Global Integration of Brands and New Product Development at General Motors

The rapidly globalizing marketplace reflects environmental characteristics requiring the development of unique capabilities that enable the firm to create competitive advantages. Correspondingly, this study addresses challenges faced by managers in a large company with a broad global footprint as it integrates the product development process and the portfolio of brands across geographic markets. In a global organization, the unique dynamic capabilities that need to be developed include a global orientation, global market knowledge competencies, and global coordination. The present study considers these capabilities with respect to process, position, and evolutionary history of the firm and its brands. Qualitative research methodology is employed to explore the phenomenon of moving products and brands from multidomestic to global. The findings indicate the structure of a global brand portfolio evolves through complex interactions among new product development, marketing, and brand management. Overall, the organization's current positions and past history form the basis of the ways routines, practices, and means of learning are combined and coordinated to implement product decisions that support brand objectives.     

中国品牌建设现状分析及对策

随着经济全球化的不断发展,中国本土品牌在与国际品牌的竞争与对接中获得了长足的发展,并在与企业文化互动中展示了中国特色的品牌发展优势。但在当今具有国际影响力的中国品牌廖廖无几,中国品牌建设和管理仍存在许多薄弱环节。打造本土强势品牌,提升品牌凝聚力和价值核心力,突出企业文化与品牌建设的互动式发展,走国际化品牌的发展之路,成为中国品牌未来建设的必然要求。     

A platform approach in solution business: How platform openness can be used to control solution networks

This paper explores how customer solution providers leverage digital platform architectures and particularly platform openness to exert control over complex organizational networks. A multiple case-study approach studies three companies with digital platforms that orchestrate solution networks in the LED and ICT industries. Our findings show that the features of product modules (core or peripheral), service modules (relationship intensity and customization), and knowledge modules (explicit, tacit and codified) have differential influence on the levels of platform openness. By managing platform openness of different subsystems accordingly, the solution providers can achieve different control benefits, including ensuring module quality, increasing offering variety, reducing dependence on module providers, and facilitating resource sharing. We contribute to the literature on solution business by reconceptualising the platform approach from a two-level perspective. We also deepen the field's understanding of the role of digital platforms in solution business from an architectural perspective.     

优势品牌基因的特点

任何一个品牌,都是由三重因素构成的。第一重因素就是产品的品质、产品外观、产品价值等产品属性;第二重因素是销售价格、广告宣传与市场推广、经营管理理念、企业文化等品牌属性;第三重因素是企业环境、竞争环境、消费环境等环境属性。所有的品牌都有这三重因素,但是,只有极少数的品牌升级为优势品牌。这是因为优势的品牌是一件无价的艺术品,而优势品牌基因是成就其无价的因子。这篇文章通过对优势品牌基因的分析,为企业提供寻找优势品牌基因的线索,希望能对推进中国品牌的优势进化有所帮助。     

Orchestrating corporate social responsibility in the multinational enterprise

Research Summary: Multinational enterprises (MNEs) invest significant resources in corporate social responsibility (CSR), but their attempts to build a global “social brand” may clash with the execution of operational strategies at a subsidiary level. Using a game-theoretic model, this research addresses the complex interplay of different contingencies that shape the coordination and control challenges facing MNEs when they implement global CSR strategies, including brand spillovers, the risk of public scandals caused by irresponsible behavior, the size of the MNE network, as well as the roles played by nongovernmental organizations and altruistic managers. Challenging the view of CSR as insurance against lapses of responsible conduct, our model shows that investment in social brands helps avoid irresponsible practices across the MNE network, thereby inducing subsidiaries to “walk the talk.” Managerial Summary: Global social brands are increasingly valuable to multinational enterprises (MNEs), which makes the control and coordination of responsible behavior across their network of foreign subsidiaries a relevant managerial challenge. Indeed, lapses of responsible conduct at the subsidiary level often generate reputational damage at the multinational level. This research explores several mechanisms that help MNEs manage this coordination and control challenge. First, it shows under what conditions MNEs can leverage their investments in social brands to induce responsible practices across their global network. Second, it illustrates how MNEs can exploit collaborations with nongovernmental organizations to reduce the costs of coordinating and controlling their subsidiaries. Finally, it identifies conditions under which MNEs benefit from hiring altruistic managers to run their subsidiaries.     

An Empirical Study of Platform and Derivative Product Development Projects

Many firms now realize the importance of planning product families and product platforms. However, little research addresses planning and execution of different types of projects within a product family platform series. This study investigates project characteristics, development challenges, typical outcomes, and success factors for product development projects at different locations in the product family spectrum. “Platform” projects result in products that initiate a new product family platform for a company. “Derivative” projects result in products consisting of extensions to an existing product family platform. Data on 108 new product development projects from a variety of assembled products industries were collected via a detailed survey and analyzed. Findings indicate that: (1) platform and derivative projects differ in project task characteristics (including the amount of new technology development undertaken and project complexity) and market newness; (2) platform and derivative projects generally do not differ in terms of project success (achievement of project objectives, level of company satisfaction, and perceived customer satisfaction) or smoothness of project execution; (3) both platform and derivative projects generally are executed in similar ways; (4) certain managerial approaches (including contingency planning, project-based evaluation of personnel, and overlap of design and manufacturing engineering) are associated with higher project execution success for both platform and derivative projects; and (5) use of interdependent technologies and novel project objectives are associated with project execution failure for platform projects. The results suggest that firms can continue to employ a single product development management process for both platform and derivative projects, as long as modest customization of the process is made for the given project type. Completely different management processes are not required. In all, the results presented in this article suggest specific managerial actions companies can take to significantly improve product development success. © 1999 Elsevier Science Inc.     

Manufacturer's retailer dependence: A private branding perspective

With the recent increase in the power of major retailers through consolidations, the world of brands has divided in two categories: national brands belonging to manufacturers and private brands belonging to retailers. While national brands are well studied in the literature, there is a dearth of studies on private brand phenomenon particularly from a manufacturer's point of view as opposed to that of retailers and consumers. To address this gap, we explore the antecedents and consequences of a manufacturer's private brand retailer dependence with a focus on the manufacturer's relationship with retailers. Drawing on the Resource Dependence Theory and Transaction Cost Economics, we examine various products and market characteristics as potential antecedents of a manufacturer's private brand retailer dependence while adopting private brand sales growth and returns from private brand production as outcomes using a sample of 153 South Korean manufacturers currently involved in private brand production. The results show that the private brand retailer dependence of a manufacturer leads to private brand sales growth directly and returns from private brand production indirectly through private brand sales growth, and has a negative effect on return from private brand production directly. Furthermore, product characteristics, such as product innovativeness through collaboration with retailers and search goods, and market characteristics, such as high retailer power and knowledge specificity of a retailer, increase a manufacturer's private brand retailer dependence and, therefore, private brand sales growth. The theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are discussed at the end.     

The Role of Fashion Brand Authenticity in Product Management: A Holistic Marketing Approach

This study explores the multidimensional construct of brand authenticity and the effect of each component on brand attachment, brand commitment, and brand loyalty by focusing on fashion brands in sporting goods. For this study, two global sports brands, Nike and Adidas, were selected, and brand stimuli (cartoons with scenarios) were designed based on a qualitative analysis of brand cases. A total of 207 usable responses were obtained from Korean consumers who had purchased the selected brands. The findings show that fashion brand authenticity consisted of seven factors: authority, fashionability, consistency, innovativeness, sustainability, origin, and heritage. Of these factors, authority, fashionability, innovativeness, and sustainability were significant predictors of brand attachment, and authority, consistency, and innovativeness were significant predictors of brand loyalty. There were differences in the effects of brand authenticity on brand attachment and brand commitment between Nike and Adidas. From a managerial and holistic marketing perspective, implications are suggested regarding the importance of managing brand authenticity in product innovation and management approaches.     

Factors Influencing Brand Launch in a Global Marketplace

The purpose of this study is to explore the factors that influence the launch of brands into new markets in a global environment. Although multiple streams of literature exist with respect to the entry of brands into new markets and the diffusion of new brands within and across markets, the process of launching products and brands globally over time has received relatively limited attention. To address this issue, this study incorporates multiple indicators of activities that can contribute to experiential learning relevant for launching brands in a global marketplace. Market uncertainty and experiential learning provide a conceptual foundation for the development of relevant hypotheses, which are tested in the context of the global automotive industry from 1981 to 2004. A discrete time event history analysis with time‐varying independent variables is employed to estimate the effects of the independent variables on the probability of a brand being launched in a specific market. The global brand launch observations are extracted from a proprietary dataset containing the global dispersion of automotive brands including 22 countries of origin and 42 countries of brand entry. The sample yields 50,572 spells, derived from 99 companies, 173 brands, and 700 market entries. The results of this study contribute to the literature in a variety of ways. Market attractiveness positively influences the propensity of a brand to be launched into a new market. This supports the idea that potential demand conditions are an important managerial consideration in product introduction decisions. The results reveal significant effects with respect to the role of psychic distance and experiential learning. Brands are reluctant to launch into countries that are culturally and economically less similar to the home market. Yet firms tend to place a lower degree of emphasis on factors of cultural distance when launching brands into larger markets, and global experience enables companies to overcome the uncertainties associated with launching brands into international markets that are economically distant. The results also suggest that companies are more likely to introduce additional brands in markets where they already have a presence. Overall, global dispersion and geographic scope, coupled with local market knowledge facilitate the launch of brands globally. From a managerial perspective, this study suggests companies should focus on acquiring both local and global experience to facilitate the launch of products and brands in the global marketplace.     

Brand and product attachment in an industrial context: The effects on brand loyalty

The role of attachment as a driver of industrial brand loyalty has largely been investigated at the inter-organizational level, while there is a notable lack of studies on industrial buyers' attachment to industrial brands and products. By researching an empirical setting in which buyers have first-person experience of product use, this study proposes the existence of brand attachment and product attachment in an industrial context and tests their influence on brand loyalty based on the results of a survey of 317 owner-operators of heavy trucks. Findings suggest that while brand attachment positively and directly influences brand loyalty, product attachment indirectly drives brand loyalty through the mediating effects of brand attachment. Product irreplaceability, however, was found to be a direct driver of brand loyalty. The current research also proposes tests to measure the relationship between the constructs of brand attachment and product attachment. This research has several managerial and theoretical implications indicating that paying attention to the emotional meanings of industrial brands and products is warranted, as are further studies on the application of attachment in industrial marketing.     

Consumer Innovativeness and the Use of New versus Extended Brand Names for New Products*

Despite the importance of branding to new product success, little research has been conducted on how individual adoption orientation might affect brand name preferences. This paper draws on the diffusion literature to investigate how consumer innovativeness affects consumer response to alternative branding strategies (i.e., new vs. extended brands, for new products). The results of an empirical study found that consumer innovativeness has a greater effect on new product evaluations for new brand names relative to extended brand names. Also, results indicate that highly innovative consumers evaluate new products with new brand names more favorably than brand extensions. Furthermore, consumer confidence in the new product was found to mediate the effects of consumer innovativeness and its interaction with brand name type on new product evaluation. Implications include not only giving greater managerial consideration to using new brands but also supporting the chosen branding strategy with appropriate promotional efforts for respective adopter groups.     

The Impact of Fit Measures on the Consumer Evaluation of New Co‐Branded Products*

A popular strategy currently employed for new product introductions is co‐branding. Such a strategy allows a brand to innovate with the support of a partner brand. The present study investigates how consumers perceive a new product with two brands. Previous research focused on the logic of a brand combination by investigating the impact of the fit between both existing product categories (i.e., product‐product fit) and the fit between both brand images (i.e., brand‐brand fit) on the evaluation of a new co‐branded product. However, no study has yet focused on the relationships between both brands and their existing product categories, and the specific new product that has been developed. The present paper aims to improve the understanding of the potential benefits of co‐branding by taking the role of the new product into account. The empirical study discussed in this paper replicates and extends the model of Simonin and Ruth (1998) by adding two new measures to their model. These measures are related to the fit of both existing product categories with the new product (i.e., new‐product‐product fit) and the fit of both brand images with the new product (i.e., new‐product‐brand fit). The results from this empirical study with 210 consumers in The Netherlands show that product‐product fit, brand‐brand fit, and new‐product‐brand fit have a significant positive impact on the evaluation of a new co‐branded product. New‐product‐product fit was not significantly related to consumer evaluations. In addition, the results show that consumers prefer a new co‐branded product that can be clearly associated with one of the brands in the partnership so that it can be categorized unambiguously. This paper discusses these findings and provides implications for research and managerial practice in the important and growing field of brand‐driven innovation.     

Brands in,from and to emerging markets: The role of industrial relationships

Adopting an explicit stance of a brand from a corporate viewpoint and taking an industrial marketing management perspective, this article identifies the causes and effects of internationalisation for brands from advanced and emerging markets. It aims to offer significant insights in advancing industrial marketing scholarship and practice. From an extensive review of extant literature, this article put forth two conceptual models (i) for brands from advanced into emerging markets, and (ii) for brands from emerging into advanced markets. These models underpin an industrial setting and are informed by Wernerfelt (1995) resource-based view of the firm as they impact on the future of corporate brand management in an international industrial marketing context.     

Stratifying the Development of Product Platforms: Requirements for Resources,Organization, and Management Styles

The prior research on product platforms has added to our knowledge from a strategic, technological, and organizational point of view. However, the existing literature, while exploring the platform concept, considers the actual development of platforms from a rather general perspective although companies develop platforms for different aims, purposes, and product scopes. Following on from this, the requirements for platform development resources, the ways of organizing platform development, and the implications for management styles have not been explored and are presumably varying. To start elaborating on this, the research behind this article uses a clinical research approach in seven platform development cases from eight years' longitudinal research in three global manufacturing automotive original equipment manufacturers. Platform development is here defined and treated as development with the aim of creating a foundation, the platform, for the subsequent development of derivative products. The analysis of the development of platform in different strategic situations and with different purposes demonstrates how combinations of changes in components and/or architecture represent a key differentiator. An important result is the advancement of the platform perspective from an architecture with a set of components to a classification of four platform development variants based on alternative changes in architecture and/or components. Each type has different complexities and characteristics influencing the project length, requirements for platform development resources, principles for organizing, and implications for management styles.     

Evolving schemes of interpretation: investigating the dual role of architectures in new product development

Should product architectures be considered inputs to – or outputs from – new product development (NPD)? Whereas the mirroring hypothesis suggests the former, NPD stage models suggests the latter. Elaborating on these conflicting propositions, this paper analyses the relationships between product architectures and development processes in NPD projects. The analysis demonstrates how project managers use product architectures to interpret their tasks and devise appropriate responses to perceived challenges. Thus, architectures provide useful linkages between knowledge development and organisational change in R&D organisations.     

Building Dynamic Capabilities in New Product Development through Intertemporal Integration

Although successful development of a given product may help explain the current success of a firm, creating longer‐term competitive advantage demands significantly more attention to developing and nurturing dynamic integration capabilities. These capabilities propel product development activities in ways that build on and develop technological and marketing capabilities for future product development efforts and create platforms for future product development. In this article, we develop a conceptual model of a dynamic integration process in product development, which we call intertemporal integration (ITI). In its most general form ITI is defined as the process of collecting, interpreting, and internalizing technological and marketing capabilities from past new product development projects and incorporating that knowledge in a systematic and purposeful manner into the development of future new products. Research propositions outlining the relationship of ITI to performance are presented. We provide specific examples of managerial mechanisms to be used in implementing ITI. We conclude with implications for research and practice. Effective management of ITI can increase new product development success and long‐term competitive advantage. This implies that management needs to engage in activities that gather and transform information and knowledge from prior development projects so that it can be used in future development projects. Project audits, design databases in computer‐aided design (CAD) systems, engineering notebooks, collections of test and experimental results, market research and test market results, project management databases, and other activities will all be important in the acquisition of knowledge from prior new product development (NPD) projects. Managers also should initiate the creation and maintenance of databases of technical and marketing information from prior projects, job performance reports, seminars and workshops related to technological issues and advances, and publication of technical journals to assist in the process of knowledge acquisition. Similarly, techniques such as assigning project managers from earlier development projects, reusing key components and technologies, and developing a company‐wide methodology for managing projects can be used to boost the application and use of knowledge.     

全网营销我先行

全网营销开始变得有些复杂。以前,敢于吃螃蟹的品牌企业一般都是采用"淘宝开店+淘宝外分销"的路线,两者泾渭分明,梳理起来也容易。但如今,包括京东、当当、苏宁易购、亚马逊、库巴以及重组后的腾讯电商等独立B2C开始做大,人人都在谈开放平台,卯足了劲大举招商,大有群英战淘宝的势头。     

Corporate brand identity co-creation in business-to-business contexts

Traditionally, corporate brand identity was considered to be directed and controlled by managers. However, more recent research has begun to recognize the limits of this view, which has led to the emergence of a stakeholder-driven, dynamic perspective, in which multiple stakeholders co-create diverse corporate brand meanings. This perspective argues that while managers have influence over the essence of the corporate brand, other stakeholders imprint and share their own interpretations. To better understand the process of corporate brand identity co-creation, we used a case study method with multiple cases, involving five small and medium sized business-to-business (B2B) corporate brands. We specifically chose B2B corporate brands, because they are often built on long-term and close relationships with diverse stakeholders, serving as a solid ground for illustrating the process of co-creation. To obtain the necessary depth of insight, we conducted 37 semi-structured interviews. Our research shows that corporate brand identity co-creation in B2B contexts is an ongoing dynamic process where multiple internal and external stakeholders engage in four different but interrelated performances: communicating; internalizing; contesting; and elucidating.     

Private Labels,National Brands and Food Prices

We study the relationships between national brand prices and the development of private labels, using home-scanned data from a consumer survey reporting purchases for 218 food products. When the impact of private label development is significant (116 cases out of 218), we observe a positive correlation (89%) between brand price and purchases of private labels. When controlling for changes in product quality, we still find a positive relation between private label development and national brand prices. Thus, the change in the national brand product characteristics only partly explains the increase in the national brand prices. Furthermore, the price reactions of national brands differ according to the type of private labels they face. Finally, we demonstrate that the development of private labels has less effect on the prices of second-tier brands than on the prices of the leading brand.      

How strong is the business-to-business brand in the workforce? An empirically-tested model of ‘internal brand equity’ in a business-to-business setting

In the business-to-business sector, the brand-owner's employees are increasingly playing a key role in the representation of individual and corporate brands at the interface with actual and potential customers. Consequently, ‘internal branding’ has recently emerged as an important issue in industrial markets. This article proposes and empirically validates a theoretically structured framework for the measurement of a new construct, internal brand equity, and identifies its determinants and consequences. The findings offer evidence for the powerful impact of a brand-oriented corporate culture on internal brand equity, and demonstrate its relationship to external brand equity. Conclusions are drawn for management practice and future research.