Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Department of Management, Faculty of Humanities, Torbat Heydarieh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Torbat Heydarieh, Iran
2 Department of Management, Faculty of Humanities, Neyshabur Branch, Islamic Azad University, Neyshabor, Iran
3 PH.D.Studentof Information Management, Ferdowsi Mashhad University
Abstract
Introduction
Current global statistics indicate that 80% of startups fail within a short period, with one of the primary reasons being weak branding strategies. Startups often lack precise knowledge of branding, which increases the risk of failure. To reduce this risk, marketers need a phenomenon called co-creation branding.
Branding in startups can increase access to suppliers, customer purchases, and innovative business models (Drakoulis & Lipovsek, 2015). Despite these advantages, startups face challenges such as gaining consumer trust, creating demand for their products and services, establishing an identity, and providing unique and differentiated value to consumers (Sonja et al., 2022). Therefore, to reduce these challenges and the risk of failure, marketers need co-creation branding in startups (Bonamigo et al., 2022). Co-creation branding involves active customer and company participation and interaction to improve brand image, increase brand value and awareness, and ultimately increase customer loyalty, achieving a competitive position in the market (Dehdashti Shahrokh et al., 2022).
Unfortunately, very few studies have been conducted on both co-creation branding and startups, and extensive research is needed (Wong & Merrilees, 2005; Lagerstedt & Mademlis, 2016). Therefore, this research aims to identify the factors affecting on co-creation branding in startups. The main question of this research is defined as follows: What are the factors affecting on co-creation branding in startups?
Literature Review
The literature review of startups offers various definitions for the term. For instance, Avnimelech and Teubal (2006) define startups as young companies with advanced technology whose primary activity, from idea to initial sales, lasts between one to five years.
Brand co-creation is a recent trend in branding (Hatch & Schultz, 2010), which is largely based on the dominant logic of service (Vargo & Lusch, 2008) and co-creation of value (Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004), starting with the identification of customer value creation processes (Juntunen, 2012). Co-creation leads to offering more suitable products and services to consumers and encouraging their participation (Nadeem et al., 2020). The theory of brand co-creation assumes that the consumer is no longer a passive brand buyer but desires and seeks active participation in creating brand experiences (Kamboj et al., 2018), and therefore, customers can play a vital role in determining the success of brands. Brand co-creation begins with the relationship between shareholders and customers (Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004; Snyder, 2019), where shareholders define and create their brand identity through this relationship. Finally, it can be said that brand co-creation, in addition to strengthening a company's innovation capability, is also a reliable way to enhance brand relationships (Chang & Hsieh, 2016).
Broeke and Paparoidamis (2021) demonstrate in their research that the co-creation of brand value occurs when customers are more sensitive to quality and less sensitive to price, and there is high demand for the product. Under such conditions, product quality is enhanced, and the company's flexibility increases. Nadeem et al. (2020) show in their research that social support affects ethical perception, and both are effective in co-creation. Ethical understanding also has an impact on consumers' trust, satisfaction, and commitment. However, trust and commitment do not have a significant impact on the co-creation of value. Tajvidi et al. (2020) demonstrate that concerns about privacy can disrupt the effects of brand co-creation, and social support, quality of relationships, and information sharing on social media have a positive impact on consumers' intention to co-create brand value on social media. Additionally, there is a meaningful relationship between customer participation in brand communities on social media and the quality of the relationship.
Methodology
This study is objective in nature and employs a qualitative approach. Its aim is to identify the factors that affect co-creation branding in startups. To achieve this, a meta-synthesis approach is used to examine existing articles in the field and extract the relevant factors. The statistical population of the research is credible and relevant articles published between 2007 and 2022 (a 15-year time span). Meta-synthesis involves reviewing previous studies and reframing concepts through interpretive integration of previous results. In this research, the seven-stage Sandelowski & Barroso (2006) method is used to carry out the meta-synthesis, as it is the most commonly used method for meta-synthesis in recent university research studies.
Results
This research conducted a systematic review of 41 research studies to identify the factors influencing co-branding in startups. The meta-synthesis method was used to analyze the research literature. After studying and extracting text, key codes were clustered using MAXQDA software and organized into concepts and components. Ultimately, the factors influencing co-branding in startups were extracted and classified into four themes, eight concepts, and 33 distinct codes. These themes include environmental factors (financial and social factors), strategic brand management factors (brand value and brand creation), marketing factors (promotional activities and customer-related factors), and individual entrepreneurial factors (entrepreneurial personal characteristics and entrepreneurial skills).
Discussion and Conclusion
The objective of this research is to identify the factors that influence co-branding in startups using a meta-synthesis method. To accomplish this objective, the scattered factors mentioned in various studies and case studies in this field were collected and classified into similar categories as concepts and themes using the meta-synthesis method and following the seven steps proposed by Sandelowski and Barroso. Startups can fulfill their responsibility and duty to society by engaging in activities that help the community, which has a significant impact on co-branding in the startup ecosystem (Kennedy & Guzman, 2016). Moreover, the social position of companies has been shown to influence co-branding (Twrsnick, 2016; Kennedy & Guzman, 2016). The availability of financial resources has a critical impact on co-branding activities in startups. Financial performance in this context refers to the extent to which the resources under the company's control generate profitability, which is vital for accepting and developing co-branding programs in the future. Therefore, it is considered one of the influential factors (Hatch & Schultz, 2010; Huang & Lai, 2011; Todor, 2014; Setiyati & Wijaya, 2015; Du Plessis et al., 2015; Tavares, 2015; Twrsnick, 2016; Kennedy & Guzman, 2016). The process of brand creation refers to a set of factors that lead to the development of a brand, encompassing brand design, brand strategy, brand identity, brand positioning, and brand objectives. These factors have been examined in most studies conducted in this area (Spence & Essoussi, 2008; Bresciani & Eppler, 2010; Bergström et al., 2010; Huang & Lai, 2011; Dai & Pietrobon, 2012; Sonja et al., 2022). Understanding the value-creating factors of a brand is a requirement for creating a strong brand. A brand's value is defined as a set of assets related to the brand name and company symbol that depend on the name or symbol of a brand and the increase in value created by the company's products or services. The value-creating factors of a brand include brand awareness, perceived brand quality, brand associations, brand image, brand experience, brand value, brand trust, brand commitment, and brand love (Boyle, 2007; Carvalho, 2007; Spence & Essoussi, 2008; Hamidi et al., 2021; Sonja et al., 2022; Bahagir et al., 2022). Promotional activities are all actions taken to raise awareness and persuade customers and the target audience to use a product or service and represent the fourth element of the marketing mix (Hagili et al., 2017; Kamboj et al., 2018; Rialti et al., 2018; Tajvidi et al., 2020; Sonja et al., 2022; Bahagir et al., 2022). To implement and execute the co-creation approach, companies create their own channels to establish connections with customers, which is essentially the fundamental aspect of co-creation, involving individuals' participation in creating valuable experiences together. By employing this approach, companies cause customers to feel a sense of belonging to the brand and develop loyalty towards the brand (France et al., 2015; Setiyati & Wijaya, 2015; Du Plessis et al., 2015; Twrsnick, 2016; Kauffman et al., 2016). Previous research has shown that the personal characteristics and traits of entrepreneurs have an impact on their success and the success of their startup companies. Therefore, knowledge and experience play a significant role in branding, and many entrepreneurs have been able to use their previous knowledge and experience to pave the way for their future (Carvalho, 2007; Juntunen, 2012; Tavares, 2015; Lagerstedt & Mademlis, 2016; Twrsnick, 2016; Giannopoulos et al., 2021). The role of entrepreneurs in guiding and integrating the branding approach in startup companies has been emphasized in previous studies, which can be achieved in line with the innovation of entrepreneurs (Spence & Essoussi, 2008; Payne et al., 2009; Tavares, 2015; Setiyati & Wijaya, 2015; Twrsnick, 2016; Giannopoulos et al., 2021). Hence, it is advisable for entrepreneurs to place significant emphasis on networking and bolstering their social networks, as well as improving communication with their customers, to foster increased and superior engagement with them, and ideally, to capitalize on enhanced brand credibility. In this regard, startup firms can enhance and expedite their brand acceptance process by encouraging customers to partake in and collaborate on the branding process through co-creation. Moreover, considering the frequent reiteration of brand identity in numerous studies, it is recommended that startup company executives devote greater attention to establishing and reinforcing brand identity in the minds of customers.
: Brand, Branding, Co-Creation, Start-Up, Meta-Synthesis
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