Sammanfattning

Purpose

The objective of this article is to explain how brand value and sustainable development are integrated in brand assessment methods. The study focuses on explaining how methods for estimating one of the well-established corporate performance indicators, brand equity, embrace sustainable development objectives in light of epistemological development.

Design/ methodology/ approach

A thorough review of academic literature in marketing focused approaches to corporate performance assessment methods serves as a base for the analysis. An analysis of brand value in light of indicators of sustainable development was made as a comparative analysis. Methodological transparency was also given importance in the review.

Findings

Sustainability issues influence business conduct in all industrial sectors and parts of the world, especially marketing management. However, classical marketing philosophy, firmly rooted in management and economical systems, focuses on production, exchange and profit, which may not sufficiently encompass a multitude of values and stakeholder perspectives associated with sustainable development. Over time, especially from the mid-1970s, assessment methods with ‘soft value systems’ have emerged in sub-disciplines like customer behavior, business ethics, societal and ecological marketing.

Limitations

This literature review focuses on our current interpretations of what sustainable development may imply. Financial values are given priority, in part because brand value assessment methods have been developed as strategic economic measures. Social and environmental dimensions are gradually being included even if their weight in the compilation of values remain unclear.

Implications

Starting with an understanding of epistemological development in marketing shows that the field is still developing. The brand value assessment literature is filled with methods that are not entirely presented in a transparent way, which makes it hard to evaluate trustworthiness.

Contributions

This review points to a major challenge; the importance of how sustainability objectives may find grounds in a value systems, and to what degree they influence corporate performance assessments. As key strategic value dimensions for many corporation it is important that the indicators in an assessment system reflects future values for a wide set of stakeholders.

Nyckelord

Brand assessment method, brand value, sustainable development

Publicerad i

Social Business
2016, Volym: 6, nummer: 3, sidor: 219-248

SLU författare

• Pakseresht, Ashkan

  • Institutionen för ekonomi, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Mark-Herbert, Cecilia

  • Institutionen för skogens produkter, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

Globala målen

SDG9 Bygga motståndskraftig infrastruktur, verka för en inkluderande och hållbar industrialisering samt främja innovation
SDG12 Säkerställa hållbara konsumtions- och produktionsmönster


UKÄ forskningsämne

Företagsekonomi


Publikationens identifierare

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1362/204440816X14811339560857

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/79385