Editorial

Citation

Leventhal, R.C. (2012), "Editorial", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 21 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/jpbm.2012.09621caa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Product & Brand Management, Volume 21, Issue 3

Brands have become an integral part of our lives, be it for products and/or services, as well as for the corporate environment. The attempts to understand the impact that brands have made in the consumer marketplace is driven by the ever-changing attitudes and opinions of the consumer as they are literally bombarded with attempts to affect how they will react to what is being presented to them. What was once a straightforward task is now fraught with complexity and lengthy efforts.

Suvatjis, deChernatony and Halikias assess the issue of corporate identity modeling. The authors explain the stages that were involved in developing, then assessing, a model of corporate identity, which has both academic rigor and managerial relevance. The authors found that this six-station model was considered by managers and consultants to be a valid and reliable model in managing the concept of identity and describing the way that corporate identity operates.

Peng, Cui and Li examine the influence of innovativeness, change seeking and cognitive effort on consumer responses to traditional versus virtual testing environments. The authors report that using form or industry norms to interpret the testing outcome will be biased unless it accounts for whether the screening process result in equally innovative or variety seeking samples of respondents.

Tifferet and Herstein examined the concept of gender based on tenets from evolutionary psychology. They hypothesized that in comparison to men, women will report higher levels of brand commitment, hedonic consumption and impulse buying. This need to understand gender differences in shopping behavior is most important, especially as it affects the fashion industry.

Elliot and Barth explore the design and brand personality of wine labels and their appeal to the millennial market. The millennial market is a large, important segment new to wine consumption. The experimental creation of wine label designs by millennials themselves provides a unique insight in terms of the new, somewhat hedonistic, images that appeal specifically to this growing market.

Kaufmann, Vrontis, Czinkota and Hadiono posit that environmental changes require higher levels of corporate authenticity when communicating with stakeholders. This is achieved by a congruence of stakeholder and brand identities. Focusing on employee identity, the relationships of factors predicting brand-building behavior are explained. The findings enable global marketing managers to more effectively relate to stakeholders by a holistic, empathetic and authentic corporate branding strategy execution.

In this edition of The Journal of Product & Brand Management you also find our Pricing Strategy & Practice section, as well as or Book Review section.

Richard C. Leventhal