Investigating the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and iconic branding in South Africa's food retailing industry : a consumer perspective

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate, from the perspective of consumers, the relationship between iconic branding (IB) and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of an iconic food retail chain store in South Africa. The study adopted a positivist philosophy, quantitative research methodology and case study design. It was also informed by the resource-based and stakeholder theories based on a view in the literature that an outside-in consumer perspective of a business is a fundamental yet undervalued entrepreneurial resource. Therefore, the study hypothesised, as posited in the reviewed literature, that there is a positive relationship between a brand’s IB and EO. To address the research study’s objectives, the researcher collected data from probable consumers of the brand of interest (BOI) using an online questionnaire administered to a random sample of respondents.

The study’s empirical findings largely supported the alternative hypotheses by indicating that consumers perceived a statistically significant difference between the brand’s IB and EO. The overall implication of these findings for business managers and policy formulators is that contrary to what is suggested in the extant literature, (1) consumers do not associate a brand’s IB with its EO, (2) iconic brands do not effectively leverage their IB sub-constructs (brand story, identity value and culture) to reflect their EO sub-constructs (innovativeness, risk taking and proactiveness) and vice versa, and (3) gender does not play a statistically significant role in how respondents perceive the relationship between a brand’s IB and EO. Furthermore, while the study found that males and females agreed that there was no relationship between the IB and EO of the BOI, males and females differed in their perceptions of only the IB and only the EO of the brand. This last finding implies that different marketing and policy formulation strategies should be adopted for males and females when building the IB or EO of an entity. Therefore, it is recommended that brand managers seeking to foster consumer awareness of the relationship between IB and EO should adopt differentiated strategies based on categorical variables, such as males and females.

Furthermore, the study found no statistically significant difference between physical store and online shoppers’ perceptions of IB and EO. Therefore, in practical terms, marketing and policy strategies to promote the IB or EO of a brand are likely to yield similar results regardless of whether the target market requires physical or online engagement.