Impact Mechanism of Brand Orientation on Brand Equity of Industrial Services Firms

Abstract

Abstract:

Branding literature primarily focuses upon consumer markets, paying little attentionto the special characteristics of industrial services branding. In addition, the limited studies in the contexts of business markets especially industrial services markets neglect the impacts of stakeholder interactions upon brand equity. By considering the special features of industrial services branding, as well as adopting both internal perspective and stakeholder interaction perspective, this paper presents an integrative conceptual framework about the impact mechanism of brand orientation upon industrial services brand equity. The empirical findings based on survey data from 218 Chinese industrial services firms indicate that firm-employee interaction can help develop internal brand equity and further improve brand association, facilitate corporate brand response and cultivate external brand equity by increasing employee-customer interactions. This paper stresses the role of interactions among firm, employees and customers in developing brand equity and, in doing so, discovers the underlying mechanism of the impact of brand orientation upon brand equity. The research findings have insightful managerial implications as to how to establish and cultivate industrial services brand equity.

Key words: industrial services, brand orientation, customer-based brand equity, brand association, brand response

Zhang Jing, Jiang Yanxin. Impact Mechanism of Brand Orientation on Brand Equity of Industrial Services Firms[J]. , 2016, 28(3): 184-195.

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