Concretizing and legitimizing brand equity as a strategic investment : A qualitative study in the Swedish retail industry

The retail industry has seen an immense increase in competition. Brands are becoming more similar, which makes it essential for firms to differentiate themselves against their competitors. The brand is considered the company's biggest intangible asset, possessing an array of different values for the company. Even though research continuously manifest the importance of establishing and managing a strong brand, companies are becoming increasingly less prone to invest in intangible assets such as the brand. The nature of profit maximizing companies has seen investments being directed at measurable and concrete areas, where the return on investment is readily established. One efficient way to work with brand assets is through brand equity, a concept with the main objective of understanding the customer. Brand equity is an approach that enables the firm to deliver value to the customer and being able to receive the benefits of increased margins and profitability from satisfied customers. Previous research has stressed the importance and need for future scholars to investigate brand equity and provide practical examples of how to manage and develop brand equity in different industries. Brand equity investments further need to be connected to financial indicators in order to legitimize and manifest the financial importance and benefits of brand equity. In other words, concretization and legitimization are needed in order for brand equity investments to be regarded as strategically viable and efficient. Previous research is largely quantitative and focus on statistically reliable relationships. Meaning that there is an evident need for qualitative research explaining “how”, and not “if”. The purpose of this degree project is to develop a deeper understanding of how companies manage and develop their brand equity and how brand equity influences shareholder value in the Swedish retail industry. Our degree project answers to the following research question: How do firms manage and develop their brand equity in order to generate shareholder value in the Swedish retail industry?". In order for us to successfully answer our research question and achieve the purpose of this degree project, we have therefore conducted a qualitative study. This study was carried out through six in-depth interviews with managers, working with brand related questions and responsibilities at established firms in the Swedish retail industry. The findings provide instrumental practical insights about actions and activities of how to manage and develop the four dimensions of brand equity; brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality and brand loyalty. Furthermore, the findings also provide a deeper understanding as to how each dimension contribute to cash flows of shareholder value, short-term and long-term. Our findings manifest the relevance of each brand equity dimension and acknowledge how accurate and relevant the dimensions are in the retail industry currently. The findings in our study are presented through a conceptual model, adopted in order to concretize and legitimize brand equity investments. The conceptual model encapsulates and visualizes concrete actions and activities for each dimension, as well as how each dimension is connected to the drivers of shareholder value. This degree project also provides other important insights regarding brand equity, presenting the main functions of brand equity in accordance to the literature and the empirical findings. Lastly, this degree project provides managerial implications of how to manage and develop brand equity from a holistic point of view, to successfully generate shareholder value