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This study aims to identify the archetypes, moral foundations and plots associated with veganism through the stories told by vegan bloggers and the effect on mainstreaming of this ideology.

Narrative data was collected from 15 publicly available vegan blogs. Underlying archetypes, morals and story plots were identified and presented as a “story re-told,” highlighting the context and content of what was being said by the protagonists and associated meanings.

The analysis revealed three moral foundations on which vegan ideology is built: sanctity of life, enacting the authentic self and freedom. A universal hero archetype was also unearthed; however, the moral orientation of the storyteller (agency vs communal) dictated how these morals and archetypes were expressed.

Through the use of common story archetypes, master plots and moral foundations, a deeper understanding of vegans and the choices they make is facilitated, thus making vegan ideology appear less threatening. Storytelling plays an important role in establishing connections through commonality.

This study applies cultivation theory, storytelling analysis and archetype theory to reveal how vegan bloggers counteract mass media cultivation of vegan stereotypes through the stories they tell. We offer a more robust description of vegans, moving beyond stereotypes, and the morals driving behavior. Moreover, a unique mechanism of mainstreaming is exposed that shows vegans connect with people by tapping into universal archetypes and morals that anyone can relate to and relive.

The paper seeks to provide a framework identifying key attributes that business marketers can use to build a strong brand identity.

The article is theoretical with case examples.

Drawing upon the business marketing offer, five potential strategies for building brands in business markets are outlined.

The paper identifies a contingent approach to brand identity in business markets.

This is the first paper to identify a relationship between positioning, the buying process and brand identity in business markets.

Despite the increased focus on brands in B2B markets, little research to date has focused on understanding the role brands play in different B2B contexts. To make a contribution in this area, the article aims to investigate whether, why and how corporate brand image plays a role in the selection of new subcontractors. This category of firms is particularly challenging to explore from a branding perspective, as their market offering is defined and designed by their customer and, further, not recognized by the customer's customer.

A qualitative interview study with respondents from nine companies (three subcontractors and six of their customers) was conducted. The interviews were semi‐structured and focused on considerations made by both buyers and sellers in sales and purchasing processes.

The study reveals that corporate brand image can be especially important when buyers need to identify new subcontractors. This process is only partly formalized, and due to limited resources and perceived risk, buyers need to rationalize the selection process. The brand's primary role is to attract interest and provide trust with regard to capacity, on‐time delivery and competence. Explicit communications, utilizing various elements such as plant orderliness, previous clients, the firm's website, etc., help build up the brand.

The paper illustrates that a corporate brand and branding perspective can be fruitfully applied in a subcontractor context. It promotes a deeper understanding of the complexity of decision making in B2B markets. The findings suggest that more conscious and proactive branding efforts could improve a subcontractor's business.

This paper aims to explore how the service‐dominant (S‐D) logic of marketing proposed by Vargo and Lusch impacts on business‐to‐business branding concepts and practice.

Vargo and Lusch argue that service interaction comes from goods‐in‐use as well as from interactions between a buyer and a supplier. Their key concepts are examined and the branding literature critically compared.

Goods become service appliances. Buyer judgments about the value‐in‐use of goods extends the time‐logic of marketing. The exchange concept is no longer transaction bound. Service‐ability (the capability to serve) becomes the essence of a firm's value propositions. Service experience becomes paramount in developing and sustaining the life of a brand.

S‐D logic highlights the need for rigour and clarity in the use of the term “brand”. It also opens up for consideration a variety of previously unexplored contact points in the customer service cycle, expanded to include customer assessments of value‐in‐use.

S‐D logic encourages extending brand strategies into a wider variety of communicative interaction modes.

Some of the issues raised are not new but currently compete for attention in the shadow of media‐dominant approaches to branding.

The paper seeks to investigate the role of branding in a B2B service context.

This paper focuses on a particular B2B service industry, namely leasing mall space to retail tenants. A quantitative study is undertaken of 201 mall tenants using SEM analysis.

The main finding was that brand attitudes were the most important influence on the contract renewal. Another major finding was that brand attitudes were mainly explained by service quality. Branding also played another, albeit minor role, in building trust between the supplier and the customers.

The results can be used by industrial firms to build stronger brands and, in turn, to use these brands to maximize customer retention.

This is one of the first studies to examine service B2B brands. It is also one of the first studies to examine the multiple roles that brand can play in B2B marketing.

The Internet is an important new channel for commerce in a wide range of industries. While the opportunities afforded by this phenomenon seem readily apparent, there is still much debate and speculation on exactly how the use of the Internet and in particular the World Wide Web will affect established industries. In this article we analyse the value chain of the tourism industry, using as a case study the tourism industry in South Africa. Specifically, we examine the roles played by intermediaries in the distribution chain and explore the threats and opportunities that the emergence of the Internet, and other associated trends, present for the industry. Based on this, a profile is made for successful new intermediaries and, finally, we assess the implications of this profile on the control of the electronic channel.

With brands being an important source of competitive advantage, knowledge of branding is needed to inform their management. After reviewing the literature, the article aims to report the findings of a case study that investigated the role of branding in the industrial purchase of agricultural tractors in the UK. The study's overall conclusion is that branding can play an important role in industrial purchase decisions.

Various attributes, together with levels of these attributes, were identified from the literature and a series of semi‐structured interviews with three farmers and farm contractors. Subsequently, conjoint analysis was employed to reveal how purchasers made their purchase decision. A total of 428 farmers and farm contractors (a 28.7 per cent response rate) ranked 25 cards that had been constructed to profile various hypothetical tractor designs.

Five attributes appeared from the literature review and interviews – brand name, price, dealer proximity, quality of dealer's service, and buyer's experience of the dealer. The conjoint analysis revealed that brand accounts for 38.95 per cent of the purchase decision, ahead of price (25.98 per cent) and service (14.90 per cent). The importance of brand varies according to the tractor brand. Also, the overall utility varies, with John Deere and New Holland brand names appearing as marketing assets and Valtra, Massey Ferguson, and Case IH as marketing liabilities. Among the study's other findings are that UK tractor buyers are brand loyal.

The study focuses on tractors in the UK, so while it provides an insight into the role of branding in an industrial purchase situation, further research is required in other product categories before the findings can be generalised.

Manufacturers and distributors need to maintain a strong image. Also, they may charge higher prices for tractors, using the extra revenue to reinforce their brand image. On‐farm demonstration of new tractors is suggested as an experiential marketing strategy. Special attention should be given to the location of dealers and the service they provide.

Research concerning branding in an industrial purchase context is limited, dated, or contradictory. This article contributes with empirical findings on industrial brand management in an important and relevant context.

This analysis aims to examine the need of business‐to‐business companies for branding and analyzes the options for success by means of the stock performance.

The paper consists of a qualitative and quantitative pilot study and a quantitative main survey.

Long‐term branding strategies, brand performance and firm's business performance are found to be positively correlated with stock increase. Current brand focus and use of guiding principles can lead to improved business performance.

The study has possible location‐ and industry‐specific limitations.

Managerially, the findings encourage firms to adopt a long‐term branding strategy, focusing not only on brand development.

By systematically examining relationships between branding strategy and performance of the global firms, this study adds knowledge to the field of B2B brand research.

The aim of the paper is to develop a conceptual framework that explores the sources of manufacturer brand benefits for resellers.

The paper reports a qualitative investigation where packaged goods resellers were interviewed about the benefits of manufacturer brands for their businesses. The qualitative data is analysed to develop several research propositions about the role of brands in reseller B2B relationships.

A conceptual framework is developed that shows that manufacturers' brands provide financial, customer and managerial benefits for resellers. These benefits have an impact on reseller relationship outcomes with the manufacturer's brand, which include satisfaction, dependence, cooperation, commitment and trust.

The conceptual framework provides a model that manufacturers of both major and minor brands can use to understand and manage these brand benefits in order to enhance the relationship outcomes with resellers.

The paper responds to a need for empirical research to understand the role that brands play in channel relationships. It presents a conceptual framework that links manufacturer brand benefits to reseller relationship outcomes. The framework also includes major and minor brands as moderating variables and thus provides a basis for further quantitative research.