Industrial Brand Equity Research Articles

Corporate industrial brand equity and firm creditworthiness: The role of climate change commercial risks and opportunities recognition

Whilst a multitude of studies explored the financial implications of corporate brand equity in a B2C context, little is known as to the financial impact of B2B brand equity. Furthermore, no study, to our knowledge, has examined how climate change-related corporate practices affect the nexus between B2B brand equity and financial aspects (i.e., creditworthiness) of B2B firms. Drawing propositions from the resource dependence theory (RDT) and the natural resource-based view of the firm (NRBV), this study develops a parsimonious conceptual model to investigate the relationship between B2B brand equity and a firm's long-term creditworthiness. Given B2B firms' increasing engagement in pro-environmental initiatives, the model also incorporates a firm's ability to recognize climate change-related commercial risks and opportunities as a moderator. Drawing samples from USA-based B2B firms, the conceptual model is tested through robust econometric modelling techniques. The results demonstrate that higher B2B brand equity leads to higher long-term creditworthiness of a firm. Further, the positive association between B2B brand equity and creditworthiness is accentuated by climate change commercial risks and opportunities recognition (CCCROR). That is, a firm's capacity to identify challenges and opportunities emanating from the inexorable global climate change further bolsters the positive link between industrial brand equity and long-term creditworthiness. These findings are robust to a battery of sensitivity analyses, including multi-level mixed effect and endogeneity-robust modelling techniques.

The value in doing good: perspective from the Indian manufacturing sector

PurposeThis study aims to identity the component of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and examine its role in industrial brand equity creation. This study examines the path via value proposition derived by industrial buyers through social performance of suppliers.Design/methodology/approachDrawing from the means-end chain paradigm, this study develops a conceptual model illustrating consequences of CSR perception. The model is empirically tested with 404 purchasing managers of manufacturing firms in India.FindingsThis study finds an empirical link between the CSR perception among industry buyers with consumption value and subsequent impact on industrial brand equity of suppliers. This study addresses the conundrum related to the role of social performance of supplier in purchase decision.Research limitations/implicationsThe brand preference decision among industrial buyers has majorly focused on price quality conundrum. The supplier groups emphasis on providing the value to customer group across the price quality continuum. However, with growing importance of social accountability, the social performance of suppliers has become integral to decision-making for decision-makers. The supplier groups are expected to create offering with amalgamation of social responsiveness.Originality/valueTo the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate the impact of CSR perception on value proposition for industrial buyers. Multiple theories have advanced the importance of value in brand equity; the empirical study is probably first in the context.

How does corporate learning orientation enhance industrial brand equity? The roles of firm capabilities and size

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the role of learning orientation in building brand equity for B2B firms. The present research proposes that learning orientation contributes to the development of innovation and marketing capabilities and, in turn, leads to enhanced industrial brand equity. Furthermore, the moderating effect of firm size in these processes is investigated.Design/methodology/approachThe hypotheses are tested by administering a survey with a set of managers of manufacturing firms in China.FindingsInnovation capability and marketing capability serve as the mediators between learning orientation and industrial brand equity. The mediating path through innovation capability is stronger for small firms than for large firms.Research limitations/implicationsLearning orientation provides a cultural base for B2B firms to cultivate brand equity. Measurement of industrial brand equity and contingency of its effect requires further investigation.Practical implicationsTo transform learning-oriented culture into brand equity, firms need to develop and manage innovation and marketing capabilities. The learning orientation–innovation capability route is more beneficial for small firms.Originality/valueWhile a majority of prior literature ignores the impact of organizational culture in driving industrial brand equity, the present research explores learning orientation as a key cultural antecedent of industrial brand equity. A more refined industrial-brand-equity-building mechanism from learning orientation to corporate capabilities and then to brand equity is proposed and tested. The mechanism varies with firm size.

A Study of the Impacts of Firms' Capacity and Collaborative Values on Industrial Brand Equity in the Industrial Estate of Bushehr Province: A Case Study of Manufacturing Companies

A Study of the Impacts of Firms' Capacity and Collaborative Values on Industrial Brand Equity in the Industrial Estate of Bushehr Province: A Case Study of Manufacturing Companies

Explicating Industrial Brand Equity in Liberalized Energy Market in Egypt

Explicating Industrial Brand Equity in Liberalized Energy Market in Egypt

Building industrial brand equity on resource advantage

Based on resource advantage theory of competition, we attempt to identify industrial brand equity dimensions in today's competitive, high-technology, and global business-to-business environment. Through a quantitative study with 443 buying center members who are purchase decision makers, we find that industrial brand equity can be established in a number of dimensions: (1) functional advantage in products, (2) solution advantage in services, (3) analytical advantage in CRM, (4) omni-channel advantage in communication, (5) symbolic advantage in publicity, and (6) network advantage in resource sharing. The six dimensions have significant impacts on customer perceived value and brand loyalty. Furthermore, purchasers, managers, and users, who undertake major decision making roles in the buying center, weigh these dimensions differently during brand evaluations. The findings suggest that industrial brand managers focus on building brand equity through establishing key resource advantages in the different brand usage situations encountered by buying center members.

DAMPAK STRATEGIS PROGRAM CSR TERHADAP KINERJA MEREK, EKUITAS MEREK DAN REPUTASI PERUSAHAAN DI NEGERA BERKEMBANG : PENGUJIAN TERHADAP TEORI META ANALISIS

Currently CSR is a sustainable development strategy for the distribution of welfare of the people in various countries around the world through corporation activity. Therefore, on the effort of increasing welfare of nation state, government establishes the development model towards CSR corporation program as the spreading welfare strategy. This study seeks to investigate whether the strategic effect of CSR program activities on brand performance, industrial brand equity and corporate reputation in order to understand the real effects of actual CSR activities. This research to investigate and treat CSR as a whole construct on CSR program activities which covers several dimensions such as economic, social, and environmental. Specifically, this study test a meta-model of CSR. It is expected to become the basis of measurement models which provide valuable input for coping strategies and actions to be taken to reconstruct the CSR strategy and management programs that significantly impact on brand performance, industrial brand equity and corporate reputation in the future. In this study, the importance of this research will be presented for consideration and relevance in the context of future development.

Explicating industrial brand equity

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore brand equity from multiple perspectives (tangible and intangible) and their joint consequences, namely, on industrial buyers’ brand loyalty and their long-term commitment. The aim is to provide a more comprehensive framework of the buyer’s behavioral response in the business-to-business context by integrating both trust elements and industrial brand attributes (brand performance and industrial brand image). In addition, the study explores the mediation effects of trust and brand attributes on industrial buyers’ responses such as loyalty and long-term commitment.Design/methodology/approach– Using a survey approach, the study includes respondents working in the heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) industry in Malaysia, and data are collected in the industrial air-conditioning segment. The research model was tested with SEM.Findings– Findings show that brand performance and industrial brand image directly affect brand trust but with different effects on buyers’ commitment and loyalty. Interestingly, industrial brand image only mediates the responses via brand trust, while brand performance has a direct effect. Thus, both brand performance and industrial brand image build buyer trust. But in this context, it is brand performance rather than industrial brand image that influences long-term commitment and loyalty. The study concludes that in the HVAC industry, brand performance, industrial brand image, buyer trust, industrial loyalty and commitment build brand equity.Originality/value– Significant research reveals that, in business-to-business contexts, brand equity depends on the supplier’s brand trust and attributes of the brand such as brand image and brand performance. While useful in guiding a supplier’s or industry’s brand strategy, the study of both brand trust and brand attributes has led to only a partial explanation of the supplier’s or industry’s brand equity. The present research explores industrial brand equity, focussing on tangible assets (performance) and intangible assets (brand image), and their joint consequences.

Building industrial brand equity by leveraging firm capabilities and co-creating value with customers

Few studies have examined potential impacts of firm's capabilities upon industrial brand equity, and it remains unclear how value co-creation exerts an effect in the capabilities–branding link. This paper reports the findings of an empirical study conducted among 212 Chinese firms regarding the roles of firm's capabilities in value co-creation, customer value and brand equity development in B2B environment. The result indicates that marketing capability and networking capability build up brand equity both directly and indirectly via value co-creation and customer value, while innovation capability positively impacts brand equity indirectly by facilitating value co-creation and improving customer value. The study contributes to literature of industrial branding and value co-creation by probing into capabilities as their determinants. The findings provide managerial implications for building B2B brand equity by leveraging firm's capabilities and co-creating value with customers.

Modeling buyer-based brand equity in industrial settings

This article proposes and empirically tests a model of buyer-based brand equity in industrial settings. We conceptualize industrial buyer-based brand equity as a second-order construct. We examine the mediating role of buyer-based brand equity and the determinant role of corporate reputation.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Brand Advocacy in Business-to-Business Market: The Mediated Moderating Effect of Attribution

This paper examines how industrial buyers’ attributions of their suppliers’ actions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) are related to both the brand advocacy and brand equity. Using a sample of 173 questionnaires gathered in Taiwan, we find that CSR perceptions of industrial buyers are more strongly and positively related to brand advocacy and brand equity when industrial buyers interpret CSR activities of their suppliers as driven more by intrinsic motives and less by extrinsic motives. Furthermore, brand advocacy mediates the interactive effects of CSR and CSR attribution on industrial brand equity.

Relationship quality as a resource to build industrial brand equity when products are uncertain and future-based

This article extends our understanding of industrial branding and the influence of buyer–seller relationships by examining key constructs within an industrial context where products are uncertain and future-based. SEM results elicited from 249 buyer surveys empirically validate satisfaction, trust and commitment as dimensions of relationship quality, and show that buyer–seller relationship quality facilitates direct and indirect seller brand equity accruals. Findings reveal that while focusing on sellers' corporate and product brands is good advice for building buyer–seller relationships, seller resource allocations to these areas should vary depending upon the selected target market segment(s). Findings support that sellers should place more focus on developing quality relationships with buyers than they should in focusing on the non-relational attributes of their corporate brands; however, if sellers choose to bypass building high quality customer relationships, they should instead funnel resources into their product brand offerings. Findings demonstrate that buyers credit their own skills and acumen when evaluating products with which they are confident, and ascribe increased value to the involvement of the seller as their attitude and certainty decrease. These findings provide strategic guidance to the sellers of uncertain and future-based industrial products.

Do country‐of‐manufacture and country‐of‐design matter to industrial brand equity?

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the effects of country‐of‐manufacture (COM) and country‐of‐design (COD) on industrial brand equity.Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual framework to assess how international buyers evaluate industrial brand equity when confronted with a single cue and multiple cues is proposed. Data for testing the hypotheses are collected through fax, e‐mail, and online surveys of managers from 102 industrial buyers of Taiwanese fasteners. A quantitative study is undertaken of 64 respondents using PLS analysis.Findings – The main finding is that the single‐cue framework produces more statistically significant COM and COD effects on industrial brand equity than does the multiple‐cue framework. The current results confirm previous findings that the country‐of‐origin effects based on single‐cue and multiple‐cue studies produce conflicting and inconclusive results.Research limitations/implications – These findings underscore the findings that the impacts of COM and COD on indust...

A framework of brand value in B2B markets: The contributing role of functional and emotional components

The creation of value is admittedly a critical task for marketers regardless of industry. This paper focuses on a type of value that has traditionally been perceived as irrelevant to industrial markets and argues that brand value facilitates the progression from goods and services value to relationship value. To address the limited amount of research on B2B branding from the suppliers' point of view, we complement insights gained from a literature review with ten exploratory interviews with B2B supplier managers, and develop a framework of brand value applicable to industrial markets. This identifies both the functional (i.e., quality, technology, capacity, infrastructure, after sales service, capabilities, reliability, innovation) and emotional qualities (i.e., risk reduction, reassurance, trust) important for the development of industrial brand equity. Situational (e.g. nature of the purchase) and environmental factors (e.g. the economic situation) affecting suppliers' perceptions of the importance of brand in a B2B context and the role of functional versus emotional brand qualities are discussed. The value of the brand as a driver for the development of business to business relationships is also highlighted. The framework provides a basis for B2B practitioners to build their brands in such a way as to make a functional as well as an emotional connection with buyers that is more likely to lead to a supplier–buyer relationship.

Country-of-origin effects and antecedents of industrial brand equity

Does the country-of-origin effect matter to industrial brand equity in international business-to-business (B2B) markets? The effect of a product's country-of-origin (COO) on both industrial buyers' and consumers' perceptions and evaluations has been one of the most widely studied phenomena in the fields of international business, marketing, and consumer behavior since the 1960s. Although many country-of-origin studies focus on consumer behavior in developed countries and acknowledge that the processes and stages of economic development by which consumers use COO information may differ in developing countries, the fact that there has been little research to investigate the effects of COO could explain the variations in international buyers' evaluations of industrial brand equity in the newly-industrialized economies, such as Taiwan. Taiwanese firms are now formidable global B2B market players by successfully transforming themselves from manufacturing mainly low-value and labor-intensive goods to producing many high value-added products that require advanced technology, equipment and significant business expertise. With the adoption of advanced technology and equipment, an important question is whether unique and innovative fastener products from Taiwan have generated the country-of-origin effects in international B2B buyers' minds. The main finding is that the country-of-origin of fasteners has not yet become an important antecedent of industrial brand equity in the case of the fastener industry in Taiwan.

A literature review and future agenda for B2B branding: Challenges of branding in a B2B context

The existing body of research knowledge on brand management has been predominantly derived from business-to-consumer markets, particularly fast moving consumer goods and has only recently started to expand in other contexts. Branding in business-to-business markets has received comparatively little attention in the academic literature due to a belief that industrial buyers are unaffected by the emotional values corresponding to brands. This paper provides a critical discussion of the fragmented literature on business-to-business branding which is organized in five themes: B2B branding benefits; the role of B2B brands in the decision making process; B2B brand architecture; B2B brands as communication enablers and relationship builders; and industrial brand equity. Drawing on the gaps and contradictions in the literature the paper concludes by proposing an agenda for future research.

Managing industrial brand equity: Developing tangible benefits for intangible assets

Young and Rubicam's (Y&R) BrandAsset Valuator® (BAV), commonly used to assess brand equity in consumer markets, was applied to assess the brand health of an industrial B2B supplier. Customers were asked questions about perceived esteem, relevance, knowledge and differentiation of the company to find its strengths and weaknesses. The results were then plotted to reveal the overall customer perception of the company and also its competitors. Through this plot, the strategic direction how to improve the brand equity of the company became clear. Evidence suggests that the BAV can be used in industrial markets to assess the brand equity of the firm.

The Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility on Brand Performance: The Mediating Effect of Industrial Brand Equity and Corporate Reputation

In this article, the researchers explore the following question. Can corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the corporate reputation of a firm lead to its brand equity in business-to-business (B2B) markets? This study discusses CSR from customers’ viewpoints by taking the sample of industrial purchasers from Taiwan small-medium enterprises. The aims of this study are to investigate: first, the effects of CSR and corporate reputation on industrial brand equity; second, the effects of CSR, corporate reputation, and brand equity on brand performance; and third, the mediating effects of corporate reputation and industrial brand equity on the relationship between CSR and brand performance. Empirical results support the study’s hypotheses and indicate that CSR and corporate reputation have positive effects on industrial brand equity and brand performance. In addition, corporate reputation and industrial brand equity partially mediate the relationship between CSR and brand performance.

Marketing antecedents of industrial brand equity: An empirical investigation in specialty chemicals

Industrial branding has emerged as an important issue, allowing firms to gain substantial competitive advantage, especially in markets where product commoditization and electronic procurement are on the increase. This article proposes, and empirically validates, a theoretically structured approach to measure brand equity, its antecedents and its consequences for industrial products. The model distinguishes between product and corporate brand equity, uses buyer perceived performance on the dimensions of the marketing mix as antecedents of brand equity, and relates them to re-purchase and loyalty intentions.