Julkaisut

Anu Lähtönen: Corporate Branding and Its Exploitation in a Global Supplier Context: Case Metal Industry Corporation (06.06.2008)

Research purpose and objectives

This thesis is conducted in order to participate in strategic marketing discourse by investigating the possibilities of exploiting corporate branding in the global industrial supplier context. The study takes on a strategic, top management perspective into investigating the corporate branding process and how it could be implemented to this business-to-business context. The objective is to build a general process-geared framework based on existing academic knowledge and develop a company-specific process for corporate brand building.

Methodology

The empirical part of the study is based on researching one case company from the global supplying industry. The research method used is qualitative. The empirical data is collected from 10 semi-structured internal interviews, mainly from top management positions, and from secondary sources.

Findings

The framework presents a model for the corporate branding process in the specific context, with main variables relating to both communicating the corporate brand internally and externally. Branding was found to have as much relevance in this B2B context as in other, more studied contexts, especially towards a supplier’s customers. The interaction between sales, production units and customers was found central for this study, since, also because of the traditionally strong role of production units in this context, it offers vital indications for the corporate branding process of a supplier. The sales organization’s and production units’ ways of interacting with customers are to be considered one of the main issues to be tackled.

The study’s main finding, the strong role of production units and the sales organization in the corporate branding process of a supplier, can be seen as a relevant theoretical contribution. In conclusion for practitioners, the study emphasizes that corporate branding must be seen as much an internal as an external process. As important as is the evaluation of external messages that are sent against a developed corporate brand identity, is also enhancing the communication climate internally and making employees (especially in units and the sales organization) comprehend their role in delivering the corporate brand.

Keywords

Corporate brand, corporate branding process, corporate brand identity, B2B branding, global industrial supplying.

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