BRAND VALUE DRIVERS AND PERFORMANCES: EVIDENCE FROM THE FOOD INDUSTRY

The main objective of this thesis is to enhance the knowledge about brand value within different stakeholders in the food market. This is an attempt to enlighten the role of brand value in marketing strategy of different food producers, by applying complex multivariate research approach. Studies were conducted in different countries (Italy and Sweden), we have applied different research methodologies (self-reporting study and scanner data analysis) as well as different research instruments (multivariate data analysis, regression and cluster analysis). Chapter 1 represents an overview of the major theoretical approaches and concepts that are employed in the branding theory and enriched-food industry. We have described and defined the most important approaches and different theoretical nuances regarding brand value, branding and brand management. The enriched-food industry has been discussed in details. The goal of the Chapter 2 is to identify factors that influence the brand and also to determine which factors correlate the brand more, in order to develop more effective business strategies. Our main question is how the factors in a proposed model contribute to brand value in the food industry. An adductive theory approach has been adopted and food managers from Italy and Sweden were questioned. We have used data set of 58 enriched-food brands in the Italian and Swedish markets. The measurement scales have been constructed using theory or suggestions from industry. We have modelled the nine constructs as nine correlated first-order factors. The model includes eight independent variables (consumer orientation, brand differentiation, brand knowledge, new brand development, values, organization, consumer perception, strategy) and the dependent variable brand success. All variables contain four to six items. This chapter provides insight and empirical evidences on the development and enhancement of brand success. The findings can be employed as more effective brand strategies in a sector that has been under-investigated in academic literature and practice. A model of the brand value dimensions, measured by brand equity, has been presented in the Chapter 3. The goal of this research is to establish which dimensions and in which way influence the brand equity performance in the researched industry in order to help development of more effective business strategies. We have studied an aggregate data set for various food brands in the Italian market. We found out that marketing investment, price, revenues and perceived quality were highly associated with brand equity. The managerial implications of presented models were discussed as well as possible future research enhancements. There is no clear answer in marketing literature on how the brand paradigm influences firm strategy in marketing performance context. The Chapter 4 is an attempt to highlight the influence of brand differentiation on branding strategy as well as the impact of innovation on proposed brand framework. We have studied an aggregate data set of 764 enriched-food brands in the Italian market. We found out that brand equity, brand volume, innovation and company type are highly associated with the brand performance outputs. Using cluster analyses, we found out that market share and price are significantly associated with the innovation and company type in the food industry. We have discussed the managerial implication of the presented model, the results of the cluster analyses as well as possible research enhancements.