Franchising Brand Benefits: An Integrative Perspective

G. Christodoulides and N. Ghantous
Additional contact information
G. Christodoulides: American University of Sharjah
N. Ghantous: Métis Lab EM Normandie - EM Normandie - École de Management de Normandie = EM Normandie Business School

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: Despite significant advances in the study of B2B branding, including several contributions and special issues in this journal, the specificities of franchising, a subfield of B2B relationships, dictate further investigation. In effect, the franchise branding literature remains largely fragmented and dependent on data from a single stakeholder source. This paper attempts an integrative view of franchise branding by examining brand benefits from three theoretical perspectives (brand as a resource, brand as knowledge, and brand as a relationship fulcrum) and data from two stakeholders. Specifically, the objective of this paper is threefold: to offer a comprehensive view of brand benefits for franchisees, as perceived by both franchisees and franchisors, and considering their evolution throughout the franchise relationship lifecycle. 37 interviews with franchisees (n = 22) and franchisors (n = 15) reveal diverse brand benefits, including new insights related, for instance, to experiential benefits which have received very limited attention in B2B branding. The study also unveils significant perceptual gaps, with franchisors having a much narrower view of brand benefits than franchisees, which could potentially be detrimental for this subtype of B2B brands. Based on the findings, we also develop a tool that helps franchisors manage their brand benefits (i.e. deploy, emphasize or downplay individual benefits) over the lifecycle of their relationship with each franchisee. © 2020 Elsevier Inc.

Keywords: B2B brand; Brand benefits; Franchise; Relationship lifecycle; Stakeholders (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Published in Industrial Marketing Management, 2020, 91, pp.442-454. ⟨10.1016/j.indmarman.2020.10.009⟩

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04457126

DOI: 10.1016/j.indmarman.2020.10.009

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().