Brand Management Capabilities Research Articles

Strategic use of social media in marketing and financial performance: The B2B SME context

While the strategic use of social media (SM) for enhancing firm performance has attracted much attention, little is known about it through the lens of business-to-business (B2B) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Building on the market-driven view and the dynamic capabilities view of competitive strategy, we examine SM use in a framework of market-sensing and customer-linking capabilities that influence firm performance. Our research model posits that market orientation stimulates SM use to enhance market-sensing capability thereby facilitating two customer-linking capabilities, namely customer relationship management and brand management, which collectively contribute to greater marketing performance and financial performance. Our research model is empirically tested using a survey of 143 UK B2B SMEs. The findings broadly support our theorization in which the strategic use of SM, an essential part of market-sensing capability, enhances customer-linking capabilities. Interestingly, although SM use influences brand management capability, its suggested influences on both customer relationship management capability and marketing performance occur only through the mediation of brand management capability. Both customer-linking capabilities positively influence marketing performance and in turn financial performance. Our findings provide novel conceptual and empirical advancement of how market-centric B2B SMEs strategically use SM to enhance their market-sensing and in turn customer-linking capabilities, and hence firm performance.

Religio-centric Product Strategic: Halal Literacy and Brand Management Capabilities Towards Business Performance

Purpose – This study aims to explore a new model concept finding that can bridge the research gap of halal literacy relationships, brand management skills that are centralized to religio-centric product strategies and the commitment to diversity as a function of moderation.
 Design/methodology/approach – Quantitative methods were used to collect data from a total of 186 respondents with PLS-SEM, instruments used with questionnaires and interviews taken randomly from a population of 320 spread across the island of Java.
 Findings – This concept is a novelty in efforts to improve business performance based on the religious nature of centrists in determining product strategies. Furthermore, the growth of product brand innovation is increasingly dynamic, demanding the participation of religion in leading competitive brands and the dissemination of halal literacy
 Research limitations/implications – In the meantime, in-depth research has not yet been carried out on other dimensions of the function of the previous variable religio-centric product strategy, such as halal marketing innovation capabilities and information technology configuration of halal product literacy.
 Practical implications – the application of a religion-centred marketing strategy is the company's ability to provide innovation in product strategy decisions that are committed to religious values and can be leveraged in current market understanding and future market forecasts. For stakeholders, this is a new faith-based business opportunity that can open up new segments in heterogeneous market demands.
 Originality/value – To contribute ideas for knowledge about religious-product strategies and the ability of MSME businesses to spread the importance of halal brand products to customers and through attention on innovation strategies of customer religiosity product needs that are oriented to the needs of halal products customers.

Constituents of dynamic marketing capability: Strategic fit and heterogeneity in export performance

Using the Resource Based View and Dynamic Capability theoretical lenses, this paper provides such a strategic treatise in exploring how the underlying dimensions of DMC can be understood within a higher-order DMC strategy and the influence of the latter upon the export performance of firms from an emerging market. The empirical findings drawn from a sample of 315 exporters representing eight industries from Bangladesh show that the DMC is a second-order latent construct consisting of four marketing capabilities: proactive market orientation, brand management capability, new product development capability, and customer relationship management capability. Additionally, this study identified three clusters of firms and showed that, among them, enthusiastic embracers—which are characterized by high levels of activity across marketing capabilities, such as proactive market orientation and brand management capability—achieve better performance.

Managing Heritage Tourism Brand in South Africa: A Synthesis of Literature

This paper aims to explore how branding essentials can foster or derail heritage tourism growth. Brand management capabilities support heritage tourism destinations such as South Africa to achieve competitive advantage in the global tourism marketplace. Heritage tourism destinations in Africa operate within a highly competitive environment as most of them offer identical products and services to their clientele. Unique historical and political backgrounds associated with particular geographical regions foster their heritage tourism growth. Subsequently, in South Africa, different forms of tourism that exist within the heritage tourism niche such as cultural tourism have gained immense popularity as they attract numerous domestic and international tourists to heritage tourism sites. Branding as a composite of numerous essentials including, but not confined to, brand essence, brand image and brand loyalty, is believed to be a key factor that can either stimulate or hinder heritage tourism growth in tourist destinations including South Africa. A conceptual model has been developed in this paper, based on the interlinkages between the key essentials of destination branding and how they influence heritage tourism growth. This paper posits that there is a strong relationship and interrelatedness between destination branding and heritage tourism growth.

The Relationship between Consumers‘ Characteristics and the Expectations towards a Brand‘s Value

Purpose: The subject of this article is the identification and evaluation of communicated values and values actually declared by consumers' gender and age. Design/Methodology/Approach: The article presents a research approach based on a literature query and empirical research. Beginning by presenting the essence of both material and non-material values in marketing, the focus is on the values pyramid communicated by brands. The empirical research was conducted by the method of a diagnostic survey using a questionnaire on a representative sample of 1000 respondents. The principal research was preceded by a pilot survey. The research results were statistically processed using the Chi-square test of independence, the Mann–Whitney U test, the Kruskal–Wallis test, post-hoc Dunn test with Benjamini-Hochberg correction. Findings: The research analysis indicates differences in the assessment of declared and expected values towards cosmetic product brands between women and men, in particular concerning functional and life-changing values. The assessment of the declared and expected values also changes depending on age. Substantially different assessment is shown by the group of the youngest respondents. A particular difference is noticeable concerning the aesthetic value, the brand prestige and the heritage, tradition, as well as brand history. Practical Implications: To develop the brand management capability, organizations may benefit from cultivating processes that seek to meet the latent customer needs through explorative and proactive information seeking, and at the same time, pursuing processes that focus on capturing the existing customer and competitor trends in the market. Originality/Value: This study borrows from the existing research on market orientation, branding and brand management to argue that organizations are required to verify the actual expected values towards brands. Enterprises should also verify the consistency of the values declared by brands with those actually expected by consumers.

Religio-centric product strategy on marketing performance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate and test the role of religio-centric product strategy (RPS) in mediating the relationship among marketing innovativeness (MI), market sensing capability (MSC), customer relationship management capability (CRMC) and brand management capability (BMC) with marketing performance (MP) in a religious-based industry. This is in accordance with the conditions of Indonesian religious people and the increasing demand for Muslim fashion products.Design/methodology/approachThis paper selected 330 small fashion businesses in Indonesia and tested the regressive relations of the 6 constructs.FindingsThe findings showed that MI, MSC, CRMC and BMC have a positive effect on RPS and RPS also has a positive effect on MP, so that RPS acts as mediation in the relationship among MI, MSC, CRMC and BMC with MP.Research limitations/implicationsIn-depth research on other dimensions of the role of antecedent variable of RPS, such as NPD capability, specialized marketing capability, resource reconfiguration marketing capability, architectural marketing capability and marketing resources that are interesting to discuss (Morgan, 2012), has not been done in research.Originality/valueBy examining the literature on dynamic capability, marketing strategy, entrepreneurship and business performance, this paper offers a unique analysis of dynamic marketing capability and its impact on product strategy and MP in religious-based industries.

Dimensions of dynamic marketing capability and export performance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework on the dimensions of dynamic marketing capability (DMC) and its relationship with export performance. The paper also proposes the mediating role of competitive hybrid strategy and the moderating role of environmental responsiveness in explaining the relationship between DMC and export performance. Design/methodology/approach By following the dynamic capability notion of the marketing and competitive strategy literature, this paper proposes a novel conceptualization of the DMC development process and the possible effect of DMC on attaining competitive advantage. Findings The paper postulates that a firm’s DMC can reflect complementary power when its higher-level marketing capabilities are bundled together to detect distributing channel members’ crucial needs, competitors’ action plans and satisfying market demand. As yet little is known about the main underlying dimensions of higher-level DMC construct, the paper contributes in proposing the key dimensions of DMC. Originality/value This research advances the knowledge-based view and resource-based views and evolves a solid foundation of DMC constructs comprising four higher-order marketing capabilities, namely, ambidextrous market orientation, customer relationship management capability, brand management capability and new product development capability. Thus, this paper contributes in DMC literature in explaining export performance.

Organizational ambidexterity, brand management capability and brand performance

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which an organization’s pursuit of radical and disruptive innovations and refinement of existing processes and incremental innovations influence the brand management capability, and subsequently, the brand performance in business-to-business firms.Design/methodology/approachThe key informant approach is used for data collection. Panel data are obtained using the services of a reputable research firm. Existing scales are used to measure all the focal constructs. Partial least squares based structural equation modeling is used to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe results of this study indicate positive associations of both exploitative and exploratory innovation types with brand management processes. These findings signify the need for organizations to balance both these innovation types to maximize their performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis study prescribes an insight into the complex relationship that exists between organizational ambidexterity, brand management processes and brand performance, providing a framework that reconciles the seemingly conflicting goals of relevance and consistency in the development of brand management capability.Practical implicationsGiven that very few firms can achieve ambidexterity, this study provides a means to maximize the potential of this organizational process.Originality/valueThis study borrows from the existing research on brand management to argue that organizations are required to balance both exploitative and exploratory innovation types to maximize their performance.

How and when does the brand orientation-market orientation nexus matter?

PurposeWhile extant research highlights the importance of both market orientation and brand orientation in brand success, it is still unclear how they actually combine to contribute to brand performance. Grounded in the theoretical perspectives of the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities, this study unpacks how, and when, brand orientation and market orientation link systematically to influence brand performance.Design/methodology/approachIn testing the research hypotheses involving mediation and moderation effects, survey data were gathered from a sample of business firms in the manufacturing sector and analyzed through regression analysis.FindingsThe results suggest brand orientation manifests through market orientation to influence brand performance via the intervening mechanism of brand management capability. The results also suggest at high levels of competitive intensity, the systematic combination of market orientation and brand orientation is critical in facilitating brand management capability enhancement and subsequent brand performance.Originality/valueThis study extends current literature by providing a more detailed account of how brand orientation and market orientation systematically combine to yield superior brand performance via the mediating role of brand management capability. This study also provides further insights into how, in response to different levels of competitive intensity, the systematic combination of brand orientation and market orientation is managed to facilitate brand management capability enhancement and subsequent brand performance.

Making Italian fashion global: Brand building and management at Gruppo Finanziario Tessile (1950s‒1990s)

This paper deals with the role of brands in the emergence of the Italian fashion business. Starting from the mid-1950s, the main Italian clothing manufacturer Gruppo Finanziario Tessile (GFT) managed brands to build a domestic market for mass-produced clothing. In the 1970s increasing competition and changing consumption patterns pushed GFT towards partnerships with leading fashion designers for building new brands and entering international markets. The emergence of strong designers’ brands determined major organisational challenges that resulted in opposite outcomes: the demise of GFT, which failed in its attempt to control the entire value chain, and designers’ achievement of an international standing in the fashion industry thanks to improved brand management capabilities.

Unpacking brand management superiority

PurposeA strong brand is one that consumers know and perceive as differentiated from competing brands. Building brands with high levels of awareness and uniqueness is critical to ensuring brand strength and sustained competitiveness. To this end, the roles of brand management capability and brand orientation are highlighted. However, given the significance of consistency in branding, firms’ brand management capability and brand orientation alone may not be sufficient, and a mechanism that facilitates branding consistency is required. In the integrating marketing control theory with the resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic capabilities (DC) theory, this study aims to examine how a firm’s brand orientation, when supported by formalisation, contributes to building brands with high levels of awareness and uniqueness through the intervening role of brand management capability.Design/methodology/approachIn testing the hypotheses proposed in this study, survey data were drawn from a sample of firms operating in the consumer goods sector and examined through hierarchical regression analysis.FindingsThis study finds that firms are more likely to build brands with high levels of awareness and uniqueness in the market when their brand orientation is supported by formalisation, because this combination (brand orientation and formalisation) facilitates branding consistency and brand management capability development.Originality/valueIn weaving together the theoretical perspectives of marketing control, RBV and DC, this study extends current knowledge by showing that brand management capability and brand orientation alone are insufficient for building brands with high levels of awareness and uniqueness. Instead, maximising their performance effects requires the support of formalisation.

Marketing Capabilities Drive Competitive Advantages: Evidence from China’s Agribusinesses

Agribusinesses must develop key marketing capabilities to achieve and sustain competitive advantages with the fast changes in customer demand and the complex natures in agricultural production. This study examines how six specialized marketing capabilities affect different types of competitive advantages and their relationship-influenced contingencies in China’s agribusinesses. A survey of 268 agribusinesses indicates that product development capability is an important driver of cost and product advantages; brand management capability is positively related to product and service advantages; both selling capability and pricing capability have proposed effects on service advantage. The achievement of service advantage, derived from brand management and pricing capabilities, is contingent on ownerships.

Improving the effectiveness of market-oriented organisation: Empirical evidence from an emerging economy

In the context of an emerging market economy, this study examines the mediating role of marketing capabilities on the market orientation (MO)–performance relationship. Specifically, the authors investigate the roles of product innovativeness, customer relationship management (CRM) capability, research and development (R&D) integration and brand management capabilities in the institutionalisation of a MO culture and the implementation of MO behaviours. With data collected from 150 organisations, the authors find that MO behaviour fully mediates the effects of MO culture on product innovativeness and CRM capability, which in turn enhance firm performance. In addition, leadership quality facilitates the effect of MO culture on MO behaviour, and the effects of product innovativeness and CRM capability on firm performance are greater in the presence of R&D–marketing integration and brand management capabilities, respectively.

Mastering the complementarity between marketing mix and customer-focused capabilities to enhance new product performance

Purpose – This study aims to address the extent that the deployment of and complementarity between marketing mix and customer-focused (brand management, and customer relationship management) capabilities provide firms the capacity to transform their market knowledge into effective responsive actions that help to achieve new product success. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was used as the primary means of data collection. Data from 160 large business-to-business firms across a variety of industries in Iran were analyzed using partial least squares regression to test the hypothesized paths. Findings – The results show that market-oriented firms are better at deploying marketing mix, brand management and customer relationship management capabilities, and these capabilities help to drive new product performance, and the complementarity between these marketing capabilities enhances the firm’s capacity to achieve new product success more than deploying each capability in isolation. Originality/value – In contrast to many existing studies, this study is the first to examine the role of marketing mix, brand management and customer relationship management capabilities and their complementarity as intervening mechanisms in the relationship between market orientation (MO) and new product performance. Further, this study extends the marketing literature by investigating the role of different forms of marketing capabilities in a complementary fashion in the context of a Middle Eastern economy.

What makes a brand manager effective?

Brands have become increasingly important as a foundation for competitive strategy. Unfortunately, although brand managers are responsible for brand strategy development and execution, little is known about what makes a brand manager effective. A model is developed to understand what intangible capital embodied by brand managers influences brand management capabilities and resultant brand performance. Measures of brand manager intangible capital and brand management capabilities are developed through an iterative scale development process. Hypothesis testing, derived from a survey of brand managers, indicates that brand manager human, relational and informational capital influences brand management capabilities and resultant brand performance, and brand manager intangible capital has an indirect effect on brand performance via brand management capabilities. By delineating and operationalizing the intangible capital and capabilities of brand managers, this study provides a theoretical and empirical foundation for future research on brand managers, tools for assessing current brand manager capital and capabilities, and guidance in relation to intangible capital and capabilities needed by brand managers.

Leveraging firm-level marketing capabilities with marketing employee development

Using the theoretical foundations of the resource-based view of the firm, this study develops and measures marketing employee development capabilities and investigates how it moderates the relationships between brand and customer relationship management capabilities and firm performance outcomes. Based on a random sample survey of chief marketing executives from selected industries, combined with objective firm performance indicators and controls, results demonstrate that marketing employee development capabilities can leverage the relationships between firm-level marketing capabilities and customer satisfaction, market effectiveness, and objective financial performance. Further, these results show that such capabilities can be complementary and, in some cases, even substitute for each other, which improves organizational performance. Implications for researchers and marketing managers are discussed.

Linking marketing capabilities with profit growth

Profit growth is one of the primary drivers of a firm's stock price and therefore is a clear priority for managers. Yet little is known about how a firm's marketing capabilities may be linked with its profit growth. In this study, we use data from a cross-industry sample of 114 firms to investigate how market sensing, brand management, and customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities determine firms' revenue growth and margin growth—the two components of profit growth. Our results reveal that these marketing capabilities have direct and complementary effects on both revenue and margin growth rates. Critically, we find that brand management and CRM capabilities have opposing effects on revenue and margin growth rates, such that a failure to examine these two underlying components would mask the relationships between these marketing capabilities and ultimate profit growth rates.