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Introduction
Since its inception, the Journal of Product and Brand Management (JPBM ) has featured papers that advance the theoretical and managerial knowledge in the areas of product management and brand management. During the past 25 years, branding has drastically evolved - becoming global, strategic and interdisciplinary - in response to the ever-changing market, environmental and technological challenges organizations face when managing their brands and brand reputations. As a result, the JPBM has developed into an international and interdisciplinary journal.
In its early years, the papers published in the journal mostly focused on product decisions, new product development in different types of companies (Hanna et al. , 1995), general product advice (Valentin, 1993, 1994), support to specific product questions including concept development, product testing (Duke, 1994) and management of the interfaces (Warren, 1992) and managing product development teams (Pitta et al. , 1996). The role of the product managers (Lysonski et al. , 1995; Wood and Tandon, 1994) and the product management system was also another popular theme (Katsanis and Pitta, 1995; Van et al. , 1994). A lot of the early work presented in the journal that focused on product-related decisions remains relevant, and papers on product management related issues will always have a place in the journal.
Although in some of the early work, products and brands were approached in a similar manner (Alreck, 1994); as time passed, the proportion of papers published in the journal from the area of brand management increased. Furthermore, brand management progressively became seen as a distinct field. During the past 25 years, a lot of new ideas have been introduced in the area of brand management dramatically changing the field. These changes were driven by factors such as changes in the way that consumers think about, approach and consume brands, technological changes and an increased need for brand accountability. Over time, the field of brand management became increasingly important as brands were recognized as key drivers for business success.
JPBM has significantly contributed to the development of brand management knowledge. This piece outlines the evolution of brand management research over the past 25 years, by reporting the contribution of the journal to the advancement of brand management thinking. In particular, it reports changes in the...