Contents
Introduction
. Literature review on brand identity
. Defining B2B service brand identity
. Research methodology
. Scale development
. Analysis
Introduction
the early 1990s brand identity has been the subject of increased academic interest (Aaker, 1991,1996; Aaker & Joachimsthaler, 2000; Alsem & Kostelijik, 2008; Beverland, Napoli, & Lindgreen, 2007; Beverland, Napoli, & Yakimova, 2007; de Chernatony, 1999; de Chernatony, McDonald, & Wallace, 2010; Kapferer, 1997, 2004; Keller, 1998,2003; Madhavaram, Badrinarayanan, & McDonald, 2005) . Organizations that present a cohesive, distinctive and relevant brand identity can create preference in the market place, add value to their offer and command premium prices. Building brand identity also fosters trust, facilitates differentiation and helps customers « identification with the brand. More broadly, developing a B2B brand has a positive effect on perceived quality, helps build customer loyalty, increases company power in the distribution network, drives sales volume and revenue whilst adding to balance sheet value in the event of sale. Consequently, research providing brand identity management insight has the potential to be of considerable academic and managerial interest.several brand identity frameworks have been published in the B2C literature only a small number of studies have considered brand identity in a B2B context. The development and validation of B2B related frameworks is of particular note given the unique characteristics of B2B markets.characteristics include multifaceted supply chain relationships, a complex selling process to a decision making unit, highly customized solutions, a smaller number of more powerful clients, high value transactions and the predominance of personal selling which places a greater emphasis on managing the human resource which implement the brand strategy.research contributes to the dearth of empirical research on brand identity in a B2B service context by developing a valid, reliable and parsimonious B2B service brand identity scale. The scale provides a psychometrically sound way to measure and reveal the construct »s dimensionality. To date, the nascent B2B brand identity literature has been conceptually orientated and so our inquiry intends to address this gap given it is empirically informed.paper opens by reviewing the conceptualization and dimensionality of brand identity with the latter providing the basis for exploring the content domain of B2B service brand identity. It then explains the methodology followed to collect data through a postal survey and the analysis procedures to establish the psychometric properties of the scale. Concluding remarks highlight theoretical contributions, managerial implications and limitations.
. Literature review on brand identity
frameworks that conceptualize brand identity have been published. These appear to have been developed predominantly with B2C brands in mind (Table 1).
1 Current dimensions of brand identity
Dimension of identityKapferer (2004) Aaker (1996) Aaker and Joachimsthaler (2000) de Chernatony (2006) Physique?? Relationships?? Vision?? Reflection (external)? Personality??...
