نوع مقاله : مقاله مستخرج از رساله دکتری
نویسندگان
1 دانشجوی دکتری مدیریت بازاریابی، گروه مدیریت بازرگانی، دانشکده مدیریت و اقتصاد، دانشگاه تربیت مدرس، تهران، ایران.
2 استاد، گروه مدیریت بازرگانی، دانشکده مدیریت و اقتصاد، دانشگاه تربیت مدرس، تهران، ایران.
3 استاد، گروه مدیریت بازرگانی، دانشکده مدیریت و اقتصاد، دانشگاه تربیت مدرس، تهران، ایران
4 دانشیار، گروه رهبری و سرمایه انسانی، دانشکدگان مدیریت، دانشگاه تهران، تهران، ایران.
چکیده
کلیدواژه‌ها
عنوان مقاله [English]
نویسندگان [English]
Objective & Introduction: Brand management strategies in holdings necessitate a deep understanding of brand concepts and holding-wide activities. The greater the alignment between support programs of holdings and their Strategic Business Units (SBUs), the more positive the impact on brand identity creation, feedback, and joint communications of both the holding and its SBUs. Considering holdings’ need for a comprehensive brand roadmap to secure favorable positions for each business in competitive markets—and addressing the existing research gap—this study aims to develop such a roadmap through a multi-stage approach.
Methodology: From a research-philosophical standpoint, the approach to holding-brand roadmapping is pragmatic. The methodological orientation is inquisitive, the research strategy is a case study, and the design is a simple exploratory mixed-methods type. Temporally, it’s cross-sectional. Data collection tools included semi-structured interviews and an expert-driven best–worst method (BWM) questionnaire. The target population consisted of branding and marketing experts and managers at the Golrang Industrial Group, chosen via purposive and theoretical judgment sampling. Fourteen interviews were conducted until theoretical saturation, and 12 experts completed the BWM questionnaire. To check interview reliability, a test–retest technique was used. In the first phase, a case study on Golrang extracted roadmap components. In the second phase, the BWM technique determined factor priorities at each level.
Findings: The results revealed a three-level roadmap:
Level 1: Branding Objectives: From 52 final codes, 12 core concepts emerged—such as enhancing financial performance, brand prominence, brand equity, brand trust, corporate reputation, value creation growth, strategic positioning, bargaining power, brand perceptions, economies of scale/diversity, and market intelligence. These objectives centered on differentiation, improved brand positioning, and economic value creation.
Level 2: Branding Strategies & Tactics: From 62 final codes, seven key concepts were identified: brand-portfolio strategies, branding strategies, brand management, brand extensions, brand initiatives, stakeholder collaboration, and social media management. The aggregated strategies and tactics encompassed brand architecture, brand engagement, and brand ingenuity.
Level 3: Influential Internal & External Factors: 112 final codes led to 32 concepts, including organizational resources and capabilities, customer knowledge, competition intensity, financial investment, organizational culture, brand policy, corporate governance, branding expertise, internal changes, national/international partnerships, market characteristics, strategic intelligence, inter-organizational relationships, innovation strategy, brand development strategy, globalization, customer-centric culture, sustainability issues, national/international regulations, technological trends, political and economic factors, and government industrial policies. Ultimately, six main factor categories were identified: macro-environment, market and competition, organizational capabilities, intra-organizational behaviors and interactions, organizational growth and development, and organizational brand-portfolio management.
Discussion & Conclusion: Possessing dynamic capabilities related to product development, branding, and globalization accelerates a holding’s progress. Holdings must master capabilities related to their client brands and reinforce or re-examine their organizational culture. To strengthen their competitive market position, they should pursue a robust innovation strategy. Financial investment significantly influences the adoption of brand-innovative strategies; for instance, luxury groups like LVMH, Gucci, Prada, and Richemont have invested millions of dollars to develop a comprehensive corporate brand identity. Depending on their strategic orientation across the dual dimensions of innovation and branding, holdings can prioritize various pathways. Alongside innovation, they must cultivate strong, unique connections in consumer minds, requiring sustained branding investment. Internal factors—such as lack of focus, insufficient marketing investment, and managerial leadership style—can impede holding-brand development and should be addressed.
Additionally, national and international partnerships or alliances in supply chains can help create, strengthen, or discontinue brands. Holdings aiming for globalization must undergo structural and process changes. It is recommended that holdings use their brand as a tool to align employees, ensuring the brand is delivered as intended. Notably, given the diversity and scale of holding activities, their stakeholder base is extensive, making stakeholder-brand collaboration crucial. For example, a holding aiming to involve its shareholders in brand development should engage these and other stakeholders in product/service innovations. Therefore, holding managers should use the brand to inform, design, and manage not only the customer experience but also interactions with business partners, investors, and stakeholders. Interestingly, to gain the potential benefits of CSR-oriented brand development, holdings must actively communicate and dialogue with primary and secondary stakeholders. Finally, depending on brand architecture, holdings can adopt branded house, endorsement, or house-of-brands strategies. Moreover, observing the long list of holdings using co-branding/co-creation, such strategies emerge as significant branding approaches for them.
کلیدواژه‌ها [English]
)