Industrial Marketing Management 41 (2012) 106114

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Industrial Marketing Management

A framework of brand value in B2B markets: The contributing role of functional and
emotional components
Sheena Leek , George Christodoulides
Henley Business School, Greenlands, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 3AU, United Kingdom
Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The creation of value is admittedly a critical task for marketers regardless of industry. This paper focuses on a
Received 27 January 2011 type of value that has traditionally been perceived as irrelevant to industrial markets and argues that brand
Received in revised form 29 July 2011 value facilitates the progression from goods and services value to relationship value. To address the limited
Accepted 9 September 2011
amount of research on B2B branding from the suppliers' point of view, we complement insights gained
Available online 15 December 2011
from a literature review with ten exploratory interviews with B2B supplier managers, and develop a frame-
Keywords:
work of brand value applicable to industrial markets. This identies both the functional (i.e., quality, technol-
B2B branding ogy, capacity, infrastructure, after sales service, capabilities, reliability, innovation) and emotional qualities
Functional qualities (i.e., risk reduction, reassurance, trust) important for the development of industrial brand equity. Situational
Emotional qualities (e.g. nature of the purchase) and environmental factors (e.g. the economic situation) affecting suppliers' per-
Brand value ceptions of the importance of brand in a B2B context and the role of functional versus emotional brand qual-
Relationships ities are discussed. The value of the brand as a driver for the development of business to business
relationships is also highlighted. The framework provides a basis for B2B practitioners to build their brands
in such a way as to make a functional as well as an emotional connection with buyers that is more likely
to lead to a supplierbuyer relationship.
Crown Copyright 2011 Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction (Kuhn, Alpert, & Pope, 2008; Lindgreen, Beverland, & Farrelly,
2010; Persson, 2010), internal B2B brand equity (Baumgarth &
The signicance of creating value for buyers and other stake- Schmidt, 2010), brand value and performance (Han & Sung, 2008),
holders is well documented in the marketing literature (e.g. Doyle, and global brand leadership (Beverland, Napoli, & Lindgreen,
2000; Lindgreen & Wynstra, 2005). Indeed, the creation of value is 2007). It is notable that although a considerable amount of this
prominent in AMA's latest denition of marketing as the activity, B2B stream of research has been carried out from the buyers' per-
set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, deliv- spective (e.g. Bendixen, Bukasa, & Abratt, 2004; Cretu & Brodie,
ering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, cli- 2007; Zablah, Brown, & Donthu, 2010) there is little undertaken
ents, partners, and society at large (Gundlach & Wilkie, 2010, from the suppliers' perspective.
p.90). The (added) value of a brand is widely accepted in the B2C Research on B2B branding has yet to answer fundamental ques-
domain (e.g. Aaker, 1991, 1996; Miller, 2007) and there has been a tions. B2B marketers have traditionally been more skeptical about
considerable amount of research identifying and measuring brand the benets of branding (Leek & Christodoulides, 2011) with the con-
equity (e.g. Keller, 1993; Sinha, Ashill, & Gazley, 2008; Srinivasan, ventional view being that the organizational decision making process
Park, & Chang, 2005) in different consumer contexts including tour- is rational and focused on the functional qualities with no place for
ism (Sanchez, Callarisa, Rodriguez, & Moliner, 2006) telecommunica- the introduction of the emotional qualities used in the B2C context.
tions (Turel, Serenko, & Bontis, 2007), not-for-prot (Sargeant, This view has more recently been challenged by research showing
Hudson, & West, 2008) and e-tail (Christodoulides, de Chernatony, that B2B brands also need to establish trust and develop affective as
Furrer, & Shiu, 2006). well as cognitive bonds with stakeholders (Andersen & Kumar,
While in the past little attention was paid to branding in a B2B 2006; Lynch & de Chernatony, 2007).
context, more recently there has been a surge in the studies addres- With the exception of human intensive services, in a B2C context
sing various elements of B2B branding including B2B brand equity there is usually minimal personal interaction between the consumers
and sellers. The situation is very different in a B2B context where there
Corresponding author. Tel.: + 44 121 414 6226.
is an emphasis on interpersonal interactions (Hkansson, 1982). The
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (S. Leek), value of relationships in B2B has been widely researched (e.g.
[email protected] (G. Christodoulides). Anderson & Narus, 1998; Lindgreen & Wynstra, 2005; Morgan &

0019-8501/$ see front matter. Crown Copyright 2011 Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2011.11.009
 S. Leek, G. Christodoulides / Industrial Marketing Management 41 (2012) 106114 107

Hunt, 1994; Ravald & Grnroos, 1996; Ulaga, 2001; Ulaga & Eggert, Research has identied a number of benets of industrial brand
2006; Walter, Ritter, & Gemnden, 2001), however it remains unclear equity to the supplier company. Branding has been found to have a
whether part of a B2B brand's value is driving the development of positive effect on the perceived quality of the product (Cretu & Bro-
relationships. die,. 2007). It provides the product with a unique identity and a con-
While several criteria used during the process of organizational sistent image (Michell, King, & Reast, 2001). A strong brand is more
buying have been examined (e.g. Bendixen et al., 2004; Mudambi, likely to be placed on a bid list and the demand enables the company
Doyle, & Wong, 1997) there is little research investigating how situa- to command a premium price (Low & Blois, 2002; Michell et al., 2001;
tional factors such as risk (Bennett, Hartel, & McColl-Kennedy, 2005) Ohnemus, 2009; Wise & Zednickova, 2009). The increased demand
inuence the perceived value of B2B brands. Environmental factors for a strongly branded product is also likely to result in competitors'
outside of the organization may also affect the perceived value of a offerings being rejected (Low & Blois, 2002; Ohnemus, 2009). Positive
B2B brand. For example, a signicant number of industrial organiza- perceptions of a product's brand may lead to transferral of these eval-
tions faced with the prospect of commoditization and increased lack uations to other product categories (Low & Blois, 2002; Ohnemus,
of differentiation in their respective markets have deployed brand de- 2009). High brand equity can effectively act as a barrier to entry for
velopment strategies in an attempt to create a competitive advantage. other competitors (Michell et al., 2001). Brand equity conveys a num-
This has led B2B brands such as IBM, Cisco, Oracle and Intel to be cur- ber of intangible benets to buyers; it can increase both the buyer's
rently amongst the most valuable brands globally (Interbrand, 2010). condence in (Michell et al., 2001) and their satisfaction with their
While other types of value including the value of goods and ser- purchase decision (Low & Blois, 2002) and reduce the level of risk
vices and the value of buyerseller relationships have been investi- and uncertainty in the purchase decision (Bengtsson & Servais,
gated extensively in the B2B marketing literature (for a review, see 2005; Mudambi, 2002; Ohnemus, 2009).
Lindgreen & Wynstra, 2005), brand value remains largely unexplored Although researchers of brand equity agree about its importance
(Leek & Christodoulides, 2011). We argue, in this paper, that brand in industrial markets (Bendixen et al., 2004), research so far has pro-
value in a B2B context facilitates the progression from goods and ser- duced mixed results regarding the composition and drivers of indus-
vices value, which is predominantly associated with functional bene- trial brand equity. Kuhn et al. (2008) tested the applicability of
ts to relationship value, which is closely associated with emotional Keller's (2003) consumer based brand equity pyramid in a B2B set-
needs. Brand value encompasses the value of goods and services ting. Keller's (2003) pyramid identies six building blocks of brand
and also some added values (functional and emotional) resulting equity that need to be achieved in a hierarchy of stages starting
from the brand name. with salience, performance, imagery, customer judgments and feel-
The paper opens by reviewing the literature on brand equity, a ings and ultimately brand resonance. Their ndings highlighted a
concept developed to tap the added value endowed by the brand to number of adjustments required to render Keller's (2003) consumer
the product (Farquhar, 1989). We review relevant models and discuss based framework appropriate for industrial markets. Imagery, for in-
the role of functional and emotional qualities and the importance of stance, was replaced by supplier reputation in Kuhn et al.'s (2008) re-
relationships in the creation of industrial brand equity. We then ex- vised model. It was suggested that, brand associations in B2B are
plain the methodology followed by the ndings of the interviews predominantly focused on product performance features than on per-
with the B2B managers on the supplier side culminating in the pre- sonality traits and values. They also concluded that the B2B purchase
sentation of a framework of brand value applicable to B2B markets. process is more rational than the B2C purchase process and emotions
and feelings are not so relevant. This contradicts research which has
found that in a B2C context brand relationships are determined by ra-
2. Literature review tional and emotional evaluations of the brand (Jensen & Klastrup,
2008; Lynch & de Chernatony, 2007).
2.1. Industrial brand equity Keller's (2003) feelings building block was replaced in Kuhn's
(2008) model by salesforce relationships. Relationships with em-
Brand equity is a concept developed in the 1980s to denote the ployees are more important in a B2B setting than in a B2C one. A sub-
added value given to the product by the brand (Farquhar, 1989) or stantial amount of research has been conducted in business to
an intangible market-based relational asset that reects bonds be- business marketing conrming the value of developing relationships
tween rms and customers (Christodoulides & de Chernatony, with B2B buyers (e.g. Ford, Hkansson, & Johanson, 1986;
2010). One of the most widely cited denitions of brand equity is Hkansson, 1982; Walter et al., 2001). The nature of the link between
from Aaker (1991) who denes it as a set of assets and liabilities the brand and the relationship with the buyer company needs to be
linked to a brand, its name and symbol, that add to or subtract from determined.
the value provided by a product or service to a rm and/or that rm's
customers (p.15). This denition implies that brand value can be ex- 2.2. Functional and emotional qualities of B2B brands
amined from two perspectives depending on the beneciary of value
who can be either the customer or the rm. Research on rm-based Kuhn et al. (2008) state that value derived from a B2B brand is pre-
brand equity has focused mainly on placing a nancial value on the dominantly through the functional qualities of a product, the product
asset, whereas customer-based brand equity has focused on cus- performance features. It may also encompass other tangible features
tomers' perceptions of the brand (Keller, 1993) and brand utility including the range of after sales service, the size of the supplier's
(Erdem & Swait, 1998). Within customer-based brand equity, it is no- prots and lead times (Mudambi et al., 1997). This is linked to the
table that the large majority of studies have focused on consumer idea that the purchasing process in the B2B context is more rational
markets (e.g. Pappu, Quester, & Cooksey, 2005; Yoo & Donthu, than emotional. In purchasing a product, buyers require tangible fea-
2001) and only little research has hitherto explored industrial brand tures that they can use to justify their purchase decision and the im-
equity (Beidenbach & Marrell, 2010; Bendixen et al., 2004; Jensen & portance of product performance features has been conrmed by
Klastrup, 2008; Kuhn et al., 2008; van Riel, de Montagnes, & various studies (e.g. Aaker, 1991; Abratt, 1986; Bendixen et al.,
Streukens, 2005; Zaichkowsky, Parlee, & Hill, 2010). While a number 2004). However, while research is beginning to acknowledge that
of the studies in brand equity adopt the buyers' perspective (e.g. emotional qualities contribute to B2B brands, their relative impor-
Bendixen et al., 2004; Cretu & Brodie, 2007; Zablah et al., 2010) it is tance in the creation of brand value remains elusive. Jensen and
necessary to also examine the suppliers' perspective to understand Klastrup (2008) have found that customer brand relationships
how B2B branding is perceived and being implemented. (which they used as a proxy to measure brand equity) are determined
108 S. Leek, G. Christodoulides / Industrial Marketing Management 41 (2012) 106114

by rational and emotional evaluations of the brand. Using data collect- Although neither Mudambi et al. (1997) nor Kuhn et al. (2008)
ed from B2B respondents the researchers tested a model where ratio- have included environmental factors i.e. those which are external to
nal evaluations are determined by associations of product quality, the company in their models, these may affect how much importance
service quality and price; and emotional evaluations are inuenced is assigned to brand within a company.
by differentiation, promise and trust/credibility. The results found
product quality, differentiation and trust/credibility to be determi- 2.4. Brand value in business to business relationships
nants of buyer brand relationships. Our study considers brand value
and relationship value as conceptually distinct (see Fig. 1). Kuhn et al. (2008) emphasized that relationships with employees
Bendixen et al. (2004) found when buyers were asked to rate nine are usually more important in a B2B context than in a B2C setting. In
attributes of their preferred brand, quality was the most desirable at- many purchase situations in a B2C context the buyer does not build
tribute, followed by reliability, performance, after-sales service, ease up a relationship with the supplier, however this is not usually the
of operation, ease of maintenance, price, supplier's reputation, and - case in a B2B context. Research has found that between 70 and 88%
nally the relationship with the supplier's personnel. The functional of B2B relationships are greater than ve years old (Ford et al.,
performance related features of the brand were generally perceived 2002; Hkansson, 1982). Relationships of this length are multi-
as more important than the less tangible, emotional aspects. faceted and encompass not only the relationship with the brand but
Mudambi et al. (1997) describe the value of the B2B brand as also the relationship with the company and the company employees.
being comprised of four performance components i.e. the product, However, previous research in B2B marketing does not make an ex-
distribution, supporting services and the company itself, each with plicit connection between the good/service, the brand, and the rela-
tangible and intangible aspects. The importance of functional quali- tionship. Certain goods and services will predominantly focus on
ties to buyers is apparent from the Mudambi et al. (1997) model delivering value through the functional attributes. Brand value en-
and other research (e.g. Bendixen et al., 2004) and companies need compasses not only delivering the functional qualities but also deliv-
to deliver these tangible and intangible aspects in order to evoke pos- ering emotional qualities which help the buyer in the decision
itive emotions or at least not generate negative emotions. making process. The functional and emotional qualities encompassed
It is clear that functional elements of a brand are crucial in convey- in the brand value may encourage the development of the relation-
ing value to buyers. The role of emotion, how it is linked to the func- ship where there is an increased emphasis on the emotional qualities
tional qualities and how it can be utilized by marketers in a B2B and the interactions between the parties involved (see Fig. 1).
context to deliver brand value needs further investigation. A brand may be more useful in the early stages of the decision mak-
ing process where the parties involved have no previous experience of
2.3. The inuence of situational and environmental factors on B2B dealing with each other (Leek & Christodoulides, 2011). In this situa-
brand value tion brand awareness may act as a relationship initiator or driver.
The internal communication of the brand to employees within the
While the majority of past research assumes that B2B buyers are supplier company is essential as it determines how the brand is con-
rational decision makers and focus primarily on the functional ele- veyed (Baumgarth & Schmidt, 2010) externally to the buyers. Follow-
ments of a brand, various factors in the buying situation or regarding ing interactions between the buyer and supplier, inter-personal
the supplier company may increase the importance given to the emo- relationships may develop. Previous research does not identify
tional qualities of the brand. For instance, in high risk situations whether the brand and the relationship are linked. For instance, in a
buyers are more likely to carefully consider the brand than in low short term or transactional relationship, the brand may remain signif-
risk purchase situations (Bennett et al., 2005). When there is a sub- icant due to the reduced level of interpersonal contact between the
stantial degree of risk, marketers may capitalize on the emotional as- buyer and supplier and lower levels of trust etc. Alternatively, in the
pect of the brand to reassure buyers and reduce the level of perceived context of a long term relationship it needs to be claried as to wheth-
risk. The nature of the product or service may also render some er the brand has a role to play in maintaining the relationship. For ex-
buyers more amenable to emotional branding than others. In addi- ample, as the relationship becomes more established the importance
tion, mature or commodity type markets operating in price driven en- of the brand may diminish as trust, commitment etc. develop. The re-
vironments might emphasize the emotional qualities of their brand. lationship between individuals within companies can be more impor-
For example, EMC Corp, an information technology business, high- tant than the brand in the context of an established relationship.
lights strategies for reducing the likelihood of negative emotional Recently, Toyota recalled a number of car models due to a problem
states such as reassurance and security in their brand communica- with accelerator pedal manufactured by Denso. The relationship be-
tions (Keenan, 2000). tween the two parties has continued due to the mutual reliance;
Denso supplies Toyota with approximately half of its components
and Toyota own a 22.5% share in it (Country Monitor, 2010).
Although contributing to our understanding of brand value in a
B2B context, existing models of industrial brand context suffer from
certain limitations. The frameworks put forward by Mudambi et al.
(1997) and Kuhn et al. (2008) consider the functional attributes of
the brand however, neither of them incorporates the emotional attri-
butes. The emotional attributes of brands are increasingly recognized
as having a role to play in B2B purchasing which was previously per-
ceived as being purely rational (Andersen & Kumar, 2006; Lynch &
de Chernatony, 2007). Jensen and Klastrup (2008) is the only model
of B2B brand equity which addresses functional and emotional ele-
ments of branding, however it is limited in that it conceptually con-
fuses brand value with relationship value (two theoretically distinct
concepts) by measuring brand equity through relationships. Further-
more, Mudambi et al. (1997) and Kuhn et al. (2008) mention company
characteristics in a limited way but none of the existing models recog-
Fig. 1. The brand value hierarchy. nizes the potential inuence of situational and environmental factors
 S. Leek, G. Christodoulides / Industrial Marketing Management 41 (2012) 106114 109

Table 1 provided a strong competitive advantage and also acted as a barrier to

The participating companies and interviewees. entry which was found in previous research by Michell et al. (2001).
Company Nature of product/service interviewee The Marketing Manager from Company E believed industry ac-
creditation precedes the brand. Interestingly, the Marketing Manager
A Product aluminium Sales Manager
B Product health and safety Global Sales Director is separating the accreditation from the brand value when it could be
C Product food Manager perceived as a component of brand value. The separation of a func-
D Product electronic goods Manager tional quality from the brand as a whole may reect a limited view
E Product safety Marketing Manager
of the brand as a logo (de Chernatony & Dall'Olmo Riley, 1998). This
F Service nancial Business Advisor
G Service personnel Manager restricted view of what a B2B brand is may prevent companies from
H Service information technology Managing Director fully utilizing the benets in their communications.
I Service training Senior Brand Manager
J Service direct marketing Managing Director 4.2. The functional and emotional qualities of the brand

4.2.1. The functional qualities

on the importance of branding in purchase decisions. Most research Quality was perceived as the most important functional quality
including the aforementioned models considers brand value from of the brand by a number of the interviewees which reinforces
the buyers' perspective. The current study addresses these limitations the ndings of Abratt (1986), Aaker (1991) and Bendixen et al.
by investigating brand value from the suppliers' perspective. (2004). Obviously companies need to deliver the quality they
promise to buyers otherwise it will damage the perceived value
3. Methodology delivered by their brand.

Based on the literature and ten exploratory in-depth interviews Quality is always the most important aspect Sales Manag-
with B2B marketers we tentatively develop a framework of brand er, Company A
value specic to industrial markets by exploring the relative impor-
tance of brands; the contribution of emotional and functional ele- Other functional attributes were highlighted as being important
ments to the make-up of the B2B brand; and the signicance of to buyers. Capacity and capability were also deemed to be impor-
internal communications and buyersupplier relationships for indus- tant functional characteristics by the Global Sales Director of Com-
trial brand equity. pany B. The Senior Brand Manager of Company I and Managing
To complement our understanding about the creation of brand Director of Company H stated that superior technology and innova-
value in a B2B context we conducted ten semi-structured interviews tion were important to their buyers. The Marketing Manager of
with managers in ten B2B companies. As the study was exploratory Company E highlighted their technical knowledge. Company J's
the aim was to obtain a range of views on B2B brand value from a Managing Director stated that The products and services that we
wide variety of companies. Five manufacturers and ve service com- provide are judged primarily on technical criteria. While previous
panies were obtained through convenience sampling spanning a research has emphasized the importance of high technology in con-
range of B2B sectors including aluminum, safety systems, food sup- veying brand value (Mudambi et al.'s, 1997), innovation has not
pliers, electronic equipment, IT systems, direct marketing services, - been explicitly identied.
nancial services and personnel solutions (see Table 1). After sales service was perceived as an important functional brand
All managers had a good knowledge regarding branding within attribute to buyers. A Manager in Company D believed that a popular
their company, had substantial experience in a B2B environment brand will have amassed equipment in the marketplace and the com-
and had held a variety of senior positions in their respective organiza- pany will have developed the network of after sales service suppliers
tions. The interviews sought to investigate B2B managers' views of to support the equipment. Buyers will believe if they purchase the
the importance of branding for their buyers, the contribution of func- brand and it malfunctions the infrastructure is in place to repair it.
tional and emotional values in the development of industrial brand The perception of this functional element i.e. an extensive network
equity, the impact of situational and environmental factors, the inter- of after sales services signicantly contributes to conveying brand
nal communication of brand and its role in relationships with buyers. value. An example of this is, we are currently in the process of
The interviews were conducted face-to-face and lasted between being given 100% of the (Company One) business, not necessarily be-
40 min and an hour. Each interview was recorded and subsequently cause our product is better than the other global brand but because
transcribed. Transcripts were then analyzed using content analysis Company One have got fed up with the poor after care they got
(Miles & Huberman, 1994). A priori codes were developed on the from their previous supplier. Manager, Company D
basis of previous research while exibility allowed additional codes A number of the key functional elements e.g. quality, after
to emerge from the transcripts. The following section presents the sales service, mentioned in previous research (Abratt, 1986;
main ndings from the interviews. We conclude by proposing a Bendixen et al., 2004; Mudambi et al., 1997) have been reiterated
framework for brand value in industrial markets. as contributing signicantly to B2B brand value. Innovation was em-
phasized as an important functional element and one which has not
4. Results and discussion been mentioned in previous research.

4.1. The importance of branding in B2B

Long term loyalty is gained through high quality customer service
as well as innovative technology/continual investment (Manag-
As found with previous research there are mixed views as to the
ing Director, Company H).
importance of branding in a B2B context,

I do feel that branding is a key stage in the consumer purchase 4.2.2. The Emotional Qualities
equation Business Advisor, Company F. In the past B2B buyers have been perceived as focusing predomi-
nantly on the rational aspects of decision making and giving less con-
The Sales Manager of Company A also regarded branding to be an sideration to any emotional elements. The use of emotion in branding
essential part of his business model. He thought an established brand is becoming more apparent through the managers' responses.
110 S. Leek, G. Christodoulides / Industrial Marketing Management 41 (2012) 106114

The suppliers are aware that brands reduce buyers' perceived risk, has been operating for a number of years and this is important to
He [the buyer] always likes buying the brand. We always say no- buyers.
one ever got red for buying the global brand. And if he takes a risk
and buys an unknown brand or a private label brand or a new entrant We can give the customers reassurance because we've done
product if it works, he's just doing his job, if it doesn't work, he's this for a long time- we are a highly established player in the
red. So when you look at it in that way the buyer's got no great de- market. Manager, Company D
sire to take risks. (Manager, Company D). The managers know
buyers do not want to purchase a product or service which is going The length of time a company has been in business and their de-
to negatively impact on the performance of their product or the de- gree of experience will conrm to buyers that the company is stable,
livery of their service therefore they will buy a brand which they well established and will be there with the expertise to provide assis-
know conveys the qualities they require rather than risk purchasing tance should the product malfunction. Similarly, the size of the com-
an unknown brand or one which does not convey the requisite pany can also provide buyers with condence in their decision. An
qualities. information technology company, Company B, perceive the size of
Companies are employing various strategies to provide emotional their company, in terms of it being the largest, most secure and sus-
reassurance and reduce the buyers' perceived risk. The emotional el- tainable provider as providing reassurance and reducing risk.
ements of a brand may be linked to functional elements of the brand.
Company D have developed an after sales service which provides 4.4. Situational and environmental factors effecting perceptions of brand
buyers with the reassurance that if anything goes wrong they will value
be looked after.
Suppliers perceive both situational and environmental factors as
That's another reason why it's safe to buy the brand because you inuencing whether brand value is considered to be important for
know it's going to be looked after, whereas if you buy an un- buyers. One situational factor which affects whether brand is even
known product you run the risk that when it goes wrong there's considered in the decision making process is the nature of the prod-
no infrastructure in the country to actually x it. Manager, Com- uct. The Managing Director of Company H stated that in his industry,
pany D where there is a high level of customization, branding is a low level
priority. At the opposite end of the spectrum, a company selling a
A number of the managers interviewed think trust is a benet commodity product emphasized the importance of brand in differen-
of branding. They perceive it as generating value which is supple- tiating their company's products from those of similar companies
mentary to the main functional qualities of the product or service.
Emotional aspects of the sale become important when the products
Trust is part of the package but it's not something that's cre- being sold don't have much in terms of technology and have a large
ated by the product itself. It's something that we, as the suppli- amount of competition available. Sales Manager, Company A
er of the product, seek to wrap around it. Manager, Company
D The Sales Manager of Company A states that due to the nature of the
product they try to differentiate themselves on the basis of emotional as-
This suggests that trust is conveyed partially through satisfactory pects such as reducing risk and increasing reassurance. A more complex
functional elements of the brand. product or service may rely more on differentiating itself through the
The interviews corroborate previous research (e.g. Jensen & functional qualities of the brand and less so on the emotional qualities.
Klastrup, 2008; Lynch & de Chernatony, 2007) advocating that emo- Environmental factors also inuence managers' perceptions of not
tions have a role to play in delivering brand value in a B2B context. only the value of the functional elements but also the value of brands.
More specically, our ndings suggest that the suppliers perceive Managers are nding the current recession is impacting on buyers' pur-
the emotional qualities of a brand as contributing to buyers' decisions. chasing decisions in relation to the quality and the price they are prepared
The emotional qualities highlighted by the interviewees were the to pay. The Managing Director of Company J has found buyers are more
need to reduce the degree of risk and increase the level of trust in demanding in the recession and the focus is greater on functionality.
the buying decision. The interviewees aimed to reduce perceived
risk by providing reassurance partially through linking the emotional Our buyers are more demanding than in consumer markets, especial-
qualities of a product to the functional qualities of the brand, such as ly in this recession. They expect more for less. Managing Director,
the degree of after sales service. Company J

Emotional aspects of the sale become important when the prod- Buyers want their suppliers to maintain their quality but reduce the
ucts being sold don't have much in terms of technology and have costs. Similarly, Company H's Managing Director believes price relative
a large amount of competition available. Therefore providing cus- to tness for purpose is a key driver for his business. Consequently,
tomers with reassurance regarding post sales service becomes many managers are aiming to maintain their quality but keep their
important. It sometimes becomes even more important to intro- price competitive. On occasions managers believe that price is the
duce risk reduction and reassurance even before the sale takes main driver of a purchase decision resulting in buyers actively avoiding
place, in the form of project planning help (Sales Manager, Com- brands to save money. The Managing Director of Company H believed
pany A). that when purchasing some buyers would avoid mainstream brands
to obtain products with lower costs with the same performance capabil-
ities. Buyers are not willing to compromise on the performance of the
4.3. The company characteristics product but they are prepared to do without the brand especially during
a recession. Previous research has not highlighted the fact that in certain
Mudambi et al. (1997) and to a lesser degree Kuhn et al. (2008) circumstances a branded product could be costing a company business.
highlight how the company attributes contribute to creating brand Past research has not considered how various situational and envi-
value. This is reinforced by the interview data which more speci- ronmental factors affect the perceived value of the brand in different
cally suggests that company factors may provide emotional reassur- ways. In this study the situational factors the type of market and the
ance to buyers. Company D's manager explained that his company level of competition have been found to affect the importance attached
 S. Leek, G. Christodoulides / Industrial Marketing Management 41 (2012) 106114 111

to branding in a purchase decision. In a commodity marketplace a brand suppliers and buyers becoming too close.
may add value to goods and services. Environmental factors are also af-
fecting the importance of the brand. In a recession buyers may not per- Yes there is a lot of personal contact involved but this is also dan-
ceive a brand as justifying the price premium often associated with gerous, faces change, it is very important to promote one's
strong brand names thus buyers may revert to more basic levels of colleagues, the team and not to be the sole correspondent for the
value (e.g. goods and services) which often precludes the brand. purchaser Senior Brand Manager, Company I.

The Senior Brand Manager of Company I would invite the purchas-

4.5. Internal communications and external relationships
er to meet the supplier's team to ensure that the buyer had multiple
relationships. This approach would ensure that the buyer would still
Neither Kuhn et al. (2008) nor Mudambi et al. (1997) in their
have someone to contact if one of the suppliers was not available or
frameworks of brand value acknowledge the importance of internal
if they left the company. It ensures loyalty to the brand rather than
communication. The managers generally acknowledge that informa-
an individual.
tion regarding the brand needs to be communicated and cascaded
The managers acknowledge that buyers may have relationships
throughout the company before it is conveyed to external stake-
with individuals and companies however they did not discuss the
holders including buyers.
buyers' relationship with the brand. In discussions of the brand and
the relationship with individual/company the interviewees did not
necessity for quality, for example, [needs] to be aimed
relate the two entities to each other. Ideally managers need to link
throughout the company, for all the employees to adhere to the
them together as the brand value may act as a driver for the forma-
brand approach Global Sales Director, Company B
tion of relationships (so people trust the brand and then build up
the relationship). In initiating relationships managers need to under-
As the sales team will be at the forefront of interacting with the
stand that the functional and emotional values encompassed by the
buyers, the interviewees realized the importance of providing consis-
brand will be evaluated and judged by buyers and that the relation-
tent information regarding the brand to the buyers to ensure it is suc-
ship with the buyer must continue to uphold these brand values.
cessfully positioned.
5. Conclusions
Our sales representatives are the key people who communicate
our brand. Manager, Company D
5.1. Theoretical implications
and
Interestingly, the interviewees had a mixed response as to the
What we do have in place already to help achieve this are importance of brand value in a B2B context, which may reect
some core brand attributes which, in theory, if everyone within their different views of how a brand is dened and what branding
the organization can work towards, we are becoming aligned constitutes. The literature shows as many as twelve different views
with each other and delivering the high quality and consistent of a brand (de Chernatony & Dall'Olmo Riley, 1998). An interesting
brand experience Manager, Company G avenue for future research would be to investigate B2B brand man-
agers' denitions of a brand and the key components to creating a
There is a need for not just consistent communication regarding successful B2B brand. It is argued that perhaps the limited history
the brand within the company but also the need for everyone to of branding in a B2B context resulted in the respondents' relatively
feel involved and responsible for the end resultto coin a phrase narrow perspective of a brand as compared to a B2C context where
every little helps.notion of working as a team and problems not branding has a longer history of practice.
being somebody else's fault (Global Sales Director, Company B). The tentative theoretical framework of brand value in industrial
Despite the knowledge that communications from the sales team marketing is developed from the ndings of both previous research
should be consistent, the Sales Manager of Company A highlighted a and the exploratory interviews with managers (see Fig. 2). It exam-
potential ethical issue concerned with adding emotional attributes ines brand value from a suppliers' perspective while previous models
to the brand. Salespeople may in their efforts convey an image differ- have examined it from the buyers' perspective. Fig. 2 shows how
ent to the standard image. This inconsistency may create problems brand value and company characteristics can be conceptualized as
with buyers if they discover other buyers have received differential leading to relationship value. Brand value cannot be deconstructed
treatment. into goods and service value and added values (resulting from the
Kuhn et al. (2008) acknowledge the importance of salespeople de- brand name alone) as the brand supervenes on and cannot be sepa-
veloping relationships with buyers and establishing partnerships in rated from the product (Grassl, 1999). Our framework also takes
creating brand equity. The ndings of this research particularly high- into account situational and environmental factors which affect the
light the importance of buyerseller relationships. inuence of branding in purchase decisions.
In Fig. 2 the functional and emotional qualities are at the core of
We hold the value of relationships over and above that of other B2B brand value. In the creation of industrial brand equity, managers
aspects of brand equity. Managing Director, Company J perceived functional values including quality, technology, and after
sales service as encompassed by Mudambi et al. (1997) to be of im-
The Managing Director of Company J perceives the relationships portance to the buyers. Innovation, a functional factor was also
with his customers as protecting our business from our competitors found to be of importance which has not been found in previous re-
which reinforces Low and Blois (2002) ndings. Companies want to search. In this research, functional values emerged as the primary fac-
build up their knowledge of their customers' needs so they can satisfy tors considered by buyers in the decision making process. This is in
them and in doing so develop a relationship with the buyers which line with previous research (e.g. Abratt, 1986; Bendixen et al., 2004;
will be difcult and time consuming for other suppliers to emulate. Kuhn et al., 2008) highlighting the rational approach taken in a B2B
The aim of the relationship is to satisfy the buyers, retain their loyalty context. However, the managers also highlighted the emotional qual-
and for it to act as a barrier to competitors. ities of risk reduction, providing reassurance and trust as being signif-
While relationships are important for conveying industrial brand icant for the development of their brands. This provides support to
equity, the Senior Brand Manager of Company I was reticent about previous research (e.g. Andersen & Kumar, 2006; Jensen & Klastrup,
112 S. Leek, G. Christodoulides / Industrial Marketing Management 41 (2012) 106114

Supplier Characteristics
Age of company
Experience

Internal Communications

Brand Value
Functional Emotional

Quality Risk Relationship

Technology reduction
Capacity Reassurance
Value
Infrastructure Trust
After sales service Credibility
Capabilities
Reliability
Innovation
Price

Environmental Factors Situational Factors

Economic situation e.g. recession Type of product e.g. commodity

Market situation e.g. competition Criticality of purchase

Fig. 2. The B2B brand value framework.

2008; Lynch & de Chernatony, 2007) advocating the importance of relationship lifecycle. It would be useful to identify whether brands
emotion for industrial markets. Despite the dominant role of func- drive the initial development of relationships and whether their im-
tional values in this context it is suggested that there is an interrela- portance is sustained, enhanced or diminished throughout the rela-
tionship between the functional and emotional qualities of an tionship lifecycle.
industrial brand. The provision of the functional qualities obviously This study has found that suppliers' perceptions of the impor-
contributes to developing the emotional qualities. For example, the tance of branding may be determined inter alia by situational factors
presence of a service infrastructure reassures buyers and reduces such as the nature of the product and environmental factors such as
their perceived risk. Future research could focus on identifying inter- the economic situation both of which have not been mentioned in
actions and a possible hierarchy between functional and emotional past research. With regard to situational factors branding was
elements. found to be more important for commodity products, however it is
This research has found certain characteristics of the supplier necessary to investigate further which of the functional and emo-
company to be instrumental to the development of a branding strat- tional elements are most inuential in creating a strong brand for
egy. These characteristics are likely to be considered in conjunction such a product. With regard to environmental factors the current
with the functional and emotional elements of the product/service. economic situation seems to be negatively affecting the role of
While only experience and age of the company were identied, future branding. A priority for buyers is to obtain the quality required at
research needs to determine what other company characteristics a lower price rather than paying a premium for a brand. Emotional
could be contributing to the purchase decision. These company char- qualities of a brand are less valued in a recession where quality and
acteristics could be incorporated into the B2B branding strategy. tness-for-purpose are the primary concerns. Further academic re-
Within a company the signicance of consistent internal commu- search needs to systematically determine the effect of these situa-
nication to convey brand message has been highlighted in the inter- tional and environmental factors on buyers' perceptions of
views. Adhering to the functional and emotional values branding including whether the importance of branding in decision
encapsulated by the brand enables employees to deliver coherent in- making process varies between straight rebuys, modied rebuys and
teractions that are likely to contribute to developing buyer relation- new tasks.
ships. Consistent with previous literature in B2B (e.g. Kuhn et al., This research has argued for the role of brand value in a B2B con-
2008) and B2C (e.g. Keller, 1993) the managers regard relationships text and has put forward a tentative framework for generating brand
the pinnacle of industrial brand equity. Developing stronger buyer re- value which highlights the importance of the links between the func-
lationships with the brand, employees and the organization leads to tional and emotional brand attributes, the contribution of the supplier
the creation of exit barriers which has been mentioned in this study company characteristics and considers the moderating role of situa-
and reiterates previous research (Low & Blois, 2002). Future research tional/environmental factors. It also emphasizes the importance of
may try to deconstruct the value of relationships and assign a relative communicating the brand strategy within the organization and the
value to different aspects such as the product, the employees, and or- potential of the brand to drive the development of relationships.
ganization. Further research could also determine the importance of This framework has emerged from the literature review and explor-
each element, product, employees and organization throughout the atory interviews with managers from a wide range of B2B industries.
 S. Leek, G. Christodoulides / Industrial Marketing Management 41 (2012) 106114 113

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114 S. Leek, G. Christodoulides / Industrial Marketing Management 41 (2012) 106114

Sheena Leek is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Birmingham. George Christodoulides is a Professor of Marketing at Henley Business School, Univer-
Her research interests include networking and the initiation of business relationships sity of Reading. His research focuses on brand management and e-marketing, and has
and development of networks, the communication process within business to business appeared in journals such as the Journal of Advertising Research, Industrial Marketing
relationships and B2B branding. She has published in a range of publications such as Management and the European Journal of Marketing. George's research has been spon-
the Journal of Management Studies, Industrial Marketing Management and the Journal sored by external funding bodies including the Economic and Social Research Council,
of Marketing Management. the British Academy and the Chartered Institute of Marketing.