ST.

MARY’S UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES

THE EFFECT OF BUSINESS MARKETING OFFERS ON BRAND

IDENTITY: THE CASE OF INDUSTRIAL CHEMICAL
MANUFACTURERS IN ADDIS ABABA

BY

ALEMAYEHU MELAKU SEYOUM

JUNE 2021

ADDIS ABABA
 THE EFFECT OF BUSINESS MARKETING OFFERS ON BRAND
IDENTITY: THE CASE OF INDUSTRIAL CHEMICAL MANUFACTURERS,
ADDIS ABABA

BY

ALEMAYEHU MELAKU SEYOUM

SGS/0358/2012A

ADVISOR: EPHREM ASSEFA (PhD)

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO ST. MARY’S UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF GRADUATE

STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE REQUIREMENT OF THE DEGREE OF
MASTERS OF MARKETING MANAGEMENT

JUNE 2021

ADDIS ABABA
 ST. MARY'S UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES

APPROVAL SHEET

THE EFFECT OF BUSINESS MARKETING OFFERS ON BRAND

IDENTITY: THE CASE OF INDUSTRIAL CHEMICAL MANUFACTURERS
IN ADDIS ABABA

BY

ALEMAYEHU MELAKU SEYOUM

APPROVED BY BOARD EXAMINERS

----------------------------------- -----------------------------------
Dean, Graduate Studies Signature & Date

----------------------------------- -----------------------------------
Advisor Signature & Date

Yibeltal Aschale (Asst.Prof) 12/07/21

External Examiner Signature & Date

----------------------------------- -----------------------------------
Internal Examiner Signature & Date
 DECLARATION
I, the undersigned, declare that this thesis ―THE EFFECT OF BUSINESS MARKETING OFFER
ON BRAND IDENTITY: THE CASE OF INDUSTRIAL CHEMICAL MANUFACTURERS IN
ADDIS ABABA‖ is my original work, prepared under the guidance of Ephrem Assefa (PhD). All
sources of materials used for this thesis have been duly acknowledged. I further confirm that the
thesis has not been submitted either in part or full to any other higher learning institution for the
purpose of earning any degree.

Alemayehu Melaku

_____________________________ ____________________________

Name Signature

St, Mary‘s University, Addis Ababa June 2021

i
 ENDORSEMENT
This thesis has been submitted to St. Mary‘s University, School of Graduate Studies for examination
with my approval as a University advisor.

_____________________________ ____________________________

Advisor Signature

St, Mary‘s University, Addis Ababa June 2021

ii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Blessed be GOD for His righteousness and unconditional love!!!

In the course of my academic stay in post graduate studies, conducting a thesis on specific subject
was a value-added and wonderful learning experience. The completion of this survey leads a new
beginning and a step forward towards my future academic and career development. This preface
provides a better opportunity and chance to acknowledge the help and assistance of the people who
with their intellectual insights or constructive criticism which helped me develop this preliminary
research.

First of all, I would like to thank my advisor, Ephrem Assefa (PhD), for his intelligent guidance and
valued advice during the whole process of the thesis articulation.

Second, the staffs of bottled water manufacturers in Addis Ababa, especially ONE Water brand
factory‘s sales manager – Natnael Zewdie for his unlimited assistance in providing me with the
required information. My gratitude also goes to the respondents at the case companies who took their
time to provide their responses without any hesitation.

I wish to take this golden opportunity to express my deepest thanks to my dear families – Meron and
Blen, for the love and support they have provided me with on every step of my life, especially this
important part of my education.

Special thanks to my beloved mom, Genet Getahun, for her genuine motherhood.

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 Table of Contents
DECLARATION .....................................................................................................................................i

ENDORSEMENT ................................................................................................................................. ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .................................................................................................................... iii

LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................................. vii

LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................ viii

ABBREVATION AND ACRONYMS .................................................................................................ix

ABSTRACT ..........................................................................................................................................ix

CHAPTER ONE ..................................................................................................................................... 1

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 1

1.1. Background of the Study ......................................................................................................... 1

1.2. Statement of the Problem ......................................................................................................... 3

1.3. Objectives of the study ............................................................................................................ 5

1.3.1. General Objective ............................................................................................................. 5

1.3.2. Specific Objectives ........................................................................................................... 5

1.4. Significance of the Study ......................................................................................................... 5

1.5. Scope of the Study ................................................................................................................... 6

1.6. Limitation of the Study ............................................................................................................ 7

1.7. Definition of Key Terms .......................................................................................................... 8

1.8. Organization of the Study ........................................................................................................ 8

CHAPTER TWO .................................................................................................................................... 9

2. REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE ............................................................................. 9

2.1. Theoretical Review .................................................................................................................. 9

iv
 2.1.1. Business Marketing ........................................................................................................ 10

2.1.2. Business Marketing Offer -IMP Model .......................................................................... 11

2.1.3. Brand and Brand Identity ................................................................................................... 17

2.1.4. Approaches to Branding ..................................................................................................... 18

2.1.5. The Resource Based View (RBV) of the Firm and Brand Identity .................................... 22

2.1.6. Branding in Business-To-Business Context ....................................................................... 24

2.2. Empirical Reviews and Research Hypotheses........................................................................... 25

2.3. Conceptual Framework of the Study ......................................................................................... 30

CHAPTER THREE .............................................................................................................................. 31

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................. 31

3.1. Research Approach ................................................................................................................ 31

3.2. Research Design .................................................................................................................... 31

3.3. Population, Sample Size and Sampling Technique ............................................................... 32

3.3.1. Target Population ............................................................................................................... 32

3.3.2. Sample Size ........................................................................................................................ 32

3.3.3. Sample Technique .............................................................................................................. 33

3.4. Data Source and Data Collection Method ............................................................................. 33

3.5. Data Analysis and Presentation ............................................................................................. 34

3.6. Scale Validity and Reliability Test ........................................................................................ 35

3.7. Ethical Consideration ............................................................................................................. 37

CHAPTER FOUR ................................................................................................................................ 38

4. DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION .......................................... 38

4.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 38

4.2. General Information of Survey Respondents ............................................................................ 38

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 4.2.1. Descriptive Analysis ........................................................................................................... 40

4.3. Inferential statistics .................................................................................................................... 46

4.3.1. Correlation Analysis ........................................................................................................... 46

4.3.2. Assumptions for Multiple Linear Regression Model Test ................................................. 47

4.4. Regression Results..................................................................................................................... 50

4.4. Discussion of the Results........................................................................................................... 53

CHAPTER FIVE .................................................................................................................................. 56

5. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................ 56

5.1. Summary of Major Findings ..................................................................................................... 56

5.2. Conclusions ............................................................................................................................... 57

5.3. Recommendations ..................................................................................................................... 58

References: ..............................................................................................................................................i

Appendix - ............................................................................................................................................ix

vi
 LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Sample Proportion per Stratum .............................................................................................. 33

Table 2: Reliability Test ....................................................................................................................... 36

Table 3: Summary of Demographic Profile ......................................................................................... 39

Table 4: Descriptive Statistics of Product Offer ................................................................................... 41

Table 5: Descriptive Statistics of Service Offer ................................................................................... 42

Table 6: Descriptive Statistics of Logistics Offer ................................................................................ 43

Table 7: Descriptive Statistics of Adaptive Offer ................................................................................ 44

Table 8: Descriptive Statistics of Advice Offer.................................................................................... 44

Table 9: Descriptive Statistics of Brand Identity.................................................................................. 45

Table 10: Pearson Correlation Matrix .................................................................................................. 46

Table 11: Collinearity Diagnosis .......................................................................................................... 47

Table 12: Normality of Distribution Using Descriptive Statistics (Skewness and Kurtosis) ............... 49

Table 13: Model Summary ................................................................................................................... 50

Table 14: ANOVA Test ........................................................................................................................ 51

Table 15: Estimated Regression Coefficients ....................................................................................... 52

Table 16: Summary of the Research Hypothesis Test Result .............................................................. 55

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 LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: IMP Model of Marketing Offers ........................................................................................... 13

Figure 2: Conceptual framework of the Study ..................................................................................... 30

Figure 3: Structure of the Regression Model ....................................................................................... 34

Figure 4: Frequency Distribution of Standardized Residuals ............................................................... 48

Figure 5: Normal Point Plot and Frequency Distribution of Standardized Residuals .......................... 49

viii
 ABBREVATION AND ACRONYMS
B2B Business-to-Business

B2C Business-to-customer

ECIC Ethiopian Chemical Industry Corporation

ERCA Ethiopian Revenue and Custom Authority

FMCG Fast Moving Consumer Goods

IMP International Marketing and Purchasing Group

RBV Resource Based View

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 ABSTRACT
This study sought to investigate business marketing offers on brand identity in the case of industrial
chemical manufacturers in Addis Ababa. Quantitative research approach along with explanatory
research design was applied. A total of 238 employees of bottled water factories were taken as a
study population of which 150 sample respondents were selected through stratified random sampling
technique. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to the targeted respondents and
collected a total of 136 usable responses used for analysis. The collected primary data were coded
and analyzed with the help of SPSS 21.0. The findings showed that all dimensions of business
marketing offer namely product, service, logistics, adaptation and advice offers had positive
relationship with brand identity. Product offer caused relatively the highest effect on brand identity
followed by advice offer while service offer was found to be the least determining factors. It can be
concluded that business marketing offers are good predictors of brand identity in the course of
building unique and strong brands in the context of industrial chemical manufacturers in Addis
Ababa. Thus, firms are recommended to enhance their business marketing offers to differentiate their
brand identity.

Keywords: Business Marketing Offer, Industrial Chemical Manufacturers, Advice Offer, Bottled
Water Factories, Adaptation Offer, Business to Business Marketing

x
 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background of the Study
In contemporary business edge, building strong unique brand identity has become the most
influential marketing tool for facilitating buying decision processes substantially to be easier. As a
managerial tool, brands play a significant role in achieving organizational consensus amongst the
actors involved in the purchasing process for the fact that it determines or reflects the firm‘s
reputation, the degree of consumers‘ level of awareness as well as degree of loyalty (Wright, 2014).

Bureaucratic and hectic purchasing policies and procedures drive industrial or business customers
switch to brand identity rather than merely counting on the quality of industrial products and
services. Business marketers give due attention for building strong brands through different
marketing offers utilizing the offers as sustainable competitive edge and crucial point of
differentiations. When business customers recognize, aware and associate the perceived quality of a
firm‘s brand, the firm develops the required brand equity which results in facilitating purchasing
decision to be easier for organizational buyers. However, business marketers often strive for building
their brands through product, services and logistics but adaptation and advise have been given less
due consideration in the process of building unique or strong brand identity (Ford, 2012).

Business marketing offer is some combination of products, services, information, or experiences

offered to the business market to satisfy industrial consumer needs or wants (International Marketing
and Purchasing Groups – IMP, 2016). Market offerings are not just limited to physical products and
services; they can also include logistics, adaptation and consultation or advice offered. Developing
new products or customer-perceived value packages is an ongoing process in modern markets but
understanding their needs and working towards establishing long-term business relationship is the
focal point. Acknowledging industrial customers needs and working towards the achievement of the
desired goals is a pillar for building unique and strong brand identity. According to Mindrut,
Manolica & Roman (2014), brand identity is how a company is being identified. Brand identity is the
direction the vehicles must follow to reach their destination, namely the customer‘s perception. It is
common for companies to use strategies of branding in order to communicate their identity and their
value to potential consumers and stakeholders through different marketing offers.

1
Manufacturers or suppliers‘ reputation along with customer‘s level of awareness and degree of
loyalty are important considerations in the purchase decision of corporate buyers. In these regards,
scant researches revealed that different marketing strategies are implemented to build their product
brands or company image through business marketing offers. Amongst them, product and services
offer took the lion-share in their strategy to build strong brand identity. According to Beverland
(2015), logistic offer has also significant impact on brand identity. Nonetheless, even though these
three marketing offers namely product, service and logistic (either alone or in combined form) are
building blocks for strong brands, their tangible nature makes them highly prone to be imitated by
strategic competitors.

Prior literatures and other applied researches are suffered from lack of incorporating the role of
adaptation and advice offers in the course of building unique brand. Such intangible core components
(adaption and advice offers) which reflect the inimitable nature of a given firm have also more basis
for building business to business brand identity sustainably. Building brand identity using any
combination of these five components (product, service, logistics, adaptation and advice offerings)
may provide a brand with a more flexible and adaptable positioning, which can readily be modified
to meet the needs of different buyer segments (Ford, 2012). Nonetheless, it was believed that brands
had less impact on industrial or business customers for the fact that they were believed to be more
rational than end consumers and demand greater customization. Such valuable and relevant strategies
could make a tangible difference for business firms by offering added values on economic and
functional benefits as well as providing salient intangible associations, such as expertise and
trustworthiness including firm‘s reputation.

Extant studies have identified that branding strategies are crucial for firm‘s performance as branded
industrial products can provide firms with cash flow benefits and increased network power while
enhancing corporate reputation and raising barriers to entry (Bendixen, 2004; Beverland, 2005). In
these regards, the emerging bottled water manufactures escalate the demand for competent raw
material suppliers along with attractive service quality, proactive (at least on-time) logistics, technical
advice and new product adaption. These business marketing offers are fundamental pillars of brand
identity building attributes in business-to-Business (B2B) relations. Studies revealed that strategies to
build brand identity and company reputation can enhance business customers‘ perception of product,
service quality, and value thereby increasing loyalty. Despite all these opportunities, consideration of

2
what attributes industrial marketers could use to build a strong brand identity is neglected for a while
though few researchers considered the subject.

The purpose of this study is, thus, to investigate the effect of business marketing offer on brand
identity in the context of B2B (industrial chemical manufacturers/ suppliers and bottled water
manufacturers) relationship. It fills the aforementioned gap through evaluating the most significant
determinant of business marketing offer in building unique and strong brand identity in Ethiopian
industrial chemical manufacturers‘ context.

1.2. Statement of the Problem

In contemporary competitive market arena, industrial chemical suppliers provide different business
marketing offers to fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) manufacturers in Ethiopia so as to build
their brand identity to stay competent in the market. Branding strategies through business marketing
offer is the practice by which companies creating unique and strong perceptions in the minds of
industrial or business consumers for their products. According to Ford (2012), firms build their brand
identity through one or more of business marketing offers. These offers comprise product, service,
logistics, adaptation or advice offerings in the supply chain. From marketing perspective, supply of
quality goods, provision of quality delivery services, in time logistics to support customer‘s
operation, identifying new or innovative business ideas, or suggesting to adopt new systems/
technologies to solve their problems are considered as most determinant factors to create strong and
unique brand identity or corporate image.

The main concern in building strong and unique brand identity is which business offer or mix of
offers are more effective marketing strategies to attain sustainable competitive advantage.
Unfortunately, building unique brand identity requires a mixture of two or more business marketing
offers provides more flexible advantages for the companies (Hamza, 2016; Aron, 2014). However,
current marketing offers practiced by industrial chemical manufacturers in Addis Ababa doesn‘t
allow them to create the identity they wanted but rather their perceived image in the supply chain is a
bit far from their planned identity (Getaneh, 2017). Business marketing offers need to be too hard to
be copied by strategic competitors. If so, the offers would become often incapable to build unique
brand identity. Ford (2012) explains that product, service and logistics offers are tangible assets that
could easily be imitated by competitors. Rather adaption and advice offers are more effective for
attaining sustainable competitive advantage through building brand identity (Isham, 2016).

3
Continuing with these current business marketing offers prevents the industrial chemical
manufacturers to build their own unique and strong identity which in turn causes burden on the
industry through escalation of unnecessary promotional costs to promote their offers. Based on their
both human and physical resources capability/capacity, Identifying and implementing a more
effective business marketing offers could help chemical manufactures to build their unique brand
identity results in creating a more competitive advantage for the companies (Hamza, 2016; Aron,
2014; Boyle, 2007). On top of that, it also minimizes the switch over cost of frequent buyers of
industrial customers (for instance, bottled water manufacturers in the city) due to jumping from one
supplier to another.

Merely focusing on and often striving for supplying standard product and provision of quality service
delivery to exceed their business customers‘ expectation takes the companies nowhere. For industrial
brands, a strong identity can be established based around an individual element of the business
market offer (product, service, logistics, adaptation or advice) or alternatively, can be built using any
combination of brand building attributes. The latter situation may provide a brand withal more
flexible and adaptable positioning, which can readily be modified to meet the needs of different
buyer segments (Kapferer, 2008). This framework provides industrial marketers with a way to
conceptualize and construct a unique brand identity that is difficult for competitors to imitate,
meaningful and relevant to business buyers and value-producing for both the firm and its customers.

Despite these promising signs, few authors (Cretu and Brodie, 2007; Kapferer, 2008; Ford, 2002)
have considered what attributes business marketers can use to build a strong brand identity. This
paper addresses this issue in the context of manufacturing industry in Ethiopia, with reference to the
business-marketing offer developed by the IMP Group (Ford, 2002). There is a lack of detailed
information in business marketing literature on how to build strong and unique brand identity for a
firm‘s business marketing offers. Besides, in Ethiopian context, it is also hard to find studies
regarding the relation between marketing offers and their impacts on building brand identity.
Thorough investigation in this area is required, particularly with respect to branding business
marketing offers so as to facilitate the bureaucratic purchasing process of industrial buyers.

The aim of this study is, thus, to investigate the current business marketing offers and their effects on
building brand identity taking the business relation between local industrial chemicals suppliers and
bottled water manufacturers in Addis Ababa. It identifies the most significant attributes in B2B

4
marketing through survey that could help fill the empirical and practical gaps on business marketing
offers and brand identity relationship in Ethiopian chemical manufacturing industry‘s context.

Hear, the main question is which business marketing offers are more effective in building strong and
unique brand identity in the case of industrial chemical manufacturers in Addis Ababa? This can be
achieved through addressing the following specific research questions:

1- What is the effect of product offer on brand identity of local industrial chemical
manufacturers?
2- How does service offer affect brand identity of local industrial chemical manufacturers?
3- How does logistics offer affect brand identity of local industrial chemical manufacturers?
4- What is the effect of adaptation offer on brand identity of local industrial chemical
manufacturers?
5- What is the effect of advice offer on brand identity of local industrial chemical
manufacturers?

1.3. Objectives of the study

1.3.1. General Objective

The general objective of this study was to investigate the effect of business marketing offers on brand
identity in the case of industrial chemicals producers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

1.3.2. Specific Objectives

i. To investigate the effect of Product-offer on brand identity of industrial chemical manufacturers
ii. To evaluate the effect of Service-offer on brand identity of industrial chemical manufacturers
iii. To analyze the effect of Logistic-offer on brand identity of industrial chemical manufacturers
iv. To analyze the effect of Adaptation-offer on brand identity of industrial chemical manufacturers
v. To investigate the effect of Advice-offer on brand identity of industrial chemical manufacturers

1.4. Significance of the Study

This research will try to closely investigate how to build unique brand identity through marketing
offeres, and which marketing offer has significantly high effect onbrand identity building process.
This study is believed to have valuable benefits for different stakeholders such as industrial chemical
suppliers, bottled water manufactureres, consumers, the student himself and other researchers.

5
The findings will have significance in regards to have better awareness either their brand identity is
built on tangible, product-related benefits of the business marketing offer or the more intangible,
abstract associations. Thus, industrial marketers with easily track the evolution of their customers
‗needs and purchase requirements over time and ensure that the prevailing brand identity that
potentially reflects their customers‘ expectation.

This study will contribute to industrial chemical suppliers managers in charge of marketing
promotion, helping them in grasping which marketing offer has relatively highest significant
capability of buildingunique brand identity. It is important to study marketing offers in terms of
product, service, logistic, adaptation and advice offered to the business customers so as to pursue
them to perceive the intendend brand with the identity the company wanted to create.

It helps toformulate and implement appropriate marketing strategies in these regards.Business

customer or industrial consumers (Bottled water manufactureres in this case) may benefit from
creating good relationship with the industrial customers with promoninet reputation. This is because
business consumers could minimize their bearucratic purchasing hassles and related unnecessary
costs to purchase raw materials from suppliers. It facilitate ease of purchasing decision.

There might be a possibility of lowered production cost of producing bottled water as the
manaufcturers are working with companies with prominent brand reputation in the supply chain. It
helps consumers to become beneficiary indirectly through accessing bottled water products with
relatively lower price.

Moreover, it may also help other researchers who would like to make an in-depth study in similar
areas.The study might also pave the way for further study on the effect of brand personality on
customer loyalty and thereby track for possible remedy to escalate of sales volume and profitability.

1.5. Scope of the Study

Delimitations of the study is discussedin terms of conceptual, methodological and geographical
perspectives. Dispite the vast scope of the issues surrounding brand identity, only the impact of
marketing offers namely product, service, logistics, adaptation and advice offers were investigated.
Although antecedents of brand identity which could arise from price, promotion and other non-
marketing strategies like corporate social responsibilities and cultural differences of consumers

6
within a given society as well, the study was delimited to merely the business marketing offers‘
aspects or strategies of companies in the supply chain.

It is also methodologically delimited to assess the effect of business marketing offers on brand
identity in B2B perspective by taking the supply chain between bottled water manufacturers and
industrial chemical manufacturers. However, other business customers of industrial chemical
manufacturers such as tanneries, textiles, governemental universities with waste water treatment
facilities (like Adama Science & Technology), etc. are intentionally excluded as out of the scope.

Geographically, the scope of this study is alsodelimited to Addis Ababa, the place where about 83%
industrical chemical manufacturers and bottle water factories‘ head offices are at stake compared to
other regional states. Their ease of accessibility made them preferable for the intended study due to
their economic benefits in terms of saving time and costs. For their homogeneity, the other
companies in the local market were also intentionally excluded.

1.6. Limitation of the Study

The lack of written documentation, relating to brand identity and business marketing offers in
Ethiopian chemical suppliers as well as bottled water manufacturing industry affected the comparison
of the findings with previous studies. Delimiting the scope of the survey between bottled water
factories and industrial chemical manufacturers‘ context could also be considered as additional
bottleneck for generalizing the results of the findings to other industries (like service industry).
Besides, hesitation and fear of disclosing marketing strategies, managers were trying to be very smart
in their responses rather than forwarding what they felt in actual. But the student researcher exerted
efforts in explaining the purpose of the study and the secrecy of their responses. This is also believed
to minimize the induced errors to some extents. Moreover, selection of sample respondents through
convenience non-probability sampling technique would also impose its own adverse effect on the
generalizability of this study. The other issue was relatively small number of sample respondents
(136). Despite its sufficiency, small numbers of data suffer from exceeding assumption tests for
regression models.

In this regard, carefully conducted studies that use convenience sampling can generate useful data if
steps are taken to control uncertainty and bias by implementing the necessary improvements. Thus, to
mitigate tis issue, the student researcher tried to control and assess the sample‘s representativeness,
add diversity, and collect as many as the calculated sample size.

7
1.7. Definition of Key Terms
Definitions of some key words are listed as below.

Brand Identity - Brand identity is how a company is being identified. The consistency of this
brand identity is formed by its features like culture, vision, personality,
positioning, presentations, relationships and other meaning beliefs followed
by the entity. (IMP, 2016; p 107)

Marketing Offer – Business marketing offer is some combination of products, services,

information, or experiences offered to the business market to satisfy
industrial consumer needs or wants (IMP, 2016; p 112).

Logistics Offer - Logistics refers to the ability of suppliers to manage their supply chain, meet
the demands of just-in-time production schedules, minimize disruptions,
provide order and material traceability, and the ability to cooperate with other
network partners to deliver offers to customers. (Ford, 2002, p. 152).

Adaptation Offer- The degree to which a firm needs to maintain its relationship with an
exchange partner in order to achieve desired goals. (Ganesan, 2014, p. 66).

1.8. Organization of the Study

The thesis is organized into five chapters which are sub-divided into sub chapters. The first chapter
discusses the introduction, background of the study, statement of the problem, objectives,
significance of the study, scope, and limitation of the study. The second chapter presents the
theoretical backgrounds, empirical analysis, conceptual framework of the study, and research
hypotheses. The third chapter presents the research methodology. This chapter encompasses
discussion on research approach and design, type and source of data, sampling design, data collection
instruments and procedure, data analysis methods and ethical considerations. The fourth chapter
presents, analyzes and discusses the findings of the study. The final chapter (fifth chapter) consists of
the summary of findings, conclusion and recommendation.

8
 CHAPTER TWO
2. REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE
The review of the related literature part is composed of theoretical review, empirical reviews and
conceptual framework of the study. The concepts and theories of brand, brand identity, marketing
offers are discussed under the theoretical review. Different relevant studies on the relationship
between brand identity and marketing offers from different industry contexts will be presented as
well so as to back up or argue the issues raised in the theoretical review section. Finally, the research
framework of the study and hypotheses are presented based on the theoretical and empirical studies.

2.1. Theoretical Review

In consumer markets intermediaries provide utility in terms of reducing the complexity of the range
of goods consumers are offered, by providing a level of specialisation and support (advice) and
enabling consumer expectations to be met. Consumer preferences in terms of location, the quantity of
items that need to be purchased and the ease with which they can be acquired are deemed to be of
value to consumers and so effort is concentrated in satisfying consumer needs in these areas and
enhancing the level of perceived value. However, these services still need to be aggregated and
provided on a group basis. In B2B markets the utility principles are similar but the main difference
lies in the length of the channels and the number of intermediaries deemed necessary to deliver the
level of functionality required. Individual attention and customisation of product offerings, plus the
need to deliver in the quantities and at the time required by the buyer, result in a shortening of the
marketing channel. This leads to direct relationships and new dimensions in terms of the way in
which offerings are made available.

Products are traditionally made available with limited opportunities for adaption or customisation.
Increasingly, manufacturers are seeking ways in which customers feel they can customise the
product. For example, some cars can be ordered via a dealer showroom directly from the production
unit. This enables customers to specify the interior and exterior finishes, grade of in-car
entertainment and perhaps a range of other cosmetic touches. However, the norm is to provide
relatively little flexibility within different product ranges. In the B2B market the entire offering can
often be reconfigured to meet a customer‘s particular requirements. It is quite usual for more
technical products to be developed and specified through joint negotiations and partnership
arrangements. The result is an offering that is unique to the buying organisation.

9
The concept of value and the importance of providing it for customers has become an increasingly
significant aspect of business and marketing strategy. It has long been understood that customers buy
benefits not features. They buy products that enable them to do what they want to achieve.
Consumers do not buy toothpaste just because it has a red stripe or a minty taste. What they do buy is
a clean mouth, fresh breath or white gleaming teeth, depending upon their segment characteristics.
The same principle applies to organisational marketing. Business customers buy solutions to business
problems not just stand-alone products. These benefits and solutions constitute added value for the
customer, and represent the reason why one offering is selected in preference to another.

For both consumers and business customers, value is determined by the net satisfaction derived from
a transaction, not the costs to obtain it. Another way of viewing these solutions and benefits is to
consider them as (customer) needs. Customers seek to satisfy their needs through their purchase of
products and services. The satisfaction of needs therefore is a way of delivering value. Wilson (2001)
argue that the creation of value is dependent upon an organisation‘s ability to deliver high
performance on the benefits that are important to the customer and this in turn is rooted in their
competency in technology and business processes, or core competences.

2.1.1. Business Marketing

Companies that use business-to-business markets advertise and sell their goods or services to other
businesses instead of marketing directly to consumers. Products and services sold in a business-to-
business market are often reused or resold by the company that purchases them and sometimes
function as materials for manufacturing new products. Some companies that operate in a business-to-
business market might also sell to consumers, but most focus on selling their products or services to
other companies and businesses. If a business sells products or services used in industrial or
production projects, it likely operates in an industrial market.

Most companies that use an industrial market advertise and sell their goods and services to other
companies rather than immediately to consumers. This is because industrial products and services are
typically most useful to companies that can reuse them to complete other projects and are not usually
ideal for personal use by individuals. Industrial markets are often considered one of the smallest
business markets, as their products and services serve smaller groups of consumers instead of large
consumer demographics.

10
Industrial marketing or the new term, business marketing, is the marketing of goods and services to
industrial customers for use, in turn, in their own production of goods and services. The marketing of
business goods and consumer goods have two attributes in common: a purchase is the usual outcome
of the process and the result derives from some decision-making activities.

In spite of these superficial similarities, business or industrial marketing problems must be handled
differently from consumer marketing for several important reasons outlined below. The market for
goods and services bought and sold between businesses is huge. Far larger than the consumer market,
the business market comprises many types and sizes of organisations that interact selectively and
form relationships of varying significance and duration with one another. Although these
organisations are often structurally and legally independent entities, a key characteristic is that they
are also interdependent. That is, they have to work with other organisations to varying degrees in
order to achieve their goals.

2.1.2. Business Marketing Offer -IMP Model

An offer in marketing is the total value offer to the customers. An offering is more than the product
itself but includes elements that represent additional value to the customers, such as availability,
convenient delivery, technical support or quality of service. A strong offering differentiates a firm‘s
products from competitors and creates value by meeting customers‘ wider needs better than other
options (Ford, 2012).

Few authors have considered what attributes business marketers can utilize to build a strong brand
identity. This study addresses the issue, with reference to the business-marketing offer developed by
the IMP Group (Ford, 2012). Research conducted by the IMP Group has identified five components
to the business-marketing offer namely product, service, logistic, advice and adaptation. The
business-market offer consists of three core components that are often imitable by competitors
(products, services, and logistics), and two less tangible components that are difficult to imitate, and
reflect the intangible capabilities of the firm (adaptation and advice). Each of these components of
the offer can form the basis of a business-to-business brand‘s identity (as can a combination of the
various elements of the offer).

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 2.1.2.1. Product Offer
The first aspect of the business marketing offers and one that is considered by some as the least
important (Ford, 2012) is the product. There are three ways to conceptualize the product. First, the
product can be thought of in terms of a tangible ―thing‖. Few would recommend that marketers
simply brand the product at this level, given that the brand will inextricably become associated with
one narrow product range, and suffer decline as obsolescence sets in. Also, in business marketing,
products hold no value in and of themselves; rather they represent solutions or services for customers
(Vargo &Lusch, 2004). This gives rise to the second way of thinking about the product – the benefits
the product delivers to buyers. This form of product does offer limited potential for brand identity
because it is tied directly to a consumer need. It is believed that two types of brands may benefit from
this brand identity: firms that sell high performance products but offer little in the way of extra
services and adaptation, and ingredient brands.

The first type of brand consists of products that exhibit demonstrable performance leadership over
competitors, but beyond this attribute, have little basis for meaningful differentiation. These may be
products whose buyers have a high degree of knowledge of their needs, and the basis for comparing
one offer to another is known, and is quantifiable (i.e., the points of parity and difference that matter
to buyers can be quantifiably demonstrated; Anderson & Narus, 2004). Also, these buyers may be
classified as ―intrinsic buyers‖ who are motivated by the intrinsic performance benefits of the product
per se (Rackham & DeVincentis, 1998). Thus, the purchase decision is relatively simple, and is likely
to consist of a straight re-buy or a modified re-buy. One likely product category for this form of
branding is agricultural commodities such as raw wool, milk, leather, and input goods such as wine
grapes. Another category would be minerals such as iron ore, gold, diamonds, and uranium.

In both cases, absolute product quality matters (for example mineral purity or quality, raw wool
tensile strength or fineness, leather quality, milk fat content, and grape sugar content), but no other
form of meaningful differentiation is available to these sellers. Several instances exist here. For
example, The New Zealand Game Industry Board provides a corporate brand to its leather hides.
These hides are graded on accepted criteria – softness and damage – and are then purchased by
tanners for further processing into material for fashion, furniture, or automotive buyers. As such,
their brand identity is related primarily to product quality advantages. The International Wool
Secretariat‘s Wool Mark brand is another example of this approach, and in a sense attempts to build a

12
leadership position around product quality and assure quality-sensitive buyers the product has met
rigorous standards (Rackham & DeVincentis, 1998).

Ingredient brands use a similar strategy. Consider Intel‘s ―Intel Inside‖ campaign. Intel has built up a
strong leadership position in chips, and has a high level of brand awareness among end-consumers as
being the standard ingredient for high quality PCs. Thus, the brand identity is relatively simple – the
brand simply reassures buyers that the established market leader‘s key ingredient is included within
the final product. Again, the points of parity and difference that are relevant to buyers are
quantifiable and known. Although Intel is moving beyond this single association between computer
chips and their brand, the brand in its current state has product benefits at its core.

The third way to conceptualize the product is in terms of product innovation or leadership. In this
case, firms build a brand identity around a reputation for innovation/ creativity. That is, rather than
link the brand tightly to product benefits, they link the brand‘s identity to a firm level capability
(IMP, 2016).

(Source: Ford, 2012)

Figure 1: IMP Model of Marketing Offers

2.1.2.2. Services Offer

Services can take many forms. First, services can augment the product. Second, suppliers may sell
services rather than products. Third, subcontractors may provide service capabilities to customers.
Services are often valued by extrinsically oriented business customers – customers that derive value
from things that surround the product, such as support services (Rackham & DeVincentis, 1998).
Thus, although these customers may buy a product, they choose a brand on the basis of the quality of
support services provided by the firm. In some cases, competing service offers may be easily
comparable in terms of meaningful points of parity and difference.

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In these cases, firms are likely to build their brand identity on the basis of service quality leadership,
firm reputation, staff skills, and the friendliness and professionalism of their staff. To reinforce this
brand, these firms may use external accreditation authorities such as ISO standards, industry
feedback in terms of service leadership (i.e., benchmarking), and testimonials from satisfied
customers (particularly high-profile customers). In these cases, services are relatively standardized
and in many cases are proxies for products (Anderson & Narus, 2004). Because such services can be
standardized, little customization is often necessary (such as compliance services), or services can be
customized at a segment level (such as university travel provision), or involve building to set
customer specifications. Thus, this form of branding is more performance oriented and simpler than
for brands that build their identity around aspects of advice or adaptation.

2.1.2.3. Logistics Offer

Logistics refers to more than just the delivery of the product to the customer (this would be a service;
see above). Logistics refers to the ability of suppliers to manage their supply chain, meet the demands
of just-in-time production schedules, minimize customer production disruptions, provide order and
material traceability, and the ability to cooperate with other network partners in order to deliver
offers to customers (Ford, 2002). Logistics thus consists primarily of capabilities rather than tangible
things, and involves standardized and customized components. Thus, logistics is a more abstract
basis on which to build a B2B brand.

Firms that value this form of logistics are likely to be customers that treat purchasing in a strategic
way. For example, they are likely to operate either a procurement orientation (whereby customers
focus on ways to minimize the total cost of purchasing through relationships and strategic
management of suppliers) or a supply chain orientation (where customers seek to leverage suppliers
for strategic benefits) (Anderson & Narus, 2004). These customers may value the extrinsic elements
of an offer, or be strategic value partners – customers who seek to leverage supplier capabilities for
competitive advantage, and thus value longer-term relationships (Rackham & DeVincentis, 1998).
Retailers seeking to outsource category management to category captains would be one customer
responsive to this form of branding.

Merino NZ solved these problems in multiple ways. First, they insisted that all fleeces be bagged
separately on farms, tagged, and tested for tensile strength scientifically. Thus, customers could
accurately judge quality, and order to exact specifications. Also, there was greater traceability in the

14
system because customers could request fleeces from one particular supplier, or even individual
paddocks on farms, while farmers could make informed on-farm improvements to increase product
quality. They also insisted all wool was bound with twine, which can take dye. This ultimately set the
standard for the industry. A similar program formed the basis of brand identity for the New Zealand
Game Industry Board‘s Cervena program (Beverland, 2005).

2.1.2.4. Adaptation Offer

Adaptation concerns the firm‘s need to maintain the relationship in order to achieve its desired goals
(Canon &Homburg, 2011; Ganesan, 2014). The definition proposed by Ganesan (2014) is
appropriate in this research because it fits its context: ―the degree to which a firm needs to maintain
its relationship with an exchange partner in order to achieve desired goals‖. The level of adaptation of
one partner to another is considered to be an important feature of the relationship because, in a
business relationship, exchange partners often adapt to each other for limited resources, specialized
knowledge, information and marketing assistance (Anderson, 2010; Gundlach, 2014)

These adaptations can occur during the process of a single, major transaction or over the time of a
relationship involving many individual transactions. The benefits of these adaptations can be in cost
reduction, increased revenue, or differential control over the exchange (Ford, 2012). Adaptations in
specific episodes may also be made in order to modify the overall relationship. Thus, one party may
make a decision not to offer special products to a customer out of a wish to be more distantly
involved with that customer, rather than being closely involved and/or heavily dependent on it.

The manipulation of different aspects of adaptation is of course a critical marketing and purchasing
issue. Although adaptations by either party can occur in an unconscious manner as a relationship
develops, it is important to emphasize the conscious strategy which is involved in many of these
adaptations. Thus, modifications to product, delivery, pricing, information routines and even the
organization itself are part of the seller' s marketing strategy. Similarly, the buying organization will
consider adaptations in its own product requirements, its production methods, the price it is prepared
to accept, its information needs and the modification of its own delivery or stocking policies in order
to accommodate the selling organization (Gundlach, 2014).

Adaptation involves making changes to any element of the offering following individual requests
from customers (Ford, 2002). This is different to building customized designs; rather it involves
adapting a standard product or service offer to meet individual buyer‘s needs. In contrast to the first

15
two aspects of the business-marketing offer, adaptation represents a firm level capability and is a
much broader/ abstract attribute of brand identity.

2.1.2.5. Advice Offer

Advice aims to increase the customer‘s understanding (Ford, 2002). Advice helps decrease customer
uncertainties, and may identify new opportunities, the real source of a customer‘s problem, or new
ways of doing things. Advice involves adaptive selling and a two-way dialog between buyers and
sellers. As such, listening, problem solving, and communication skills are paramount. It also involves
a mix of reacting to buyer demands and expressed needs, and importantly, proactively offering new
suggestions that will benefit the customer‘s competitive position or operation (Beverland, 2004).

Buyers that respond to advice-led brands are likely to prefer long-term relationships and seek
partners to assist them in enhancing their competitive advantage. These buyers will be looking for
suppliers that can offer advice on new opportunities, and on process improvements that may decrease
the overall cost of purchasing (procurement-oriented buyers; Anderson & Narus, 2004). Advice is
similar to adaptation in that it is a capability (and thus a broad abstract brand identity attribute), but
differs in that it is primarily supplier driven. Buyers seeking advice are looking for suppliers that can
offer credible solutions and suggestions that seek to change the customers‘ way of doing things.

Product suppliers can also adopt this form of brand position. For example, Tasmania‘s military ship
builder In Cat manages its relationship with the US Navy in a proactive way and communicates this
to current and potential customers. InCat‘s role on one major order was to build helicopter landing
pads for the US Navy‘s fleet. They had established a product leadership position in this area, but also
noted that the Navy had to regularly repaint the landing pads with rustproof paint because it was
continually stripped off when helicopters landed or moved on the pad. This was costing the Navy
millions of dollars per year (IMP, 2016). InCat tested a potential solution to this problem that
involved a slightly ribbed surface on the top of the pad. Tests showed that the new surface did not
need regular repainting because the paint could grip the grooves in the surface and was therefore
more durable under extreme conditions. Despite receiving threats from paint contractors, InCat
provided the solution to the Navy, who quickly adopted it. Such a solution has helped InCat
continually win orders with military customers (IMP, 2016).

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2.1.3. Brand and Brand Identity

The brand concept is not a recent one, of course; but only the term is somehow new. It has been used
for identifying and differentiating products since very early times. The word brand came from the
German language, meaning to burn. Its basic overall view is proclaiming ownership of property and
even though this element has widely evolved and became more complex, the concept of ownership is
still present but with a greater and greater importance with time passing by. Soon after the
appearance of the ownership concept, the consumers started to have preferences of particular
manufacturers or providers. It was always a strong association between the identity and the
responsibility towards the customer resulting in the desire of the equity owners to differentiate and
enhance identification and differentiation for their product or service (Kotler &Keller, 2006).

As pointed out in Keller (2014), branding has been around for centuries as a means to differentiate
the goods of one producer from those of another. In fact, the word brand is derived from the Old
Norse word brand, which means ―to burn,‖ as brands were and still are the means by which owners
of livestock mark their animals to identify them (Keller, 2014). On the other hand, in the
contemporary world concept of branding has come to include much more than just creating a
technique to identify a product or company. As DeChernatony & McDonald (2003) have explained
brands have also been viewed to go ahead of the physical components of what they stand for to
include additional attributes, which are important considerations for consumers‘ buying decisions.

Brand definitions are many; different authors provide their own justification towards the meaning of
a brand. The definitions are useful to understand a brand from different perspectives. A brand is a
unique name or symbol such as logos, trademarks or package design proposed to identify the goods
or services of either seller or group of sellers and distinguish those goods or services from those of
competitors.

According to Kotler (2000), a brand is essentially a seller‘s promise to deliver a specific set of
features, benefits and services every time to the buyers. In the same way, Keller (2004) defines that a
brand is an emotional and physiological association a firm has with a customer; strong brands acquire
opinion, emotion and sometimes-physiological reaction from a customer. The brand is not just a
name because the name created is to identify the product whereas the brand is created to add value to
the product and offer it a personality and the excellent brands can suggest an assurance of quality
(Keller, 2012).

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In addition, a brand is something that exists in the minds of consumers. It is a continual, distinctive
business identity intertwined with links of personality, quality, origin, liking and other. It is also a
long-lasting entity, deep-rooted in reality, but also reflecting the perceptions and perhaps even the
habit of consumers. According to Kotler & Keller (2006), to brand a product, it is important to
educate consumers ―who‖ the product is by giving it a name and using other brand elements to help
to identify it as ―what‖ the product achieves and ―why‖ consumers should be worried about.
Branding engages in creating mental arrangements and serving consumers to organize their
awareness about products in a manner that makes clear their decision-making and, in the process,
present value to the firm. The way to branding is that consumers recognize variations among brands
in a product category (Kotler & Keller, 2006); branding is the practice by which companies creating
unique and strong perceptions in the minds of consumers for their product offerings from
competition.

In general, the process of branding originated as a means by which a firm could distinguish its goods
or services from those of its competitors. In the beginning, branding acted as a guarantee of
consistency and quality for consumers. Nowadays, however, brands are renowned for offering
consumers a distinctive set of perceived benefits not found in other products. These perceived
benefits potentially both simplify consumers‘ purchase decision making and offer a starting point for
customer loyalty. In line to this, Boyle (2007) argues that products that match their (consumers) want
most intimately become brands. As he explains, it is the perceived unique benefits that brands offer
consumers that give them their value adding potential and enable them to sustain a price premium
over their commodity form.

In order for a brand to differentiate itself, it must follow a complex process considering the
components of a specific importance. Every component that will be encountered by the public is
relevant for forming brand identity and thus creating brand image. The entire overview upon the
brand is developed during the meeting of the public with the brand identity. In this research, this
process is considered as a complex marketing strategy which requires the implication of all the levels
that have an interest in the success of a particular product.

2.1.4. Approaches to Branding

According to Tilde (2009), five brand identity valuation approaches are devised by different scholars.
These approaches are the Identity, Personality, Economic and Relational approaches. These have got

18
a wider place in the B2B market rather than consumer market in regards to building strong and
unique brand identity which results in brand valuation in the long run.

2.1.4.1. The Identity Approach

This approach stems from the assumption that a strong and coherent brand identity is pivotal for
brand value creation. The brand must focus on finding out who we are as an organization in order to
facilitate expressing one coherent identity to all stakeholders (Tilde, 2009). Creating this coherent
identity often has a corporate rather than a product level focus and attention has shifted from a focus
on the visual representation of product brands to a focus on how organizational behavior affects
identity, and ultimately image and reputation. The perception of the consumer in the identity
approach has also evolved. In the earlier days of the identity approach, it was believed that brand
identity could be managed and controlled entirely by the corporation; the exchange between the
brand and the consumer was perceived to be linear. Recent developments have broadened that
perception, it has been acknowledged that identity is not enduring but context-dependent, which
implies that identity can‘t be communicated linearly but is the result of negotiation between internal
and external shareholders (Chris, 2014).

The theoretical building blocks of brand identity consist of the four supporting themes behind the
core concept of brand identity. Two of these cover internal aspects: corporate identity, representing
the visual and strategic elements of brand identity, and organizational identity, representing the
behavioural and cultural aspects. The two supporting themes covering the external aspects are: image
and reputation. Image is the short-term mosaic of images perceived by the consumer. The reputation
is a long-term compilation of all image evaluations of brand identity made by the consumer. These
four supporting themes each contribute to the brand identity construct (Ford, 2002). Pivotal in the
recent theoretical frameworks for the management of brand identity is the alignment of the multiple
identities of the corporation. Two key frameworks are the corporate brand toolkit focusing on the
alignment between vision/organizational culture and image.

2.1.4.2. The Economic Approach

The assumptions of the economic approach are based on neoclassical microeconomics of how market
forces allocate resources most efficiently through the principle of the invisible hand and classic
marketing theory (Tilde, 2009). The consumer is assumed to be able to make rationally based brand

19
consumption choices and to be focused on utility maximization, which is why they will always
choose whatever brand delivers the best utility value compared with the price.

The theoretical apparatus is based on the basic ideas from transaction marketing, where it is assumed
that the exchange between brand and consumer consists of isolated transactions rather than an
ongoing relationship (Hague & Jackson, 2010). The primary goal of brand communication is hence
to ensure that consumers are aware of the fine qualities of the brand at the right time and place
through linear communication from the brand to the consumer.

The theoretical building blocks of the economic approach consist of two supporting themes:
transaction cost theory and the concept of the marketing mix. Transaction cost theory describes the
barriers that can impede transactions taking place according to the principles of the invisible hand
and the economic man. It also describes the economic perspective on exchange between brands and
consumers as isolated events, where money and goods are exchanged. The primary aim is to achieve
the next transaction by eliminating or breaking down the barriers that inhibit the transaction from
taking place. These barriers to transactions must be resolved (Keller, 2004). The tool used in the
economic approach to overcome these barriers is the marketing mix, or the Four Ps. Using the
toolbox of the Four Ps can ensure that the right product is available to consumers at the right price, in
the right locations, and that it is promoted by using advertising to make consumers aware of and
interested in purchasing the product.

According to Heding (2009), the main drawbacks of this approach are at least two; one is that, in the
case of service marketing, the rule of the game is not only one time transaction. It is rather a
continuous relationship marketing which builds the next transaction rather than a onetime marketing.
The second problem raised by Tilda (2013) is the economic background of this approach is simply
emanated from theory rather than from an empirical study which could have anchored this approach
as a generally accepted theory.

2.1.4.3. The Personality Approach

The personality approach states that human personality and consumers‘ identity construction as well
as expression are the pivotal point of brand identity creation. It is the symbolic benefits a brand can
provide to consumers expressed through a certain brand personality that are assumed to be the key
drivers of brand strength. The level of analysis is the individual consumer and the subject of analysis

20
is consumer self and identity. The main function of the brand is not to provide utilitarian attributes
and benefits as in the economic approach, but to enable consumers‘ construction and expression of
self by providing symbolic signal value. The strength of the brand is determined by the extent to
which there is congruity between the brand personality and the personality or self of the consumer
(Erdogan, 2011).

The theoretical building blocks of the personality approach consists of three supporting themes:
personality, consumer self and consumer–self congruence. Personality was described as the basic
concept of personality that the personality approach draws on from the field of human psychology,
characterizing the main personalities that human beings can be categorized accordingly (Caroll,
2010).The concept of self on the other hand describes how consumers consume and choose brands
based on their ability to contribute to their construction and expression of self.

The construct of brand–self congruence explains the process of identification that takes place
between the personality of a brand and the personality of the consumer and establishes that the
greater the congruence between the personality of the brand and the personality of the consumer the
more likely is that brand personality to succeed. The core theme of the personality approach is brand
personality. The framework ―Dimensions of brand personality‘ developed by Aaker (1997) consists
of five dimensions (sophistication, ruggedness, excitement, competence and sincerity)that brands can
be divided according to and an explanation- of how these dimensions can be expressed in the
communication of a brand personality by emphasizing certain traits or behaviors.

2.1.4.4. The Relational Approach

The relational approach rests upon assumptions regarding the brand–consumer exchange as a dyadic
and cyclical process resembling a human relationship. Brand meaning is constituted through this
process to which both parties contribute equally. The relational approach is linked to the tradition of
phenomenology implying an existential view of man. The inner reality‘ of the consumer becomes
both valid and valuable data material by the application of this perspective. The phenomenological
perspective emphasizes a holistic view of the consumer and thereby takes an interest in many aspects
that are not directly related to the actual consumption choice or behaviour (Fournier, 1998).

Expanding the notion of relationship to brands and consumers implies that consumers have the ability
to endow brands with human personality traits. Therefore, animism – or the human propensity to

21
endow dead objects or abstract concepts with human personalities – is the first supporting theme.
Theory on human relationships serves as the second supporting theme. Human relationships are
important factors in all lives and deliver on life themes, life projects and current concerns. They are
also process phenomena under influence from many different sources. The brand relationship theory
originates from a study into how consumers experience relationships with brands. This approach
provides a framework consisting of fifteen different brand relationship forms, resembling human
relationships (Tilde, 2009). But knowing what kind of relationship consumers experience with brands
is not enough. The theory also provides us with the Brand Relationship Quality construct. It is a
model that depicts how relationships are volatile process phenomena constantly under influence of
other factors. The brand relationship theory is supplemented by research into how brand personality
and relationship norms influence consumers‘ brand evaluations.

2.1.5. The Resource Based View (RBV) of the Firm and Brand Identity

The resource-based view (RBV) asserts that organizational and human resources such as financial,
technical or physical resources have the ability of providing the firm with a sustained competitive
advantage due to their emulation difficulties. The system within a firm amongst other characteristics
that enables the firm in achieving better performance forms the central idea of RBV. The view argues
resources possessed by firms enables it to achieve competitive advantage while other opportunities
enable the firm to achieve superior performance. In order for resources to generate competitive
advantage, they must be inimitable, rare and valuable (Choi, 2015). The RBV points that competitive
advantage on firms can be sustained by creating value through a means that is difficult and rare for
imitation by competitors.

Financial, non-financial, physical and systems, resources within the firm can contribute to build
strong and unique brand by promoting the brand promise and exerting efforts in coordinating the
existing resources for proofing itself for the delivery or fulfillment of the brand promise (Aron.
2017). Joo & McLean (2006) argued that high caliber employees are strong assets in regards to
understanding customers‘ demand, solving their problems and identifying new opportunities.

The predominant theory currently used by researchers studying brand identity is the RBV (Wright,
2014; Delery, 1998). The RBV proposes that competitive advantage comes from the internal
resources that it possessed by an organization (Wernerfelt, 1984; Barney, 1991). The idea that
internal resources of a firm can lead to competitive advantage was a significant departure from

22
previous views of strategy which focused on the external environment and such factors as industry,
customers, and competitors (Miles & Snow 1984; Porter 2005). The RBV provided a theoretical
explanation of how the resources of a firm could in fact contribute to competitive advantage.

Though others had addressed the concept of the RBV previously, Barney (1991) solidified its
application to marketing researches by outlining how firm‘s marketing resources contribute to the
sustained competitive advantage of the firm for the fact that resources that are valuable, rare,
inimitable and non-substitutable will lead to competitive advantage. To the extent that the marketing
resources within a firm meet these criteria, they will contribute to the competitive advantage of the
firm by providing the firm with a valuable resource not easily replicated by competitors. Researchers
using RBV typically recognize the role of marketing resources such as brands and relationships
(customer and distributional) in obtaining competitive advantage (e.g., Barney, 1991, 2014; Combs &
Ketchen, 1999; Day, 2014).

RBV is a perspective that sees the resources as the base to the firm´s strategy. This approach
considers competences, capabilities and skills as being the base of the productive and organizational
knowledge, making them the most important source of competitive advantage, heterogeneity and
profitability of the firms in the long-term (Barney, 1991). How to create maintain and renew the
competitive advantage of the firm considering its resources. Its basic contribution is a thorough
analysis of the conditions under which the resources create value, meaning heterogeneity, immobility
and limitability. Generally, such foundations indicate that the performance depends on the allocation
of resources built through internal accumulation or, if not, acquired in specific market factors.

Moreover, it shows that the establishment, maintenance and renewal of the competitive advantage of
firms are largely associated with the internal features (attributes like brand identity or corporate
image) - the sources of profitability are more specific to the firm than to industry (Foss, 2013).
Furthermore, to justify the differences in the performances, the resources must be capable of
generating marketable products or services (Collins, 2016). It‘s not enough that firms possess distinct
resources. In fact, what differentiates the resources it‘s their capability to create value for customers
so as to build strong and unique brand identity (Hamel, 2014), or its capacity to enable the
implementation of different strategies (Barney, 1997). This rationality leads to a fundamental change
on the vision about the origin of the competition, which, instead of a competition between products, it

23
becomes a competition between brands build on unique resources and competences (Sanchez &
Heene, 20166; Hamel, 2014).

The competitive advantage assumes that the resource allocation of the firms is heterogenic. Because
of that resource heterogeneity, firms present different economic performances through building
unique company brand identity. Hence, the control of resources by some firms capable to generate a
superior performance assumes that the supply of those resources is limited. The rarity of the
resources comes from structural reasons, like physical, natural, legal or temporal limits, or from
firms‘ behavior, as for example their capacity to develop unique resources, hard to imitate, from
undifferentiated inputs available in the market (Vasconcelos, 2017).

2.1.6. Branding in Business-To-Business Context

Before delving in to the study of branding in the business-to-business (B2B) market, it is important to
underscore the fact that a B2B market or company needs a strong brand as do the business to
consumer (B2C) market. B2B companies need and must have strong brands in order to survive in this
ever-changing business world. Some justifications are forwarded below as follows.

Businesses that operate in industrial markets acquire goods and services to use in the production of
other products or services which are sold, rented or supplied to other businesses. Even most
manufacturers of consumer products have to sell their products to other businesses (retailers or
wholesalers) first. In one way or another, almost all companies are engaged in business markets.
Therefore, B2B sales far outstrip those of B2C. The main differences of business markets compared
to consumer markets are found in the nature and complexity of industrial products and services, the
nature and diversity of industrial demand, the significantly fewer number of customers, larger
volumes per customer, and last but not least, closer and longer-lasting supplier-customer-
relationships (Pfoertsch, 2007). And still Kotler & Pfoertsch (2007) argue that since business buying
decisions are still made by human beings and not by unfeeling machines; they are subject to human
factors which eliminate the probability of an entirely objective decision.

Despite the number of benefits a strong brand can convey to both the seller and the buyer it is
surprising that more industrial companies are not utilizing it. There are a number of factors which
may be contributing to B2B companies‘ reluctance to brand. One, Lack of Academic Research -
Whilst there has been a vast amount of research into branding in a business-to-consumer context,

24
there has been little research into branding in the B2B context. The fact that there is little academic
research means that the research in B2B branding has dubious theoretical underpinnings. As a result,
companies will find it difficult to implement any information they do obtain on B2B branding
(Ohnemus, 2009). Two, Perception of Branding by B2B Buyers - Branding in the B2B context is
perceived as being gimmicky. B2C brands which have an emotional aspect are perceived as irrational
in the context of rational decision making in a B2B context (Kapferer, 2008). Three, Impracticality of
B2B Branding - It has been suggested that the practice of branding industrial products is impractical
due to companies having thousands of products (Bendixen, 2004)

In arguing about the relevance about branding of industrial products, Kotler (2007) claims that those
factors that were main factors to leverage the importance of brands in B2C are also quite evident in
B2B, which makes it even more puzzling that the importance of branding is still being neglected in
B2B. Other factors as stated by Kotler (2007) are proliferation of products, globalization, increasing
complexity, hyper competition, and price pressure are some of the reasons.

2.2. Empirical Reviews and Research Hypotheses

Taking into account previous studies on B2B branding, brand building has not been addressed
explicitly by the researchers in this context. So far, a strong focus in prior research was on examining
the nature and relevance of branding in the B2B setting (Lindgreen, Beverland, & Farrelly 2010).
Although some conclusions can be made about B2B brand building based on marketing offers,
research needs to provide more clear evidence related to these issues. However, some models
proposed in previous research indicate possible approaches which can be applied for examining B2B
brand building via different marketing offers which refer to external brand building.

Aron (2011) concludes in his study that Caterpillar (or CAT), the heavy earthmoving equipment
manufacturer, has developed a strong brand identity, and reinforced this with a firm-wide corporate
branding program. Although its brand is associated with absolute performance standards and ―hard
wearing‖ (durability), the firm has also built its reputation around its ability to constantly update this
technology through carefully crafted new products and upgrades.

Likewise, other studies by Sanjarra (2014) indicated that software manufacturers typically brand
around their innovative capability given that gaining customers require high-quality performance and
a pipeline of upgrades and new product launches. In contrast to customers for commodities or
ingredient brands, these customers are likely to face a more complex buying decision, look for

25
longer-term relationships with key suppliers, focus more on the ongoing benefits from product
adoption, and have some meaningful points of difference that are not quantifiable. Also, such brands
consist of products that are capital equipment or services (software) rather than ingredient products or
raw material inputs (Bernet, 2015). Based on these findings, the following hypothesis is proposed:

H1 – Product offer has significant positive effect on brand identity

Quality uncertainty plagued any industry. A study conducted by Mudanbi (2002) on wool quality aka
fleece quality – a critical factor for buyers (luxury cloth suppliers required the finest quality fleece) –
was historically measured by ―feel‖, and therefore customers did not have an accurate way of
measuring product quality. He also found that, as well, separate fleeces were blended into a bale,
resulting in widespread quality variation within a bale, which meant customers often had to buy more
bales than they needed, seek out the finest fibers, and on-sell the rest. Finally, wool was often bagged
in polyurethane bags. His finding revealed that when polyurethane fibers inevitably got intertwined
with wool, the resulting cloth had white streaks in it because polyurethane cannot take dye. Again,
customers had to over order to make up for this problem.

Previous research by Beverland (2004) indicates that advertising agencies can increase their chance
of renewal if they go beyond adaptation and constantly offer well thought out and researched
suggestions for new campaigns and ideas. Similar opportunities exist for market research agencies
(several of whom have repositioned themselves as consultants) and business consultants (where
adaptation of standard report templates has long been considered a problem by buyers). Based on this
explanation, the following hypothesis is proposed as:

H2 – Advice offer has positive significant effect on brand identity

Scholars in logistic and supply industry suggest that delivery reliability must be of at least acceptable
standards and affordable (Hague & Jackson, 2014). In their studies found that Zodish, a chemical
supplier company in French has twice lost the business when its prices became much higher than
competitors. Besides, its delivery is thought to be worse than the competition in lead time, but it is
the reliability of promised delivery, rather than actual lead time, that is perceived as most important.
Thus, the company has established special transportation arrangements using chartered ships, to
ensure delivery to schedule.

26
Other study by Kapferer (2004) found that a B2B brand that builds its identity around logistics is
Merino NZ, a cooperative responsible for marketing New Zealand‘s Merino wool overseas.
Responding to complaints from up-market fashion buyers that pricing, supply, and quality were
barriers to buying this fiber, Merino NZ built their brand identity around their ability to manage these
buyers‘ concerns. This provided a form of differentiation that enabled them to break out of the
commodity price cycle and establish themselves as a supplier of first choice. Breaking with past
traditions, Merino NZ acted as a facilitator between farmers and their downstream customers (a
vertical channel consisting of 11 different levels). This was often the first-time different network
members had met one another, and by communicating were able to understand how commodity
prices and supply uncertainty placed the entire network in jeopardy. Therefore, Merino NZ (in an
industry first) encourages farmers to sign five-year supply and price contracts.

Logistics, according to studies in manufacturing industry by Anderson, Bukasa & Abratt (2004), the
buying firm has great demands for precision, promptness, technical assistance in deliveries. Lamons
(2005) also conducted a survey on investigating logistics service quality on brand identity. He
suggested that the selling firm has to have a large capacity and precision in its production and in its
deliveries. The planning system should be well developed and reliable.

Flint (2012) conducted a study on the relationship between logistic handling challenges and their
influences on brand loyalty of industrial customers. He explained that problems of the selling firm
were mostly concerned with the logistics, stocks, transport, and so on, but they might also involve the
organization for after-sales repair and service. This strategy means that the seller tries to develop very
close links with customers with regard to the transfer of his products. The planning systems of the
two firms are co-ordinated, as are their stocks and transport facilities. This strategy requires that the
selling firm has both a high general ability in transfer and considerable ability to adapt and integrate
in his relationship with the customer. The seller's marketing organization is very important in this
strategy as it must initiate and develop this integration. Based on this explanation, the following
hypothesis is proposed as:

H3 – Logistics offer has significant positive effect on brand identity

Adaptation is critical for buyers with complex needs, and for large powerful buyers as research has
identified the importance to ongoing relationship satisfaction of managing changes in customer
desired value change (Beverland & Lockshin, 2003; Flint, 2002).

27
According to a survey on the quality of adaptation practices and their impacts on business customers
brand loyalty by Cretu & Brodie (2007). The study revealed that, as with buyers for logistics,
customers seeking adaptation were likely to be strategic customers that value long-term relationships.
As well, these buyers are likely to purchase modified re-buys or new purchases. Such purchases are
likely to involve significant risk and importance, and be central to the customer‘s ongoing
performance (Porter, 2005).

Beverland (2007) conducted a research on adaptation practices on sales performance in the case of
Qantas airways, he found out that suppliers of complex services such as consulting, information
technology, and training, as well as product suppliers of heavy capital items such as shipping,
aircraft, and defence technology are likely to benefit from brand identity built through adaptation.

For example, many service providers of complex services stress their ability to adapt a standardized
offer to key clients. International Business Machines - IBM‘s 2005-2006 Australian advertising
campaign emphasized its preparedness to listen and adapt its solutions to the individual needs of
business clients (Beverland & Lockshin, 2003). Likewise, Microsoft invested heavily in service
support to provide adaptive services to key customer groups such as developers. Infosys recently
repositioned itself along similar lines in order to capture greater value (Seshadri, 2004). As well,
aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing regularly adapt their aircraft to take into account
different cabin design demands and load specifications of major airlines.

Anderson (2010) showed, in his study, that a chemical supplier company had made a number of
adaptations in order to maintain business with bottled water manufacturers. The major adaptation has
been in supplier's stockholding policy whereby bottled water manufacturers has established a higher
stock level than usual because of suppliers‘ longer delivery lead time. For the same reason Bottled
water manufacturers had adapted their production schedules. At the same time, they have established
very close relationships with supplier and supplies extensive commercial and technical information to
them which the company does not normally obtain from bottled water customers.

Extant studies revealed that chemical suppliers have also had to adapt in a number of ways; the
primary requirement of bottled water manufacturers have been for special product adaptation and
development (Kapferer, 2004; Beverland, 2004; Narus & Anderson, 2001) as a competitive
advantage. Chemical suppliers now supply a product of a specification not supplied to any other
customer. they have also had to introduce special quality control procedures and a higher level of

28
technical advisory services. On the other hand, manufacturers also demanded that chemical suppliers
give them early warnings of change in product range, prices, and industrial relations problems.
Narus & Anderson (2001) advised or suggested that chemical suppliers should organize regular
policy meetings with manufacturers or industrial buyers at which these topics are discussed. It is
interesting to note that, in contrast with the suppliers in Western countries, Chinese‘ customers have
made major adaptations in terms of stockholding policy, production, and information provision
(Andrew, 2016). Based on this explanation, the following hypothesis is proposed as:

H4 – Adaptation offer has significant positive effect on brand identity

Regarding service offer, studies showed that auditing services are now considered by many
accounting firms to be somewhat of a commodity (Bendixen & Narus, 2004; Cretu & Brodie, 2007;
Beverland, 2007). According to these surveys, the service provided should be standardized, and many
of the largest suppliers of such services had similar reputations (levels of trust and standing with
stakeholders), pricing structures, and service standards. Within market research, brand tracking
services have the same commodity like status (Park, Jaworski & MacInnis 2006).

Another study by Agata (2009), a comparison study of American and Germany companies, revealed
that American firm posed strong competition in Germany was thought to be better than the
competitors' as regards to service and customer advice, especially in Germany. The product is also
thought to be of better quality, and the technical know-how is rated higher due to its service
excellence. Sultan (2016) also showed in his study that additional services are not only advantageous
for the customer, but perform the function of a marketing instrument for the supplier. Moreover, an
intensive after-sales service, for example, permits excellent customer care and is a constant proof of
the performance ability of the supplier. These reasons, which are positive for the supplier, do explain
the increase in the offers of additional services, which are already a component of the business
philosophy of not a few firms in Germany.

Considerable supplier credibility is important to ensure that the raw materials like chemicals for
water treatment or relevant equipment itself will not fail, but also that the supplier will be able to
solve any problems which arise. Long-term technical problem-solving and after-sales service
facilities are important features of supplier credibility as perceived by industrial customers (Kristian,
2008). As also applied to manufacturers of raw materials and components it can be concluded that the
need for credibility makes it time consuming and costly for equipment suppliers to become

29
established and thereafter maintain a stable position in a market. In this regard, the following
hypothesis is proposed:

H5 – Service offer has significant positive effect on brand identity

2.3. Conceptual Framework of the Study

Conceptual framework means that concepts that relate to one another were used to explain the
research problem since brand identity is affected by business marketing offers. For industrial brands,
a strong identity can be established based around an individual element of the business market offer
or alternatively, built using any combination of the five components. The latter situation may provide
a brand with a more flexible and adaptable positioning, which can readily be modified to meet the
needs of different buyer segments. As such, this framework provides industrial marketers with a way
to conceptualize and construct a unique brand identity that is difficult for competitors to imitate,
meaningful and relevant to business buyers.

In this study, Figure 2. the business marketing offers that influence the brand identity can be
classified as product, service, logistics, advice and adaptation offers. To align the conceptual
framework with the research objectives, brand identity is the dependent variable whereas product,
service, logistics, advice and adaptation offers are all independent variables. In so doing, this study
adapts a framework developed by IMP Groups (Ford, 2002) brand identity prism, one that is
structured around the needs of industrial firms and their buyers. Based on literature review the
conceptual framework of this research is designed as follows.

Product Offer

Service Offer

Logistics Offer Brand Identity

Advice Offer

Adaptation Offer
(Source: Ford, 2012)
Figure 2: Conceptual framework of the Study

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 CHAPTER THREE
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The overall objective of the study was primarily to measure dimensions of marketing offers and
brand identity of industrial chemical manufactures in Addis Ababa. To this end, this chapter consists
of research approach, research design, population, data sources and type, sampling technique and
sample size, data collection instrument and method, and data analysis as presented below.

3.1. Research Approach

Quantitative research approach was applied in this study to get insight to the nuances of the process
for best selection of methodology tools that fitted best. The process of measurement is central to
quantitative research because it provides the fundamental connection between empirical observation
and mathematical expression of an attribute. The objective of quantitative research is to develop and
employ mathematical models, theories and hypotheses pertaining to natural phenomena (Abbey,
2009). Thus, adoption of quantitative research approach is appropriate to investigate the relationship
between marketing offers and brand identity attributes.

3.2. Research Design

In order to address the research gap identified and to meet the specific objectives, explanatory
research designs was employed. According to Riaz (2011) explanatory research is conducted in order
to identify the extent and nature of cause-and-effect relationships. Explanatory research can be
conducted in order to assess impacts of specific changes on independent variables that changes the
dependent variable. It focuses on analysis of a situation or a specific problem to explain the patterns
of relationships between variables. Therefore, the study adopted explanatory research design to
investigate the effect of marketing offers (independent variables) namely product offer, service offer,
logistic offer, advice offer and adaptation on the overall business brand identity taking a B2B
(chemical suppliers Vs. bottled water manufacturers) as a case study.

A research design is a plan or framework that provides the basic direction for carrying out the
research. In business research, based on the research purpose, research designs are categorised into
three namely exploratory, description, and explanatory. The explanatory category is also known as
causal research (Zikmund, 2000). Since this study is sought to investigate the effect of marketing

31
offers on brand identity, the research design applied for this study was an explanatory research
design.

3.3. Population, Sample Size and Sampling Technique

3.3.1. Target Population

This study is sought to investigate the effect of industrial chemical manufacture‘s business marketing
offers on building brand identity. According to Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency (CSA) data
collected until May 2020, there are a total of 154 basic, intermediary and specialty chemical
manufacturing enterprises of which manufacturers of basic chemicals except fertilizers and nitrogen
compounds are 5 in number. These five basic chemical manufacturers are namely Awash Melkasa
Aluminum Sulphate & Sulphuric acid S.C., Allied Chemicals Plc, Abijiatta-Shalla Soda Ash S.C,
Zeway Caustic Soda and Batu Caustic Soda Factory. Despite these companies have a number of
other business customers, bottled water manufacturing companies are known for their frequent
purchase of their products (Chlorine, Alkali, Soda, etc.) for water treatment process.

A target population is the entire group of people or entities that the researcher is interested to draw
conclusions (Kothari, 2003). According to Ethiopian Revenue and Custom Authority - ERCA (2020),
there are a total of 70 registered and active bottled water manufacturers in Ethiopia, out of which 47
companies have head-office and distribution centers in Addis Ababa. Thus, bottled water
manufacturers in Addis Ababa were considered as a study population. This is for the reason that they
are the main customers or frequent buyers of the aforementioned industrial chemical manufacturers
for water treatment process (Ethiopian Chemical Industry Corporation, 2020).

Since purchasing process of industrial customers are bureaucratic and more procedural, managements
and other subordinate staffs namely quality controls, chemists, marketing & sales, purchasing and
production managers are involved in decision making. These staffs of 47 bottled water manufacturers
in the city are counted for 238 in number and were taken as a sampling frame as they were believed
to have detail information.

3.3.2. Sample Size

It is economical to take representative sample for the intended investigation when conducting census
is unrealistic. Determining sample size is very important issue because samples that are too large may
waste time and financial resources. While samples that are too small may lead to inaccurate results.

32
According to Saunders (2007), researchers normally work to a 95% level of certainty. Since the
number of the population is known, simplified proportionate formula for known proportion sample
size is determined by Yemane (1967). Therefore, the formula to determine the sample size proportion
for known population is:

Where: n -designates total number of permanent employees; e - designates maximum variability or

margin of error 5% (0.05); and n- designates computed sample size. Thus, a total of 150 sample
respondents would be taken from the 47 bottled water factories in Addis Ababa.

Table 1: Sample Proportion per Stratum

Company Stratum Total Proportion (%) Sample Proportion

number
Quality Controller 107 0.379 (150) 57
Bottled Water Marketing & Sales Manager 81 0.287 (150) 43
Factories (47) Purchasing Manager 47 0.167 (150) 25
Production Manager 47 0.167 (150) 25
Total 238 1.00 150

(Source: Ethio Telecom Database, 2021)

3.3.3. Sample Technique

There are two sampling techniques to select the targeted respondents from the sapling frame. These
are probability or non-probability sampling methods (Creswell, 2009) but a mixture of the two
approaches can also be applied. The former refers random (equal chance) selection whereas the latter
is subjective and depends on the judgment or the justification of the researcher. Probability sampling
method, specifically stratified random sampling technique, which is believed to be appropriate for
this study, was applied.

3.4. Data Source and Data Collection Method

There are two types of data sources when collecting data; primary and secondary (Arbnor, 1994).
Primary data consists of all the data collected throughout the study that can be directly related to the
study purpose, both personally gathered as well as data from a third party that has been gathered with
equivalent purpose. Secondary data on the other hand, contains relevant data that has been collected

33
for a different purpose, but from which the conclusion is valuable for the purpose. This study was
mainly conducted based on primary data for analysis. Besides, primary sources, directly or indirectly
related to the purpose, were also used for enriching the related literature review from articles,
research theses, articles and internet sources.

The primary data were collected through self-administered questionnaires. To have the necessary
tools for reaching the established objective, a self-administered questionnaire was developed which
made references to the business marketing offers and brand identity. Questionnaire is applied usually
for descriptive, which identify and describe the variability in different phenomena or explanatory
research, which examine and explain relationships between variables (Saunders, 2009). A self-
administered questionnaire design was utilized to obtain the data for this research. For the purpose of
this research, a structured questionnaire that follows the quantitative paradigm consisting
demographics and item constructs (28 questions) were used to collect the required data.

3.5. Data Analysis and Presentation

The study uses linear multi-regression analysis models for testing the hypotheses drawn from the
conceptual framework. Regression analysis is a statistical method to deal with the formulation of
mathematical model representing relationship amongst variables which can be used for the purpose
of prediction of the value of dependent variable, given the value of the independent (Kothari, 2004).
Linear regression estimates the coefficients of the linear equation, involving one or more independent
variables that best forecast the value of the dependent variable.

Model Specification - Empirical model of this study is, thus, formulated as a multiple linear
regression analysis model for investigating individual effect of each independent variable on the
outcome variable. In this study, variables are assigned as:

X - Marketing Offers (Independent Variable), manifested by five dimensions namely product (5),
service (5), logistics (5), adaptation (4) and advice offer (4). (Adapted from Ford, 2012)

Y - Brand Identity (5 attributes) as Dependent Variable. (Adapted from Ford, 2012)

X Y

Figure 3: Structure of the Regression Model

34
To do so, the relationship between the variables is formulated mathematically as:

Where: Y = Overall Brand Identity; X1 = Product; X2 = Service; X3 = Logistics; X4 = Advice; X5=

Adaptation; e = error term; β0 = constant, term; β1, 2, 3, 4, 5= coefficient terms

Multiple linear regression was conducted to identify the relationship and to determine the most
dominant variables of business marketing offer that influence the overall brand identity in the context
of B2B relationship between bottled water manufacturers and industrial chemical suppliers in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia.

3.6. Scale Validity and Reliability Test

The extent to which a data collection method accurately measures what it is intended to quantify is
referred to as validity (Saunders, 2009). All variables were adopted from previous research works of
Ford (2012) to ensure the validity of the research instrument. To assess the overall content validity of
the instrument, experts in the field examined the clarity, length, and wording of all variables (items).
The English version of the questionnaire has been translated into Amharic to improve clarity for the
respondents. Additionally, a pilot test of the questionnaire was conducted among the staffs of the
bottled water manufacturers (but excluded them from the main survey in the end) and distributed 30
questionnaires to gather feedback on improving the instruments' content validity. On top of the
advisor's comments further incorporated the opinions of the pilot test participants so as to improve
the scale validity.

The student researcher adopted measurement scale developed by Ford (2012) to measure business
marketing offers. Business marketing offer has five dimensions (namely product offer (5-
statements), service offer (5- statements); logistics offer (5- statements), advice offer (4- statements)
and adaptation offer (4- statements); and brand identity (5- statements). The reliability test of the
adapted questionnaire was found to be Cronbach‘s alpha of .811, .904, .780, .805, and .733
respectively. Items were measured using a 5-point Likert scale (1 is strongly disagree and 5 is
strongly agree). The questions enable the participants (staffs of bottled water manufacturers,
particularly quality controller, production manager, purchaser and marketing & sales manager) to
express their level of agreement with the five-point Likert‘s scale format.

35
Using the pilot test data, the reliability test also conducted to evaluate the internal consistency of the
scale. According to Fink (2015), it is important to conduct a pilot test the questionnaire in making
sure reliability of the scale. The results revealed that Cronbach‘s alpha values of each attributes were
found to be in the range of acceptance - alpha above 0.7 at p < .5%.

In this study, the business marketing offers that affect brand identity was measured separately and the
Cronbach‘s alpha value was determined. Regarding to business marketing offers, product (provision
of standard product, improved quality, quality as promised, better quality than competitors, and being
on quality ladder) was measured by five questions (Cronbach‘s alpha = 0.703); Service (staff
courteousness, giving individual attention, responsiveness, providing reliable information, and using
modern equipment) with five items: (Cronbach‘s alpha = 0.944); Logistics (in-time delivery, concern
for customer‘s operation, monitoring customer‘s stock out status, minimizing production interruption
and cooperation with other suppliers) by five items: (coronach‘s alpha = 0.810); Adaptation (supply
standard product based on individual customer‘s specification, adjusting production system based on
customer‘s requirement, and working towards long-term relationship) with four items: (Cronbach‘s
alpha = 0.748); and Advice (listening customer‘s issues, solving current issues, suggesting new
opportunity, and having good communication skill) with four items: (Cronbach‘s alpha = 0.748). It
should be mentioned that brand identity (easy to pronounce the logo, having consistent brand, high
reputation, appealing product package, and using different media for promotion) was assessed by five
questions: (Cronbach‘s alpha = 0.716).

Table 2: Reliability Test

N Cronbach's Alpha
Product Offer 5 .703
Service Offer 5 .944
Logistics Offer 5 .810
Adaptation Offer 4 .748
Advice Offer 5 .703
Brand Identity 5 .716
Total 28 .895

(Source: Own Survey, 2020)

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Thus, as an indicator of acceptability of the scale for further study, all the five marketing offers
dimensions (product, service, logistics, adaptation and advice offers) and the overall brand identity
attributes were above 0.7 (Table 3.2.). The alpha score of all the constructs yielded the Cronbach
alpha of r = 0.895 on average. On the basis of the Alpha scores within the range, the scale was
considered as are liable tool for performing data analysis due to its ability to yield stable and
consistent results.

3.7. Ethical Consideration

Informed consent was sought from the management of the selected organizations before the
commencement of this research initiative. Approval for this study was obtained from St. Mary‘s
University, School of Graduate Studies student support office. And formal consents had also been
obtained from each participant/sampling unit before data collection was commenced. The researcher
tried to protect the rights of the respondents by ensuring that none of the respondents would be
named during the survey or subsequent thesis and respondents were selected to participate without
compulsion.

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 CHAPTER FOUR

4. DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4.1. Introduction
This chapter comprises presentation, analysis and interpretations of the data collected through self-
administered questionnaire in reference to marketing offers and brand identity in the case of
industrial chemical manufacturers in Addis Ababa. Both results and discussion part are intensively
discussed based on the analysis output and literatures reviewed. Descriptive along with inferential
statistics were applied in order to come up with overall better results of the research studied. The
general information and study variable questions‘ results were plainly analyzed using frequency,
percentage, mean, standard deviation, correlation and multiple regression outputs.

Before proceeding with further analysis, it is also critical to check for any errors induced during data
collection and data entry. Thus, data screening is necessary to ensure the validity of research
findings. Hence, after collecting the primary data, prior to analyzing it, the questionnaire was
reviewed to ensure that the questionnaires were filled correctly. Any incomplete or missing response
were excluded from the subsequent analysis. In the course of clearing the data, data encoding and
avoiding of coding and data entry error steps were carried out accordingly.

Regarding the questionnaire response rate, all questionnaires were screened for completeness in order
to make the collected data suitable for the intended analysis. All unreturned and incomplete
questionnaires were considered errors and were discarded from the survey data. Out of 150
distributed questionnaires, a total of 141 were returned. Further, the returned questionnaires were
reviewed for errors, and found 5 incomplete questionnaires were identified and discarded. That
means, 136 of the 150 collected questionnaires was found to be usable and used for final analysis. As
a result, a 94 percent response rate was obtained.

4.2. General Information of Survey Respondents

The first part of the questionnaire consists of the general profile of respondents. It requested a limited
amount of information related to general information about the respondents. Accordingly, the
following variables about the respondents were summarized and described in the Table-2 below.
These variables include sex, age, education, position and service year of survey respondents.

38
Table 3: Summary of Demographic Profile

Category Freq. Percent (%)

Sex
Male 59 43.4%
Female 77 56.6%
Total 136 100.0%
Age
<30 27 19.9%
30 – 45 61 44.9%
46 – 60 38 27.9%
>60 10 7.4%
Total 136 100.0%
Education
Degree 80 58.8%
Masters 33 24.3%
Ph.D. 0 0.0%
Others 23 16.9%
Total 136 100.0%
Position
Quality Controller 53 39.0%
Production Manager 23 16.9%
Sales & Marketing Manager 39 28.7%
Purchasing Manager 21 15.4%
Total 136 100.0%
Experience
1 - 5 Years 42 30.9%
6 - 10 Years 69 50.7%
> 10 Years 25 18.4%
Total 136 100.0%
[Source: Own Survey, 2021]

As shown on Table-3, male respondents accounted for 77(56.6%) and the remaining 59(43.4%) were
female counterparts. This implies that the number of male and female staffs were nearly similar.

Regarding age category, the age distribution showed that 44.9% of the respondents were 30-45 years
old followed by 27.9% and 19.9% who were within 30-60 and below 30 years old, respectively. The
rest 7.4% were above 60 years old. This shows that majority of the respondents involved in the study
were from 30-60 years old. This showed the participants are more of adults.

39
As far as the education status of the respondents concerned, the majority 80(58.8%) had bachelor
degree followed by 24.3% Masters‘ Degree holders. No PhD degree holder participated in this survey
but was 16.9% from other educational background (high-schoolers and technical/ vocational
certificate). Thus, the result implies that the majority of the respondents have possessed a high level
of education and they have knowledge to evaluate the marketing offers and brand identity dimensions
as well as to fill the questionnaire in a well manner.

Furthermore, with regards to their current position in the company, 53(39.0%) respondents were
quality controllers, 39(28.7%) sales & marketing managers, 23(16.9%) production managers and
21(15.4%) purchasing managers. This implies that the participants were from each major purchase
decision-making units or departments and this could make the results of the findings more
trustworthy.

Referring their service years in the current companies, half (50.7%) of the respondents served the
company from 6-10 years while the rest 42(30.9%) and 25(18.4%) had 1-5 and above 10 years of
service. This indicates that majority of the participants had relatively lower service years.

Finally, as far as the purchase of chemical products concerned, 43(31.6%) of bottled water
manufacturers purchased chemicals from Awash Melkasa Aluminium Sulphate & Sulphuric Acid
S.C., 37(27.2%) from Allied Chemicals Plc, 23(16.9%) from Abijiatta-Shalla Soda Ash S.C.,
21(15.4%) from Zeway Caustic Soda and the rest 12(8.8%) from Batu Caustic Soda Factory in
descending order. The results show that the bottled water factories bought input chemical from their
water treatment process from local chemical suppliers.

Overall, the demographic characteristics of the respondents shows dominancy of male participants,
well-educated adults with relatively lower (6 - 10) service years within the current company. These
demographic profiles of the respondents have an implication that they would have better
understanding of the survey results in increasing the credibility of the study to some extent.

4.2.1. Descriptive Analysis

Descriptive statistics were used to describe the basic features of the data in a study. It provides simple
summaries about the sample and the measures. Here, descriptive statistics is used to present
quantitative descriptions in a manageable form for the fact that each descriptive statistic reduces lots
of data into a simpler summary (Gelman, 2007). The mean scores have been computed for all the five

40
marketing offers and brand identity variables by equally weighting the mean scores of all the items
under each dimension. Respondents were asked to rate their perception on a five-point Likert type
scale ranging from 1- being strongly disagree to 5- strongly agree for both marketing and brand
identity dimensions. To compare the respondents‘ perception towards the variables, the scale is set in
such a way that respondents strongly disagreed if the mean scored value is in the range of 1.00 –
1.80; disagreed within 1.81 – 2.60; neither agreed nor disagreed within 2.81 - 3.40; agreed if it is in
the range of 3.41 – 4.20; while strongly agreed when it falls within 4.21 – 5.00. In addition, standard
deviation shows the variability of an observed response. The result is presented below.

4.2.1.1. Product Offer

With the objective of evaluating product offer, the supplier‘s strategy to build its brand identity as a
quality leader in the market through offering standard chemical products with better quality than
competitors, and its delivery as a promised was assessed. Under product offers, five specific
statements were asked in the form of Likert scale. Each statement focused on the theoretical
background and how much it influences the brand identity of the industrial chemical manufacturers.

Table 4: Descriptive Statistics of Product Offer

Descriptive Statistics
N Mean Std. Deviation
Chemical manufacturers supply standard products 136 4.07 1.482
Chemical manufacturers supply quality products than competitors 136 3.70 1.731
Chemical manufacturers often supply improved quality products 136 3.60 1.714
Chemical manufacturers supply the quality of a product as promised 136 3.48 1.858
Chemical manufacturers can be considered as ―quality-leaders‖ 136 4.22 1.454
Average mean 136 3.81 1.120
Source: SPSS output, 2021

The results on Table-4 shows that majority of the respondents strongly agreed that the chemical
manufactures are considered as a ―Quality-Leaders‖ in the market (mean 4.22). Similarly, they also
believed that the suppliers offered standard products (mean 4.07), with better quality than
competitors (mean 3.70), and often offers improved quality products (mean 3.60). But they slightly
agreed on the factories supplied/ manufactured specific orders in time as promised (3.48). The

41
aggregate mean (3.99) implies that the majority of the respondents inclined to agree on the
importance of standard/ quality products and their delivery in time on their purchase decision.

4.2.1.2. Service Offers

Firms are likely to build their brand identity on the basis of service quality leadership, firm
reputation, staff skills, and the friendliness and professionalism of their staff (Rackham, 2018). Under
service offers dimension, there are five statements which were used to test the effect of service
marketing offer on bottled water factories‘ purchase decision. Based on the underneath statistics
results, the respondents agreed that staffs at chemical manufacturers are responsive for individual
request (mean 4.01) but slightly agreed that the staffs are competent than other competitors (mean
3.57), and delivered standardized services (mean 3.65). Besides, they neither agreed nor disagreed on
the idea that states ―Chemical suppliers rendered customized services‖ (mean 3.29). The grand mean
scored value of 3.63 indicates that the responses of the respondents apt to agreed up on service
offer‘s statement questions that have an implication that, in this case, services are relatively
standardized (as a proxy for products) and little customization might be expected.

Table 5: Descriptive Statistics of Service Offer

Descriptive Statistics
N Mean Std. Dev.
Staffs of chemical manufacturers are responsive to individual request 136 4.01 1.649
Staffs of chemical manufacturers are competent than competitors 136 3.57 1.829
Service rendered by chemical manufacturer is standardized 136 3.65 1.774
Service rendered by chemical manufacturer is customized 136 3.29 1.785
Average mean 136 3.63 1.284
Source: SPSS output, 2021

4.2.1.3. Logistics Offers

Logistics is more than just the delivery of the product to the customer. It refers to the ability of
suppliers to manage their supply chain, meet the demands of just-in-time production schedules,
minimize customer production disruptions, provide order and material traceability, and the ability to
cooperate with other network partners in order to deliver offers to customers (Ford, 2002).

42
Based on this definition, five attributes related to logistics offer were put to the respondents and their
reaction/ the result (Table-6) revealed that the respondents believed that chemical suppliers are aware
of bottled water factories‘ production schedules (mean 3.60), tried to deliver in time (mean 3.72) and
minimize interruption of their production (mean 3.62) through dealing with other chemical suppliers
(mean, 3.51) to meet their demands. They admitted that the suppliers helped them not to run out of
stock (mean 3.51) regarding raw materials. This indicates that respondents‘ perception towards the
logistics offers of the industrial chemical suppliers inclined to positive as the grand mean value was
found to be 3.62. This implies that the logistics offer of the chemical suppliers is positively perceived
by their customers which could results in building good brand identity.

Table 6: Descriptive Statistics of Logistics Offer

Descriptive Statistics
N Mean Std. Dev.
Chemical manufacturers supply the ordered quantity in time 136 3.72 1.800
Chemical manufacturers are aware of our production schedule 136 3.60 1.802
Chemical manufacturers help us not to run out of stock 136 3.64 1.824
Chemical manufacturers try to minimize production disruption 136 3.62 1.610
Chemical manufacturers cooperate with other suppliers to meet our demand 136 3.51 1.486
Average mean 136 3.62 1.207

Source: SPSS output, 2021

4.2.1.4. Adaptation Offers

The level of adaptation in B2B is considered to be an important feature of the relationship because
exchange partners often adapt to each other for limited resources, specialized knowledge, information
and marketing assistance (Gundlach, 2014). In this regard, the results on Table-7 revealed that the
respondents disagreed against chemical suppliers‘ staffs were courteous to solve individual problems
(mean 2.71), make significant investment on modern equipment linked to their requirements (2.83),
and tried to work to build long-term relationship (mean 2.77). On the other hand, they showed their
indifference regarding the adaption of their production process to meet customer‘s demand/
requirements (mean 3.07). The overall perception of the respondents towards adaptation offer of
industrial chemical manufacturers was found to be negative (grand mean, 2.85). This has an

43
implication that the respondents had doubts on chemical suppliers‘ ability or willingness to adapt
their business activities in accordance or in line with their strategic customers.

Table 7: Descriptive Statistics of Adaptive Offer

Descriptive Statistics
N Mean Std. Dev.
Chemical suppliers adapt standard product as per individual customer‘s demand 136 2.71 1.747
Chemical suppliers adapt their production process to meet customer demand 136 3.07 1.942
Chemical manufacturers make significant investments on equipment to satisfy
customer‘s individual requirement 136 2.83 1.640

Chemical suppliers work towards building customer‘s long-term relationship 136 2.77 1.596
Average mean 136 2.85 1.387
Source: SPSS output, 2021

4.1.2.5. Advice Offers

Advice aims to increase the customer‘s understanding that helps decrease customer uncertainties,
may identify the real source of a customer‘s problem, new ways of doing things or new opportunities
(Ford, 2002).

Table 8: Descriptive Statistics of Advice Offer

Descriptive Statistics
N Mean Std. Dev.
Staffs of chemical suppliers understand our issues properly 136 3.11 1.988
Chemical suppliers advise us in identifying new business opportunity 136 2.59 1.953
Chemical suppliers often come up with new ideas of customer service 136 2.97 1.947
Chemical suppliers take proactive measures to solve our current issues 136 2.93 1.963
Chemical suppliers‘ staffs have a good skill in lessening uncertainty 136 3.02 1.953
Average mean 136 2.93 1.771
Source: SPSS output, 2021

Based on the results on Table-8, the respondents had doubts on the overall the perception towards
advice offers of chemical suppliers as the grand mean scored value was found to be 2.93. This is for
the fact that the respondents were indifferent whether staffs of chemical suppliers understand their
issues properly (mean 3.11), often came up with new ideas of customer service (mean 2.97), took

44
proactive measures to solve their problem (mean 2.93) and staffs had a good skill in lessening
uncertainty (mean 3.02). However, they disagreed on forwarding their advice regarding identification
of new business opportunity (mean 2.59). This implies that chemical manufacturers had less ambition
towards offering advices or consultancy services to their customers. This may have its own influence
on the reputation of the companies in this regard.

4.1.2.6. Brand Identity

Brand identity is the practice by which companies creating unique and strong perceptions in the
minds of consumers for their product offerings from competition (Boyle, 2007). Brands are renowned
for offering consumers a distinctive set of perceived benefits not found in other products. These
perceived benefits potentially both simplify consumers‘ purchase decision making and offer a
starting point for customer loyalty.

Table 9: Descriptive Statistics of Brand Identity

Descriptive Statistics
N Mean Std. Dev.
The brand/ logo the chemical manufacturer is easy to pronounce 136 3.36 1.407
The brand of chemical manufacturer is consistent 136 4.10 1.387
The brand the chemical manufacturer has high reputation 136 3.51 .869
Our chemical suppliers use alluring product package to promote their brands 136 3.54 1.360
Chemical suppliers adopt different media to promote their brands 136 3.46 .877
Average mean 136 3.57 .855
Source: SPSS output, 2021

In this regard, the result on Table-9 revealed that the respondents agreed that brands of the respective
chemical suppliers are consistent (mean 4.10), implemented appealing product package to promote
their products (mean 3.54), and the suppliers had high reputation (mean 3.51). Whereas, they showed
their indifferences (neither agreed nor disagreed) on the logo/ brand name of the suppliers are easy to
pronounce (mean 3.36) and the companies adopted different promotional media to promote their
tangible products or services. The overall brand identity dimension of the industrial chemical
suppliers was perceived slightly positive (grand mean 3.57) which implies that company‘s reputation,
brand consistency, its promotion through appropriate media and ease of brand name to catch, have
their own influence the building process of unique brand identity.

45
4.3. Inferential statistics
4.3.1. Correlation Analysis

To determine the relationship between marketing offers dimensions and brand identity, Pearson
Correlation was first investigated. A correlation refers to a quantifiable relationship between two
variables, and the statistic that provides an index of that relationship is called a correlation coefficient
(r), which is a measure of the relationship between two interval or ratio variables. As per the
guideline suggested by Field (2005), the strength of relationship ranging from 0.1 to 0.29 shows
week relationship; from 0.3 to 0.49 is moderate; and value > 0.5 shows strong relationship between
two variables. Hence, in this study correlation analysis was used to examine the relation between
dependent (brand identity) and independent (marketing offer – product, service, logistics, adaptation
and advice offers) variables.

Table 10: Pearson Correlation Matrix

Correlations
PRO ADV LOG ADP SRV BRI
Product Offer 1
Advice Offer .488** 1
Logistic Offer .321** .223** 1
Adaptation Offer .312** .315** .381** 1
Service Offer .210* .191* .208* .239** 1
Brand Identity .607** .594** .452** .513** .377** 1
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

Source: SPSS output, 2021

The results on Table-10 shows that brand identity had a positive and significant relationship with all
marketing offers dimensions. Amongst them, the association between product offer and brand
identity had relatively the most strong and positive relation (r - coefficient of 0.607 and significant at
0.01). This indicates product offer dimension had relatively strong positive brand identity among
other independent variables. The remaining business marketing offers namely advice offer (r =
0.594), logistic offer (r = 0.452) and service offer (r = 0.377) have positive and significant
relationship with brand identity.

46
4.3.2. Assumptions for Multiple Linear Regression Model Test

Meeting the regression analysis assumptions is required to confirm that the obtained data accurately
represented the sample and that the researcher obtained the best results (Hair, 1998). There are
numerous assumptions to consider, but the student researcher concentrated on the major ones that can
be easily tested with SPSS. These assumption tests are multicollinearity, linearity, normality and
autocorrelation tests.

I. Multicollinearity

The multicollinearity of the variables was measured to see if there was any high correlation between
the independent variables. If the independent variables are correlated, the regression equation most
likely contains a redundant measure. Correlations were investigated using SPSS's bivariate
correlation measure. None of the independent variables had correlations of 0.70 or higher, implying
collinearity (Tabachnick & Fidell, 1996).

Table 11: Collinearity Diagnosis

Coefficients a
Model Collinearity Statistics
Tolerance VIF
Product Offer .700 1.428
Service Offer .729 1.372
1 Logistic Offer .802 1.247
Adaptation Offer .774 1.292
Advice Offer .909 1.100
a.
Dependent Variable: Brand Identity
Source: SPSS output, 2021

In addition, the Tolerance and VIF values were used to test for multicollinearity in this study. If the
tolerance value is close to one and the VIF value is between one and ten, it can be concluded that
there is no multicollinearity problem between independent variables in the regression model (Pallant,
2011). All independent variables, as shown in Table-11, have a Tolerance value greater than 0.01 and
a VIF value less than 10. As a result, it can be concluded that there was no multicollinearity issue in
this case.

47
II. Linearity

The degree to which a change in the dependent variable is associated with a change in the
independent variable is represented by the linearity of the relationship between the dependent and
independent variables (Hair, 1998). In a nutshell, linear models predict values that fall in a straight
line by utilizing a constant unit change (slope) of the dependent variable in exchange for a constant
unit change of the independent variable (Hair, 1998).

Source: SPSS output, 2021

Figure 4: Frequency Distribution of Standardized Residuals

Scatter plots or residual plots can be used to easily test the linearity assumption: plots of residuals vs.
either the predicted values of the dependent variable or against (one of) the independent variable(s)
(Hoekstra, 2014). Figure-2 depicts the scatter plots of standardized residuals versus fitted values for
the regression models. From the Loess curve, it appears that the relationship of standardized
predicted to residuals is roughly linear around zero. Thus, it can be concluded that the relation b/n the
response variable and predictors is zero since the residuals seem to be randomly scattered around
zero.

III. Test of Normality

Screening data for assessing the normalization of variables is a critical step in multivariate analysis
(Hair, 2010). Normality refers to the shape of a normal distribution of the matric variable (Robert,
2006). For variables with normal distribution, the values of skewness and kurtosis are zero, and any
value other than zero indicated deviation from normality (Hair, 2010). In addition, a check for
normality of the error term is conducted by a visual examination of the normal probability plots of

48
the residuals. To evaluate normality, the P-P plots is used as showed in Figure-3. The plot shows
approximately a straight line instead of a curve. The skewness value provides an indication of the
symmetry of the distribution. The index of skewness takes the value zero for a symmetrical
distribution. A positive skewness value indicates right skew while a negative value indicates left
skew (Fidell, 2001). In this case, the data skewed to the right (Advice Offer) side as the statistics
values were found to be negative but within the range (-2 to + 2). Furthermore, the result of
histogram in Figure-3 showed a little left skew as well.

Table 12: Normality of Distribution Using Descriptive Statistics (Skewness and Kurtosis)

Descriptive Statistics
N Skewness Kurtosis
Statistic Statistic Std. Error Statistic Std. Error
Product Offer 136 -.372 .208 -1.109 .413
Advice Offer 136 .115 .208 -1.782 .413
Logistic Offer 136 -.575 .208 -.936 .413
Adaptation Offer 136 -.007 .208 -1.305 .413
Service Offer 136 -.610 .208 -.854 .413
Brand Identity 136 -.193 .208 .851 .413
Valid N (listwise) 136
Source: SPSS output, 2021

Source: SPSS output, 2021

Figure 5: Normal Point Plot and Frequency Distribution of Standardized Residuals

49
IV. No Auto-correlation/Independent of Errors

To determine the autocorrelation between observations, Durbin-Watson test was used. The Durbin-
Watson statistic ranges in value from 0 to 4. A value near 2 indicates non-autocorrelation; a value
toward 0 indicates positive autocorrelation; a value toward 4 indicates negative autocorrelation
(Field, 2005). With Durbin Watson value of 1.784, which is closer to 2, it can be confirmed that the
assumption of independent error has almost certainly been met (Ref. Table 13 – Model Summary).

4.4. Regression Results

Multiple linear regression is a statistical method for determining the strength of the relationship
between a set of explanatory variables (Landau & Brian, 2004). The explanatory power of the
independent variables (Product offer, Service offer, Logistics offer, Advise offer and Adaptation
offer) in the variance of the dependent variable (brand identity) was determined in this study. The
percentage of variance in the dependent variable explained by the independent variables was
calculated using adjusted R square. The standard regression coefficient (beta weight) was calculated
from the multiple linear regression analysis to compare the relative effect.

Overall brand identity was regressed against the five independent variables, the independent variables
contributed to a statistically significant level p-value 0.001. The multiple correlation coefficient R =
0.785 indicates that the observed brand identity has a strong correlation with those predicted by the
model for regression. Moreover, as shown in Table-13, the R-square value or coefficient of
determination (R2 = 0.617) indicates that 61.7% of the variance in the dependent variable (brand
identity) was explained by the independent variables (product offer, advice offer, logistic offer,
adaptation offer and service offer) included in the regression model.

Table 13: Model Summary

Model Summaryb

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Durbin-Watson

Estimate

1 .785a .617 .602 .53891 1.784

a
. Predictors: (Constant), ADV, SRV, LOG, ADP, PRO
b.
Dependent Variable: BRI

Source: SPSS output, 2021

50
By definition, R2 will increase as more independent variables are added to the model. Even if these
do not explain variability in the population, adjusted R2 is an attempt to improve estimation of R2 in
the population (Landau and Brian, 2004). The use of this adjusted measure results in a revised
estimate that the five explanatory variables can explain 61.7% of the variability in brand identity in
the population. Other variables not considered in this study account for approximately 38.3% of the
variability in brand identity in the population.

The ANOVA Test, Table-14, shows the overall significance/acceptability of the model from a
statistical perspective (Pedhazur, 1982). It shows the acceptability of the model. The p-value is less <
0.05 i.e., 0.001 indicates that the variation is explained by the model is not due to chance. As result
revealed, it can be connoted that R, R2, and Adjusted R2 conducted for the multiple regression predict
the brand identity based on the linear combination of marketing offers (independent variables) is
found to be statistically significant.

Table 14: ANOVA Test

ANOVA a
Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Regression 60.819 5 12.164 41.883 .000b
1 Residual 37.755 130 .290
Total 98.574 135
a. Dependent Variable: BRI
b. Predictors: (Constant), ADV, SRV, LOG, ADP, PRO

Source: SPSS output, 2021

The F-ratio is calculated by dividing the average improvement in prediction by the model (MSM) by
the average difference between the model and the observed data (MSR). F-ratio determines whether
the model is a good fit for the data. If the improvement due to fitting the regression model is much
greater than the inaccuracy within the model then the value of F will be greater than 1 and SPSS
calculates the exact probability of obtaining the value of F by chance (Pedhazur, 1982). The F-ratio
for the above model is 41.883, which is very unlikely to have happened by chance.

Regarding the regression coefficient, this study intends to identify the most contributing independent
variable in the prediction of the dependent variable. Thus, the strength of each predictor (independent
variable) influencing the criterion (dependent variable) can be investigated via standardized Beta
coefficient. The regression coefficient explains the average amount of change in the dependent

51
variable that is caused by a unit change in the independent variable. The larger value of Beta
coefficient an independent variable has, the larger effect on the dependent variable.

The last output in the analysis of the multiple regression models represents the output for the beta
coefficients of each marketing offer dimensions. The equation for this research is presented below:

Where: Y = Overall Brand Identity; X1 = Product; X2 = Service; X3 = Logistics; X4 = Advice; X5=

Adaptation; e = error term; β0 = constant, term; β1, 2, 3, 4, 5= coefficient or slope of the independent
variables.

Based on multiple regression analysis on Table 4.14, substituting the results in the model yields:

The regression analysis revealed that each marketing offers have positive and significant effect on
overall brand identity. Service offer (  = .311) has the highest positive effect on brand identity and

followed by product offer (  = .298) and adaptation offer (  = .217). However, logistics (  =

.170) and advice (  = .168) offers have relatively lower contribution to the prediction model. In this

case, all of the predictors had positive beta coefficient values, which indicates positive effects.

Table 15: Estimated Regression Coefficients

Coefficientsa
Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients
Model t Sig.
B Std. Error Beta
(Constant) 1.044 .209 4.990 .000
Product Offer .227 .050 .298 4.587 .000
1 Advice Offer .150 .031 .311 4.890 .000
Logistic Offer .120 .043 .170 2.807 .006
Adaptation Offer .134 .038 .217 3.515 .001
Service Offer .112 .038 .168 2.952 .004
a.
Dependent Variable: Brand Identity

Source: SPSS output, 2021

52
Therefore, the hypotheses for these five variables were supported as they showed a positive and
significant effects on brand identity. It can be concluded that the five dimensions of marketing offers
by industrial chemical manufactures can be taken as a good predictors of brand identity.

4.4. Discussion of the Results

The discussion part focuses on the major findings of the analyses for further elaboration. It
encompasses addressing the research objectives which aims to test the effect of business marketing
offers on brand identity of industrial chemical manufacturers in Addis Ababa. As indicated in the
related literature review chapter, marketing offers variable is manifested through product, service,
logistics, adaptation and advice offers. Referring to Table 4.14, all the beta coefficients of the
regression model between the marketing offers and brand identity have positive values. Hence, there
were no inverse relationships between the dependent and independent variables. The brief discussion
on each objective (hypothesis) is presented below.

H1: Product offer has positive and significant effect on brand identity

Regarding the first proposed hypothesis (H1), it posits a significant and positive influence on brand
identity of industrial chemical manufactures. This hypothesis is supported at β = 0.298 at p < 0.01. It
indicates that product offer dimension certainly has a significant and positive effect on brand identity.
A unit change in product offer will bring a 0.298-unit variation in brand identity. This can be taken as
evidence to prove the proposed hypothesis (H1) is supported.

The implication of product offer variable has a positive and significant relationship with in the
process of building unique and strong brand identity is that industrial chemical manufacturers offer
their products to the market or specifically to their strategic customers to survive and then sustain in
the market. Such product offers with specified standard or improved quality in a promised time frame
has a significant influence on building the brand identity of the companies. This finding is supported
by Rackham & DeVincentis (2016), whose study was conducted on The International Wool
Secretariat‘s Wool Mark brand, found out that building a leadership position around product quality
and assure quality-sensitive buyers that the products have met rigorous standards made Wool Mark
brand prominent in the European market. Thus, one can conclude that product offer has a potential
prediction probability (capability) on brand identity of a given company if its benefit or features are
differentiated from strategic competitors.

53
H2: Service offer has positive and significant effect on brand identity

The second proposed hypothesis (H2) states that service offer has a positive and significant effect on
brand identity of water treatment chemical manufacturers. This is supported at β = .168(p< .001)
which indicates that a unit variation in service offer may bring .168 points variation in brand identity.
However, it was found to be relatively the least determinant amongst other marketing offers in
Ethiopian industrial chemical manufacturer‘s context. However, the finding is not in line with Flint
(2012) as his study found out that firms are likely to build their brand identity on the basis of service
quality leadership, firm reputation, staff skills, and the friendliness and professionalism of their staff.
But it‘s supported by the finding of Narus (2014). According to his study, lower effect of service
offer on brand identity could happen when the service is augmented or proxy of a product (in the case
of manufacturers or product suppliers).

H3: Logistics offer has positive and significant effect on brand identity

The third proposed hypothesis (H3) posits that logistic offer has a positive and significant effect on
brand identity of chemical manufacturers in Addis Ababa. This is supported at β = 0.170 at p<.001,
which implies that logistics offer significantly affects the brand identity. Preceding service offer,
logistics offers has also relatively lower effect on brand identity due to suppliers‘ ability to manage
their supply chain, meet the demands of just-in-time production schedules, minimize customer
production disruptions, etc. Based on the result of beta coefficient, a unit increase in logistics offer
will produce a 0.170 unit increase in brand identity. So, the hypothesis is supported. In support of this
finding, Ford (2012) explains that logistics consists primarily of capabilities rather than tangible
things, and involves standardized and customized components. If not standardized, logistics would
have less impact to build a B2B brand as it has a more abstract basis than product offers.

H14: Adaptation offer has positive and significant effect on brand identity

The fourth hypothesis (H4) states that adaptation has a positive and significant effect on brand
identity. The beta coefficient of adaptation offer was found to be β = 0.217, which is statistically
significant at the p<0.01 sig. level. Hence, the findings showed that the hypothesis (H4) is supported.
Additionally, next to product and service offers, it also considered as the strongest determinant of
brand identity in chemical manufacturers. The result was in congruent with prior researches
conducted within the context of marketing offers effect on brand identity (Ganesan, 2014). In his
study, Ganesan (2014) explains the level of adaptation of one partner to another was found out as one

54
of important features of the relationship because, in a business relationship, exchange partners often
adapt to each other for limited resources, specialized knowledge, information and marketing
assistance (Anderson, 2010; Gundlach, 2014).

H5: Advice offer has positive and significant effect on brand identity

The fifth proposed hypothesis (H5) posits that advice offer has a positive and significant effect on
brand identity of industrial chemical manufacturers. This is supported at β = 0.311 at p<.001, which
implies that advice offer significantly affects the brand identity. It has relatively the highest effect on
brand identity. Beverland (2004), in his study on factors affecting brand identity, he concluded that
advice (consultancy)service involves a mix of reacting to buyer‘s demand and expressed needs, and
importantly, proactively offering new suggestions that would benefit the customer‘s competitive
position or operation. It is also in line with Tasmania‘s military ship builder (InCat) manages and
their relationship with the US Navy in a proactive way. InCat helped the US Navy by solving the
paint issue of helicopter pad which used to be easily. It provided the solution to the Navy who
quickly adopted it. Such a solution has helped InCat continually win orders with military customers
(IMP, 2016). There for, it is evident that suppliers‘ advice offer to their customers has significant
effect on building their companies‘ reputation results in creating unique and strong brand identity.

It can, thus, be concluded that each of the marketing offers dimension are good predictors of brand
identity, i.e., they significantly affected brand identity of water treatment chemical manufacturing
companies in Addis Ababa. Since all of the independent variables were strongly related with brand
identity of chemical manufacturers in Addis Ababa, all the five proposed hypotheses are supported
by this regression model Table 4.15.
Table 16: Summary of the Research Hypothesis Test Result

Code Proposed Hypothesis Findings Result

H1 Product offer on Brand Identity β = 0.298; p<.05 Positive &Significant Supported

H2 Service offer on Brand Identity β = 0.168; p<.05 Positive & Significant Supported

H3 Logistics offer on Brand Identity β = 0.170; p<.05 Positive & Significant Supported

H4 Adaptation offer on Brand Identity β = 0.217; p<.05 Positive & Significant Supported

H5 Advice offers on Brand Identity β = 0.311; p<.05 Positive & Significant Supported

55
 CHAPTER FIVE

5. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents a summary of the major findings, conclusions and recommendations based on
the findings of the study along with suggested areas for further research.

5.1. Summary of Major Findings

The primary objective of this study was to investigate the effect of business marketing offers on
brand identity in the case of industrial chemical manufacturers in Addis Ababa. Nowadays, the
bottled water industry has become more suffocated by new entrants and the local market has been
tied up in stiff competition against each other to dominate the market share. Having different
strategic competence in regards to maximizing their financial benefits is a common practice in most
companies and striving for building brand identity through marketing offers is one of the effective
business strategies to sustain. Hence the study tried to address the five specific objectives stated in
the introduction part. The findings of this research have been summarized as follows:

 For evaluating the relationship between the marketing offers and brand identity variables,
Pearson correlation coefficient was carried out. Results of the findings revealed that all
marketing (product, service, logistics, adaptation and advice) offers as independent variables
had positive and significant relationship with brand identity.

 The overall variation in brand identity is explained by 61.7% variation of marketing offer
variables. The rest 38.3% variation accounted for other unknown variables not included in this
study. Moreover, the R2 = 61.7% variation in brand identity explained by marketing offer
dimensions is not by chance. Rather the variation is significant at p< .05.

The results of the regression analysis revealed that each of the marketing offers have positive and
significant effect on overall brand identity. (H1 – H5)

 Advice offer has the highest positive and significant effect on brand identity (  = .311) on

brand identity at p < .05.

 Product offer dimension, next to advice offer, has the highest positive and significant effect (
 = .298,) on brand identity at p < .05.

56
  Service offer has the least positive and significant effect on brand identity (  = .168) on

brand identity at p < .05.

 Preceding service offer, logistic offer has also the least positive and significant effect on
brand identity (  = .170) on brand identity at p < .05.

 Adaptation offer has relatively higher positive and significant effect on brand identity (  =

.217) on brand identity at p < .05.

In this case, all of the predictors had positive beta coefficient values, which indicates positive effects.
Therefore, the hypotheses for these five variables were supported as they showed positive and
significant effects on brand identity.

5.2. Conclusions
The main objective of this study was to investigate the effect of business marketing offers on brand
identity in the case of industrial chemical manufacturers in Addis Ababa. Hence, the study sought to
identify the most important attributes of marketing offer dimension to build unique and strong brand
identity of the chemical suppliers. Due to lack of related empirical literature in Ethiopian context, it
might be the first in its kind and might have limitation in explaining the results in conjunction with
previous study.

In Ethiopian chemical manufacturing industry‘s context, the overall marketing offers in the course of
brand identity, advice, product adaptation, logistics and service offers play positive and significant
role on building unique and strong brand identity. Amongst them, advice and product offers have the
highest effect on brand identity. These indicate that bottled water factories, the most frequent buyers
of water treatment chemicals from the industrial chemical manufacturers in Addis Ababa, preferred
to have good relationship with the suppliers in regards to having advices on mitigating their current
issues, suggesting new opportunities and providing standard or improved quality products in time.
Logistics, adaptation and service offers have significant effect on brand identity but they were
considered or perceived as augmented or proxy of product offers for the fact that the chemical
manufacturers mainly provide the market with tangible product (water treatment chemicals in this
case). Thus, having less impact on brand identity is expected (Ford, 2012).

Based on the results of the major findings, it can be concluded that product and advice offers are the
most dominant factors in building brand identity of the chemical suppliers. The bottled water

57
factories‘ managers who involved in purchasing decision believed that supply of standard/ improved
qualities products within the promised time as well as having valuable advice regarding suggestion of
new opportunities and their dedication in solving their current problems had been given more
consideration. Thus, advice and marketing offers are good predictors in shaping the brand identity of
the industrial chemical manufactures in Addis Ababa.

Moreover, logistics offer in terms of understanding the operation or production schedules of the
bottled water factories and working towards fulfilling their demands to mitigate interruption of
production due to raw materials (water treatment chemicals) shortage had significant effect on brand
identity of the chemical suppliers. Therefore, it can be concluded that offering of logistics services to
bottled water manufacturers helps in building the brand identity of the chemical manufacturers.

On the other hand, service and adaptation offers showed relatively lowest positive and significant
effects on brand building. In this regard, customization of services per individual customers,
investment on modern equipment to exceed their demands seems impractical in developing
countries‘ context (Narus, 2014). Thus, it is expected relatively lesser impact of service and
adaptation offers within low economic situations. Besides, manufacturing or tangible product
suppliers tend to incorporate services and adaptation offers as additional burden rather that
aggressively working on them to build their brand reputation. However, both offers (service and
adaptation) has significant and positive effect o brand building as supported by the regression model
results in this case.

In conclusion, marketing offers in terms of standard or quality product offers, customized and
standardized services delivered by competent staffs, just-in-time logistics offers, helping buyers to
adapt value adding systems or work process as well as offering advice on current issues or new
opportunities had significant effect on building brand identity of chemical manufacturers in Addis
Ababa, as justified and supported by the findings of this study.

5.3. Recommendations
In reference to the major findings and the conclusion made, the following possible recommendations
have been forwarded:

 In this study, offering quality product was found to be one of the factors that affected the
brand identity of industrial chemical manufacturers. Since product offers is one of the most
determinants of brand identity, the industry should improve the purity of locally

58
 manufactured water treatment chemicals to be competitive in the market. Chemical
manufacturer should give more emphasis on the quality of their respective products. It
would be more important to managers of industrial chemical manufacturers to produce the
products based on the requirements of its industrial customers. Differentiating locally
manufactured water treatment chemicals against competitors would be a basis for creating
strong and unique brand identity as a competitive advantage.

 Offering advice is also an important factor to managers of industrial chemical

manufacturers to build their brand identity. This can be achieved through working with the
management staffs of their customers (bottled water factories) in regards to identifying new
business opportunity (product differentiation/ cost leadership), and giving due consideration
in solving their current problems. Thus, the managements should build their ability (advice
offer) through commitment of understanding what their customers do really want to have.

 Logistics offer is also a strong determinant factor in building brand identity. It is also an
important marketing strategy to address and help business customers (bottled water
factories) not to have interrupted production or operation. This can be achieved by adjusting
production of required chemicals in line with production schedules of the bottled water
factories.

 Since, adaptation offer has also shown significant and positive effect on brand identity,
industrial chemical manufactures shall develop their abilities in suggesting or adapting
value added ideas to solve business customer‘s difficulties in the supply chain. This can be
achieved through consulting bottled water manufacturers to adjust the TDS (total dissolved
solids) to suit the taste of the consumers.

 Similarly, despite it had the least significant and positive effect on building brand identity,
chemical suppliers need to work or exert efforts on improving their service quality by
developing their staffs‘ knowledge, skill and attitude towards their business customer. This
can be achieved through proper and relevant training as well as engaging employees in
decision making so as to help them understand the mission and objectives of the company.

 This study has only sought to investigate how to build unique and strong brand identity
through effective marketing offers namely product, service, logistics, adaptation and advice
offers business customers in industrial chemical manufacturers‘ context. However, there are

59
 a number of determinants like technology, price, promotion, etc. which could significantly
affect brand identity of business customers. Thus, further research is required to evaluate the
effect of marketing offers on brand identity incorporating the aforementioned factors.

 Besides, it also serves as a springboard to investigate marketing offers‘ effect on brand

identity from other (service) industries‘ perspectives.

60
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viii
 Appendix - I

ST. MARY UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES

Survey Questionnaire

Questionnaire to Be Filled by Bottled Water Company Staff

Dear Respondent,

My name is Alemayehu Melau, a postgraduate student of St. Mary‘s University, School of Graduate
Studies. Currently, I am conducting my thesis entitled ―The effects of business marketing offers on
brand identity: The case of industrial chemical manufacturers in Addis Ababa.‖ The purpose of
this questionnaire is to gather data regarding how building brand identity is influenced by marketing
offers in terms of product, service, logistics, adaptation and advice offers. Your honest and sincere
responses for this questionnaire will play a great role in making the research successful. I assure
you that all the responses will be treated confidentially and only be used for academic purpose.
Participation is purely voluntary and no need to write your name.

I thank you in advance sparing 15 minutes from your precious time and if you have any question,
please feel free to contact me by the below contact:

Alemayehu Melaku

Phone: +251 909 289490

Email: [email protected]

ix
I. General Information

Please mark [X] in the appropriate box to indicate your choice

1. Sex Male Female

2. Age (Years) 18 – 30 31 – 45 46 – 60 > 60

3. Education Diploma Bachelor or Degree Masters

Others, please specify _____________

4. Position Chemist Purchaser Operation Manager Quality Controller

Marketing & Sales Manager

5. Experience 1 – 5 years 6 – 10 years > 10 years

6. Supplier Awash Melkasa Aluminium Sulphate & Sulphuric Acid S.C.,

Allied Chemicals Plc,

Abijiatta-Shalla Soda Ash S.C,

Zeway Caustic Soda

Batu Caustic Soda Factory.

II. Questions Regarding Study Variables

Here under the questions with regard to the marketing offers (product, service, logistics, adaptation
and advice offers) by industrial chemical suppliers to build their brand identity. Therefore, you are
kindly requested to put ―X‖ mark on the box which represents your degree of agreement.

1 = strongly agree, 2 = agree, 3 = neutral, 4 = disagree, 5 = strongly disagree.

Statements Scale
Product Offer 1 2 3 4 5
Chemical manufacturers supply standard products
Chemical manufacturers supply quality products than competitors
Chemical manufacturers often supply improved quality products
Chemical manufacturers supply quality products as promised

x
 Chemical manufacturers can be considered as ―quality-leaders‖
Service Offer 1 2 3 4 5
Staffs of chemical manufacturers are courteous
Staffs of chemical manufacturers give individual attention
Staffs of chemical manufacturers are responsive
Staffs of chemical manufacturers provide reliable information
Chemical manufacturers‘ physical facilities are appealing
Logistics Offer 1 2 3 4 5
Chemical manufacturers supply the ordered quantity in time
Chemical manufacturers are aware of our production schedule
Chemical manufacturers help us not to run out of stock
Chemical manufacturers minimize production disruption
Chemical manufacturers cooperate with other suppliers to meet our demand
Adaptation Offer 1 2 3 4 5
Chemical manufacturers adapt standard product as per individual customer
demand
Chemical manufacturers‘ production system is adapted to the requirements of
our demand
Chemical manufacturers make significant investments in equipment that is
linked to our requirement
Chemical manufacturers work towards our long-term relationship
Advice Offer 1 2 3 4 5
Chemical manufacturers listen our issues

Chemical manufacturers help us solving our current problems

Chemical manufacturers identify new opportunity to advise us

Chemical manufacturers‘ staffs have good communication skill
Brand Identity 1 2 3 4 5
The brand/ logo the chemical manufacturer is easy to pronounce
The brand the chemical manufacturer is consistent
The brand the chemical manufacturer has high reputation
The chemical manufacturer uses appealing product package to promote its
brand

xi
The chemical manufacturer uses different media to promote its brand

Many thanks!!!

xii
 Appendix II – Survey Questionnaire (Amharic Version)

ቅድስት ማርያም ዩኒቨርስቲ፤ ስኩሌ ኦፍ ግራጁዌት ስተዱስ

የዲሰሳ ጥናት መጠይቅ

በታሸገ ውሃ አምራች ድርጅት ሰራተኛ የሚሞሊ መጠይቅ

ውድ መሌስ ሰጪ፤

ስሜ አሇማየሁ መሊኩ ይባሊሌ፡፡ የቅድስት ማርያም ዩኒቨርስቲ፤ ስኩሌ ኦፍ ግራጁዌት ስተዱስ የድህረ ምረቃ ተማሪ ነኝ፡፡ ―የስራ
ማርኬቲንግ አቅርቦት በብራንድ ማንነት ሊይ የሚፈጥራቸው ተፅዕኖዎች፤አዱስ አበባ ውስጥ የሚገኙ ኬሚካሌ አምራቾች ሊይ
የተዯረገ በተሞክሮ ሊይ የተመሰረተ ጥናት‖ የሚሌ ርዕስ ያሇው የመመረቂያ ፅሑፌን እየሰራሁ ነው፡፡የዚህ መጠየቅ አሊማ
ምርትን፣አገሌግልትን፣ ልጅስቲክስን፣ ማሇማመድን እና የምክር አቅርቦትን በሚመሇከት የማርኬቲንግ አቅርቦት በብራንድ
ማንነት ግንባታ ሊይ ያሇውን ተፅዕኖ በተመሇከተ መረጃ መሰብሰብ ነው፡፡እርስዎ በታማኝነት እና በእውነተኝነት ሇዚህ መጠይቅ
የሚሰጧቸው ምሊሾች ጥናቱ ስኬታማ እንዱሆን ትሌቅ ሚና ይጫወታለ፡፡ ሁለም መሌሶች በምስጢር የሚያዙ እና ሇትምህርት
ዓሊማ ብቻ የሚውለ መሆናቸውን አረጋግጥሌዎታሇሁ፡፡ መጠይቁ ሊይ የሚዯረግ ተሳትፎ ሙለ በሙለ በፈቃዯኝነት ሊይ
የተመሰረተ ሲሆን፤ስምን መፃፍ አያስፈሌግዎትም፡፡

ወርቃማ ዜዎን ስሇሰጡኝ በቅድሚያ ምስጋናዬን እያቀረብኩ፤ ማንኛውም ጥያቄ ቢኖርዎ እባክዎን ከታች በሰፈረው ቁጥር
ያግኙኝ፡፡

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 I፡ አጠቃሊ ይመረጃ

እባክዎንበትክክሇኛውሳጥንውስጥየ‘‘X‖ ምሌክትያስፍሩ

1. ጾታ፡- ወንድ ሴት

2. እድሜ(አመታት)ከ 18-30 በታች 31-45  46-60ከ60በሊይ
3. የትምህርትዯረጃ ዱፕልማ ዱግሪ ማስተርስ
ላሊካሇይጠቀስ
4. ገቢ ከብር 10,000 በታችከብር 10,000 – 20,000ከብር 20,000 በሊይ
5. የስራኃሊፊነት ኬሚስት ፐርቼዘር>የኦፕሬሽንስራአስኪያጅ
የጥራትቁጥጥር
ላሊካሇይጠቀስ
6. ሌምድ 1-5 ዓመታት 6-10 ዓመታት>10 ዓመታት

II፡የጥናቱግብአቶችን፡- የሚመሇከቱጥያቄዎች

ከዚህበታችየሰፈሩትጥያቄዎችየኢንደስትሪያዊኬሚካሌአቅራቢዎችየብራንድማንነታቸውንሇመገንባትየሚያዯርጉትንየማርኬቲንግአ
ቅርቦቶች (ምርት፣አገሌግልት፣ልጅስቲክስ፣ማሇማመድእናየምክርአቅርቦት) የሚመሇከትነው፡፡
በመሆኑምየስምምነትዎንመጠንሇማመሌከትሳጥኑውስጥየ ―X‖ ምሌክትያስፍሩ፡፡

1= በጣምእስማማሇሁ፣ 2= እስማማሇሁ፣ 3= ገሇሌተኛ፣ 4= አሌስማማም፣ 5= በጣምአሌስማማም

መግሇጫ መሇኪያ

የምርትአቅርቦት 1 2 3 4 5

የኬሚካሌአምራቾችዯረጃቸውንየጠበቁምርቶችንያቀርባለ፡፡

የኬሚካሌአምራቾችከተፎካካሪዎቻቸውይሌቅየተሻሇየጥራትዯረጃያሊቸውምርቶችንያቀርባለ፡፡

የኬሚካሌአምራቾችአብዛኛውንጊዜየተሻሻሇየጥራትዯረጃያሊቸውምርቶችንያቀርባለ፡፡

የኬሚካሌአምራቾችቃሌበገቡትመሠረትየጥራትዯረጃያሊቸውምርቶችንያቀርባለ

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የኬሚካሌአምራቾች ―የጥራትዯረጃ-መሪዎች‖ ተዯርገውሉወሰደይችሊለ፡፡

የአገሌግልትአቅርቦት 1 2 3 4 5

የኬሚካሌአምራቾችሰራተኞችትሁቶችናቸው፡፡

የኬሚካሌአምራቾችሰራተኞችግሊዊትኩረትይሰጣለ፡፡

የኬሚካሌአምራቾችሰራተኞችምሊሽሰጪዎችናቸው፡፡

የኬሚካሌአምራቾችሰራተኞችአስተማማኝመረጃይሰጣለ፡፡

የኬሚካሌአምራቾችአካሊዊተቋማትመስህብያሊቸውናቸው፡፡

የልጅስቲክስአቅርቦት 1 2 3 4 5

የኬሚካሌአምራቾችየታዘዘውንመጠንበወቅቱያቀርባለ፡፡

የኬሚካሌአምራቾችየእኛንየምርትየጊዜሰላዲያውቃለ፡፡

የኬሚካሌአምራቾችክምችታችንባዶእንዲይሆንያግዙናሌ፡፡

የኬሚካሌአምራቾችየምርትመቆራረጥንይቀንሳለ፡፡

የኬሚካሌአምራቾችፍሊጐታችንንሇማሟሊትከላልችአቅራቢዎችጋርበትብብርይሰራለ፡፡

የማሇማመጃአቅርቦት 1 2 3 4 5

የኬሚካሌአምራቾችበግሇሰብዯንበኛፍሊጐትመሠረትዯረጃቸውንየጠበቁምርቶችንያሇማምዲለ፡
፡

የኬሚካሌአምራቾችየምርትስርዓትከእኛፍሊጐትመስፈርቶችጋርተጣጣሚናቸው፡፡

የኬሚካሌአምራቾችከእኛመስፈርቶችጋርተያያዥነትያሇውመሣሪያሊይጉሌህመዋሇነዋይያፈሳለ፡
፡

የኬሚካሌአምራቾችከእኛጋርሇረጅምጊዜየሚቆይግንኙነትሇመፍጠርይሰራለ፡፡

የምክርአቅርቦት 1 2 3 4 5

የኬሚካሌአምራቾችየእኛንጉዲዮችይሰማለ፡፡

የኬሚካሌአምራቾችወቅታዊችግሮቻችንንእንድንፈታድጋፍያዯርጉሌናሌ፡፡

የኬሚካሌአምራቾችሇእኛምክርሇመስጠትአዲዱስአጋጣሚዎችንይሇያለ፡፡

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የኬሚካሌአምራቾችሰራተኞችጥሩየመግባባትክህልትአሊቸው፡፡

የብራንድማንነት 1 2 3 4 5

የኬሚካሌአምራቹብራንድ/አርማሇአገሊሇፅቀሊሌነው፡፡

የኬሚካሌአምራቹብራንድወጥነትያሇውነው፡፡

የኬሚካሌአምራቹብራንድከፍተኛተሞክሮያሇውነው፡፡

ኬሚካሌአምራቾቹብራንዲቸውንሇማስተዋወቅመስህብያሇውየምርትማሸጊያይጠቀማለ፡፡

ኬሚካሌአምራቾቹብራንዲቸውንሇማስተዋወቅየተሇያዩሚዱያዎችንይጠቀማለ፡፡

በጣምአመሰግናሇሁ፡፡

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