From mission statement to airline branding

As a communication tool a mission statement seeks to convey a message to employees, shareholders and a wider world that includes customers and media. A good mission statement and accompanying branding strategy can be important for an airline, as together they may increase passenger confidence in the carrier. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between mission statements and brand equity, with the existence of trust in a brand as a moderating variable. A sample of 518 passengers were surveyed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport using random sampling. The results, using structural equation modeling, show positive relationships between an airline's mission statement and passenger perceptions of brand trust and brand equity. Furthermore, brand trust plays the role of mediator in the relationship between brand equity and passenger perception. The study contributes to research on mission statements with reference to the aviation industry, helps airline managers have a clearer understanding of the relationship between mission statements, brand trust and brand equity and makes suggestions as to how the relationship may be used in practice.

[1]  Sulin Ba,et al.  Establishing Online Trust Through a Community Responsibility System , 2001, Decis. Support Syst..

[2]  Written Corporate Communication Policy: Extent, Coverage, Costs, Benefits , 1987 .

[3]  L. De Chernatony,et al.  From brand vision to brand evaluation , 2001 .

[4]  Jenny S. Wesche,et al.  Effectiveness of mission statements in organizations – A review , 2012 .

[5]  Y. Ekinci,et al.  Brand equity, brand loyalty and consumer satisfaction , 2011 .

[6]  R. MacCallum,et al.  Power Analysis in Covariance Structure Modeling Using GFI and AGFI. , 1997, Multivariate behavioral research.

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

[8]  R. Bagozzi,et al.  On the evaluation of structural equation models , 1988 .

[9]  P. Aggarwal.  The Effects of Brand Relationship Norms on Consumer Attitudes and Behavior , 2004 .

[10]  A. Khalifa.  Three Fs for the mission statement: what's next? , 2011 .

[11]  W. Glynn Mangold,et al.  Positioning Southwest Airlines through employee branding , 2005 .

[12]  A. Prinzie,et al.  Looking for the value of mission statements: a meta‐analysis of 20 years of research , 2011 .

[13]  M. Urde.  Core value-based corporate brand building , 2003 .

[14]  J. Aaker,et al.  Dimensions of Brand Personality , 1997 .

[15]  R. Chun,et al.  E-reputation: The role of mission and vision statements in positioning strategy , 2001 .

[16]  A. Campbell,et al.  Creating a sense of mission. , 1991, Long range planning.

[17]  Myron Glassman,et al.  Do Firms Practice What They Preach? The Relationship Between Mission Statements and Stakeholder Management , 2008 .

[18]  J. Munuera-Aleman,et al.  Does brand trust matter to brand equity , 2005 .

[19]  Chiranjeev Kohli,et al.  Corporate identity: The role of mission statements , 1997 .

[20]  Paul A. Pavlou,et al.  Understanding and Mitigating Uncertainty in Online Exchange Relationships: A Principal-Agent Perspective , 2007, MIS Q..

[21]  Carmen Cox,et al.  Building brand equity between manufacturers and retailers , 2009 .

[22]  Henry H. Emurian,et al.  An overview of online trust: Concepts, elements, and implications , 2005, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[23]  Jagdip Singh,et al.  Consumer Trust, Value, and Loyalty in Relational Exchanges , 2002 .

[24]  S. Cunningham,et al.  Expressing Identity and Shaping Image: The Relationship between Corporate Mission and Corporate Sponsorship , 2009 .

[25]  Sharon Kemp,et al.  Mission statements of international airlines: a content analysis , 2003 .

[26]  L. Chernatony,et al.  Examining the role of advertising and sales promotions in brand equity creation , 2013 .

[27]  Developing and Applying a Place Brand Identity Model: The Case of Slovenia , 2013 .

[28]  Gérard Cliquet,et al.  Retail brand equity: Conceptualization and measurement , 2012 .

[29]  S. Kraus,et al.  The impact of brand authenticity on brand trust and SME growth: A CEO perspective , 2013 .

[30]  Ching-Fu Chen,et al.  Airline brand equity, brand preference, and purchase intentions-The moderating effects of switching costs , 2008 .

[31]  G. Bick.  Increasing shareholder value through building Customer and Brand Equity , 2009 .

[32]  D. Gefen,et al.  E-commerce: the role of familiarity and trust , 2000 .

[33]  Kevin Lane Keller.  Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity , 1997 .

[34]  Stephen L. Vargo,et al.  The evolving brand logic: a service-dominant logic perspective , 2009 .

[35]  A Campbell,et al.  Brief case: mission, vision and strategic intent. , 1991, Long range planning.

[36]  Christian Homburg,et al.  Brand awareness in business markets: When is it related to firm performance? , 2010 .

[37]  John V. Mullane,et al.  Reinvigorating the mission statement through top management commitment , 2014 .

[38]  J. Seligman.  Creating Value in School Education Marketing Through the Cocreation Process – A Conceptual Paper , 2012 .

[39]  Stephen W. Wang.  Do global airline alliances influence the passenger's purchase decision? , 2014 .

[40]  Yi-Hsin Lin.  Knowledge brokering for transference to the pilot's safety behavior , 2012 .

[41]  An exploratory study of the relationship between customer-based casino brand equity and firm performance. , 2010 .

[42]  Jenni Romaniuk,et al.  Behavioral brand loyalty and consumer brand associations , 2013 .

[43]  Chao-Min Chiu,et al.  Antecedents of trust in online auctions , 2010, Electron. Commer. Res. Appl..

[44]  Paul Hong,et al.  Corporate mission, corporate policies and business outcomes: evidence from Japan , 2010 .

[45]  R. Ireland,et al.  Mission statements: Importance, challenge, and recommendations for development , 1992 .

[46]  J. Pearce,et al.  Corporate Mission Statements: The Bottom Line , 1987 .

[47]  Consuelo Vásquez,et al.  From being branded to doing branding: Studying representation practices from a communication-centered approach , 2013 .

[48]  S. Hunt,et al.  The Commitment-Trust Theory of Relationship Marketing , 1994 .

[49]  Anna S. Mattila,et al.  The Impact of Relationship Type on Customer Loyalty in a Context of Service Failures , 2001 .

[50]  Charles J. Kacmar,et al.  Developing and Validating Trust Measures for e-Commerce: An Integrative Typology , 2002, Inf. Syst. Res..

[51]  Carl Case,et al.  Current Mission Statement Emphasis: Be Ethical and Go Global , 2010 .

[52]  Roland T. Rust,et al.  Driving Customer Equity: How Customer Lifetime Value is Reshaping Corporate Strategy (Управление ценностью клиентуры: как ценность клиентской базы изменяет корпоративную стратегию) , 2000 .

[53]  Diana Ingenhoff,et al.  Positioning and differentiation by using brand personality attributes , 2010 .

[54]  D. Gilbert,et al.  PASSENGER EXPECTATIONS AND AIRLINE SERVICES: A HONG KONG BASED STUDY , 2003 .

[55]  P. Dawes,et al.  An extended model of the antecedents and consequences of consumer satisfaction for hospitality services , 2008 .

[56]  P. Hewer,et al.  'The exploding plastic inevitable' : ‘Branding being’, brand Warhol and the factory years , 2013 .

[57]  Ching-Fu Chen,et al.  Exploring Customer-based Airline Brand Equity: Evidence from Taiwan , 2010, Transportation Journal.

[58]  Soobin Seo,et al.  The roles of brand equity and branding strategy: A study of restaurant food crises , 2013 .

[59]  Barbara R. Bartkus,et al.  Mission Statement Quality and Financial Performance , 2006 .

[60]  Jonathan Goldstine,et al.  What High-Tech Managers Need to Know About Brands , 1999 .

[61]  Jin-Soo Lee,et al.  Attendee-based brand equity , 2008 .

[62]  R. Bruce McAfee,et al.  A Comparison of the Quality of European, Japanese and U.S. Mission Statements:: A Content Analysis , 2004 .

[63]  Stephen S. Tax,et al.  Customer Evaluations of Service Complaint Experiences: Implications for Relationship Marketing: , 1998 .

[64]  A. Karami,et al.  Managers of small and medium enterprises: mission statement and enhanced organisational performance , 2009 .

[65]  Kevin Lane Keller.  Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Managing Customer-Based Brand Equity , 1993 .

[66]  Hyunsun Park,et al.  Effects of various characteristics of social commerce (s-commerce) on consumers' trust and trust performance , 2013, Int. J. Inf. Manag..

[67]  Stephen L. Vargo,et al.  Evolving to a New Dominant Logic for Marketing , 2004 .

[68]  Huei Huang Kuan,et al.  The progression of online trust in the multi-channel retailer context and the role of product uncertainty , 2012, Decis. Support Syst..

[69]  G. Foxall,et al.  Consumer-based brand equity and brand performance , 2008 .

[70]  Karl G. Jöreskog,et al.  LISREL 7: A guide to the program and applications , 1988 .

[71]  Lin Jian,et al.  Empirical Research on Influence of Mission Statements on the Performance of Nonprofit Organization , 2011 .

[72]  D. Aaker.  MEASURING BRAND EQUITY ACROSS PRODUCTS AND MARKETS , 1996 .

[73]  Ilyoo B. Hong,et al.  The impact of consumer trust on attitudinal loyalty and purchase intentions in B2C e-marketplaces: Intermediary trust vs. seller trust , 2011, Int. J. Inf. Manag..

[74]  Namho Chung,et al.  The effect of perceived trust on electronic commerce: Shopping online for tourism products and services in South Korea , 2011 .

[75]  Dominic Detzen,et al.  The impact of low cost airline entry on competition, network expansion, and stock valuations , 2012 .

[76]  E. Montaguti,et al.  Managing brand extension via licensing: An investigation into the high-end fashion industry , 2008 .

[77]  Robert A. Simons.  How risky is your company? , 1999, Harvard business review.

[78]  Christian Homburg,et al.  Applications of structural equation modeling in marketing and consumer research: A review , 1996 .

[79]  Mohammad Reza Habibi,et al.  The effects of social media based brand communities on brand community markers, value creation practices, brand trust and brand loyalty , 2012, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[80]  John V. Mullane.  The mission statement is a strategic tool: when used properly , 2002 .

[81]  Debbie Vigar-Ellis,et al.  The importance of choice attributes and the positions of the airlines within the South African domestic passenger airline industry as perceived by passengers at Durban International Airport , 2012 .

[82]  Christopher K. Bart,et al.  Industrial firms and the power of mission , 1997 .

[83]  J. G. Holmes.  Trust and the appraisal process in close relationships. , 1991 .

[84]  M. Holbrook,et al.  The Chain of Effects from Brand Trust and Brand Affect to Brand Performance: The Role of Brand Loyalty , 2001 .

[85]  G. Lohmann,et al.  Airport branding: content analysis of vision statements , 2014 .