business experts alike to comprehend the ways through which firms target the applications of e-business technologies to realize a competitive edge in MENA region. It also helps practitioners and professionals comprehend the interrelationship between the type of forces drive e-business based competitive position and key barriers that deteriorate such a connection in emerging markets.

A model that enables scholars to better understanding the e-business phenomenon in MENA market is developed and validated. This model rests on e-business experts’ perspectives, reflections and it is evidently substantiated by past works in the areas.

Despite major market-orientated reforms to enhance the competitive advantage of Russian domestic firms, the antecedents and consequences of frontline employee (FLE) customer orientation (CO) remain poorly understood. Acknowledging this paucity of research, the authors draw upon a hierarchical model of personality to examine personality trait determinants of CO and job performance in the context of the Russian financial services sector.

Data was collected from 186 FLEs using a self-administered survey questionnaire and analyzed using AMOS.

The results identify which basic personality traits matter in translating FLE CO behavior into higher job performance in the Russian retail-banking sector.

Limitations of the study include the generalizability of the findings within one organizational context. Future research should examine whether the found associations hold true for FLEs working in other service sectors in other parts of the country.

Study findings differ significantly to Western-based research and provide valuable insight into the process that motivates Russian FLEs in a commercial retail setting to perform better in their jobs.

This is the first empirical study that employs a hierarchical model of the effects of basic personality traits on FLE CO and job performance in a former socialist/communist economy. We also advance existing research on FLE CO by distinguishing between two types of CO behavior. Findings provide an understanding of those personality traits that affect the ability of Russian FLEs to better satisfy customer needs and to interact and serve customers in an enjoyable way.

This study aims to examine individual behaviours regarding coronavirus disease-2019 vaccine brands.

Firstly, qualitative research identified the reasons for vaccine hesitancy in relation to specific brands using data gathered from 36 semi-structured interviews and processed with Leximancer software. Secondly, a new conceptual model was developed with data from 917 questionnaires and analysed using partial least squares-structural equation modelling. The model integrates health treatment effectiveness, vaccines’ immediate health benefits and individuals’ hope as antecedents of perceived vaccine brand reliability and company reputation and their relationships with choice uncertainty.

The results reveal that vaccine hesitancy can be linked with individual, group and contextual and vaccine brand influences and that brand reliability and company reputation antecedents have variable but statistically significant effects on choice uncertainty.

This research’s contribution lies in its analyses of vaccine acceptance and uncertainty from a vaccine brand perspective. The results can guide brand management policies implemented by public and private organisations.

This study contributes to academic literature by filling in two gaps. The first was that no prior studies have directly addressed vaccine brands’ impact, whereas the second gap was the need for brand management policies that public (e.g. governments and public health agencies) and private organisations (e.g. pharmaceutical laboratories) can apply.

This paper aims to examine the impact of employee-based brand equity (EBBE) and perceived environmental uncertainty (PEU) on firm performance.

Data were collected through an e-mail survey from fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firms in the UK and UAE. Sample sectors included cosmetics and toiletries, household care products, packaged food, soft drinks and tobacco firms. Quantitative data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The results suggest strong support for the hypothesized relationships, thereby providing strong validation for the proposed model. One interesting finding was that the PEU affected employee brand equity significantly stronger in the UK than in the UAE. This phenomenon is explained in the discussion section.

Although several studies have indicated several other elements for EBBE, such as brand commitment and brand citizen behavior, the authors borrowed King et al.’s (2012) EBBE concept and limited their variables on EBBE for brand endorsement, brand allegiance and brand consistent behavior.

Knowledge is expanded through an empirical study validating the proposed model, which provides meaningful insights for developing training tools for internal brand management. Firms have to increase the brand manager’s commitment to increase the employee brand equity, which in turn increases the firm’s performance.

This paper makes three imperative contributions to the branding literature: expanding the existing brand equity literature to incorporate employee brand equity; being the first known empirically tested PEU on employee brand equity; and empirically testing employee brand equity, which has been ignored in branding literature on firm performance.

The purpose of this study is to provide information that reflects the true state of affairs and to develop a conceptual model that examines the moderating effect of uncertainty on relative brand trust–love.

Extant empirical studies, conceptual literature and related theories were identified and integrated to develop the conceptual model.

Findings of the study suggest that relative brand trust–love arises because of different components of uncertainty. Relative brand trust–love exhibited by the customer is moderated by uncertainty at the individual level, brand level and technology level. These uncertainties represent the situation that considers if relative brand trust–love can be enhanced. A few propositions have been suggested for such situations to enhance relative brand trust–love.

This paper proposes a conceptual model and also makes research propositions that need to be validated and confirmed empirically. It adds value to theoretical advancements in strengthening the customer–brand relationship. Furthermore, results suggest that relative brand trust–love can be improved over time if these components can be supported by increasing information at different levels. The conclusions will be informative to practitioners and brand managers in strengthening a brand into the market more effectively. Moreover, it can transform the brand into a global brand and help build sustainable long-term relationships. Findings can be useful and interesting information for the researchers who are interested in finding strategic ways for effective decision-making related to brand trust and brand love.

The conceptual model, and the propositions related to different levels of uncertainty, and its effect on relative brand trust–love, is a new approach in enhancing relative brand trust–love and hence helpful in strengthening the quality of customer–brand relationships.

This study aims to propose a conceptual framework for transition of brand trust to brand love in an uncertain market situation, from the perspective of cognitive-emotion theory (CET).

Since brand anthropomorphism is successfully established in branding research, this study takes cognitive characteristics of brand trust and emotional characteristic of brand love from extant literature to develop a conceptual framework for transformation of brand trust (cognition) into brand love (emotion). This study situates the relationship in the context of market uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses in the development of the conceptual framework by taking cognitive components of brand trust and brand behavioural characteristics as moderator, in uncertain market situation.

Findings suggest that transition of brand trust (cognition) to brand love (emotion) is possible in uncertain situation, and brand behavioural characteristics moderate this relationship. Brand behavioural characteristics are brand innovativeness, brand ethicality, brand empathy, brand expertise and brand agility, which have the potential to further strengthen the relationship in the given situation.

This research proposes a conceptual model and propositions that add a rich understanding to the relationship of brand trust and brand love, which requires empirical testing in any brand category context. Through a richer understanding of conditions and the underlying psychological mechanism, researchers and marketers, brand managers, policymakers and so forth can gain insights that aid strategic decision-making. Trusted brands can leverage on the situation by highlighting unique behavioural characteristics to establish a strong and sustainable long-term relationship.

The current research is an attempt to provide deeper insights from the perspective of CET, into the relationship of brand trust (cognition) and brand love (emotion) by introducing conditions under which a trusted brand becomes a lovable brand in uncertain market situation, thereby adding new knowledge to branding, customer-brand relationship sustainability, in uncertainty literature. The new perspective, that is CET, puts forward a novice view on the advantage of brand love over brand trust that could help in formulating strategic decisions in managing brands in crisis situation.

This paper aims to examine the effects of design sources (user design vs. company design) on customers’ perceived value (perceived self-improvement and perceived uncertainty) and consequently purchase intention, as well as the moderating effect of brand strength in the context of purchasing utilitarian products.

Two studies were conducted. Study 1 used a laboratory experiment (n = 160) to test the effects of design sources on perceived self-improvement, perceived uncertainty and purchase intention. Study 2 used an online experiment (n = 312) to examine the moderating effect of brand strength.

The results showed that user design is a double-edged sword for companies. Compared with company design, user design is associated with stronger self-improvement and uncertainty as perceived by customers. Perceived self-improvement is positively related to purchase intention, while perceived uncertainty undermines purchase intention. Moreover, for weak brands, perceived self-improvement is significantly stronger in user design than company design, while for strong brands, this relationship is not significant.

This paper draws on mental accounting theory to study the perceived benefits and risks of user design of utilitarian products, and highlights the double-edged effects of user design on customers’ perceived value and purchase decision. The findings provide more rounded insights on user design of utilitarian products, complementing the one-sided view of customers’ positive perceives of user design in unclassified product categories.