Services branding triangle

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 529-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Musa Pinar ◽  
Tulay Girard ◽  
Paul Trapp ◽  
Zeliha Eser

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine customer, management, and contact personnel perceptions of consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) and its dimensions utilizing a services branding triangle framework in the banking industry. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from customers, managers, and contact personnel of three types of banks in Turkey – state, private, and foreign. Findings – The study finds significant external branding gaps between the perceptions of managers and customers and interactive branding gaps between the perceptions of contact personnel and customers, but no internal branding gaps between the perceptions of managers and contact personnel with respect to CBBE dimensions. Research limitations/implications – The sample was limited to Turkish adult citizens of a single major metropolitan area in Turkey and bank personnel in three cities. Originality/value – The services branding triangle framework used in this study allows service brand managers to understand not only the differences in the perceptions of brand equity dimensions of bank customers, managers, and contact personnel, but also provides an opportunity to identify the external, internal, and interactive branding gaps of each of the brand equity dimensions. The findings provide an empirical test for the three promises theory and identifying potential branding gaps resulting from differences between consumer, management, and contact personnel perceptions of CBBE and its dimensions. The paper discusses the implications of the findings in developing a strong services brand and brand equity.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenna Jacobson ◽  
Donna Smith ◽  
Janice L. Rudkowski

Purpose The practice of frontline employees articulating their brand voice and posting work-related content on social media has emerged; however, employee brand equity (EBE) research has yet to be linked to employees’ social media activity. This paper aims to take a methods-based approach to better understand employees’ roles as influencers. As such, its objective is to operationalize and apply the three EBE dimensions – brand consistent behavior, brand endorsement and brand allegiance – using Instagram data. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative research uses a case study of employee influencers at SoulCycle, a leading North American fitness company and examines 100 Instagram images and 100 captions from these influential employees to assess the three EBE dimensions. Findings Brand consistent behavior (what employees do) was the most important EBE dimension indicating that employees’ social media activities align with their employer’s values. Brand allegiance (what employees intend to do in the future) whereby employees self-identify with their employer on social media, followed. Brand endorsement (what employees say) was the least influential of the three EBE dimensions, which may indicate a higher level of perceived authenticity from a consumer perspective. Originality/value This research makes three contributions. First, it presents a novel measure of EBE using public Instagram data. Second, it represents a unique expansion and an evolution of King et al.’s (2012) model. Third, it considers employees’ work-related content on social media to understand employees’ role as influencers and their co-creation of EBE, which is currently an under-represented perspective in the internal branding literature.


2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Zhang ◽  
Yanxin Jiang ◽  
Rizwan Shabbir ◽  
Miao Zhu

Purpose – The paper aims to explore how brand orientation impacts brand equity via internal branding, presented brand, word-of-mouth and customer experience from stakeholder interaction perspective in industrial services context. Brand orientation has emerged as an attractive business philosophy for industrial service companies who believe that brand plays an influential role in delivering customer value and improving firm’s performance. However, the impact of brand orientation upon brand equity is not clear yet, and the active roles of multiple stakeholders in co-creating brand equity are largely neglected in business-to-business (B2B) branding literature. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was conducted among 258 pairs of firms located in mainland China. A total of nine research hypotheses related to how brand orientation impacts B2B service brand equity were examined by structural equation modeling technique. Findings – The research findings indicate: a company with high level of brand orientation will both actively communicate its brand to customers and implement internal branding among employees; internal branding enhances willingness and skills of service employees so that they can provide customers with excellent service experience, which will lead to positive word-of-mouth; effective brand communication, pleasant customer experience and favorable word-of-mouth can result in positive brand association in the mind of customers and finally build up corporate brand equity. Research limitations/implications – The major limitation of this paper is that some other potential stakeholders and additional interactive processes among organization, employees and customers, which have potential to impact brand equity, are not included in the model. Originality/value – This study makes theoretical contribution by addressing the gaps in the branding literature with respect to industrial services context and stakeholder interaction perspective. It also provides practical implications for B2B service firms as to how to develop a strong brand by implementing brand orientation within the network of core stakeholders.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Burgess ◽  
Christian Jones

Purpose This study aims to contribute to research into narrative brands by investigating if the lack of closure in the ambiguous season two’s ending of the Australian television series, Wanted, constituted a brand transgression. Design/methodology/approach Comments on posts about Wanted from social media accounts associated with the series were downloaded and analysed using thematic analysis informed by non-participatory netnography. Findings Audiences found the ambiguous ending of Wanted season two disappointing and it did not fulfil implied promises and their expectations, which fits the description of a brand transgression, and so they engaged in behaviours indicative of a brand transgression such as spreading negative word of mouth online. The ambiguous ending could have been a cliff-hanger to lead into a third season that was not guaranteed when the final episode aired, or the ending for the entire series. Although a third season was eventually made and positively received by audiences, viewer numbers declined by nearly a third, illustrating the importance of brand management for narrative brands. Practical implications This research has implications for the creators of television series, particularly if they do not know if it will be renewed. Not providing audiences with their expected closure can constitute a brand transgression and damage the narrative brand’s residual brand equity and potential earnings from streaming or a revival at a later date. Originality/value Prior research has focused on audiences’ responses to definitive endings, rather than ambiguous endings, which is the focus of this research. Furthermore, narrative brands are still an under-researched context.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Brown

PurposeMany have noted the role of metaphor in branding understanding. More than mere decorative frills, tropes play a fundamental, foundational part in the process. The purpose of this comment is to consider some of the branding's core conceits and classifies them for scholarly convenience.Design/methodology/approachMetaphors, first and foremost, are figures of speech not analytical tools or techniques. Accordingly, the commentary adopts an appropriate literary approach to its subject matter. Reflective for the most part, it seeks to deconstruct and reconstruct simultaneously. Suggestion not stipulation is the aim.FindingsAfter scrutinising branding's figurative landscape, then focussing on several promising analogies, the commentary concludes with a cautionary note concerning internal branding. Metaphor is not all fun and games, nor the be all and end all of branding understanding.Originality/valueServices marketing possesses two powerful and deeply entrenched tropes – relationships and dramaturgy. Although this comment touches on both, particularly the former, it points out the plethora of figurative possibilities, some fresh, others familiar, that are available to brand managers and researchers both.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 168-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aishath Muneeza ◽  
Muhammad Fahmi Fauzi ◽  
Muhammad Faisal Bin Mat Nor ◽  
Mohamed Abideen ◽  
Muhammed Maher Ajroudi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to find out the existing practices of the Islamic banks in providing financing to the customers who have a requirement to purchase a finished property and to examine the existing products used by the Islamic banks in this regard by providing an insight into the modus operandi of these products. In doing this, attempt is made to find out the most famous product offered by the Islamic banks in this regard and to find out whether in reality, Malaysian Islamic banking industry has moved away from Bai Bithaman Ajil (BBA) or not. Design/methodology/approach This is a qualitative research, largely library-based, and it will consist of secondary sources such as books, journals, articles and other sources related to the Islamic house financing in Malaysia for finished properties. Recent information of the practises of the banks in this regard is obtained from the official websites of the banks. Findings It is found from this study that majority of Islamic Banks in Malaysia prefer to use the Commodity Murabahah facility for finished property. This finding contradicts with the observations made by some scholars who state that in Malaysia, BBA was initially used, and nowadays, the use of Musharakah Mutanaqisah is more common. The reason why Commodity Murbahah has gained popularity is because of the fact that via the Bursa Suq Al Sila platform, it is easy, swift, reliable, profitable, cheaper, convenient and has zero risk to do this type of transaction at the comfort of the office. It is recommended in this paper to use Musharakah Mutanaqisah, as this contract is an innovative contract that is classified as an equity contract under shariah where risk is shared between the parties. There is need to conduct further research to implement Musharakah Mutanaqisah in Malaysia, specifically to reduce the risk that Islamic Banks will bear by practicing this contract. Originality/value The findings of this paper might create confusion among readers, as some may perceive that the finding of the paper is not new as BBA has been dominating Islamic house financing industry from the inception of Islamic banking in the country, and BBA and Murabahah are similar in nature, and as such, commodity Murabahah is also a Murabahah transaction. The reality that needs to be understood is that the way BBA was or is practised in Malaysia in relation to Islamic house financing is that in the name of BBA, the transaction actually followed the Bai’ ‘inah contract, which is a controversial contract among the shariah scholars. Likewise, commodity Murabahah is also a different contract than Murabahah, as it actually refers to tawarruq. As such, this research finding is important to the Islamic banking industry to understand that Malaysia has moved away from the Bai’ ‘inah contract practised in the name of BBA in Islamic house financing, and there are new products introduced by the Islamic banks in Malaysia to replace this practice which were criticised by Shariah scholars.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhongyi Xiao

Purpose – This paper aims to, under the framework of the pollution haven hypothesis (PHH), test the theory that foreign direct investment (FDI) creates an intra-host country pollution haven in developing nations by studying the contemporary case of China. Design/methodology/approach – This empirical analysis has used a panel dataset of 30 provinces that was analyzed for the period of 1997-2011. An Oaxaca decomposition was also implemented to examine the effects of environmental stringency on regional pollution. Findings – The estimates indicate that openness to FDI generally appears to be good for the environment. The results of estimation show that the western region of China has developed a potential “comparative advantage” in pollution-intensive industries, thanks to the strong incentive of economic expansion. However, further estimates concerning the location decisions of FDI suggest that the providers of FDI still prefer to locate in the coastal regions of China, where a tighter environmental regulation policy has been imposed. The findings suggest that the better infrastructure and technology spillover of environmental policy-making might be more attractive to FDI than comparatively weak environmental stringency. Originality/value – This study applies a model advanced in previous theoretical literature which divides the effects of trade into the categories of scale, technique and composition. It also contributes to the understanding of the PHH in the context of intra-host country analysis.


2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (2) ◽  
pp. 565-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Calvo Porral ◽  
Jean-Pierre Levy-Mangin

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how consumers perceive and evaluate local and global brands – in a developed mature European market. Design/methodology/approach – For this purpose, four dimensions and two consequences of brand equity are evaluated, based on consumers’ standpoint. Structural equation modeling is carried out in order to analyze results obtained. Findings – The findings suggest that brand loyalty, brand image and perceived quality exert the higher influence on consumers’ brand value; while there are relevant differences in consumer’s assessment toward local and global brands. Originality/value – This study provides local and global brand marketers with further specific knowledge on how to market and enhance their brands’ value in a globalized increasingly competitive world.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noradilah Abdul Hadi ◽  
Mohd Rizal Muwazir

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine selection factors among multi-ethnic customers in Malaysian Islamic banking industry. The information is important to reinforce the argument that ethnicity could become significant factor in determining customer behaviour. Design/methodology/approach This study uses quantitative approach by using questionnaire (Likert scale) to measure respondents ranking of 25 selection factors. A total of 272 valid responses were generated from 450 questionnaires distributed, with 60.4% response rate. The methods of analysis used are descriptive analysis, factor analysis and Kruskal–Wallis test. Findings The findings revealed five selection factors (religious and ethical, services and convenience, service quality and benefit, external and operational and charges), with religious and ethical factor as the most important criteria for Malay customers. As for Chinese and Indian customers, they chose services and convenience factor. Originality/value This study is conducted to gain new insights on the perception of multi-ethnic banking customers in Malaysia towards Islamic banks and how cultural differences might affect their decisions. The findings are important for further development of the Islamic banking industry in Malaysia considering ethnicity has a major impact on the society. The acknowledgement of similarities and differences between the ethnic groups could strengthen the relationship with the Islamic banking customers. Furthermore, incorporation of ethnicity factor in bank’s marketing strategies is important to secure competitive advantage particularly in dual banking system such as in Malaysia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shujing Li ◽  
Nan Gao

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of the rise in housing prices on enterprise financing and also the sustainability and heterogeneity of this effect. Design/methodology/approach Empirical test, panel data, fixed-effect model, IV and 2SLS were used in this paper. Findings The empirical results indicate that the mortgage effect does exist, and the authors further analyze the heterogeneity of this effect by dividing the sample based on the degree of financial development and property rights; the empirical results reveal that the mortgage effect is significantly higher in places with the high level of financial development. Besides, compared to the SOE enterprise, the mortgage effect has more influence on non-SOE companies. Research limitations/implications The results indicate that the mortgage effect should be considered when regulating housing market, and in order to improve the financing capability of company, its profitability and financial market efficiency should be emphasized. Originality/value This paper not only confirms the existence of the mortgage effect, but also explores its sustainability and heterogeneity, which reveals the risk and bubble in the effect of house market on enterprise financing, and enlightens how to promote financing ability of company.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-375
Author(s):  
Ville Lahtinen ◽  
Timo Dietrich ◽  
Sharyn Rundle-Thiele

Purpose The marketing mix has been extensively criticised by scholars and practitioners, which has led marketing scholars to redefine the original 4P concept, expand the 4Ps with additional Ps and develop new concepts to replace the marketing mix. However, there is very limited empirical testing assessing the effectiveness of the original marketing mix (4Ps). Design/methodology/approach This research applies a field experiment to assess whether the application of a full marketing mix (4P) is more effective than a promotion only campaign (1P) when aiming to increase fruit and vegetable (FV) intake of 6–13-year-old Finnish children. A total of 15 schools were randomly assigned to 4P, 1P and control settings. Data was collected from schoolchildren using the Day in the Life Questionnaire. Findings A repeated measures analysis involving 1,076 children demonstrated that a full application of the marketing mix (4P) is more effective than a promotion only (1P) campaign in increasing FV intake within children. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first empirical test of the effectiveness of the commercial marketing mix against a promotion only strategy in social marketing.


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