Brand management system of fashion-industry enterprises

Aim of the article. The purpose of the article is to reveal the system of brand management implementation in fashion companies and to develop a plan to create a brand management department in such companies. Analyses results. The style and basic principles of brand management should be based on the company's activities and technologies that should be used in brand management and communication strategy with the target audience. Based on this information, we have a functional structure for the implementation of brand management in the company, as well as areas of responsibility of the company's employees working in this area. Brand management is a comprehensive regular management of building and improving the brand, which is carried out at all stages of its development. To effectively manage a company's brand, it is necessary to determine the core value of a particular brand and broadcast it to the target audience. If a brand is a set of values and attributes, then branding is a specific step that a company takes to express its individuality. Branding is how a company manages the perception of a brand by consumers. Brand management can be considered in three directions: a) scientific basis - a system of scientific knowledge that includes the theoretical basis and methodological practice of the world's leading companies in the field of brand management and branding; b) corporate brand management - reflects the corporate vision of the company's mission, its culture and management style. An important area of corporate brand management is the development of corporate identification programs, which achieve the company's recognition in the market, provides a high level of consumer awareness of brands and develops customer loyalty; c) the process of brand management (branding) - aimed at developing the appropriate personality. Branding includes several basic areas, namely: organizational component (formation of a team, unit and consolidation of functions under the relevant management); market research; development of the brand concept; lanning of marketing programs for brand development; organization and marketing activities management. Based on the specifics of the scope of activities of companies engaged in fashion, and the functionality needed to implement brand management in this type of enterprise, recommendations were developed for the structure of the brand management department in companies and areas of responsibility of employees, their tasks and responsibilities. The flows and sources of information, the process of its processing and the mechanisms of interaction of responsible persons within the department responsible for the brand management process are considered. Conclusions and directions for further research. Drawing conclusions, we can say the following. Creating a strong brand and implementing brand management in the company is now a necessity for any company. And in order for brand management and its promotion on the market to be successful, the company must create an appropriate organizational structure based on the specific goals of the company and the tasks set before the brand. The formation of the structure of the brand management department of the organization directly depends on the scope of the company, its scale, the characteristics of the target audience of the brand, the need for physical outlets or the company's focus on work in e-commerce. The article presents developments on the typical structuring of the brand management department at enterprises operating in the fashion industry. Depending on the factors listed above, the structure can be adapted to the needs of a company in this area. It should also be noted that with the development of technology and the emergence of new channels of communication, such a structure will be constantly changing, adapting to modern realities. Keywords: brand management, branding, enterprises, fashion industry

Country Brand Equity: The Decision Making of Corporate Brand Architecture in Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions

Cross-border merger and acquisition (CBM&A) is a dominant and sustainable antagonistic strategy, but a relevant concern like a country has inadequately been emphasized over the five decades of acquisition studies. Therefore, this article attempts to examine the impact of country brand equity (CBE) on corporate brand architecture (CBA) in post-CBM&A. It first originates a hypothetical model esteeming Resource-Based View (RBV) and Industrial Organization (IO) theory following the Structure-Conduct-Performance (SCP) paradigm. Then, it tests the model conducting a web survey on 124 acquiring corporates from 29 countries that accomplished CBM&A transactions between 1990 and 2014. The empirical findings clarify that the market aspect, such as the acquirer’s more substantial country brand equity, indirectly leads to the high degree of CBA standardization in the host market through prioritized intangible and strategic resources—corporate reputation and corporate brand management system. Individually, the acquirer’s corporate reputation cumulatively yields a high degree of CBA standardization with corporate brand power, which has only a direct effect. On the other hand, the corporate brand management system leads to a high degree of CBA standardization cumulatively with corporate reputation. It is deemed that the research findings as a whole reveal a framework for the application of country brand equity and corporate brand architecture in post-CBM&A.

How diverse is corporate brand management research? Comparing schools of corporate brand management with approaches to corporate strategy

Purpose This paper contrasts research streams in corporate brand management (CBM) with perspectives on corporate strategy (CS). The aim is to examine whether CBM research is as diverse as research on CS and to identify potentially new research perspectives within CBM. Design/methodology/approach First, the main dimensions to capture approaches and directions in general strategy research are carved out and integrated into a framework for subsequent analysis (strategy descriptor cube). Second, research streams within CBM are clustered into predominating schools. Third, the framework is then used to classify the identified schools, allowing further evaluation. In doing so, an innovative view on the status of and developments in CBM research is provided. Findings Most schools of CBM are built on rational and prescriptive approaches, while political and emergent conceptions are hardly addressed. Thus, from the strategy-derived dimensions, approaches to CBM are surprisingly homogenous, with only one school diverging from the dominating pattern. A variety of perspectives as found in strategy research cannot be validated for CBM. Alternative conceptualizations to CBM in terms of assumptions about the genesis of strategic directions and the perspective of analysis might provide impetus for progress in CBM research. Research limitations/implications The question arises why emergent and political perspectives have not been seriously pursued in the past decades of brand research. Researchers might seize opportunities to be further stimulated from the many faceted research approaches in CS. Further dimensions for description, as well as alternative clusterings of CBM schools, should be discussed. Practical implications A broadening of perspectives, including potentially a more attentive reception of agile trends in CBM, might become increasingly relevant for CBM practitioners. As new realities shape the present and future of corporate brand building, new paradigms should be explored and tested. Originality/value The corporate brand strategy link is evidently important; however, to date, few papers have such a focus. This is the first paper to apply reasoning and perspectives that have contributed to significant developments in CS research to the current situation in CBM research. It introduces a novel way to analyze and discuss developments between and within CBM schools.