Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effective Brand Strategy Implementation: Review of Literature and Avenues for Future Research

  • Chapter
Effective Strategy Implementation

Abstract

As a cornerstone of marketing, branding is critical for success on many markets. Companies therefore spend considerable time and effort developing sound brand strategies. While there is some knowledge on brand strategy formulation, there is little knowledge on how brand strategies may be implemented effectively. This is in contrast to the extant literature that highlights the importance of strategy implementation for performance outcomes of (brand) strategies. This also disregards the many companies whose brand strategies fail because of insufficient implementation. Against this background, this paper reviews relevant literature on brand strategy implementation and introduces a theoretical framework and propositions for future research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Aaker, David A. (1996), Building strong brands. New York: The Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aaker, David A. and Erich Joachimsthaler (2000), Brand leadership. New York: The Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aaker, Jennifer L. (1997), “Dimensions of Brand Personality,” Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), 34 (3), 347–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ailawadi, Kusum L., Donald R. Lehmann, and Scott A. Neslin (2001), “Market Response to a Major Policy Change in the Marketing Mix: Learning from Procter & Gamble’s Value Pricing Strategy,” Journal of Marketing, 65 (1), 44–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, Paul F. (1983), “Marketing, Scientific Progress, and Scientific Method,” Journal of Marketing, 47 (4), 18–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Argyris, Chris (1994), “Good Communication That Blocks Learning,” Harvard Business Review, 72 (4), 77–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • (1989), “Strategy Implementation: An Experience in Learning,” Organizational Dynamics, 18 (2), 5–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Argyris, Chris and Donald A. Schön (1978), Organizational Learning: A Theory of Action Perspective. Cambridge, Mass.: Adison-Wesely Publishing Company, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atuahene-Gima, Kwaku and Janet Y. Murray (2004), “Antecedents and Outcomes of Marketing Strategy Comprehensiveness,” Journal of Marketing, 68 (4), 33–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barney, Jay B. (1991), “Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage,” Journal of Management, 17 (1), 99–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • (2001), “Resource-based theories of competitive advantage: A ten-year retrospective on the resource-based view,” Journal of Management, 27 (6), 643–650.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • (2002), Gaining and sustaining competitive advantage. Upper Saddle River (N.J.): Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beer, Michael and Russell A. Eisenstat (2000), “The Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning,” Sloan Management Review, 41 (4), 29–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bettencourt, Lance A. and Stephen W. Brown (2003), “Role Stressors and Customer-Oriented Boundary-Spanning Behaviors in Service Organizations,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 31 (4), 394–408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bigler, William R. (2001), “The new science of strategy execution: how incumbents become fast, sleek wealth creators,” Strategy & Leadership, 29 (3), 29–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonoma, Thomas V. (1984), “Making your marketing strategy work,” Harvard Business Review, 62 (2), 69–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • (1985), The marketing edge: Making strategies work. New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourgeois, L. J. and David R. Brodwin (1984), “Strategic Implementation: Five Approaches to an Elusive Phenomenon,” Strategic Management Journal, 5 (3), 241–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brakus, J. Joško, Bernd H. Schmitt, and Lia Zarantonello (2009), “Brand Experience: What Is It? How Is It Measured? Does It Affect Loyalty?,” Journal of Marketing, 73 (3), 52–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chimhanzi, Jacqueline and Robert E. Morgan (2005), “Explanations from the marketing/human resources dyad for marketing strategy implementation effectiveness in service firms,” Journal of Business Research, 58 (6), 787–796.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Day, George S. (1994), “The capabilities of market-driven organizations,” Journal of Marketing, 58 (4), 37–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Egelhoff, William G. (1993), “Great Strategy or Great Strategy Implementation--Two Ways of Competing in Global Markets,” Sloan Management Review, 34 (2), 37–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Floyd, Steven W. and Bill Wooldridge (1992), “Managing strategic consensus: the foundation of effective implementation,” Academy of Management Executive, 6 (4), 27–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gupta, Anil K. and V. Govindarajan (1984), “Business Unit Strategy, Managerial Characteristics, and Business Unit Effectiveness at Strategy Implementation,” Academy of Management Journal, 27 (1), 25–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hambrick, Donald C. and Jr Albert A. Cannella (1989), “Strategy Implementation as Substance and Selling,” Academy of Management Executive, 3 (4), 278–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hardaker, Simon and Chris Fill (2005), “Corporate Services Brands: The Intellectual and Emotional Engagement of Employees,” Corporate Reputation Review, 7 (4), 365–376.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hartline, Michael D. and O. C. Ferrell (1996), “The Management of Customer-Contact Service Employees: An Empirical Investigation,” Journal of Marketing, 60 (4), 52–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hickson, David J., Susan J. Miller, and David C. Wilson (2003), “Planned or Prioritized? Two Options in Managing the Implementation of Strategic Decisions,” Journal of Management Studies, 40 (7), 1803–1836.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Homburg, Christian, Marko Grozdanovic, and Martin Klarmann (2007), “Responsiveness to Customers and Competitors:The Role of Affective and Cognitive Organizational Systems,” Journal of Marketing, 71 (3), 18–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huber, George P. (1991), “Organizational Learning: The Contributing Processes and the Literatures,” Organization Science, 2 (1), 88–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hurley, Robert F. and G. Tomas M. Hult (1998), “Innovation, Market Orientation, and Organizational Learning: An Integration and Empirical Examination,” Journal of Marketing, 62 (3), 42–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hutt, Michael D., Peter H. Reingen, and John R. Ronchetto Jr (1988), “Tracing Emergent Processes in Marketing Strategy Formation,” Journal of Marketing, 52 (1), 4–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hutzschenreuter, Thomas and Ingo Kleindienst (2006), “Strategy-Process Research: What Have We Learned and What Is Still to Be Explored,” Journal of Management, 32 (5), 673–720.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ind, Nicholas (2007), Living the brand: how to transform every member of your organization into a brand champion (3 ed.). London: Kogan Page Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keller, Kevin Lane and Donald R. Lehmann (2006), “Brands and Branding: Research Findings and Future Priorities,” Marketing Science, 25 (6), 740–759.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, Karen Norman, Jerry R. Goolsby, and Eric J. Arnould (2003), “Implementing a Customer Orientation: Extension of Theory and Application,” Journal of Marketing, 67 (4), 67–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, Daniel H. (1993), “The Link between Individual and Organizational Learning,” Sloan Management Review, 35 (1), 37–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, Ceridwy and Debra Grace (2005), “Exploring the role of employees in the delivery of the brand: a case study approach,” Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 8 (3), 277–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kostova, Tatiana and Kendall Roth (2002), “Adoption of an Organizational Practice by Subsidiaries of Multinational Corporations: Institutional and Relational Effects,” Academy of Management Journal, 45 (1), 215–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levitt, Barbara and James G. March (1988), “Organizational Learning,” Annual Review of Sociology, 14 (1), 319–340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Low, George S. and Ronald A. Fullerton (1994), “Brands, Brand Management, and the Brand Manager System: A Critical-Historical Evaluation,” Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), 31 (2), 173–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Menon, Anil, Sudar G. Bharadwaj, Phani Tej Adidam, and Steven W. Edison (1999), “Antecedents and Consequences of Marketing Strategy Making: A Model and a Test,” Journal of Marketing, 63 (2), 18–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miles, Sandra Jeanquart and Glynn Mangold (2004), “A Conceptualization of the Employee Branding Process,” Journal of Relationship Marketing, 3 (2/3), 65–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, Susan, David Wilson, and David Hickson (2004), “Beyond Planning: Strategies for Successfully Implementing Strategic Decisions,” Long Range Planning, 37 (3), 201–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mintzberg, Henry and James B. Quinn (1996), The Strategy Process. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, Neil A. and Lopo L. Rego (2009), “Brand Portfolio Strategy and Firm Performance,” Journal of Marketing, 73 (1), 59–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morhart, Felicitas M., Walter Herzog, and Torsten Tomczak (2009), “Brand-Specific Leadership: Turning employees into Brand Champions,” Journal of Marketing, 73 (5), 122–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noble, Charles H. (1999), “The Eclectic Roots of Strategy Implementation Research,” Journal of Business Research, 45 (2), 119–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noble, Charles H. and Michael P. Mokwa (1999), “Implementing Marketing Strategies: Developing and Testing a Managerial Theory,” Journal of Marketing, 63 (4), 57–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nutt, Paul C. (1983), “Implementation Approaches for Project Planning,” Academy of Management Review, 8 (4), 600–611.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • (1998), “Leverage, Resistance and the Success of Implementation Approaches,” Journal of Management Studies, 35 (2), 213–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, C. Whan, Bernard J. Jaworski, and Deborah J. Maclnnis (1986), “Strategic Brand Concept-Image Management,” Journal of Marketing, 50 (4), 135–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piercy, Nigel F. (1998a), “Marketing Implementation: The Implications of Marketing Paradigm Weakness for the Strategy Execution Process,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 26 (3), 222–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • (1998b), “Barriers to implementing relationship marketing: analysing the internal market-place,” Journal of Strategic Marketing, 6 (3), 209–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pryor, Mildred Golden, Donna Anderson, Leslie A. Toombs, and John H. Humphreys (2007), “Strategic Implementation as a Core Competency,” Journal of Management Research (09725814), 7 (1), 3–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Punjaisri, Khanayapuss and Alan Wilson (2007), “The role of internal branding in the delivery of employee brand promise,” Journal of Brand Management, 15 (1), 57–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rao, Vithala R., Manoj K. Agarwal, and Denise Dahlhoff (2004), “How Is Manifest Branding Strategy Related to the Intangible Value of a Corporation?,” Journal of Marketing, 68 (4), 126–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reibstein, David J., George Day, and Jerry Wind (2009), “Guest Editorial: Is Marketing Academia Losing Its Way?,” Journal of Marketing, 73 (4), 1–3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosier, Eleri R., Robert E. Morgan, and John W. Cadogan (2010), “Marketing strategy and the efficacy of procedural justice: The mid-level marketing manager in industrial service firms,” Industrial Marketing Management, 39 (3), 450–459.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shocker, Aallan D., Rajendra K. Srivastava, and Robert W. Ruekert (1994), “Challenges and Opportunities Facing Brand Management: An Introduction to the Special Issue,” Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), 31 (2), 149–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shrivastava, Paul (1983), “A Typology of Organizational Learning Systems,” Journal of Management Studies, 20 (1), 7–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sinkula, James M. (1994), “Market Information Processing and Organizational Learning,” Journal of Marketing, 58 (1), 35–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slater, Stanley F., G. Tomas M. Hult, and Eric M. Olson (2010), “Factors influencing the relative importance of marketing strategy creativity and marketing strategy implementation effectiveness,” Industrial Marketing Management, 39 (4), 551–559.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slater, Stanley F. and John C. Narver (1995), “Market orientation and the learning organization,” Journal of Marketing, 59 (3), 63–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sterling, John (2003), “Translating strategy into effective implementation: dispelling the myths and highlighting what works,” Strategy & Leadership, 31 (3), 27–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stock-Homburg, Ruth (2008), “Die Rolle des marktorientierten Personalmanagements im Rahmen der Umsetzung marktorientierter Strategien: Eine empirische Untersuchung,” Schmalenbachs Zeitschrift für betriebswirtschaftliche Forschung, 60, 124–152.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutton, Robert I. and Barry M. Staw (1995), “What Theory is Not,” Administrative Science Quarterly, 40, 371–384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thorpe, Eleri R. and Robert E. Morgan (2007a), “A role theoretic view of product-market strategy execution: an investigation of mid-level marketing managers,” Journal of Strategic Marketing, 15 (2/3), 223–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • (2007b), “In pursuit of the “ideal approach” to successful marketing strategy implementation,” European Journal of Marketing, 41 (5/6), 659–677.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tornatzky, Louis G. and Katherine J. Klein (1982), “Innovation characteristics and innovation adoption-implementation: A meta-analysis of findings,” IEEE Transactions on engineering management, 29 (1), 28–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Varadarajan, P. Rajan and Satish Jayachandran (1999), “Marketing Strategy: An Assessment of the State of the Field and Outlook,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 27 (2), 120–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, J. Chris, Jeffrey S. Conant, and Raj Echambadi (2003), “Marketing Strategy Development Styles, Implementation Capability, and Firm Performance: Investigating the Curvilinear Impact of Multiple Strategy-Making Styles,” Marketing Letters, 14 (2), 111–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wieseke, Jan, Christian Homburg, and Nick Lee (2008), “Understanding the adoption of new brands through salespeople: a multilevel framework,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 36 (2), 278–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, Yo Hin and Bill Merrilees (2007), “Closing the marketing strategy to performance gap: the role of brand orientation,” Journal of Strategic Marketing, 15 (5), 387–402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Adele J. Huber
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Gabler Verlag | Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Huber, A.J. (2011). Effective Brand Strategy Implementation: Review of Literature and Avenues for Future Research. In: Effective Strategy Implementation. Gabler. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-8349-6595-0_1

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation