Niklas Bondesson

Ph.D. Assistant Professor in Marketing

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PhD Dissertation

Tracing the drivers of B2B brand strength and value
By building a strong brand that is favourably perceived by target customers, a firm can establish a competitive advantage that enables greater revenues and profitability. This is at least what the branding literature always has assumed, and something few marketing and brand managers seem to disagree with. When asked how exactly a brand can be charged with such great value, however, neither academia nor practitioners can provide definitive answers. This is especially true for business-to-business markets (B2B): although some of the world’s strongest and most valuable brands are operating in B2B markets, research on this area is clearly trailing behind business reality.

This thesis aims at bridging the fuzzy and subjective customer-based perspective on brands with their potential economic outcomes for brand-owning firms. It does so by studying a single case (a packaging solutions supplier) in great detail, including face-to-face interviews and 678 observations drawn from a survey completed by professional packaging buyers in 8 countries across Europe. The study relies mainly on brand equity theory, together with thoughts from theories on shareholder value, psychology, corporate branding, business relationships and industrial marketing. More specifically, it is concerned with understanding the customer-perceived determinants (brand image) of brand strength and brand value in business markets. Or, in other words: which specific customer perceptions and behaviours make a brand valuable and profitable?

The proposed model, which is the main outcome of this study, can be seen as a first step towards an integrated and nuanced B2B Brand Equity Chain. The model divides brand strength into a volume premium and price premium dimension, and includes five brand image dimensions: brand familiarity, product solution, service relationship, company reputation and brand community. The empirical findings support previous work within the area, but also add a number of elements that increases the explanatory power of existing models, and establishes a unique link between branding and bottom-line performance in business markets.

Key words:
Brand management, brand equity, brand orientation, brand metrics, marketing profitability.

Supervisors:
Professor Thomas Kalling
Associate Professor Johan Anselmsson
Assistant Professor Mats Urde

List of publications

Journal articles

Bondesson, N. (2012) “Brand Image Antecedents of Loyalty and Price Premium in Business Markets”, Business and Management Research, Vol. 1, No. 1.

Persson, N. (2010) “An exploratory investigation of the elements of B2B brand image and its relationship to price premium”, Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 39, No. 8, p. 1269-1277.

Anselmsson, J., Johansson, U. & Persson, N. (2008) “The battle of brands on the Swedish market for consumer packaged food – A cross category examination of brand preference and liking”, Journal of Brand Management, Vol. 16, No. 1-2, pp. 63-79.

Anselmsson, J., Johansson, U. & Persson, N. (2007) “Understanding Price Premium For Grocery Products - A Conceptual Model Of Customer-Based Brand Equity”, Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 16., No. 6, pp. 401-414.

Anselmsson, J., Johansson, U. & Persson, N. (2008) “The penetration of retailer brands and the impact on consumer prices - A study based on household expenditures for 35 grocery categories”, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Vol. 15., No. 1, pp. 42-51.

Working papers

Anselmsson, J., Johansson, U & Persson, N. (2006) A conceptual framework for customer based brand equity in grocery categories – implications for future research, The Institute of Economic Research Working Paper Series, 2006:4.

Conference papers

Persson, N. (2010) “Examining customer-based brand equity determinants and outcomes in B2B”. Presented at the 6th International Conference of the AM’s Brand, Corporate Identity and Reputation Special Interest Group. Barcelona, April 9-11.

Anselmsson, J., Johansson, U. & Persson, N. (2008) “Measuring and modelling brand image for consumer packaged food”. Paper presented at the Nordic Retail and Wholesale Conference, Norrtälje, Sweden, November 6-7.

Persson, N. (2007) “Understanding of the nature and relevance of brand orientation and brand equity in B2B brand management – implications for future research”. Paper presented at the 19th Business Administration Conference (NFF), Bergen Norway.

Persson, N. (2007) “Using Brand Equity Theory To Build Brand Metrics Programmes In B2B - Current Research And Managerial Implications”, presented at Academy of Marketing’s conference ‘Marketing Theory Into Practice’, London UK.

Anselmsson, J., Johansson, U., Maranõn, A. & Persson, N., (2005) “Retailer brand category penetration and the effect on average prices – Analysis of GfK Sweden’s household panel data”. Paper presented at NJF seminar no. 381: The Northern European Food Industry, Helsinki, Finland.

Reports

Anselmsson, J. & Johansson. U. & Persson, N. (2008) Hur byggs varumärkeskapital för konsumentförpackade livsmedel? - En intervjuundersökning med 77 varumärkesansvariga på den svenska livsmedelsmarknaden. Report from Lund International Food Studies, 2008/2.

Anselmsson, J. & Johansson. U. & Persson, N. (2007) Sveriges starkaste - livsmedelsvarumärken 2007 - En analys och ranking med utgågngspunkt från kategoridominans i kampen om dagligvarubutikskundens tycke och preferens, report from Lund International Food Studies, 2007/1.

Anselmsson, J. & Johansson. U. & Persson, N. (2006) Ett kundbaserat varumärkeskapitalindex för konsumentförpackade livsmedel - En analys av positioner och möjliga strategier i en hårdnande konkurrens från handelns egna märkesvaror (A consumer-based brand equity index for grocery categories – analysis of positions and possible marketing strategies in times of intensified competition from store brands), report from Lund International Food Studies, 2006/1.

Persson, N., Anselmsson, J. & Johansson. U. (2005) Konsumentbaserat varumärkeskapital och livsmedel - Att förstå varför konsumenterna betalar mer för leverantörsvarumärken än för handelns egna märkesvaror (Consumer-based brand equity – understanding why consumers are willing to pay more for national brands than for retailer brands), report from Lund International Food Studies, 2005/3.

Anselmsson, J., Johansson. U., Maranõn, A., Persson, N. & Ulver, S. (2005) Dagligvaruhandelns egna märkesvaror och dessas inverkan på svenska konsumentpriser (Retailer brands and effects on Swedish consumer prices), report from Lund International Food Studies, 2005/1.

Chapter in books

Persson, N., Tjärdal, L. & Hallberg, H.(2005) Förpackningsimitation i dagligvaruhandeln - Är det möjligt för återförsäljare att stjäla ett etablerat varumärkes personlighet? (Copy-cat packaging in retail – is it possible for retailers to steal a national brands personality?) In Retailer Brands – consequences and trends (Dagligvaruhandelns egna märkesvaror - konsekvenser och utvecklingstendenser), Johan Anselmsson & Ulf Johansson (ed.), Lund University Press, 2005.

 

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