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.

/pdf/the-evolution-of-brand-management-thinking-over-the-last-25-11v4ethmzq.pdf

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

Technical skills are no longer enough for workers to compete in this highly competitive global work environment. Soft skills are of paramount importance. A multiple-case-study design through the lens of emotional intelligence formed the basis of the research study. The focus of the research was identification of the successful soft skills training strategies in the logistics industry. Three logistics organization leaders in the counties of Burlington, Middlesex, and Somerset, New Jersey, were participants in the study. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and the review of company documents Four themes emerged through data analysis of converging multiple data sources: (a) the use of a combination of group and individual training, (b) the identification of training needs by individual, (c) the use of a systematic method to resolve emotional behaviors at work, and (d) the importance of effective communication.

/pdf/soft-skills-needed-for-the-21st-century-workforce-nabehqn7y9.pdf

Soft Skills Needed for the 21st Century Workforce

New challenges in brand management

A wealth of research examines firm- or consumer-based brand equity but largely ignores internal stakeholders’ perceptions of the brand asset. The present study focuses on service employees who affect both internal (i.e. other employees) and external (i.e. customers) stakeholders through their interactions. The study draws on cognitive psychology and social identity theory to develop and empirically test an integrated model of antecedents and consequences of employee-based brand equity (EBBE) that distinguishes between a cognitive and an affective route for its development via brand knowledge and brand identification respectively. The research extends the limited work on EBBE by examining how perceptions of employees about their supervisors’ brand leadership behaviors and their supervisors’ focus on their subordinates significantly drive employees’ responses to the internal brand. The proposed model also highlights the significant role of EBBE vis-a-vis two citizenship behaviors, namely brand value dissemination and customer orientation.

/pdf/investigating-key-antecedents-and-outcomes-of-employee-based-41wx32rk71.pdf

Investigating key antecedents and outcomes of employee-based brand equity

The link between emotional intelligence (EI) and job performance was examined focusing on the interplay between self- and other-focused EI dimensions. Two diary studies were conducted among divorce lawyers and salespersons. We adopted a two-level perspective including individual differences in EI (person-level EI) and within-person fluctuations in the usage of EI (enacted EI). It was hypothesized that a focus on others’ emotions predicts job performance in social jobs. Multilevel analyses showed that others-emotion appraisal contributed more to subjective (Studies 1 and 2) and objective (Study 2) job performance than other EI dimensions. This link was more apparent in person-level EI in Study 1 and in enacted EI in Study 2. Furthermore, EI dimensions interacted with regard to job performance, such that appraising the emotions of one person was more effective than appraising the emotions of two persons (other and self), and appraising others’ emotions was more effective when one’s own emotions were...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/08959285.2017.1332630

Emotional intelligence and job performance: The role of enactment and focus on others’ emotions

Purpose




This paper aims to examine the impact of employee-based brand equity (EBBE) and perceived environmental uncertainty (PEU) on firm performance.




Design/methodology/approach




Data were collected through an e-mail survey from fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firms in the UK and UAE. Sample sectors included cosmetics and toiletries, household care products, packaged food, soft drinks and tobacco firms. Quantitative data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.




Findings




The results suggest strong support for the hypothesized relationships, thereby providing strong validation for the proposed model. One interesting finding was that the PEU affected employee brand equity significantly stronger in the UK than in the UAE. This phenomenon is explained in the discussion section.




Research limitations/implications




Although several studies have indicated several other elements for EBBE, such as brand commitment and brand citizen behavior, the authors borrowed King et al.’s (2012) EBBE concept and limited their variables on EBBE for brand endorsement, brand allegiance and brand consistent behavior.




Practical implications




Knowledge is expanded through an empirical study validating the proposed model, which provides meaningful insights for developing training tools for internal brand management. Firms have to increase the brand manager’s commitment to increase the employee brand equity, which in turn increases the firm’s performance.




Originality/value




This paper makes three imperative contributions to the branding literature: expanding the existing brand equity literature to incorporate employee brand equity; being the first known empirically tested PEU on employee brand equity; and empirically testing employee brand equity, which has been ignored in branding literature on firm performance.

Modeling employee-based brand equity (EBBE) and perceived environmental uncertainty (PEU) on a firm’s performance

This study aims to examine the factors that influence peer-to-peer online host advertising effectiveness (POHAE). The study posits that POHAE is a multidimensional construct supported by emotional appeal, information completeness, advertising creativity and social responsibility practices influencing purchase intention and positive word of mouth. Perceived value is hypothesised as the moderating variable for the relationship between POHAE and purchase intention.,Quantitative data were collected from New Zealand through a quasi-experimental survey. A total of 95 people participated in the experiment. The study uses one-way repeated measures design ANOVA to test Hypothesis 1 and MEMORE model to test the effects of mediation and moderation for repeated measures.,Results are significant to the study model. ANOVA results show that the assumption of sphericity is not violated: Mauchly’s W, Greenhouse–Geisser, Huynh–Feldt estimates are equal to one, suggesting that the data are perfectly spherical. The mediation and moderation effects for repeated measure designs are also significant. The tests are based on 95 per cent Monte Carlo confidence interval and 20,000 bootstrapping samples.,This study enhances the hierarchy of effects theory (HOE) (Lavidge and Steiner, 1961), which posits that consumers respond to a specific marketing communication through three components: the cognitive component, which is measured by an individual’s intellectual, mental or rational states; the affective component that refers to an individual’s emotional and feeling states; and finally the conative or motivational state, that is, the striving state relating to the tendency to treat objects as positive or negative. This study observes significant paths from POHAE to purchase intention and word of mouth. Limitations include a small sample size (95) and not regressing the POHAE variables individually on purchase intention and word of mouth.,Given the absence of a brand, as in the Airbnb host advertisement, attention should be given to writing the adverts effectively. Advertising creativity does not only hold for graphics and personal pictures but also for the hosts who need to be creative in crafting their advertisement text. Elements such as social responsibility practice and creativity should also not be overlooked.,This study provides insights on how to effectively communicate with potential customers in a peer-to-peer marketplace.,This study provides an insight into peer-to-peer marketplaces on the importance of marketing communication strategies by providing more attention to writing advertisement texts. It is important to understand the variables that influence consumers’ motivation in responding to Airbnb online advertisements.

/pdf/modelling-p2p-airbnb-online-host-advertising-effectiveness-fvnvxm8278.pdf

Modelling P2P Airbnb online host advertising effectiveness: the role of emotional appeal information completeness creativity and social responsibility

The concept of emotional intelligence has become popular as a consulting tool as theorysuggests that individuals who are high in emotional intelligence are likely to exhibit a higherlevel of performance outcomes. In this study, we examined the impact of emotional intelligenceon sales performance. We hypothesized that the impact of emotional intelligence on salesperformance was mediated by adaptive selling behaviour. Data were collected from salespeople in the financial industries in Malaysia via the WLEIS emotional intelligence scale andADAPTS adaptive selling behaviour scale, and were quantitatively analysed using structuralequation modelling (SEM). Results were in keeping with the model. Emotional intelligencewas not found to impact sales performance directly. It impacted on sales performance througha mediating variable; adaptive selling behaviour.Keywords: Emotional Intelligence; Adaptive Selling Behaviour; Sales Performance.

/pdf/emotional-intelligence-and-sales-performance-a-myth-or-4bf1vb2dhs.pdf

Emotional intelligence and sales performance. a myth or reality

This study aims to explore how consumers process and respond to fake news on halal food in a Muslim-majority country. The study hypothesises that fake news that violates one’s moral code could induce anger resulting in brand hate. Religiosity plays a role as a moderating variable for the relationship.,Data were collected in two studies using quasi-experiment repeated measures factorial design, 2 × 2 between subjects. In Study 1, 219 participated, whereas in Study 2, a total of 173 was recruited for the experiment. The study uses one-way repeated measures design ANOVA and MEMORE to test the effects of moderation for repeated measures.,The findings indicate that fake news that violates one’s moral code, belief and values could induce anger and brand hate. Religiosity moderates the relationship between anger and brand hate,The study’s limitations include the limited dimension measured for religiosity and brand hate.,The study of brand hate as opposed to brand love is relatively scarce. This study has observed how fake news that violates one’s moral code is detrimental to the brand, which in turn induces hate. Marketing managers have to be cautious in marketing their products in more religious countries. Besides, they have to be proactive in combating fake news that might tarnish their brand.

The effect of fake news in marketing halal food: a moderating role of religiosity

Worldwide, Muslim travelers are expected to be worth more than US$450 billion by 2026. Ignoring Muslim tourists would be a missed opportunity for any country’s economy that depends on tourism. This...

Zazli Lily Wisker

Papers

Modeling employee-based brand equity (EBBE) and perceived environmental uncertainty (PEU) on a firm’s performance

Modelling P2P Airbnb online host advertising effectiveness: the role of emotional appeal information completeness creativity and social responsibility

Emotional intelligence and sales performance. a myth or reality

The effect of fake news in marketing halal food: a moderating role of religiosity

Marketing a Destination Brand Image to Muslim Tourists: Does Accessibility to Cultural Needs Matter In Developing Brand Loyalty?: