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INTRODUCTION
Brand management has evolved from its original focus on product differentiation (for example, Aaker, 1996) to new perspectives that include service brands (for example, Berry, 2000) and corporate brands (for example, Balmer, 1995). This represents the emergence of a new approach that understands brands as social processes that involve multiple stakeholders. This also creates the need to better understand how brand value is co-created together with other stakeholders (Brodie et al , 2009; Hatch and Schultz, 2010; Frow and Payne, 2011). In this respect, there is an opportunity to build an integrated brand value co-creation model (BVCC) (Merz et al , 2009) that can be used in different business settings (Wallström et al , 2008; Payne et al , 2009; Pillai, 2012).
This article presents an organic view of the brand (OVB); a BVCC model. The OVB argues that brands are organic entities because they are built together with various stakeholders and many parts of this process are beyond the control of the organisation. From the OVB, brand value is conversationally co-created by multiple stakeholders in a fluid space subject to constant negotiation. This calls into question many of the traditional assumptions of brand management and demands a new managerial style. The OVB challenges the traditional ideas of the value proposition and the brand covenant and instead suggests that while managers need to provide direction for the brand, they must also be willing to accept that brand meaning is constantly negotiated with many other stakeholders (Round and Roper, 2012; Ind et al. 2013). Thus, managers will need to accept a loss of control and be willing to share if they want to build a relevant brand image. The implication is that managers will need to develop a new leadership style that is more humble, open and participatory.
This research is qualitative and exploratory in nature (Creswell, 2007), due to the lack of empirical research in this area (Pillai, 2012). The fieldwork consists of 20 in-depth interviews with marketing directors of companies in the fields of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), business-to-business (B2B), and services - as well as directors of brand consultancies, and a workshop with eight of the previous interviewees.
BRANDS AS SOCIAL PROCESSES THAT INVOLVE MULTIPLE STAKEHOLDERS
From the product branding perspective,...