Practices in the brand management system: identification and considerations for five business sectors

Purpose – Brand management systems (BMSs) are of prime importance for brands to monitor effective brand management and enhance firms' performance. The existing scales take various conceptual bases and sometimes eliminate some dimensions, depending on the sector of activity. Based on praxis and a variety of sectors, the purpose of this paper is to identify stable dimensions of BMSs and make configurational patterns emerge according to firms' and sector's characteristics. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 15 in-depth interviews (with a semi-structured questionnaire) were conducted with marketing and communication directors in five sectors of activity (cosmetics, convenience goods, industry, bank/insurance, media). Content analysis was used to examine the configurational patterns that emerged, following a strategy-as-practice approach. Findings – A general BMS pattern emerged from the content analysis with three dimensions: brand identity and values-based, hierarchically based, and implementation based. Interestingly, typical configurations were identified on each dimension and distinct configurational patterns for five sectors. Research limitations/implications – Additional research on other sectors is suggested to further validate the findings as well as building a scale on the basis of the general pattern to analyze the effect of BMS on performance. Practical implications – Configurational patterns represent a flexible, adaptive, and easy-to-apply way to approach and monitor BMS for researchers and managers. Originality/value – This cross-sector research delineates innovative and integrated BMS dimensions and subdimensions emerging from practice and examines their universality. The key subdimension(s) for each dimension is (are) identified and related to recent research on BMS.

[1]  Imran S. Currim,et al.  What Drives Managerial Use of Marketing and Financial Metrics and Does Metric Use Affect Performance of Marketing-Mix Activities? , 2013 .

[2]  PRODUCT MANAGEMENT ON TRIAL , 1978 .

[3]  L. Katsanis.  Some effects of changes in brand management systems: issues and implications , 1999 .

[4]  P. Harris.  We the people: The importance of employees in the process of building customer experience , 2007 .

[5]  Linda Gorchels,et al.  How to improve product management effectiveness , 1996 .

[6]  Robert W. Ruekert,et al.  Challenges and Opportunities Facing Brand Management: An Introduction to the Special Issue , 1994 .

[7]  Leslie de Chernatony,et al.  The Service Brand as Relationships Builder , 2000 .

[8]  L. Chernatony,et al.  Internal brand building and structuration: the role of leadership , 2006 .

[9]  Andreas Reckwitz.  Toward a Theory of Social Practices , 2002 .

[10]  Paul G. Patterson,et al.  The performance of industrial and consumer product managers , 1988 .

[11]  Alfred G. Meyer,et al.  Culture, a critical review of concepts and definitions , 1953 .

[12]  L. Chernatony.  Brand Management Through Narrowing the Gap Between Brand Identity and Brand Reputation , 1999 .

[13]  B. Merrilees,et al.  The performance benefits of being brand‐orientated , 2008 .

[14]  H. Wong,et al.  Closing the marketing strategy to performance gap: the role of brand orientation , 2007 .

[15]  Susan Fournier,et al.  Brands matter: An empirical demonstration of the creation of shareholder value through branding , 2006 .

[16]  J. M. Hoffman,et al.  Operationalizing productivity improvement programs through total quality management , 1999 .

[17]  M. Hatch,et al.  BRINGING THE CORPORATION INTO CORPORATE BRANDING , 2003 .

[18]  G. Hankinson,et al.  Branding in practice: The profile and role of brand managers in the UK , 1997 .

[19]  C. Baumgarth,et al.  Brand orientation and market orientation — From alternatives to synergy , 2013 .

[20]  Karen S. Cravens,et al.  Measuring customer focus: an examination of the relationship between market orientation and brand valuation , 2000 .

[21]  C. Macrae.  Brand Reality Editorial , 1999 .

[22]  R. Abratt,et al.  The Role of Corporate Communications in Developing a Corporate Brand Image and Reputation in Mauritius , 2009 .

[23]  C. Baumgarth.  “Living the brand”: brand orientation in the business‐to‐business sector , 2010 .

[24]  Elsie Maio.  Managing Brand in the New Stakeholder Environment , 2003 .

[25]  P. Jarzabkowski,et al.  Strategizing: The challenges of a practice perspective , 2007 .

[26]  A. Lindgreen,et al.  Industrial Global Brand Leadership: a Capabilities View , 2007 .

[27]  Kevin Lane Keller,et al.  A roadmap for branding in industrial markets , 2004 .

[28]  Leslie de Chernatony,et al.  Internal brand factors driving successful financial services brands , 2006 .

[29]  S. Knox,et al.  The six conventions of corporate branding , 2003 .

[30]  Chris Carter,et al.  So!apbox: editorial essays: Strategy as practice? , 2008 .

[31]  L. Melin,et al.  Strategy as Practice: Research Directions and Resources , 2007 .

[32]  D. Pitta,et al.  How should product managers’ job performance be evaluated in emerging product management systems? , 1996 .

[33]  Cleopatra Veloutsou,et al.  Brand managers’ interfaces in different consumer goods industries , 1999 .

[34]  M Schultz,et al.  Are the strategic stars aligned for your corporate brand? , 2001, Harvard business review.

[35]  Steven Lysonski,et al.  A boundary theory investigation of the product manager's role. , 1985 .

[36]  R. Whittington.  Strategy Practice and Strategy Process: Family Differences and the Sociological Eye , 2007 .

[37]  Majken Schultz,et al.  Taking Brand Initiative: How Companies Can Align Strategy, Culture, and Identity Through Corporate Branding , 2008 .

[38]  Bill Merrilees,et al.  Important factors to consider when using internal branding as a management strategy: A healthcare case study , 2006 .

[39]  L. Chernatony,et al.  Interactions between organisational cultures and corporate brands , 2008 .

[40]  Don E. Schultz,et al.  Strategic Brand Communication Campaigns , 1999 .

[41]  C. Baumgarth,et al.  How strong is the business-to-business brand in the workforce? An empirically-tested model of ‘internal brand equity’ in a business-to-business setting , 2010 .

[42]  Alladi Venkatesh,et al.  Interpersonal Influence in Product Management , 1976 .

[43]  L. Chernatony,et al.  The criteria for successful services brands , 2003 .

[44]  Interfaces of a Product Manager , 1969 .

[45]  S. Park,et al.  The impact of the brand management system on brand performance in B–B and B–C environments , 2008 .

[46]  An empirical study which compares the organisational structures of companies managing the World’s Top 100 brands with those managing Outsider brands , 1999 .

[47]  J. C. Flanagan.  Psychological Bulletin THE CRITICAL INCIDENT TECHNIQUE , 2022 .

[48]  María Leticia Santos-Vijande,et al.  The brand management system and service firm competitiveness , 2013 .

[49]  H. Reijonen,et al.  The brand orientation-performance relationship: An examination of moderation effects , 2013 .

[50]  L. Chernatony,et al.  Corporate marketing and service brands ‐ Moving beyond the fast‐moving consumer goods model , 2001 .

[51]  M. Urde.  Brand Orientation: A Mindset for Building Brands into Strategic Resources , 1999 .

[52]  Douglas B. Holt,et al.  How Brands Become Icons: The Principles of Cultural Branding , 2004 .

[53]  Martin J. Eppler,et al.  Brand new ventures? Insights on start‐ups' branding practices , 2010 .

[54]  Matthew B. Miles,et al.  Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook , 1994 .

[55]  P. Leeflang,et al.  Understanding the Marketing Department's Influence within the Firm , 2009 .

[56]  K. Bridson,et al.  The secret to a fashion advantage is brand orientation , 2004 .

[57]  T. Schatzki.  The Site of the Social: A Philosophical Account of the Constitution of Social Life and Change , 2002 .

[58]  George G. Panigyrakis,et al.  Brand teams and the brand management structure in pharmaceutical and other fast-moving consumer goods companies , 2001 .

[59]  Coming to America: Can Nordic brand values engage American stakeholders? , 2008 .

[60]  Heiner Evanschitzky,et al.  Internal branding: an enabler of employees' brand‐supporting behaviours , 2009 .

[61]  J. Moisander,et al.  Organizational dynamics and complexities of corporate brand building—A practice perspective , 2011 .

[62]  G. Low,et al.  Brands, Brand Management, and the Brand Manager System: A Critical-Historical Evaluation , 1994 .

[63]  B. Merrilees,et al.  Brand management to protect brand equity: A conceptual model , 2010 .

[64]  David Wilemon,et al.  Coping with Environmental Uncertainty and Boundary Spanning in the Product Manager′s Role , 1988 .

[65]  John M. T. Balmer,et al.  The Acid Test of Corporate Identity Management , 1999 .

[66]  Huan Zou,et al.  Antecedents and Performance Consequences of Integrated Brand Management in China: An Exploratory Study , 2011 .

[67]  Rune Bjerke,et al.  The concept of participatory market orientation: An organisation-wide approach to enhancing brand equity , 2007 .

[68]  B. Merrilees,et al.  Revisiting the complexities of corporate branding: Issues, paradoxes, solutions , 2013 .

[69]  Jean-Claude Usunier,et al.  Marketing Across Cultures , 2000 .

[70]  R. Whittington.  Completing the Practice Turn in Strategy Research , 2006 .