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Article
Publication date: 1 April 2005

Thomas Bamert and Hans Peter Wehrli

Brand equity has been a topic of interest in consumer goods markets for many years. Several studies suggest that existing consumer‐based measures of brand equity, which have…

8351

Abstract

Purpose

Brand equity has been a topic of interest in consumer goods markets for many years. Several studies suggest that existing consumer‐based measures of brand equity, which have traditionally been used in the consumer goods markets, can also be used to capture brand equity in the services markets. The purpose of this research is to assess the quality dimension in consumer‐based measurers of brand equity in the context of services and to compare it with consumer goods.

Design/methodology/approach

A pilot and a main study were conducted. Nine different brands were tested in a consumer‐based experimental online survey. Each participant was assigned randomly to one brand.

Findings

In the consumer goods markets customer service can be considered as a marketing instrument. In the services markets customer service is a part of the perceived quality of a service.

Research limitations/implications

The implication leads to the question whether existing measures of brand equity in consumer goods markets should be used without adaptation in services markets. The findings show that the consumer‐based brand equity should be measured different in these markets. Concerning the differences the findings show also that customer service can be seen as a marketing instrument in consumer goods markets and a part of the perceived service quality in services markets.

Originality/value

There is a lack of research in the difference of measuring brand equity between consumer goods and services. This paper explores this difference of measuring brand equity.

Details

Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, vol. 15 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0960-4529

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 1995

L. W. Turley and Patrick A. Moore

Although research associated with branding′s influence on consumerbehavior has increased in recent years, the vast majority of this workhas focussed on tangible goods rather than…

9344

Abstract

Although research associated with branding′s influence on consumer behavior has increased in recent years, the vast majority of this work has focussed on tangible goods rather than intangible services. Focusses on branding and brand name strategies for intangible services. Develops a classification system for service brand names and describes a study which explores the degree to which these diverse strategies are used by different types of services.

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 12 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0736-3761

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2002

Peter Jones, Peter Shears, David Hillier and Colin Clarke‐Hill

Briefly covers the development of the “brand” concept in marketing before looking at the experience of the service brand. Outlines the development of the fast food sector in the…

13036

Abstract

Briefly covers the development of the “brand” concept in marketing before looking at the experience of the service brand. Outlines the development of the fast food sector in the UK and discusses the make up and growth of McDonalds, KFC and Burger King in turn. Gathers customer perception about each brand by the use of discussion groups. Concludes that the ideas of focus, consistency and value were key, together with community activities.

Details

Management Research News, vol. 25 no. 6/7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0140-9174

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 May 2007

Pekka Tuominen

The purpose of this study is to describe, analyse, and understand the emerging metaphors in brand management in the context of service brands.

2744

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to describe, analyse, and understand the emerging metaphors in brand management in the context of service brands.

Design/methodology/approach

This article takes the form of a conceptual study.

Findings

The silence metaphor illustrates the product paradigm and the monologue metaphor describes the projective paradigm. The listening metaphor demonstrates the adaptive paradigm and finally, the dialogue metaphor depicts the relational paradigm.

Research limitations/implications

The traditional understanding of service branding neglects a key characteristic of services – the fact that services are processes – and this neglect causes the crucial role of dialogue with the customer in service delivery to be relatively overlooked. There is an emerging need to move towards a relational approach in brand management.

Practical implications

Service brands continuously develop as the customer relates to the flow of communication in the form of diverse brand messages. These brand messages come from contact personnel, from physical product elements in the service process, and from various planned and unplanned communication messages.

Originality/value

The importance of creating brands in service offerings has become apparent, and communication issues in branding have become extremely vital for service firms. By creating dialogue in brand relationships, the customer is given an active role in service branding.

Details

Journal of Communication Management, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-254X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 25 January 2022

Senthilkumaran Piramanayagam and Partho Pratim Seal

The market for luxury products and services plays a significant role in the world economy. The luxury hotel market is a crucial segment within the global market for luxury…

Abstract

The market for luxury products and services plays a significant role in the world economy. The luxury hotel market is a crucial segment within the global market for luxury products and services. Luxury hospitality recorded a 5% growth rate along with demand for luxury cruises recording the growth of 7%, the highest among all luxury segments. The remarkable performance of luxury products and services over a period is attributed to the laudable marketing communication strategies of luxury marketers. In this research, we aimed to analyse how a multi-brand hospitality firm differentiates its luxury brand with other luxury brands in the portfolio, using textual messages aimed to communicate the uniqueness of the brands in its official websites. The case study method and content analysis are adapted to achieve the research objective. The study results show that different luxury brands under the brand portfolio of Marriott International can communicate the differences through the textual contents. Most of the differentiation relies on brand-specific features, traditions, services, location of the hotel and metadata on the Internet, followed by branded differentiators. It may be concluded that Marriott has been successful to an extent in using text contents in the website to differentiate its luxury brands.

Details

The Emerald Handbook of Luxury Management for Hospitality and Tourism
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83982-901-7

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 11 June 2009

Donna F. Davis, Susan L. Golicic and Adam Marquardt

The failure to manage the firm's brand successfully with trading partners is a potentially fatal obstacle to success in today's hypercompetitive global economy. Strong brands…

Abstract

The failure to manage the firm's brand successfully with trading partners is a potentially fatal obstacle to success in today's hypercompetitive global economy. Strong brands serve as an important point of differentiation for firms, assisting customers in their evaluation and choice processes. Considerable research exists on the branding of consumer goods, and the literature on business-to-business (B2B) brands and service brands is increasing. However, research on branding in the context of B2B services is relatively sparse. This paper integrates research in B2B brands and service brands to explore B2B service brands. The paper reports a multiple methods study of brands and brand management in the logistics services industry as a specific case of B2B service branding. The study addresses two research questions that are relevant for B2B service brands. First, how are brands perceived when the customer is an organization rather than an individual? Second, how do brands differentiate intangible offers that customers often consider as commodities? The first study reports data collected in an exploratory investigation comprised of depth interviews with representatives of logistics services firms and customers. The study supports the extendibility of Keller's brand equity framework into the B2B services context. The second study tests the framework using data collected in a mail survey of logistics service providers and customers. Results suggest that brands do differentiate the offerings of logistics service providers and that brand equity exists for this commodity-like B2B service. However, findings reveal differences in perceptions between service providers and customers. Specifically, brand image is a stronger influence on customers' perceptions of service providers' brand equity, whereas brand awareness is a stronger driver of the service providers' perceptions of their own brand equity. The paper discusses implications of these differences for managing B2B services.

Details

Business-To-Business Brand Management: Theory, Research and Executivecase Study Exercises
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84855-671-3

Book part
Publication date: 29 January 2018

Gábor Nagy, Carol M. Megehee and Arch G. Woodside

The study here responds to the view that the crucial problem in strategic management (research) is firm heterogeneity – why firms adopt different strategies and structures, why…

Abstract

The study here responds to the view that the crucial problem in strategic management (research) is firm heterogeneity – why firms adopt different strategies and structures, why heterogeneity persists, and why competitors perform differently. The present study applies complexity theory tenets and a “neo-configurational perspective” of Misangyi et al. (2016) in proposing complex antecedent conditions affecting complex outcome conditions. Rather than examining variable directional relationships using null hypotheses statistical tests, the study examines case-based conditions using somewhat precise outcome tests (SPOT). The complex outcome conditions include firms with high financial performances in declining markets and firms with low financial performances in growing markets – the study focuses on seemingly paradoxical outcomes. The study here examines firm strategies and outcomes for separate samples of cross-sectional data of manufacturing firms with headquarters in one of two nations: Finland (n = 820) and Hungary (n = 300). The study includes examining the predictive validities of the models. The study contributes conceptual advances of complex firm orientation configurations and complex firm performance capabilities configurations as mediating conditions between firmographics, firm resources, and the two final complex outcome conditions (high performance in declining markets and low performance in growing markets). The study contributes by showing how fuzzy-logic computing with words (Zadeh, 1966) advances strategic management research toward achieving requisite variety to overcome the theory-analytic mismatch pervasive currently in the discipline (Fiss, 2007, 2011) – thus, this study is a useful step toward solving the crucial problem of how to explain firm heterogeneity.

Details

Improving the Marriage of Modeling and Theory for Accurate Forecasts of Outcomes
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-122-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 October 2023

Yun Liu, Xingyuan Wang and Heyu Qin

This paper aims to explore the matching effect of hospitality brand image (cool vs non-cool) and service agents (Artificial intelligence [AI] vs human staff) on brand attitude…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the matching effect of hospitality brand image (cool vs non-cool) and service agents (Artificial intelligence [AI] vs human staff) on brand attitude, with a focus on assessing the role of feeling right as a mediator and service failure as a moderator.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper tested the hypotheses through three experiments and a Supplementary Material experiment, which collectively involved 835 participants.

Findings

The results indicated that the adoption of AI by cool brands can foster the right feeling and enhance consumers’ positive brand attitudes. In contrast, employing human staff did not lead to improved brand attitudes toward non-cool brands. Furthermore, the study found that service failure moderated the matching effect between service agents and cool brand images on brand attitude. The matching effect was observed under successful service conditions, but it disappeared when service failure occurred.

Practical implications

The findings offer practical guidance for hospitality companies in choosing service agents based on brand image. Cool brands can swiftly transition to AI, reinforcing their modern, cutting-edge image. Traditional brands may delay AI adoption or integrate it strategically with human staff.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper represents one of the first studies to address the issue of selecting the optimal service agent based on hospitality brand image. More importantly, it introduces the concept of a cool hospitality brand image as a boundary condition in the framework of AI research, providing novel insights into consumers’ ambivalent responses to AI observed in previous studies.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2022

Rachel Fuller, Lara Stocchi, Thorsten Gruber and Jenni Romaniuk

Service branding research predominantly focuses on the purchase and postpurchase stages of the customer journey. This study aims to expand the lens of enquiry to the prepurchase…

2086

Abstract

Purpose

Service branding research predominantly focuses on the purchase and postpurchase stages of the customer journey. This study aims to expand the lens of enquiry to the prepurchase stage, showing the role service brand awareness and service brand retrieval play before customer experiences and relationships can be established.

Design/methodology/approach

The research presents and empirically examines a new framework that links service brand awareness and service brand retrieval to key “battlegrounds” in the prepurchase stage of the customer journey: entry into the Awareness Set, Consideration Set and Repertoire Set. The empirical work draws on data from both services and goods markets from two UK-based consumer surveys (N = 771 and N = 270, respectively).

Findings

The findings indicate that, prepurchase, service brands compete most intensively to establish and reinforce a broad array of memory associations, rather than a specific corporate or brand image.

Research limitations/implications

To improve the generalizability of the conclusions drawn, the findings of this study should be replicated in additional service categories and consumer samples.

Practical implications

The findings translate into novel, long-term strategies for the management of service brands at the prepurchase stage of the customer journey, especially opportunities for effective and creative marketing communications.

Originality/value

This study contributes to marketing research and practice by introducing the notion of service brand retrieval and highlighting its role, together with service brand awareness and prepurchase.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 57 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 July 2022

Yung-Cheng Shen, Heng-Yu Lin, Cindy Yunhsin Chou, Po Han Wu and Wei-Hao Yang

This study investigates the role of source familiarity in moderating the effect of service adaptive behavior (SAB) on customer satisfaction. Applying the…

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigates the role of source familiarity in moderating the effect of service adaptive behavior (SAB) on customer satisfaction. Applying the accessibility–diagnosticity framework and situated cognition theory as the theoretical basis, this research hypothesizes that when customers are familiar with the source that provides the service (i.e. brand familiarity for Study 1 and personal familiarity for Study 2), customer satisfaction responses to SAB would be more moderate than when customers are not familiar with the source. Two studies were conducted to test the hypotheses.

Design/methodology/approach

Two experiments manipulating SAB and the brand name familiarity (Study 1) and personal familiarity with the service staff (Study 2) as the source familiarity were conducted. Customer satisfaction as a function of source familiarity was measured to test the hypothesis that source familiarity moderates the relationship between SAB and customer satisfaction.

Findings

Compared to unfamiliar sources, familiar sources generated a more moderate response in customer satisfaction as a function of SAB. High familiarity with the brand and service staff induced top-down, memory-based processing that overrides external stimuli as the basis of satisfaction judgment; bottom-up, stimulus-based processing relying on SAB for judgment kicked in only when the source familiarity is low.

Practical implications

From a practical point of view, this study indicates the importance of SAB, especially for brands with low awareness, and alludes to the comparative importance of relationship building in service delivery processes.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature by validating the role of contextual factors in influencing the impact of SAB on customer satisfaction.

Details

Journal of Service Theory and Practice, vol. 32 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2055-6225

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 68000