Branding advantage of agri-food companies in competitive export markets: a resource-based theory

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of the present study is to investigate the antecedents of export performance and branding advantage, as a key type of competitive advantage in export markets among entrepreneurs and managers of agri-food exporters.Design/methodology/approachA sample of entrepreneurs from 182 exporting firms of the agriculture and food industry participated in a cross-sectional survey. The data were collected by a self-reporting questionnaire and partial least squares were used to analyse the data and assess the path model.FindingsResults revealed that experiential resources strongly promote communication capabilities. Also, communication, distribution and product development capabilities contribute to the creation of the branding advantage in export markets. In addition, a positive relationship between the branding advantage and export performance of agri-food products is confirmed.Research limitations/implicationsThe study targets exporters of agri-food products. Hence, the results should be interpreted regarding the context of low-technology firms. Further, this paper delineates branding advantage considerations that managers need to account for to achieve effective exporting. Practitioners can efficaciously exploit resources to achieve a competitive advantage, considering that they focus on building capabilities, and in particular, communication capabilities.Originality/valueThe present study highlights the role of the branding advantage as an important type of competitive advantage in international entrepreneurship and export markets. It attempts to examine the combined relationships of resources and capabilities with branding advantage and export performance.

The role of brand and market orientation on competitive advantage in the food sector: business strategy’s moderator role

“…Competitive advantage was significantly and positively affected by the brand, and H1 was accepted. These results concur with earlier conceptual investigations demonstrating that brand influences competitive advantage (Aghazadeh et al. , 2022).…”

“…Besides previous empirical studies and factors influencing competitive advantage, this paper proposes a research model with eight distinct hypotheses in the context of food businesses in Vietnam, as shown in Figure 1. Combined with evidence from prior studies such as Aghazadeh et al. (2022), Correia et al.…”

Determining the predictive importance of the core dimensions of nation brands

“…Prior studies highlight several essential resources based on the literature concerning global marketing and country branding. Some studies link these characteristics to a country’s exports by applying the RB (Aghazadeh et al , 2022) and RA (Sun et al , 2016) theories. Furthermore, Rojas-Méndez (2013) proposes a theoretical framework based on the RA theory to explore the significance of determinant variables in developing a nation brand, particularly the dimensions and facets of people’s perspectives on a country brand.…”

Effects of intimate partner violence against women in international micro and small enterprises relationships: The mediator role of capabilities

“…Following the RBV theory, the performance of capabilities is needed to differentiate from competitors and offer value to export markets. The literature suggests four particular types of capabilities influencing the export performance of SMEs: operational, informational, product-development, and relationship-building capabilities (e.g., Piercy et al, 1997 ; Kaleka, 2002 ; Morgan et al, 2004 ; Fernandes et al, 2017 ; Ramon-Jeronimo et al, 2019 ; Aghazadeh et al, 2022 ). We consider these four capabilities together as export capabilities.…”

“…Finally, Product-development capability means the development of new products, improvement, modification, or adaptation of existing ones, and adoption of new methods and ideas in the production process ( Morgan et al, 2004 ; Ferreira and Simões, 2017 ; Ramon-Jeronimo et al, 2019 ) to satisfy the needs of international customers ( Zou et al, 2003 ). The performance of this capability provides a competitive advantage and creates and delivers superior value to international customers ( Zou et al, 2003 ; Morgan et al, 2004 ; Aghazadeh et al, 2022 ).…”