Brand Alliance Research Articles

Unraveling the dynamics of bed and breakfast clusters development: A multiscale analysis

The growing Bed and Breakfast (B&B) industry has an increasing impact on tourism transition, but the understanding of dynamics of the B&B cluster is still unclear. This study utilizes Zhejiang Province as a case study to explore the characteristics and patterns of B&B clusters and conducts a multiscale analysis of the influencing mechanisms. The research finds that B&B clusters can be divided into four types: Scenic area dependent pattern, Coastal landscape dependent pattern, Ancient village dependent pattern, Traffic-led pattern, demonstrating environmental adaptability and regional differences. As B&B clusters transition from the free development stage to the brand alliance stage, the dominant factors shift gradually from tourism resources and transportation to policy support and innovation. The agglomeration of B&Bs benefits the increase in prices, while it is crucial to control the reception scale and adopt a boutique and personalized approach to gain a competitive advantage. These findings can enrich the understanding of B&B cluster development and provide valuable insights for the B&B industry.

HelpUsGreen LLP: driving next-level growth by building a sustainable circular economy

Learning outcomes On completion of this case study, students will be able to describe a circular economy and cross-marketing; discuss the common strategies under the circular economy paradigm; describe the benefits and risks of cross-marketing brand alliances and their strategic implications; examine the role of growth strategy in driving the growth of an organization; classify what constitutes the elements of a strategy for HelpUsGreen LLP; and discuss measures to be considered while selecting a partner for a cross-marketing brand alliance. Case overview/synopsis HelpUsGreen LLP was a start-up founded by Karan Rastogi in 2019, which manufactured incense sticks using the circular economy model. After deflecting from his earlier partner in 2019 and after approximately two years of effort, Rastogi expanded his business of making incense sticks using a circular economy model. Students through this case can step into the shoes of Rastogi, who, as of 9 January 2023, was in Kanpur and was in an urgent need to replicate a similar circular economy model in different cities. With over 21,060 tonnes of temple flower waste recycled, 210 tonnes of chemical pesticides offset and 100% natural products delivered, multiple opportunities emerged at the cross-marketing brand alliance and new product segment levels. Rastogi entered into several cross-marketing brand alliance arrangements and tasted success. Rastogi believed that choosing the right partner for cross-marketing was key to successful cooperation. Considering cross-marketing as a way forward, he urgently needed to develop a strategy that aligned with his mission to take HelpUsGreen LLP’s circular economy model to other parts of the country. Students should take into consideration the data regarding the processes at HelpUsGreen LLP that helped Rastogi restart from scratch and make assumptions to decide the growth route for entering different cities. Complexity academic level This case can be used as an introductory case in a post-graduate class on growth strategy for a business based on the circular economy model, as it delineates the challenges faced by a firm while creating a circular economy and managing its growth phase. The case can also be used in an entrepreneurship management course and a strategic management course. This case allows students to learn about the circular economy and challenges faced by the company during the growth phase. Thus, the case can be used for covering multiple perspectives related to growth strategy (e.g. the application of Ansoff matrix), for defining what is cross-marketing brand alliance and discussing what measures need to be considered while selecting a partner for cross-marketing brand alliance, and it is ideal for teaching the elements of strategy. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 11: Strategy.

Negative spill over effects in brand alliance crises

Brand alliances, or partnerships between established brands, is a viable branding strategy. Yet, it is an inherently risky strategy, especially when one of the brand partners faces a crisis. A direct fallout of brand alliance crisis concerns consumer attitude spill over. Despite the surge in brand alliance research and industry interest, the literature on the psychological mechanisms and outcomes of spill over effects remains sparse. Underpinned by the Balance theory from social psychology, this research examines the impact of crises on consumers’ evaluations of corporate brand alliances. Employing an experimental design across three crisis contexts – preventable, accidental and victim, the research shows that crises in brand alliances negatively impact consumers’ evaluations of the culpable brand which spills over to the co-branded product. The non-culpable partner, however, is not found to be negatively affected. The results also show that post-crisis attitudes can be enhanced if consumers are exposed to recovery information that diminishes the culpable brand’s role in the crisis. The research provides novel contributions to knowledge and offers managerial guidelines on effective post-crisis public relations communication.

When cause familiarity leads to positive attitudes toward brands in a cause–brand alliance: a cross-cultural study during the COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeBuilding on construal level theory and applying the hypothetical distance dimension, this cross-cultural study (individualistic vs collectivistic culture) aims to explore the effects of cause familiarity on individuals' attitudes toward a brand and how cause–brand fit mediates this relationship. Furthermore, this study explores how perceived betrayal moderates the relationship between cause–brand fit and attitude toward a brand.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative research design was adopted. Data collection was performed through snowball sampling of French and Turkish participants (N = 455). The collected data were then analyzed using the PROCESS macro for SPSS.FindingsThe results reveal a significant effect of cause familiarity on attitude toward the brand, wherein one's attitude toward fit in a cause–brand alliance serves as a mediator in this relationship. The results also indicate that perceived betrayal moderates the relationship between cause–brand fit and attitude toward a brand. However, when it comes to facing a global pandemic, culture has no significant effect on consumers' perceptions and attitudes toward cause–brand alliances.Originality/valueThis research investigates the enhancement of attitudes toward a brand through an alliance with a familiar cause and explains this relationship via attitudes toward fit in such an alliance. Moreover, it provides novel insights into perceived betrayal as a variable that can lead to a more pronounced relationship between attitude toward fit and attitude toward a brand.

The Impact of Fashion x Culinary Co-Branding on Customer Evaluation

Existing literature has extensively explored the influence of co-branding on customer evaluation, particularly concerning variables such as brand personality, product fit, brand fit, brand attachment, and brand awareness. However, a research gap in implementing co-branding exists in the specific context of fashion x culinary. Consequently, this study aims to investigate the impact of these variables on customer evaluation of fashion x culinary co-branding products. To achieve this, a quantitative research methodology is employed, involving collecting data from 498 cases, which is subsequently analyzed using the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) approach. The findings reveal a significant influence of fashion x culinary co-branding on customer evaluation. Notably, the indirect effect of perceived co-brand personality on customer evaluation, mediated by brand awareness, emerges as the most influential factor. These findings contribute to the existing body of research on co-branding and brand alliances by offering new insights and recommendations that have the potential to enhance industry practices.

Avengers, assemble! A network-based contingency analysis of spillover effects in multi-brand alliances

Brand alliances are becoming increasingly complex, as marketers have begun to combine not only two but multiple brands to foster spillover effects. A particularly complex brand-alliance strategy is team brands, which combine various brands under a team-brand name. Using data from the Marvel brand universe, we examine contingency factors of sales spillover effects between team brands (e.g., Avengers) and their constituent brands (e.g., Hulk). We investigate the moderating role of key network characteristics, describing the team-brand networks and the constituent brands’ roles within these networks from both a firm perspective (brand-brand networks reflecting managers’ decisions about which constituent brands to combine) and a consumer perspective (brand-association networks reflecting consumers’ team-brand associations). The results show that network characteristics strongly affect spillovers and, more importantly, that their effect depends on both the direction (spillover from constituent brands to team brands or vice versa) and the network (brand-brand vs. brand-association network).

Should I Stay or Should I Go? The Effect of Allied Brands Negative Publicity on Brand Managers' Decision-Making

This study examines why, and under what conditions, managers of focal brands decide to maintain the alliance with the partner brand when the latter is involved in negative publicity. The literature on brand alliances demonstrates the presence of crisis spillover effects on each partner in the case of negative publicity, suggesting dropping the offending brand to avoid any bad associations related to the negative publicity. However, research evidence on such negative effects in the B2B context is scarce. Drawing on attribution theory and reasoning style, this paper shows through two experiments (Study 1, N = 100; Study 2, N = 160) how the high (vs. low) severity of the allied brand's negative publicity activates an internal causal attribution process, which leads managers of focal brands to drop the offending partner. However, when brand managers are characterized by an analytic (vs. holistic) reasoning style, this path is overturned. Adopting a managerial perspective regarding the implications of negative publicity for B2B relationships, this study provides new insights into how the severity of partner brand negative publicity influences managers' decision-making, via casual attribution. The paper thus offers managers actionable guidelines (i.e., enhancing the analytic reasoning style) to reduce the risk of terminating a profitable alliance.

Cause‐related marketing in pandemic context—The effects of cause‐brand fit and cause‐brand alliance on customer‐based legitimacy and reputation

AbstractEven though the COVID‐19 pandemic has represented an intense period of stress and anxiety for individuals, it has also been an opportunity for firms to engage in cause‐related marketing initiatives as a means of providing support and helping them cope with this global pandemic. This study analyzes the influence of cause–brand fit and cause–brand alliance on customer‐based legitimacy and reputation. This study also examines the mediating and moderating roles of trust and betrayal, respectively. Data were collected from 455 participants during the first wave of the pandemic, especially during the first lockdown. The results contribute to unveiling the economic and societal outcomes of cause‐related marketing. The findings also enrich the antecedents of the legitimacy and reputation conferred by customers.

Exploring Marketing Strategies for Luxury Goods in China in the Post-Epidemic Era

In the post-epidemic era, luxury goods have seen a decrease in production and sales abroad, while sales in China have tended to rise and even increase in price. The paper has examined the current situation and problems from the perspectives of sales channels, localization, brand building investment and segmentation of target customers, and made suggestions on marketing strategies in terms of enhancing the public welfare image of brands, taking social responsibility, promoting digital marketing transformation, standardizing channel management, increasing investment in second and third tier cities and focusing on young target customers. The company put forward marketing strategy suggestions. In particular, for the digital marketing transformation, suggestions were made to strengthen the construction and promotion of the official website, promote the diversified sales model of the e-commerce platform and give full play to the influence of social media. At the same time, it was suggested that major luxury brands could strengthen cross-border brand alliances and production line cooperation to enhance brand awareness and reputation, increase the production capacity of each partner, and develop greater market space.

Ways to neutralize the country-of-origin effect in the emerging market firms international branding1

Abstract Paper’s objectives The purpose of this paper is to examine the ways in which to neutralize the country-of-origin (COO) effect (COE) in the emerging market of firms’ international branding. Design/methods applied/approach used A multiple-case study of five companies from European and Asian emerging markets – owners of household appliances brands, with data sourced from in-depth interviews and secondary sources. Findings Companies from emerging markets neutralize the genuine COO in their international branding in various ways, for example, by applying brand or sub-brand names that do not refer to the genuine country-of-brand-origin, using slogans in foreign languages or establishing brand alliances with partners from developed countries. Originality/value This study offers original insights fostering a better understanding of international branding strategies applied by emerging market companies by identifying the ways they neutralize the COE both at the brand concept level and brand marketing communication tools.

Exploring international brand alliances between local and foreign higher education institutions: an empirical study of sub-degree students

PurposeThis study empirically investigates the influence of students' brand attitudes and perceptions of brand fit on their study intention vis-à-vis international brand alliances and individual brands after alliance.Design/methodology/approachStructural equation modelling (SEM) was used in data analysis, and a questionnaire was administered to a sample of sub-degree business management students recruited from a self-financing higher education institution in Hong Kong.FindingsThe results indicate that students' prior attitudes towards the brands of foreign and local institutions and their perceptions of brand fit positively affect their study intention, providing evidence that post-attitudes towards individual brands fully mediate the relationship between attitudes towards international brand alliances and study intention towards individual institutions.Originality/valueInternational brand alliances between higher education institutions are becoming increasingly important. In Hong Kong, despite the emerging trend of collaboration between foreign and local universities, an evaluation of the effect of international brand alliances on study intention has been seriously overlooked.

Co-branding strategies in luxury fashion: the Off-White case

ABSTRACT Increasing competition has induced brands to find ever more innovative ways to raise awareness. Among the latter, co-branding has recently become pervasive in the luxury fashion sector. Despite the growing interest in co-branding, no study to date has examined how luxury fashion brands can strategically combine different types of co-branding and the amount of media visibility that they can gain by means of these brand alliances. Drawing on both case study analysis and automated text analysis, this paper on the longitudinal case of the luxury fashion brand Off-White offers important managerial implication. It shows that, to create a successful co-branding portfolio, luxury brands should initially collaborate with renowned brands in the same target market, and only later with brands operating in other sectors. This study also reports empirical findings with which to understand what are the most suitable forms of co-branding to pursue to increase media visibility and consumers’ engagement in social media.

항공동맹의 브랜드 신뢰도가 의사결정 편의성, 브랜드 자산 및 구매의도에 미치는 영향

When purchasing airline tickets, consumers are confronted with numerous uncertainties. Airlines actively utilize brands to reduce consumers' opinions on this matter. The research model was presented in order to demonstrate that the brand credibility of the global airline alliance is a signal that reduces uncertainty in consumers' purchasing decisions and influences their purchase intentions. The relationship between brand credibility, decision convenience, brand equity, and purchase intention was validated using structural model analysis, and the indirect effects of brand credibility and decision convenience were validated using bootstrapping. First, brand credibility had a positive effect on brand equity by enhancing brand utility and demonstrated a positive relationship with decision convenience by reducing the effort and time spent by consumers during the purchasing process. Second, the brand credibility of the airline alliance did not have a direct impact on the purchase intentions of consumers. However, brand equity and decision convenience were found to have indirect effects. This study has academic value because it explains brand credibility in the context of brand alliance using signal theory. Even in brand alliances, brands' consistent and clear signals served to reduce consumer uncertainty. Moreover, joint promotional activities between the airline alliance and its member airlines will be a differentiating strategy for enhancing brand competitiveness in the market. Differentiated services in the market include marketing activities such as frequent flyer benefits and price discounts promoted by individual airlines, as well as the integrated frequent flyer benefits provided by airline alliances, the convenience of connecting flights, and their members' lounge use. It will be a strategy with the potential to enhance the cross-brand advantage.

The Effect of UT Collection UNIQLO Collaborative Branding Strategy Towards Customer Repurchase Intention

The competitiveness between fast-fashion that driven by the how style and cultures are changing rapidly leads the fast-fashion to be ‘different’ and carried out ‘brand development’ using collaborative branding, a form of brand alliance that work collaboratively to create a points of differentiation, gain exposure between the two companies, and to expand their market by pulling the market from their partner. In June 2021, UNIQLO UT Collection is one of fast fashion that implement collaborative branding strategy with the famous anime series, Jujutsu Kaisen that resulted a surge in purchase. However, there is still an uncertainty regarding repurchase intention of UNIQLO general products will be affected by the market created with the brand’s collaboration with Jujutsu Kaisen or not. Therefore, this research intends to analyse the affect variable predicted by UNIQLO’s strategy of collaborative branding and how it leads to customer repurchase intention. This research also intends to determine which of the variable predicted by the brand’s strategy of collaborative branding that affect the repurchase intention by UNIQLO customers. This research focuses on UNIQLO in Indonesia and its customers. This research is conducted through qualitative approach by semi-structured interview and quantitative approach by online survey towards customer who bought UNIQLO UT Collection x Jujutsu Kaisen. The researcher uses open coding to analyze the interview result and uses descriptive statistic and PLS-SEM to analyze the survey result. The result indicates that Need for Uniqueness and Brand Image positively influenced UNIQLO UT Collection collaborative branding. Furthermore, UNIQLO UT Collection collaborative branding also shows the same positive influence towards Consumer Perception of Self-Image Congruence, Satisfaction, and Repurchase Intention toward UNIQLO brand product. Moreover, Need for Uniqueness, Brand Preferences and Satisfaction has a positive influence towards Repurchase Intention toward UNIQLO brand product. The finding of this research is expected to give insight about collaborative branding strategy on fashion industry or industry related to merchandise in Indonesia.

Deal or deny: The effectiveness of crisis response strategies on brand equity of the focal brand in co-branding

A brand alliance puts the focal brand at risk of being penalized for a crisis occurring at the partner brand. Such a crisis may weaken the focal brand’s equity unless it responds effectively. However, there is no consensus on the effectiveness of the response strategies at mitigating damage to brand equity. Building on attribution theory, this paper examines the effectiveness of the focal brand’s response strategy as a function of perceived brand integration between the brands in an alliance. The experiments, operationalized as (1) self-reported answers to intention measuring scales and (2) behavioral response in the form of written product reviews, reveal that the perceived integration is a significant moderator, determining the effectiveness of response strategies (deal vs. deny) on brand equity. Consequently, this paper has both theoretical and managerial implications for how to effectively respond to a crisis, while proposing an agenda for future research.

Competing cues in brand alliance advertisements

Anecdotal evidence suggests that a new trend in brand alliance advertising is to include an attention-grabbing cue such as a sex appeal or a celebrity endorsement in the same ad as a brand alliance cue. This trend has received scant attention in the literature. Integrating consumer learning theory and the brand information processing framework, we argue that the attention-grabbing cue competes with the brand alliance cue. Three studies demonstrate that the presence of strong cues such as sex appeals or celebrity endorsers reduces the effect of a brand alliance cue. Stronger cues increase ad liking but distract viewers’ attention from the brand alliance cue. The findings suggest that using sex appeals or celebrity endorsers can interfere with the brand ally assisting customers in evaluating the focal brand. Thus, in the case of brand alliance advertising, “the more, the better” is not always true.

Affective factors influencing responses to international brand alliances

PurposeThis study aims to explore how two affective factors (i.e. brand attachment and consumer affinity) influence host country consumers' responses to an international brand alliance (IBA).Design/methodology/approachA two (brand attachment: high vs low) × two (consumer affinity: high vs low) factorial experiment was conducted with 336 US university students. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method was used to test the conceptual model.Findings(1) Pre-attachment to the host brand and consumer affinity for the country-of-origin (COO) of the foreign partner brand positively influence attitudes toward the IBA. (2) Attitudes toward the IBA positively influence post-attachment to the host brand, intention to buy the IBA product and willingness to recommend the IBA product. (3) Pre-attachment to the host brand positively influences post-attachment to the host brand.Originality/valueThis study extends the literature on factors influencing attitudes toward IBAs by finding the significant influences of pre-attachment to the host brand and consumer affinity for the COO of the foreign partner brand on host country consumers' responses to IBAs.

Leveraging Cofollowership Patterns on Social Media to Identify Brand Alliance Opportunities

The use of cobranding and brand extension strategies to access new markets has been a topic of significant interest. However, surprisingly few studies have examined cross-category connections of brands using publicly available digital footprints. In this study, the authors introduce a new, scalable automated approach for identifying potential cobranding and brand extension opportunities using brand networks derived from publicly available Twitter followership data. The digital user–brand relationship, established through followership activity, is regarded as an expression of interest toward the brand. Common followership patterns between brands are then extracted to capture cointerest between those brands’ audience. By utilizing the cointerest patterns, the approach aims to derive cross-category brand–brand and brand–category connections, which can serve as important measures for assessing cobranding and extensions opportunities. This article introduces a new construct, transcendence, which measures the extent to which a brand’s followers overlap with those of other brands in a new category. The analysis is conducted at different points in time to help managers track shifts in brand transcendence.

How Superhero Characters Shape Brand Alliances and Leverage the Local Brand: The Evidence from Indonesia

The success of superhero movies creates the superhero characters as the brand itself, which generates interest for other brands to collaborate by licensing businesses. However, the licensing business faces the challenge of convincing potential partners to use this character to grow the local brand. On another side, local brands keep looking for the advantage to leverage their business. This research aims to analyze the link the consumption value of the superhero characters to the memorable experience of superhero characters used on products and analyze how the conjunction of this experience with the host brand attitude could shape the brand alliance attitude in consumer perspectives. Furthermore, how this brand alliance could drive the willingness to pay more (WTPM) and the positive electronic word of mouth (eWOM) is assessed. This research was conducted using the Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings show that the brand alliance shaped from superhero characters with local brands as host brands has a significant impact on consumer willingness to pay more (WTPM) and eWOM. This study provides managerial implications for both business licensor management and local brand owners, and suggestions for future studies as well.

Co-branding research: where we are and where we could go from here

PurposeThe motivations behind co-branding alliances, the differences in performance between the paired brands and the emergence of “spillover effects” have been pillars of the marketing research agenda for almost three decades. We observe an extensive number of studies on co-branding alliances, combined with multiple theoretical perspectives and empirical approaches informing extant literature. The purpose of this paper is to summarize of the state of the art of this research.Design/methodology/approachThe authors offer a systematic literature review of 190 papers on co-branding alliances. The authors portray a picture of the theories informing co-branding research and build a conceptual framework that summarizes the concepts and variables used in this literature. Finally, 11 interviews with managers and consultants of European firms help to reveal potential problems in practice and needs that are not captured by previous studies.FindingsThe authors develop a map of theories used to investigate co-branding alliances and build a conceptual framework linking motivations, co-branding alliance implementation and outputs. Finally, the authors propose a structured research agenda.Research limitations/implicationsThe main implication relies on the structured research agenda.Practical implicationsPractical implications include the identification of the variables and dimensions involved in a brand alliance to exploit the strengths and moderate the weaknesses of a brand.Originality/valueThis paper highlights how co-branding is embedded in different contexts and dimensions regarding both firms and consumers. The two maps presented in this study underscore the interdependence among such dimensions. The authors interview marketing experts to validate the conceptual framework and to help us extract the managerial implications that stem from it.