The Role of Brand Orientation in Church Participation: An Empirical Examination

Abstract

Although a large amount of research has been undertaken into the application of marketing techniques in church organizations, few studies have provided empirical evidence on the effects of brand orientation on church participation. This empirical study sought to contribute to the body of literature via a survey of 344 church attendees of a particular church denomination in Australia. The conceptual model hypothesizes brand orientation as performing direct and indirect effects on church participation through perceived benefits as the mediating variables. A person's perception of the extent to which a church engages in brand-oriented activities and behavior is significantly related with his or her perceptionof the benefits associated with church activities, which then leads to a higher level of church participation. The results reveal that brand orientation is significantly related with perceived benefits and church participation.

How great thy brand: the impact of church branding on perceived benefits

“…This study adopted Mulyanegara () construct of ‘PBO’. Although the PBO construct in this study is unidimensional in nature, the items were designed to reflect three brand orientation themes that include uniqueness, reputation, and orchestration (Aaker, ; de Chernatony and Riley, ; Keller, ).…”

“…The present study adopted the PBO scale of Mulyanegara () to measure perceived band orientation. In developing the construct, Mulyanegara () consulted with experts in the area of brand orientation and conducted in‐depth interviews with CGs.…”

“…The present study adopted the PBO scale of Mulyanegara () to measure perceived band orientation. In developing the construct, Mulyanegara () consulted with experts in the area of brand orientation and conducted in‐depth interviews with CGs. Although the PBO construct is unidimensional in nature, the items were designed to reflect three brand orientation themes that include uniqueness, reputation and orchestration (Aaker, ; de Chernatony and Riley, ; Keller, ): Uniqueness (BR2): Respondents' perception of the church's distinctive characteristics, which makes it stands out from other churches (de Chernatony, ). Reputation (BR3; BR4): Respondents' perception of the church's image in the community in the forms of awareness, associations and loyalty (Urde, ). Orchestration (BR6; BR7; BR8): Respondents' perception of the church's integrated marketing activities that deliver consistent brand messages to internal and external stakeholders (Ewing and Napoli, ).…”

Brand orientation: Past, present, and future

“…The logical conclusion is that the specific characteristics of non-profit organisations, such as different corporate goals and a greater emphasis on the corporate culture, are well matched to brand orientation. If that is so, then analysis of brand orientation in such other non-profit sectors as the arts (Baumgarth, 2009;Evans, Bridson, & Rentschler, 2012), public health, charities (Keller, Dato-on, & Shaw, 2010), political parties, universities, places and destinations (Hankinson, 2012), or churches (Mulyanegara, 2011) could be a potentially fruitful direction for further research. A second suggestion is to continue the exploration of brand orientation in the business-to-business context.…”

When is brand orientation a useful strategic posture?

“…In reaction to this potential financial benefit of brand orientation, studies have focused on discovering and explaining how firms can develop their brand orientation levels (e.g., Baumgarth, 2010;Ewing & Napoli, 2005;Hankinson, 2001;Napoli, 2006;Mulyanegara, 2011;Schmidt & Baumgarth, 2014;Simoes & Dibb, 2001;Urde, 1994;Wong & Merrilees, 2005). Empirical studies examining how brand orientation impacts performance have primarily been descriptive (e.g., Baumgarth, 2009;Keller, Dato-on, & Shaw, 2010) and directed at understanding linear associations (e.g., Gromark & Melin, 2011).…”