Brand equity in B2B services and consequences for the trade show industry

Abstract

Purpose -This paper's aim is to provide a conceptual framework explaining drivers of service brand equity. It refers to the trade show industry as an example for an international, highly competitive environment, where service providers face the challenge to differentiate themselves from competing brands. Based on a comprehensive literature review, the paper develops a conceptual model of service brand equity. The paper concludes with directions for further research and managerial implications. Design/methodology/approach -The paper is a conceptual work, which derives research propositions from an extended literature review. Findings -It is proposed that a service provider's competence relates positively to a service customer's purchasing value which, in turn, leads to customer service satisfaction and service brand equity. The paper further posits that the provider's service concept, service processes, and service system are constituents of service competence, thus representing crucial determinants of service brand equity.Research limitations/implications -The research has limitations that are due to the exploratory nature of the work. The paper suggests opportunities for further research, particularly an empirical test of the model in various B2B service industries. Practical implications -The paper suggests that the value attendees derive from using trade show services is strongly related to the support they receive in establishing and nurturing customer relationships or in engaging in market and competitor analysis. Considering service brand equity, trade show organizations should therefore develop innovative concepts for trade shows that accommodate their clients' needs, including an appropriate physical environment, customer-oriented service processes, and high-quality interactions between service employees and customers. Originality/value -The paper sheds light on a phenomenon that, despite its increasing acceptance among practitioners, remains unexplored by marketing research. By providing a better understanding of B2B service brand equity in a trade show context, the paper enriches research on trade fair issues.

Marketing assets: Relating brand equity and customer equity

“…(In our study loyalty is a consequence and not a component of BE, consistent with previous research, e.g. : Taylor, Hunter & Lindberg, 2007;Chen & Myagmarsuren, 2011;Juntunen, Juntunen & Juga, 2011;Geigenmüller & Bettis-Outland, 2012). On the one ha nd, strong brands generate loyal customers who value these brands above all others in the market, who repurchase the brand on a regular basis, and who consider entirely reasonable to pay more for it (Aaker, 1991;Park & Srinivasan, 1994;Taylor et al, 2007;Jobber & Shipley, 2012).…”

Measurement of Service Quality in Trade Fair Organization

“…However, the analysis of service quality from the perspective of the organizer has scarcely been considered in the literature, only featuring in the works by Geigenmüller and Bettis-Outland (2012) [9] and Adhitya (2019) [11] (see Table 1). Indeed, the study of fair activities that focus on the organizer has received little attention in the literature.…”

“…Despite the importance of organizers to the success of a fair, this role has been analyzed in few studies [6][7][8][9][10][11]. In contrast, the literature has mainly focused on the figure of the exhibitor and, to a lesser extent, on the visitor, ignoring the key role played by the organizers of these events before, during and after the fair.…”

Economic geography and industrial marketing views on trade shows: Collective marketing and knowledge circulation

“…Measuring trade show results and identifying their determinants Borghini et al, 2006;Geigenmüller and Bettis-Outland, 2012;Gopalakrishna et al, 2010;Munuera and Ruiz, 1999;Golfetto, 2006, 2015;Tafesse, 2014  Learning as outcome of trade show participation  Trade show organizers, their relationships with exhibitors and visitors, and their impact on exhibitor performances  Trade shows as meeting places of occupational communities, the practices through which these communities create value and the ways in which firms can benefit from these practices  Theoretical sampling in trade show performance studies, as results are contingent on the typology of trade show examined (e.g., import vs. export-oriented trade shows) and its geographical context (e.g., developed vs. developing countries) Trade shows as collective marketing instruments Trade shows as collective marketing/branding/export promotion instruments for territorial and other typologies of networks Seringhaus and Rosson, 1998;Skallerud, 2010  The nation brand building role of trade shows  The impact of trade shows on the innovation trajectories of local and national industries  The relationships between industrial clusters and trade shows, which are sometimes dysfunctional  Collective trade show participation and export promotion from a knowledge-based perspective  Impact of globalization on trade shows and their underlying industries, which affects the lifecycles of individual events and the evolution of continental trade show platforms.…”