外文翻譯--小企業(yè)服務(wù)品牌建設(shè)活動在瑞典房地產(chǎn)公司的定性研究

1、<p>　　中文9400字,5600單詞，2.9萬英文字符</p><p>　　出處： Gustav Hägg and Niklas Jonsson. Brand building activities in Small Service Firms: A Qualitative Study on Swedish Real Estate Firms[D]. Sweden. Halmstad Sc

2、hool of Business and Engineering, Halmstad University,2010</p><p>　　Brand building activities in Small Service Firms: A Qualitative Study on Swedish Real Estate Firms</p><p>　　Gustav Hägg,

3、Niklas Jonsson</p><p>　　Halmstad School of Business and Engineering, Halmstad University, Sweden</p><p>　　Key words Branding, Organizational identity, Reputation, Small Firms, Service industry

4、</p><p>　　Abstract Brand building is a highly researched phenomenon when it comes to large enterprises in product oriented industries. However, when it comes to small firms and especially the service indus

5、try branding is a relatively new topic. This article explores the field of</p><p>　　small service firms and their efforts in building their brand. The starting point rests on the creation of an organizationa

6、l identity which is the values and beliefs that concurrently creates the foundation for the firm′s internal procedures. The purpose of this study is to get an understanding on how small service firms build their brand. T

7、herefore, this article uses a qualitative approach with multiple cases with responding</p><p>　　firms ranging from 2 to 12 employees. This was done in the effort of finding patterns on how brand building is

8、conducted in small service firms. The findings shows that brand building is an important aspect that small service firms place great efforts on</p><p>　　Small firms</p><p>　　According to Berthon

9、 et al. (2008) small and medium size enterprises are highly important in the society due to their contribution to the gross domestic product, national employment, and export performance to a country. Small firms are repr

10、esenting a majority of the firms in the market, for instance 98.2 percent of the European companies are to be found within the criteria of small to</p><p>　　medium sized enterprises, which means that small f

11、irms with all respect can be seen as the engine of Europe. In order to stay competitive, the need for small firms to build a strong corporate identity to take a position in market, to present themselves towards customers

12、 through a strong and consistent brand identity, is of vital importance. With a strong identity small firms can signal its business intentions, and also create an image that is accepted and appreciated by the customers.&

13、lt;/p><p>　　Small firms can be characterized as organizations that are managed by its owner(s) in a personalized way with a relatively small share of the market in economic terms (Abimbola and Kocak, 2007). The

14、 organizational structure of small firms tends to be flat, which leads to a flexible structure and more</p><p>　　open information flow (Ghobadian and Gallear, 1997). This in turn leads to an information proc

15、ess that is less complex and easier to manage than in larger companies. However, according to Ghobadian and Gallear (1997) the major disadvantage for a small firm is resource scarceness as they often lack specialist know

16、ledge and financial capital. Therefore, the task of managing the corporate identity is bundled and anchored with the entrepreneur/founder/owner manager who holds a key or unifying positi</p><p>　　organizatio

17、nal identity, and reputation, call for a holistic brand management approach that is better suited to entrepreneurs and small to medium sized firms than to large companies.</p><p><b>　　Branding</b>

18、;</p><p>　　Branding is about adding a higher emotional meaning to a product or service, and thereby increase the value to customers and other stakeholders (Bergstrom, Blumenthal and Crothers, 2002). For many

19、 organizations building strong brands has become an important issue since it yields a number of marketing advantages and increases companies’ competitive strength (Ojasalo, Nätti and Olkkonen,</p><p>　　

20、2008). Keller (1993, pp. 3) defines brand image as “perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brand associations held in consumer memory”. These associations consist of attributes, benefits and attitudes that custome

21、rs have towards the brand. The brand image should be derived from the brand identity, which is based on a thorough understanding of the firm’s customers, competitors, and business environment (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2

22、000). This is further discussed by Ghodeswar (2008), who arg</p><p>　　wants to express when conducting brand related activities.</p><p>　　Organizational Identity</p><p>　　Brand buil

23、ding is influenced by the organizational identity and therefore, the process of building a brand should have its roots from the values, mission and vision of the organization. By aligning the brand with the organizationa

24、l identity the enterprise will obtain a more unified picture of the company in the minds of both customers and other stakeholders. According to Kay (2006) the corporate identity should consistently relate to what is cent

25、ral to the organization, and these should support </p><p>　　Reputation</p><p>　　Creating a strong brand identity, that is well understood and experienced by the customers, helps in developing tr

26、ust, which in turn, results in differentiating the brand from competition, which leads to the creation of brand personality and a reputation of the brand (Ghodeswar, 2008). Reputation is presented to our reality by other

27、s, and is formed on the foundation of direct and indirect experiences(Dolphin 2004). According to Dolphin (2004) the corporate reputation is representing the judgment</p><p><b>　　Summary</b></

28、p><p>　　The main findings in the literature review are that branding and the creation of a strong brand lies in the ability of aligning the corporate identity with the brand image. By concentrating the focus on

29、 the internal organization when creating the corporate brand the enterprise will gain a lot of favors in</p><p>　　return. It is much easier for a customer to relate to a unified enterprise compared to an ent

30、erprise that communicates mixed messages. This is an advantage for small firms due to their size meaning that they have a less complicated task in creating a unified brand image that is anchored in the corporate identity

31、. Also their locality is an advantage since they know the home market and can serve the customers on a more personalized way.</p><p>　　The purpose of the literature review was to summarize current research o

32、n brand building in relation to small firms. Our review indicates that, there is still not much known about how small firms in the service sector organize and carry out brand building activities. Current research is prim

33、arily based on</p><p>　　studies of large MNEs and the extent to which existing concepts and models can be used also for small firms in the service sector is still an open question. Therefore, we will conduct

34、 an empirical study to address this subject.</p><p>　　Case selection</p><p>　　This research will consist of three cases. The cases were chosen within the same line of business to control the org

35、anizational context, however, by using multiple cases this research will get a wider scope, meaning that a deeper understanding of the small service firm context will be reached. The three companies were also chosen due

36、to the difference in size ranging from two employees up to twelve employees. This was done in effort for detecting if size affects the creation of the brand, and to</p><p>　　Table 1: Description of the respo

37、ndents</p><p>　　As this study employs an exploratory approach, semi-structured interviews were chosen as the best form of interview. This is supported by Yin (1994) who argues that interviews are one of the

38、most important sources when conducting a case study. The semi-structured interview is a good alternative since the interviewees have the possibility to speak freely and the interviewer’s are able to add questions during

39、the interview to take hold of the moment. The cases in the research consisted of real est</p><p>　　To ensure high validity in the interview guide, it was pre-tested on one company before it was used on the a

40、ctual respondents. After pre-testing, the interview guide was revised and simplified so the interviewees could get a better understanding of the meanings from the questions (see appendix). Besides interviews, company web

41、-sites as well as additional information that was received during the interviews where used as empirical data. The owner/entrepreneur was identified as the person with most</p><p>　　Empirical findings: Brand

42、 characteristics of small service firms</p><p>　　The findings from the respondents emphasize that brand building is a mean for companies to present themselves towards the external environment and to create a

43、 higher emotional meaning of the company in their relations with customers and other important actors. In line with the literature, it is evident that brand building is an important issue for organizations since it has b

44、een proven that it yields a number of marketing advantages and increases companies’ competitive strength (Ojasalo et al., </p><p>　　By managing the meaning of the brand the organization creates an opportunit

45、y for the management to build a strong brand strategy that is directed towards customers and other stakeholders (Kay,2006). There are different approaches to managing the meaning of the brand and the three cases shows th

46、at even though they are all small service firms, they have an understanding about the importance of sending a unified message. This is created internally through a variety of team building activities. With</p><

47、;p>　　Table 2: The three aspects derived from the empirical findings</p><p>　　Strategic Aspects</p><p>　　In this research a number of important characteristics have emerged during the empirica

48、l analysis that have an impact on how small service firms conduct and build both their organizational identity and their brand. The first issue derived from the empirical analysis is the strategic aspects which include:&

49、lt;/p><p>　　? High service level – to make sure to deliver what the customer expects with a high quality</p><p>　　? Professionalism – the expert characteristic of the company’s employees</p>

50、<p>　　? Consistency – harmonious uniformity, fulfillment of a message in relation to performance</p><p>　　? Durability – the endurance of the company, to build on long-term orientation</p><p

51、>　　? Selectivity – to be consistent in the business, be honest and understand limitations</p><p>　　? Versatility – to overcome changes in the environment through an open mind</p><p>　　These f

52、actors could if managed well lead to a positive recognition and image of the firm in the long run. When going through the three respondents it is evident that there are differences, which are apparent when looking at the

53、 size and how it affects the way of building and working with both the organizational identity and brand image. High service level and professionalism are characteristics that all are keen on upholding when building the

54、firms identity, which is then displayed in their bran</p><p>　　“Our brand shall be seen as a little bit more expensive, which makes the customer want more,</p><p>　　that little extra, that is wh

55、at we strive for, that our customers shall expect something more for their</p><p>　　extra money spent by hiring us. …the customer shall feel exclusivity when they turn to us instead</p><p>　　of

56、somebody else.”</p><p>　　– Respondent B</p><p>　　“We stand for exclusivity, demanding clients, aware of the presence and successful. We have a</p><p>　　niche that is hard for compet

57、itors to get in on. If you want to trade up in this business it is us the</p><p>　　people want to come to.”</p><p>　　– Respondent A</p><p>　　To display the company, and especially t

58、he brand name, an important aspect is to present a unified picture towards the customers. This leads to consistency and durability, which the respondents have split opinions about, and it is mainly between respondent C w

59、hich only has two people in the organization and the other two respondents, where differences appear. This is because of the fact that respondent C has been working alone and has not put any direct thoughts in the import

60、ance of consistency </p><p>　　“And also the fact that we have hold on to our niche that we focused on from the start is a</p><p>　　contributing fact as I believe for our success. You have to be

61、consistent in your actions and not</p><p>　　change track all the time, which will hurt more in the long run.” – Respondent A</p><p>　　“…it is not until just recently that we have started to work

62、 with building up visions and goals for</p><p>　　the company. This is much because of the increase in employees who has come with</p><p>　　suggestions and inputs in the importance of having goal

63、s. We try to get some structure in the</p><p>　　company today, and that is something that has been neglected in the past.” – Respondent C</p><p>　　By being consistent in the marketing activities

64、 all three firms believe that they create a solid image and the image is also built as an aim to increase the recognition of the firm.</p><p>　　Emotional Aspects</p><p>　　The second part address

65、es the more emotional aspects of the firm. It is focused on the emotional relationship between the organization and its customers. This part contains:</p><p>　　? Integrity – the morale aspects of the employe

66、es and company itself</p><p>　　? Openness – the actions and purposes of the employees, the attitude of accessibility</p><p>　　? Honesty – the attitude towards the truth</p><p>　　? R

67、espect – having an aspect to something, accept the privacy of the customers</p><p>　　? Heritage – to keep, maintain and evolve the true values of the company</p><p>　　These factors are important

68、 characteristics that have been influencing the respondents in the attempt to reach a favorable reputation and a competitive advantage. Building a brand is not just a matter of conducting various types of marketing activ

69、ities. What is as important as the marketing activities is how you work with building up the organization, as well as making sure that everyone inside the organization delivers a unified picture of the company. By buildi

70、ng an organizational identity the</p><p>　　“… we want to be known as a serious company, that stands for security and closeness, which we</p><p>　　see as strength. The personality is very importa

71、nt for us as a small firm, that we have close</p><p>　　connections to our customers. … The identity is built on the personalities within the company and</p><p>　　it gives us a competitive advant

72、age against our competitors” – Respondent C</p><p>　　The how is important because it will decide in what ways your company will be seen in the eyes of the customers. To stress emotional aspects like integrit

73、y – to always keep a high level of morale towards customers – creates a feeling of respect as well as honesty. This can build a positive image of the company which will help in the creation of the brand, and can also in

74、the long run lead to a positive reputation. This positive reputation can then be used as a competitive advantage when competin</p><p>　　“It is very important that our employees behave in a good manner in all

75、 possible situations even</p><p>　　when they are not working they are representing the company. The identity is built on both the</p><p>　　company and on our employees and how they act.” – Respo

76、ndent B</p><p>　　As Dolphin (2004) stressed, everything that a company does, and does not do, has a direct impact on the reputation. The emotional bonds create strong links between the customers and the comp

77、any, meaning that the relationship on a personal level is of great importance. The acting, and personality, of the employee thereby becomes highly important to the organization.</p><p>　　Organizational Aspec

78、ts</p><p>　　The third and last part concerns general problems that the small service firm’s are presented with as they grow, and these are relating to the structure of the organization, and how it influences

79、 the decision process within the firm. This decision process have an influence on how brand building activities are created, since the structure of the decision process affects the number of people involved in decisions

80、around the brand. In this part the following factors are concerned:</p><p>　　? Financial Resources – the financial support needed, when it is needed</p><p>　　? Know-how – the skills of the emplo

81、yees, explicit and tacit knowledge</p><p>　　? Creativity – the ability to think in a innovative manner</p><p>　　? Structure – the overall form of the organization, the channels of communication&

82、lt;/p><p>　　These factors will be discussed as a mean for building a strong brand. The empirical findings together with previous research propose that resources have been argued to be a scarcity when performing

83、 branding activities in small firms. However, resources are not the main issue; it is how you make use of the existing resources in your positioning of the brand that are more important. In the empirical findings there a

84、re evidences that small firms are able of communicating their brand image through </p><p>　　“We do not see it as a limitation on the local market. We have good resources for displaying</p><p>　　

85、ourselves locally and we feel satisfied with our marketing activities.” – Respondent B</p><p>　　Even though the financial resources are scarce, the firms experience that they have the know-how they need in t

86、heir efforts of creating a strong brand image, an image that is derived from the organizational identity. By always attempting to make sure to test new employees, manage them to interact in the small homogeneous group th

87、at exist in the small firm, they are able to continue to build a solid organization that has a common goal, and vision, for the future.</p><p>　　By building a unified organization the firms create a team-spi

88、rit which is a vital part when creating brand activities since it is related to creativity. Because, if more people are involved in the creation of brand activities, more creativity is available in the sense of more inpu

89、ts – if the involved persons are given the freedom to speak their mind. This is very important to bear in mind. If the employees feel that they have the trust from the management they are more able to produce creative &l

90、t;/p><p>　　“We have left the small firm segment and today we work more like a large organization, this is</p><p>　　seen in our structure of the firm which has more resemblance with a large organiza

91、tion than a</p><p>　　small organic firm. The decision process has shifted during the years from the collective to a more</p><p>　　hierarchical style.” – Respondent A</p><p>　　“We ar

92、e still in a stage where we work in an organic manner where all persons involved in the</p><p>　　organization are involved in the decision process when creating and building brand activities.” –</p>&

93、lt;p>　　Respondent B</p><p>　　“Both me and my employee have equal say in the decision process and are part of all decisions</p><p>　　that are made. Since we are quite small our decision proces

94、s is very quick which makes us very</p><p>　　adaptable when the market changes.” – Respondent C</p><p>　　These statements from the respondents can be seen as a picture of how firms changes as th

95、ey grow,it is also a support for how the decision process when building the company brand moves from being a collective task – where all employees in the organization are involved in creating ideas on how to build a unif

96、ied image – to becoming a more structured and management task. Even if all three companies are considered to be small they have very different structures that have limitations and advantages </p><p>　　“Durin

97、g the last couple of years we have lost ground when it comes to creativity in our marketing</p><p>　　activities and we want to become more creative, but for the moment our resources are limiting us.”</p&g

98、t;<p>　　– Respondent A</p><p>　　As the organization grow the decision process changes from involving all in the organization to just involve the top management. Since company A has grown quite a lot a

99、nd as they say it has left the small segment, some patterns could be drawn to organizational structure and how that inflicts on the creativity.</p><p>　　Conceptual Model</p><p>　　Based on the fa

100、ctors derived from the recent study which can be seen in table two, the authors concluded a conceptual model. The first part is the organizational aspects, which will set the limit for possibilities within the firm. This

101、 is related to the strategies that the firm can apply when developing, and maintaining, brand related activities. The second aspect is the emotional aspects which is related to the employees of the firm, the employees th