The Regulatory Challenge to Branding: An Interpretation of UK Competition Authority Investigations 1950-2007

Brand Externalities: A Taxonomy

“…The parallel brand conceptualizations put branding at the heart of the problem. Authorities find it difficult to objectify branding and regulate brand misconduct (Ashton and Pressey 2011). Value co-destruction predominantly highlights a gap in marketing theory and branding practice.…”

“…Exchange and externalities are fundamentally tied, and this paper builds on the inclusive idea of externalities to understand the hidden costs of human decisions in the contemporary brand system. Externalities, occurring in production and consumption situations (Hartwick and Olewiler 1986), are the uncalculated costs and benefits of exchange, accruing to the transacting parties Holt (2002) Brands "allow companies to dodge civic obligations" (p. 88) Holt (2006) Brands are capitalists' weapon to profit from consumer anxieties and "poignant symbols" (p. 300) that mark the rendezvous for consumerism and capitalism O' Reilly (2006) Brands are "meanings staged, enacted, performed, or danced to the music of the cash register" (p. 268) Klein (1999) Brands have colonized social life Ashton and Pressey (2011) Branding enables corporates to hold an anti-competitive stance and cause several regulatory challenges by:…”

“…It includes restrictive distribution agreements for prime shelf space, full-line forcing, sole distribution, and change in the retail atmosphere to reflect the brand image. Buying agreements with component manufacturers enforcing usage of their brand name in component manufacturing and consequent eclipsing of the corporate reputation of suppliers is a testimony of brands executing their power over supply-chain partners (Ashton and Pressey 2011). Starbucks' efforts to suppress Ethiopian coffee producers' trademark applications through industry lobbyists, depriving them of the value they are generating, is not just a matter of exploiting supply partners; it questions the ethical and moral credibility of the corporate (Faris 2007).…”