Editorial

Citation

Leventhal, R.C. (2008), "Editorial", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 17 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/jpbm.2008.09617faa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Product & Brand Management, Volume 17, Issue 6

What is the value of a brand to the consumer, to the parent company, to the marketplace? This question is not an easy one to answer. We have to begin to examine the concept of brand equity, which would also necessitate understanding brand awareness, brand associations, perceived (brand) quality and brand loyalty. What holds true for one market may not be valid for another market. Add in the ongoing globalization of brands, and we begin to face a greater degree of complexity in trying to obtain a competitive brand advantage. Perhaps what has worked well in prior marketing strategies may not be the key to continued success.

Wong and Merrilees investigate the nature and magnitude of potential benefits that accrue to firms that have a high level of brand orientation. The authors create a structural model that may yield a positive relationship between brand orientation and brand performance. A key to success in the marketplace might be by using branding as a central drive of the entire marketing strategy process. In addition, the authors identify a number of brand barriers that stand in the way of a company becoming more brand-oriented.

Buil, deChernatony and Martinez investigate the measurement invariance of the consumer-based brand equity scale across two specific markets, these being the UK and Spain. The authors tested whether brand equity can be conceptualized in the same way across countries and whether difference scores on the items can be meaningfully compared among these countries. The authors report that cross-national consumer responses to the brand equity scale can be meaningfully compared in these two countries, indicating that consumers in both the UK and Spain interpret and respond to the items in an equivalent manner.

Seltene and Brunel examine brand extension from a consumption perspective. In an experimental design applied to a familiar brand, this being Nestle, the authors manipulated the degree of heterogeneity of brand extension in a specific brand category. The results of their study confirmed the importance of the consumption context as key to the evaluation of brand extension. The authors suggest that before launching a brand extension, it would be useful for brand/product managers to compare several brand extensions in terms of associations that may or may not be shared with other brands.

Horppu, Kuivalainen, Tarkianen and Ellonen examine online brand relationships and the linkage between satisfaction, trust and loyalty on the website level. Their research findings support the results of earlier studies suggesting that satisfaction and trust n the website level are determinants of website loyalty. However, they also show that brand-level experiences affect online satisfaction, trust and loyalty differently, depending on the consumers’ relationship with the brand.

In this issue you will also find a most interesting case study, a Beyond Product and Brand Management section, as well as our Book Review section.

Richard C. Leventhal