Communication works for those who work at it – John Powell, An empirical study investigating the influence of corporate brand identity on brand performance

Sammanfattning: In recent years, corporate branding and its potential benefits on brand performance has become an increased area of interest for both researchers and communication professionals. This study aims to deepen and increase knowledge about the concept of corporate brand identity and its influence on brand performance in the communications sector and answer the research question; How do the dimensions of corporate brand identity influence brand performance within the communications sector? To achieve this, a quantitative approach was employed and the B2B service brand identity scale as well as the Brand performance scale was used to measure the influence through a digital survey in 14 Swedish agencies with a total of N=105 respondents. The first scale includes five dimensions; employee and client focus, corporate visual identity, brand personality, consistent communications, and human resource initiatives, which constitutes the independent variables of this study. Some adjustments were made to the B2B service brand identity scale which was why an exploratory factor analysis was used to make sure the measurement was appropriate. A standard multiple regression was conducted to analyse the potential influence of corporate brand identity on brand performance. The result showed that two of the five independent variables, consistent communications (β=.399) and brand personality (β= .297), had a significant (p<.05), positive influence on brand performance. This result hence supports parts of the hypothesis model and previous research while it challenges the implication that the remaining three variables should be predictors of brand performance. A concluding discussion highlights the theoretical explanation of the result and practical implications for corporate brand identity as a managerial tool for driving brand performance.