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Article
Publication date: 20 March 2017

Timo Muhonen, Saku Hirvonen and Tommi Laukkanen

The purpose of this paper is to examine the performance effects of brand identity in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the performance effects of brand identity in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors examine whether brand identity mediates the relationship between brand orientation and brand performance, and further, whether brand performance leads to better financial performance. The authors also study whether these performance effects are moderated by customer type and industry type. Differing from earlier research, this study analyzes brand identity through its constituent components: brand values, brand vision and brand positioning. The data include altogether 721 effective responses from Finnish SMEs. Structural equation modeling is used for testing the research hypotheses.

Findings

Brand positioning and brand vision have a direct positive effect on brand performance, which in turn, positively affects financial performance. Brand orientation drives the components of brand identity. Importantly, there is variation in some of the relationships between brand orientation, brand values, brand vision and brand positioning across business-to-business firms and business-to-customer firms, and across firms in service industries and in production industries.

Research limitations/implications

The research is based on a single-country sample. Including additional factors for the model with the potential to moderate the described relationships is also called for. Future research could also consider new potential brand identity components currently not addressed in the paper.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the literature by increasing the knowledge of SME branding.

Details

Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 26 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1061-0421

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Article
Publication date: 3 May 2016

Saku Hirvonen, Tommi Laukkanen and Jari Salo

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between brand orientation and business growth in business-to-business (B2B) small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)…

3242

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between brand orientation and business growth in business-to-business (B2B) small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The authors also explore whether this relationship is moderated by internal firm-related factors (firm age, firm size) and/or external market-related factors (market life cycle, industry type).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors develop and empirically test a conceptual model using data from 396 B2B SMEs operating in Finland. Structural equation modeling is used for testing the research hypotheses.

Findings

Brand orientation contributes to business growth via two indirect paths, the first one going through brand performance and the second one going through brand performance and customer relationship performance. However, although the effects are positive, the results reveal that the regression coefficients are relatively small, implying only a limited impact of brand orientation on growth among B2B SMEs. The results further suggest that firm age, firm size and industry type moderate the brand performance–business growth relationship, whereas market life cycle moderates the effect of brand orientation on brand performance.

Research limitations/implications

Future research could extend this study by examining brand orientation in industrial markets simultaneously with alternative strategic orientations, such as market, technology and innovation orientation. New moderator variables should also be considered, such as market or technological turbulence. Furthermore, given that this study uses a cross-sectional data set, it is recommended that future research should attempt to test the model using longitudinal data sets.

Practical implications

B2B SMEs are able to gain business growth through developing a strong brand. However, brand orientation per se appears to be of limited relevance for such an endeavor. Consequently, managers of small industrial firms should consider brand orientation only with, and in comparison to, alternative strategic orientations.

Originality/value

Brand orientation has been very rarely examined from the perspective of B2B firms or that of SMEs. Interestingly, the findings indicate that the performance benefits of brand orientation seem to be smaller among B2B SMEs than what earlier research would imply. The analysis of moderation effects offers additional insights into whether there are differences between industrial SMEs as to the relevance of brand orientation.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 31 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 15 January 2020

Heli Hallikainen, Saku Hirvonen and Tommi Laukkanen

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the perceived trustworthiness of a B2B service provider relates to a business customer’s intention to use digital services from that…

1088

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the perceived trustworthiness of a B2B service provider relates to a business customer’s intention to use digital services from that provider. The study investigates whether perceived trustworthiness, composed of ability, integrity and benevolence, explains behavioral intentions equally among all business customer segments, and how characteristics such as job level, decision-making role, technology readiness age and gender moderate these effects.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on a model of trust transfer mechanism, the study explores how perceived trustworthiness established in face-to-face interaction influences the use of digital services in making B2B purchases. Hypotheses are tested using a sample of 1,866 responses collected from customers of four B2B firms.

Findings

Ability is the most influential on the customer’s intention to transact through digital channels, while the effects of integrity and benevolence show more variation. The effect of perceived trustworthiness on the intention to use digital services is remarkably stronger among senior and middle management, high-level decision makers, the younger age segment, men and individuals high in technology readiness, compared to other segments studied.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the scant research on B2B customer behavior in the digital environment and incorporates individual characteristics specific to the industrial domain.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 120 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 28 October 2013

Tommi Laukkanen, Gábor Nagy, Saku Hirvonen, Helen Reijonen and Mika Pasanen

The present study sheds light on the role of strategic orientations (SOs) in explaining business growth. The purpose of this paper is to examine how different SOs, namely learning…

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Abstract

Purpose

The present study sheds light on the role of strategic orientations (SOs) in explaining business growth. The purpose of this paper is to examine how different SOs, namely learning orientation, entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation and brand orientation simultaneously affect business performance measured with brand performance, market performance and business growth in SME context and whether these effects vary across countries.

Design/methodology/approach

An extensive data set of 1,120 effective responses is collected from two European countries, namely Hungary, representing a post socialist rapidly growing market, and Finland with a stable, highly developed and competitive economy. A multigroup moderation analysis is conducted. Confirmatory factor analysis is used in testing measurement invariance, subsequently followed by structural equation modeling procedure used in testing research hypotheses developed on the basis of a literature review.

Findings

The results show that entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation and brand orientation have a positive effect on business growth in SMEs in both Hungary and Finland through brand and market performance. With regard to learning orientation, a positive yet somewhat weak effect on growth is found only in the Hungarian sample. The moderation analysis reveals that country moderates several of the hypothesized paths from SOs to business performance.

Originality/value

Prior studies on SOs have mainly focussed on single orientations at any given time. However, researchers increasingly argue that many firms are better off if they build their strategies on multiple SOs. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first empirical studies to address multiple (four) SOs in the same research model. Furthermore, little is known about if and how the performance effects of different SOs vary across countries.

Details

International Marketing Review, vol. 30 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-1335

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 20 March 2017

Cleopatra Veloutsou and Francisco Guzmán

565

Abstract

Details

Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 26 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1061-0421

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 22 February 2022

Sasu Tuominen, Helen Reijonen, Gábor Nagy, Andrea Buratti and Tommi Laukkanen

The motivation for this study comes from decision making related to strategic marketing orientations in international markets. The authors examine if customer orientation and…

21629

Abstract

Purpose

The motivation for this study comes from decision making related to strategic marketing orientations in international markets. The authors examine if customer orientation and customer relationship orientation perform as two distinct constructs in driving firm innovativeness, and how together they support business growth among export firms. This study aims to suggest a customer-centric strategy for export firms that drive innovativeness and growth.

Design/methodology/approach

An international corporation specialized in company information services provided a list of the contact information of Italian companies. The authors sent an email request to respond to an online survey and received 416 effective responses from firms operating in export markets. The authors propose and empirically test a model in which customer orientation, customer relationship orientation and innovativeness predict business growth. This model controls for the effects of firm size, industry and customer type (B2B vs. B2C).

Findings

The study findings suggest that customer orientation and customer relationship orientation are two distinct strategic orientations driving innovativeness. However, they do not directly affect business growth. Instead, they require the innovativeness of an exporter to materialize as business growth.

Practical implications

The results of the study recommend business strategies focusing not only on customer needs and satisfaction but also on retaining current customers and building customer relationships in international markets. Firms can learn from international customers and develop effective customer-centric strategies to spread the acquired information into the internal decision-making as it contributes to firm innovativeness and business growth in international markets.

Originality/value

This study is one of the pioneering studies combining customer orientation and customer relationship orientation, showing their theoretical and empirical divergence. This study is also among the first which tests how the two strategic orientations together with innovativeness promote business growth among export firms. The authors add understanding of the synergistic effects both of using customer information and developing deeper relationships on firm innovativeness and performance among exporters.

Details

International Marketing Review, vol. 40 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-1335

Keywords

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