Francisco Guzmán

Cultural Brands from Emerging Markets: Brand Image Across Host and Home Countries

Cultural brands embody a sum total of a groups cultural identity, including a surrounding myth, a tie to its cultural roots, and associations of its past and aspired future. The authors focus on two cultural brands from Mexico and analyze whether their brand images remain consistent when they cross the border into the United States. Data were collected from random samples drawn from Mexico City and the Latino community (of Mexican descent) in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. Respondents were asked to evaluate two television media brands using a brand personality scale. The results indicate that the association between the brand personality dimensions and the cultural brands from Mexico is stronger among Latinos residing in the Dallas–Fort Worth area than among their counterparts in Mexico City. This study contributes to brand personality literature and presents an important insight into the brand image of cultural brands from emerging markets.

Market orientation and design orientation: a management model

Market orientation and design orientation as strategic concepts have a proven impact on business results, but the direct relationship between these concepts has not yet been analysed. This research attempts to prove the relationship by studying the managerial implication of design orientation as it relates to market orientation. After analysing 28 case studies of Spanish companies well-known for their business excellence and their design orientation, a management model is proposed. The model is a management tool that offers companies a scheme for auto-diagnosis and a review of best-in-class design practices that have shown to improve business results.

Relationalism in marketing channels and marketing strategy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between marketing strategy types – aggressive marketing, price leadership and product specialization strategies – and the extent of relationalism in marketing channels.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected using a self‐administered survey from managers responsible for marketing and channels management in US pharmaceutical firms. The responses to the questions capturing focal constructs were measured using a five‐point Likert type scale. Data were analyzed using Principal Component Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling procedures.Findings – Aggressive marketing strategy and price leadership strategy are positively associated with the level of relationalism in marketing channels. In contrast, product specialization (focus) strategy is negatively associated with the level of relationalism in marketing channels.Originality/value – The relationship between marketing strategy and the emergent relationalism among marketing channel...

Public‐private collaborations: branded public services?

Purpose – The objective of this article is to understand how to optimize partnerships between the public and business sectors. It aims to use a reference group influence model to help identify which kinds of public services are best suited to this type of collaboration.Design/methodology/approach – Consumer data were collected in two stages using surveys. Data were analyzed using two‐sided paired t‐tests and a mixed factorial MANOVA. The model is validated in the two largest Hispanic consumer markets – Mexico and Spain.Findings – The paper finds that reference group influence has a greater impact on brand decisions for publicly consumed public services, and on service decisions for public services for which consumers pay extra. Reference group influence varies between contexts/countries.Research limitations/implications – Despite the economic, development and cultural differences between Mexico and Spain, countries with even greater differences, or additional countries, could have been included in the stu...

Self-Referencing and Political Candidate Brands: A Congruency Perspective

Although political and marketing analysts commonly describe political candidates as brands, the conceptualization of political candidates as brands within academic research and popular culture is uncommon. This paper presents empirical evidence in support of viewing candidates as such. Using data from a nationwide study that measures the self concept of Mexican voters and their perceived images of the presidential candidates in Mexicos 2006 election, the paper demonstrates that voters see themselves and each candidate as a distinct brand. Furthermore, this view of a voters self-brand influences his or her perception of a political candidates brand image. The academic and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.

Intellectual capital through the eyes of the consumer

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to measure intellectual capital of the firm through the eyes of the consumer by investigating the relationships between financial-based brand equity (FBBE) and consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) and their related constructs. Design/methodology/approach – Fifteen consumer brands were evaluated based on three different perspectives of CBBE, and were then regressed on FBBE. Prior to the regression analysis, the FBBEs of 15 consumer brands were standardized using the total assets and three-year weighted average of their brand equity values. Findings – Findings show that existing CBBE scales and related brand dimensions partially explain FBBE, namely, sustainability and brand experience, and that the product category contributes significantly in explaining FBBE. In addition, brand experience is positively associated with FBBE. Research limitations/implications – The study only includes brands from the food, electronics and clothing industries. Practical implications – The...

The evolution of brand management thinking over the last 25 years as recorded in the Journal of Product and Brand Management

Purpose By outlining the evolution of brand management research over the past 25 years, as reported in the Journal of Product and Brand Management (JPBM), this paper aims to analyze the changes in the way branding has been approached in research, highlight the current challenges the discipline faces and suggest future research avenues that will hopefully further enrich brand management knowledge. Design/methodology/approach This paper includes internal historical literature review and commentary. Findings After a thorough analysis of the journal’s content, the contribution that the JPBM has made in the development of brand management knowledge over the past 25 years is highlighted. Eight major shifts in brand management research and thought, and three overarching difficulties and challenges, are identified. Research limitations/implications By solely focusing on the contributions published in the journal, by no means this review is exhaustive and includes all the contributions to the discipline. Its contribution is limited to the analysis of the work, and the evolution of brand management thinking, recorded in the JPBM. Originality/value The paper highlights the evolution of brand management thought and presents imperatives and challenges to guide future research in brand management.

The impact of corporate social responsibility on brand equity: consumer responses to two types of fit

Purpose A significant stream of research investigates the influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives on firm performance and consumer response to CSR programs. However, how CSR initiatives help build brand equity remains relatively unexamined. This study aims to demonstrate how CSR influences brand equity in response to perceptions of two types of brand–cause fit. Design/methodology/approach The authors analyze two types of fit between a brand and a social cause (disaster relief): brand value–cause fit and brand function–cause fit. Structural equation modeling is used to estimate the fit of the data with the proposed model. Findings Survey evidence from 370 millennial undergraduate students in the USA suggests that the two types of brand–cause fit have differential effects on attitude toward the brand and ad, which in turn influence brand equity. Research implications/limitations The research operationalizes brand–cause fit as a construct with two components: brand value–cause fit and brand function–cause fit. It tests these two types of fit and finds evidence for differential effects on consumer attitudes. Practical implications The findings offer practical considerations for managers about the importance of considering two types of brand–cause fit in selecting social causes and crafting effective corporate communications about the firm’s CSR initiatives. Originality/value Results suggest that it is possible for firms to craft desirable win–win–win strategies that build brand equity by investing in a strategic approach to CSR initiatives.

Hope and Fear in an Advertisement Context: Understanding How Hope Undoes Fear

The study investigates the oppositional prospect-based emotions of fear and hope in an advertisement context. The broaden-and-build theory of emotions provides a framework for establishing a theoretical link between fear and hope. The findings suggest that: (1) Fear narrows and hope broadens the thought–action repertoire; (2) age moderates the impact of a prospect-based measure of hope on behavioral change intentions and ad attitude; (3) three undoing strategies undo fear with hope, including personal action plans, social action plans of good deeds, and reframing in a positive light; and (4) when fear is high, hope is energized through self-focus, and when fear is low, hope is energized through a focus on others.

Determinants of brand resurrection movements: Why consumers want dead brands back?

There is a growing trend of brand resurrections that are driven by consumer power. Millennials play a critical role in initiating most of these brand resurrection movements using social media. This study aims to explore the factors that drive consumers’ participation in brand resurrection movements – an outcome of brand cocreation.,Data were collected using self-administered survey. This study uses the partial least squares-structural equation modeling to empirically examine the factors that motivate consumers to participate in brand resurrection movements.,The results indicate that consumers’ beliefs about the functional and value-expressive utilities, and their judgments of the perceived brand superiority of the defunct brand are significantly associated with brand resurrection movements. Nostalgia moderates the relationship between social-adjustive utility and brand resurrection movement, which shows that consumers’ social-adjustive utility becomes relevant when triggered with a strong sense of the past.,From a theoretical perspective, this study contributes to literature on reviving defunct brands. This study also identifies additional factors that determine the success of brands that are being relaunched.,From a managerial perspective, the study provides insights into when and how organizations can consider bringing back defunct brands. Future studies should introduce additional variables to the model such as product category involvement that may be associated with consumers’ willingness to bring back defunct brands.,To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first of its kind that empirically examines the motivations behind consumer participation in bringing back defunct brands. The importance of this study is highlighted in the fact that several defunct brands are being revived by organizations due to consumer-brand co-creation movements.