تساوی مارک بر مبنای فرانشیز: نقش کیفیت رابطه برند و رفتار شهروندی برند Franchisee-based brand equity: The role of brand relationship quality and brand citizenship behavior

Franchising is increasingly becoming an important model for business growth across the globe. In this business arrangement the franchisor sells contractual rights to franchisees to distribute goods or services using the franchise brand name and business practices (Combs, Michael, & Castrogiovanni, 2004). Thus, much of the success of franchise business models is attributed to branding, as firms with high brand equity are able to attain a sustainable point of differentiation and gain more financial leverage than those without (Aaker, 1991). However, despite the importance attributed to the franchise brand, limited empirical research has focused on franchise branding (Zachary, McKenny, Short, et al., 2011) and business-to-business (B2B) branding in general (Leek & Christodoulides, 2012). Literature indicates that channel members tend to gain competitive advantage through the co-creation of brand equity (Gordon, Calantone, & di Benedetto, 1993). Thus, both franchisors and franchisees share the incentive to promote and sustain franchise brand equity (Pitt, Napoli, & van der Merwe, 2003). Prior research confirms that successful franchise brand management is a reflection of the value addition of both B2B (franchisor–franchisee) and business-to-consumer (B2C) (franchisee– customer) relationships that nurture a shared objective, that is, building the franchise brand (Doherty & Alexander, 2006). While franchisees are expected to contribute to the development of the franchise brand, they may, in the absence of negative impacts on their short-term profits, have little incentive to safeguard brand equity (Dant & Nasr, 1998). Therefore, when compared to other traditional B2B models, brand management within franchise systems poses unique challenges and opportunities. For instance, even though the responsibility of developing and managing the franchise brand rests with all parties, neither franchisors nor franchisees have total control of the brand management process (Pitt et al., 2003). This situation presents unique challenges that require internal franchise branding activities to be well-coordinated and integrated between both parties. However, despite the above-recognized importance of B2B branding and internal branding in enhancing the franchise brand (Doherty & Alexander, 2006; Zachary et al., 2011), limited empirical work has focused on franchise brand management. Internal branding literature suggests that a strong brand personality is important in brand building (Aaker, 1997). Thus, to be effective brand ambassadors or representatives it is essential for franchisees to align their behavior and identify with the franchise brand. Since the notion that franchisees can form relationships with their franchise brand is central to this study, there is therefore a need to assess the strength and effects of such a relationship on brand equity. This inference is based on the assumption that brands are imbued with human-like features that can lead to the development of self-brand relationships that are similar to the way individuals form personal relationships (Aaker, 1997; Aggarwal, 2004; Fournier, 1998). However, while the concept of brand relationships has been explored in B2C markets, there is limited research investigating brand relationships in franchised B2B exchanges. Brand equity is defined as the differential effect of brand knowledge on consumer response to the brand (Keller, 2003). Some B2B scholars have conceptualized brand equity as identity-based brand equity (Burmann, Jost-Benz, & Riley, 2009), retailer-perceived brand equity (Baldauf, Cravens, Diamantopoulos, & Zeugner-Roth, 2009), retailerbased brand equity (Samu, Lyndem, & Litz, 2012), customer-based retailer equity (Pappu & Quester, 2006) and B2B brand equity (Kuhn, Alpert, & Pope, 2008). In particular, the concept of brand equity from the retailer’s perspective encapsulates three conceptual ideals, namely; (i) the equity associated with the retailer brand, (ii) the equity associated with the retailer’s store brand, and (iii) the retailers’ perceptions of the brand they sell (Baldauf et al., 2009, p.2). The current study builds on this research stream by proposing an alternative way of conceptualizing brand equity in franchising. Thus, to capture franchisees’ perceptions of the franchise brand with which they are associated with we advance the term franchisee-based brand equity (FBBE). Even though various brand equity models exist, extant literature continues to call for the development of additional models that are grounded in empirical research on brand equity in various contexts (Broyles, Schumann, & Leingpibul, 2009). Therefore, drawing on social identity and identitybased brand management theories, our study investigates the potential antecedents of FBBE, and in so doing addresses the following question: “What role does brand relationship quality and brand citizenship behavior play in building FBBE in franchisor–franchisee relationships?” The remainder of the paper is structured as follows: First, insights from social exchange theory and the identity-based brand management view are integrated to provide a theoretical framework for the study. Then literature on FBBE, brand relationship management (BRM), brand relationship quality (BRQ), brand citizenship behavior (BCB), franchisor competence, and franchisor–franchisee relationship duration is reviewed. The research methodology, data analyses, and empirical findings are then presented. We conclude by discussing theoretical and managerial implications, limitations, and future research directions