Facets of business-to-business brand equity: mixed-methods approach

• Published in: Marketing intelligence & planning Vol. 37; no. 7; pp. 754 - 769
• Main Authors: Sharma, Priyanka, Sengupta, Raghu Nandan, Lichtenthal, J. David
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Publishing Limited 07.10.2019; Emerald Group Publishing Limited
• Subjects: Advertising; Brand equity; Business to business commerce; Decision making; Generalized method of moments; Knowledge management; Manufacturers; Manufacturing; Marketing; Mixed methods research; Purchasing; R&D; Research & development; Research methodology; Business-to-business; Brand equity; Business brands; Generalized method of moments; Focal firm brand network; Interview method
• ISSN: 0263-4503; 1758-8049
• DOI: 10.1108/MIP-10-2018-0437

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight various aspects of business-to-business brand equity (B2BBE) and explain relative impact of marketing/advertising, research and development (R&D), human resource and distribution network to build compelling business brands that display better firm performance. Design/methodology/approach A total of 51 in-depth semi-structured interviews with distributors and industrial buyers revealed different facets of B2BBE. Generalized method of moments (GMM) was applied on a large-scale panel data set of industrial firms to estimate the effects of firms’ R&D, advertising/marketing, distribution and staff training (proxy to sources of B2BBE) on sales. Findings First, varying levels of product application criticality and end-customer brand stature reflect four distinct organizational purchase requirements, namely, assured performance, prestige, brand leaders and commodity. Second, a taxonomy of five sources of B2BBE (prominence, solutions, accessibility, relationships and network strength) manifests buyers’ interactive experience during the purchase cycle. Third, it illustrates the positive short-term effect of all explanatory variables coupled with the positive long-term impact of R&D on sales. Practical implications Features like B2C brand image, clear and precise product information, credit/flexible payment terms, distributor image, add-on services to the core product and upstream–downstream referrals characterize strong brands. GMM model results help managers, in budget allocation. Originality/value The originality of this paper lies in proposing a comprehensive B2BBE framework based on triangulation; deployment of a common structure to simultaneously investigate distributors and industrial buyers, to discover whether their philosophies reinforce/undermine industrial branding strategies; and suggesting the use of GMM model to arrive at actionable insights.