Investigating international strategic brand management and export performance outcomes in the B2B context

Abstract

Purpose Drawing on Resource-based Theory, the purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the effect of International Strategic Brand Management (SBM) on export performance within the Business-to-Business (B2B) context. To be able to purposely assess the relationship, this paper also sets out to discover what antecedent international resources, (financial resources) and international capabilities (market information, branding and marketing planning) contribute to the ability of B2B exporters to effectively manage their brands abroad. Design/methodology/approach A mixed method firm-level approach was employed. First, a qualitative study of 34 in-depth interviews explored the focal inter-relationships and constructs identified within the literature. A survey of 208 successful UK exporters was then conducted and the results were analysed using structured equation modelling. Findings The results confirm that certain marketing capabilities (branding and marketing planning) are advantageous antecedents to the employment of effective SBM in foreign markets which, in turn, leads to increased financial and market performance internationally. Practical implications This paper outlines practical brand management considerations managers need to account for to achieve effective exporting. Practitioners are advised to prioritise the development of robust international branding and marketing planning capabilities which can enable them to exploit their limited financial resources for optimal benefits. Furthermore, by developing these capabilities, firms can focus on the essence of their brand and communicate their brand image through the effective strategic management of their brand to business customers, evoking positive brand associations, enhanced perceived brand value and the achievement of increased export performance. Originality/value This paper is the first to focus on international SBM as the deterministic factor leading to improved B2B export performance. An innovative framework is offered which positions the pivotal role of International SBM as the central focus. The construct for international branding capabilities is extended specifically for use in the B2B domain.

Branding advantage of agri-food companies in competitive export markets: a resource-based theory

“…Martin et al, 2020), financial resources (Ling-Yee and Ogunmokun, 2001; e.g. Pyper et al, 2019) and informational (knowledge) resources (e.g. Haddoud et al, 2019) have been accentuated the most.…”

“…The findings have implications within the internationalisation setting for managers and policymakers. While it is acknowledged that a firm's brand is a potential source of its competitiveness, practitioners in B2B markets show reservations as to whether the high investments in establishing a differentiated brand will improve the export performance (Pyper et al, 2019). In this regard, simply relying on a great stock of financial assets to support the promotional strategy and policies may not necessarily breed competitive advantage and success for the exporters.…”

“…It frames much of this discussion as it focuses on identifying the resources (Ling-Yee and Ogunmokun, 2001; Morgan et al, 2006;e.g. Fuchs, 2011;Rua et al, 2018;Pyper et al, 2019) and capabilities (Kaleka, 2002;e.g. Cassiman and Golovko, 2011;Falahat et al, 2020;Reimann et al, 2021) that have long served as a baseline explanation for export market performance.…”

“…In the absence of adequate stock of the latter, companies may find it difficult to develop and deploy a distinctive competence in export market venture operations (Spyropoulou et al, 2010), and consequently, encounter failure in export (Ding et al, 2020). Specifically, the establishment and development of close and enduring foreign customer relationships that guarantee brand awareness and differentiation (Spyropoulou et al, 2018;Martin et al, 2020) are costly endeavours (Spyropoulou et al, 2010;Pyper et al, 2019). To illustrate, exporting firms need adequate financial resources to promote their export products in terms of launching an advertising campaign, employing personnel for performing the communication tasks and supporting other activities which are necessary for developing communication capabilities (Spyropoulou et al, 2011).…”

“…Regarding the latter, the studies that examined the capability-performance relationship were mostly merely focussed on this relationship (Kaleka, 2002;Chang et al, 2018), notwithstanding the mediation mechanism through which resources and capabilities are devoted to achieving objective performance outcomes, which is a converting relationship through competitive advantage (Kozlenkova et al, 2014). Also, studies mostly used a heterogeneous sample from multiple industries (Kaleka and Morgan, 2019;Pyper et al, 2019;Martin et al, 2020;Reimann et al, 2021); hence, a focus on one particular industry could control the behavioural difference of firms from multiple sectors (Haddoud et al, 2019). Therefore, research on the capability-competitive advantage-performance relationship, with emphasis on the mediation role of the elements of the competitive advantage in a homogeneous sample appears necessary (Falahat et al, 2020).…”