Brand-Driven Leadership for Change Management in Retailing

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Abstract

Change management theorists largely overlook using the brand as a vehicle for change. Similarly, while branding has become an increasingly popular research and business topic, the branding literature appears to neglect change management. Our research bridges this gap through the development of brand identity as the main driver of organizational renewal. In the article we provide insights into brand-driven leadership for change which have been developed by collaborative action research with CEOs and owners of retail firms over a twenty year period. In contrast to the usual planning of change attempting to fit the firm to external trends and considering internal resources our brand-driven approach is based on resonance with consumers by the use of external socio-cultural meanings in society. We highlight phases in the development of brand identity by reference to a prototypical retail case study and present a framework to help managers with brand-driven leadership for change.

Keywords

Aesthetic differentiation brand identity brand-driven renewal change leadership socio-cultural meanings 
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Copyright information

© Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Strategic Management, Marketing and TourismUniversity of InnsbruckInnsbruckAustria
  2. 2.Marketing GroupAston UniversityAstonUnited Kingdom

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