Manifestations of a Strategic Brand Orientation

INTRODUCTION The notion of a brand orientation first emerged in the early 1990s (Gromark & Melin, 2011). Briefly, a brand orientation is a strategic platform whereby a company deliberately and actively strives to manage the processes that give its brand value and meaning (Urde, 1999, p.122). The rationale for a firm to become increasingly brand-oriented is primarily due to the expected outcomes; more specifically, a high level of brand orientation produces stronger brands with higher brand equity (Hankinson 2001, Reid, Luxton & Mavonda, 2005; Urde, 1994; Wong & Merrilees, 2005) and improved financial performance (Gromark & Melin, 2011; Wong & Merrilees, 2007). Gromark & Melin, (2011) provide empirical evidence for a significant positive relationship between a brand orientation and profitability. In fact, they report that the most brand-oriented companies in their study had almost double the profitability of the least brand-oriented companies (Gromark & Melin, 2011). Despite the potentially critical role of a brand orientation in terms of business performance, "brand management is a relatively young field of study, and one in which real interest was shown only during the final decade of the previous century" (Krake, 2005, p.228). Much work remains in order for marketers to gain a reasonably complete understanding of the role of a brand orientation as a strategic platform. This can be accomplished by developing a greater understanding of the construct's antecedents and consequences. Harrison-Walker (forthcoming) answered the call of Gromark & Melin (2011) and Hankinson (2011) to study and explore the antecedents of a brand orientation and identify which antecedents may be expected to either augment or diminish a firm's level of brand orientation. Based on extensive consideration of the literature, Harrison-Walker (forthcoming) identified eight potential antecedents of a brand orientation: the size of the company, brand barriers, services component, exploration of brand identity, brand research, years of planning and investment, expansion growth intention and brand management assessment. Although some progress has been made in terms of identifying the consequences of a brand orientation (Gromark & Melin, 2011; Hankinson 2001, Reid, Luxton & Mavonda, 2005; Urde 1994; Wong & Merrilees, 2005, 2007), more work needs to be done to investigate additional outcomes of a brand orientation. The purpose of this paper is to extend the existing research to identify additional consequences of a brand orientation and to set forth a conceptual model depicting research propositions. This paper is presented in three parts. The first section defines a brand orientation and briefly describes its role in the organization. Then based on a review of the existing literature, potential consequences of a brand orientation are identified. A conceptual model and research propositions for each of the proposed consequences of a brand orientation are presented. Finally, managerial and research implications are discussed. WHAT IS A BRAND ORIENTATION? Urde (1999, p.117) provides the classic definition of a brand orientation as an approach in which the processes of an organization revolve around the creation, development and protection of brand identity in an ongoing interaction with target customers with the aim of achieving lasting competitive advantages in the form of brands. Grant (1995) explains that the basis of a firm's competitive advantage lies in its unique, valuable, and hard-to-imitate resources and competencies. What constitutes true competitive advantage depends upon the competitors and the customers in the market; these are the points of reference for what is unique and valuable (Urde 1999,p.U8). Gromark & Melin (2011, p.395) expand upon Urde's (1999) definition of a brand orientation: Brand orientation is a deliberate approach to brand building where brand equity is created through interaction between internal and external stakeholders. …