Innovation and Brands: The Managers’ Perspective in a Multiple Case Study in a Brazilian Region

Bevilacqua, Rogerio; Freitas, Verica; Paula, Veronica Angélica Freitas de

doi:10.15728/bbr.2020.17.6.5

Tabla de contenido Anterior Actual Siguiente

Tabla de contenido

Article • BBR, Braz. Bus. Rev. 17 (6) • Nov-Dec 2020 • https://doi.org/10.15728/bbr.2020.17.6.5 linkcopy

Innovation and Brands: The Managers’ Perspective in a Multiple Case Study in a Brazilian Region

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

This article aims to identify what an innovative brand is from the perspective of business managers in a region of Brazil, and describe how they manage innovative brands. A multiple case study was carried out with five innovative companies from four economic sectors: telecommunications, information technology, chemicals, and electricity. The interviews with these managers were processed with content analysis, being established sixteen categories which include: definition of innovation; innovative brand features; reasons for innovation; relationship between brands and innovation; area responsible for innovation; dissemination of innovation; organizational culture of new ideas; types of innovation; reduction of time, costs and risks to innovation; relationship between the company and the market; brand strategies; brand personality; integration of the end consumer into innovation; rewards for the consumer; and brand heritage. At the end, theoretical and managerial contributions are presented that can be applied or adapted to other organizations in their process of innovation and brand management. In this sense, it is important to highlight that, in the studied cases, incremental innovation is dominant; the stage at which successful innovations improve consumer brand awareness, attitude, and usage prevails; and the companies studied could be distributed in two of the innovation possibilities proposed by Brexendorf et al. (2015): follower brands and craft-designer led brands.

KEYWORDS
Innovation; Brands; Innovative Brands

Category		Subcategories Or Codes		F
A	Definition of innovation (Birkinshaw et al., 2008; FINEP, 2005; Testa et al., 2013; Kimberly, 1981 as cited in Van de Ven, 1986; Mohr, 1969; Schumpeter, 1939; Van de Ven, 1986).	1	Anything done differently (Schumpeter, 1939).	1
		2	State-of-the-art innovation (Birkinshaw et al., 2008).	2
		3	Innovation regarding the organization (Birkinshaw et al., 2008).	2
		4	Innovation regarding a market or an industry (Testa et al., 2013).	2
		5	Adoption of something new from inside or outside the organization (Mohr, 1969).	0
		6	Succesful new idea (Kimberly, 1981 cited in Van de Ven, 1986).	3
		7	Development of new ideas by people who transact in an institutional context (Van de Ven, 1986).	0
		8	Implementation and institutionalization of a new idea (Van de Ven, 1986).	0
		9	Implementation of a new or significantly improved product (FINEP, 2005).	4
		10	Implementation of a new process (FINEP, 2005).	5
		11	Implementation of a new marketing method (FINEP, 2005).	2
		12	Implementation of a new organizational method (FINEP, 2005).	5
Category		Subcategories Or Codes		F
B	Characteristics of innovative brands according to consumer perception (Silva et al., 2017).	1	Entrepreneurship (Silva et al., 2017).	3
		2	Marketing and communication (Silva et al., 2017).	3
		3	Product Mix (Silva et al., 2017).	3
		4	Practicality and functionality (Silva et al., 2017).	5
		5	Packaging and design (Silva et al., 2017).	4
		6	Consumer relationship (Silva et al., 2017).	5
		7	Management (Silva et al., 2017).	3
		8	Socio-environmental sustainability (Silva et al., 2017).	3
		9	Technology and Research and Development (R&D) (Silva et al., 2017).	4
		10	Novelty + new experience (Silva et al., 2017).	5
Category		Subcategories Or Codes		F
C	Reasons to innovate (Aaker, 2004; Bers et al., 2009; Bhat, & Bowonder, 2001; Mohr, 1969; Pihlajamaa, 2017; Schmidt, 2013; Schumpeter, 1939; Teh, & Marx, 2012; Tironi, & Cruz, 2008; Utterback, & Abernathy, 1975; Weerawardena et al., 2006).	1	Survival (Schumpeter, 1939).	3
		2	Crisis coping (Bers et al., 2009).	1
		3	Seizing market opportunity (Bers et al., 2009).	3
		4	Costs reduction (Bhat & Bowonder, 2001; Schmidt, 2013; Schumpeter, 1939; Utterback & Abernathy, 1975).	3
		5	Greater dynamism of the environment (Mohr, 1969; Weerawardena et al., 2006).	1
		6	Higher level of competitiveness (Schmidt, 2013; Schumpeter, 1939; Tironi & Cruz, 2008; Weerawardena et al., 2006).	4
		7	Sales maximization (Utterback, & Abernathy, 1975).	1
		8	Increased market share (Schmidt, 2013).	0
		9	Increased productivity (Tironi, & Cruz, 2008).	0
		10	Maximizing product performance (Utterback, & Abernathy, 1975).	1
		11	Obtaining differentiation (Bhat, & Bowonder, 2001).	2
		12	Value creation (Teh, & Marx, 2012).	2
		13	Segmentation (Bhat, & Bowonder, 2001).	0
		14	Acceptance of new products (Aaker, 2004).	1
		15	Increasing the company’s credibility (Aaker, 2004).	0
		16	Larger customer base (Bhat, & Bowonder, 2001; Schmidt, 2013).	2
		17	Influence of the chief executive (activism, ideology, personal desire) (Mohr, 1969).	1
		18	Motivation of individuals (Pihlajamaa, 2017).	4
		19	Resource availability (Mohr, 1969).	2
		20	Existence of prior knowledge (Bers et al., 2009).	0
Category		Subcategories Or Codes		F
D	Relationship between brands and innovation (Bhat, & Bowonder, 2001; Brexendorf et al., 2015; Rimoli et al., 2013; Weerawardena et al., 2006).	1	Brands provide strategic focus and guidance to innovations (Brexendorf et al., 2015).	1
		2	Brands support the introduction and adoption of innovations (Brexendorf et al., 2015).	0
		3	Successful innovations improve brand perceptions, attitude, and usage (Brexendorf et al., 2015).	4
		4	Organizational innovation has the consequence of brand performance measured in terms of sales growth, market share and general performance (Weerawardena et al., 2006).	3
		5	Innovation aspects affecting the brand image (Rimoli et al., 2013).	1
		6	Technological and organizational innovation combined with brand reputation contributes to the creation and development of brand personality (Bhat, & Bowonder, 2001).	0
Category		Subcategories Or Codes		F
E	Existence of an area responsible for the innovation process and its location (Galbraith, 1999).	1	There is no specific area responsible for the innovation process.	1
		2	There is an area responsible for the innovation process located in the same physical location as the company.	1
		3	There is an area responsible for the innovation process in a physical location different from the company´s (Galbraith, 1999).	3
Category		Subcategories Or Codes		F
F	Dissemination of the innovation process in the organization (Parolin, 2013).	1	Innovation process limited to only certain activities / areas of the organization (Parolin, 2013).	1
F		2	Innovation process disseminated throughout the organization (Parolin, 2013).	4
Category		Subcategories Or Codes		F
G	Mechanisms for the development of an organizational culture that encourages the emergence of new ideas and strategies for these new ideas to be implemented (Galbraith, 1999; Teh, & Marx, 2012; Van de Ven, 1986).	1	Institutional leadership capable of fostering innovation (Galbraith, 1999; Van de Ven, 1986).	3
		2	Presence of sponsors of new ideas (Galbraith, 1999).	1
		3	Advocates´ access to sponsors (Galbraith, 1999).	3
		4	Allocation of financial resources to sponsors of ideas (Galbraith, 1999).	0
		5	Promotion of internal fairs for the advocates of ideas (Galbraith, 1999).	0
		6	Combination of different advocates’ ideas by sponsors (Galbraith, 1999).	0
		7	Task rotation among advocates of ideas to facilitate the establishment of networks (Galbraith, 1999).	0
		8	Proactive search for sponsors by advocates of the idea (Galbraith, 1999).	0
		9	Interaction with consumers to understand their needs (Galbraith, 1999).	2
		10	Organizational structure capable of positively affecting the results of innovative processes (Teh, & Marx, 2012).	1
Category		Subcategories Or Codes		F
H	Type of innovation most frequently implemented in terms of novelty degree (Gatignon et al., 2002; Pihlajamaa, 2017; Tironi, & Cruz, 2008)	1	Incremental innovation (Gatignon et al., 2002).	5
H		2	Radical innovation (Gatignon et al., 2002).	0
Category		Subcategories Or Codes		F
I	Reasons for incremental / radical innovation to be used more often (Birkinshaw et al., 2008; Tironi, & Cruz, 2008; Utterback, & Abernathy, 1975)	1	State-of-the-art innovation creates greater ambiguity and uncertainty (Birkinshaw et al., 2008).	0
		2	Risk and uncertainty in innovations with a higher degree of novelty (Tironi, & Cruz, 2008).	2
		3	Incremental innovations cost less than radical innovations (Utterback, & Abernathy, 1975).	1
Category		Subcategories Or Codes		F
J	Strategies for reducing time, costs and risks associated with innovation (Bers et al., 2009; Van de Ven, 1986)	1	Identification of the crises or opportunities that motivated innovation (Bers et al., 2009).	1
		2	Identification of challenges to be faced by innovation, such as those of technological, social, marketing and organizational nature (Bers et al., 2009).	0
		3	Systematic competitive intelligence (knowledge management, information retrieval and pattern recognition) (Bers et al., 2009).	0
		4	Total and systemic vision of innovation (Bers et al., 2009; Van de Ven, 1986).	0
		5	Commitment and connection of all stakeholders involved in the innovation process (Bers et al., 2009).	0
		6	Practice of probing and learning (Bers et al., 2009).	0
Category		Subcategories Or Codes		F
K	Company relationship with the market (Beverland et al., 2010)	1	Market-driven (Beverland et al., 2010).	4
K		2	Driven-markets (Beverland et al., 2010).	1
Category		Subcategories Or Codes		F
L	Brand strategy adopted by the company when introducing new products (Aaker, 2004; Macrae & Uncles, 1997; Rao et al., 2004; Sanchez, 2004; Urde, 2003)	1	Corporate branding (Aaker, 2004; Macrae, & Uncles, 1997; Rao et al., 2004; Sanchez, 2004; Urde, 2003).	2
		2	Mixed branding (Rao et al., 2004).	2
		3	House of brands (Rao et al., 2004; Sanchez, 2004;).	1
		4	Branded house (Aaker, 2004; Sanchez, 2004).	0
Category		Subcategories Or Codes		F
M	Association of innovation with brand personality (Muniz & Marchetti, 2012)	1	Credibility (Muniz & Marchetti, 2012).	5
		2	Joy (Muniz & Marchetti, 2012).	0
		3	Audacity (Muniz & Marchetti, 2012).	3
		4	Sophistication (Muniz & Marchetti, 2012).	0
		5	Sensitivity (Muniz & Marchetti, 2012).	0
Category		Subcategories Or Codes		F
N	Strategies for integrating the final consumer into the innovation process (Füller et al., 2008; Mack & Landau, 2015; Nguyen et al., 2015; Pellizzoni et al., 2015; Schaarschmidt & Kilian, 2014)	1	Brand communities (Füller et al., 2008).	0
		2	Online communities, such as social networks and blogs, discussion forums, internet sites and online channels (Nguyen et al., 2015; Schaarschmidt & Kilian, 2014).	4
		3	Call Centers (Schaarschmidt, & Kilian, 2014).	2
		4	Visit to consumers’ homes (Schaarschmidt, & Kilian, 2014).	0
		5	Workshops (Schaarschmidt, & Kilian, 2014).	2
		6	Interviews with consumers (Schaarschmidt & Kilian, 2014)	1
		7	Record of behavior in online diaries by consumers (Schaarschmidt, & Kilian, 2014).	0
		8	Innovation contests / ideas competition open to the international community (Mack, & Landau, 2015; Pellizzoni et al., 2015; Schaarschmidt & Kilian, 2014).	1
		9	Prototype testing (Schaarschmidt & Kilian, 2014)	1
Category		Subcategories Or Codes		F
O	System of rewards for the consumer in the innovation process (Pellizzoni et al., 2015; Schaarschmidt & Kilian, 2014)	1	Knowledge is given by consumers voluntarily and free of charge (Schaarschmidt & Kilian, 2014).	0
		2	Non-monetary reward (Pellizzoni et al., 2015).	5
		3	Monetary reward (Pellizzoni et al., 2015).	0
Category		Subcategories Or Codes		F
P	Reconciling brand heritage with innovation (Beverland, 2005; Rimoli et al., 2013)	1	The brand portfolio consists of traditional brands and innovative brands (Rimoli et al., 2013).	0
P		2	Fidelity to traditions of brand heritage while paying attention to competitors´ movements, innovations and changes in consumer preferences (Beverland, 2005).	4

location_on

Fucape Business School Av. Fernando Ferrari, 1358, Boa Vista, 29075-505, Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brasil, (27) 4009-4423 - Vitória - ES - Brazil
E-mail: bbronline@bbronline.com.br

rss_feed Acompañe los números de esta revista en su lector de RSS

[TFN1] Source: Authors, based on literature review and research data.