Journal of Business Research 67 (2014) 22412242

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Business Research

Global design, marketing and branding: Introduction to the special issue

The relationship between marketing and design has a long heritage

(see, e.g. Bloch, 1995; Kotler & Rath, 1984). Research studies demonstrate that visual design stimuli are well-established drivers of consumer behavior (Giese, Malkewitz, Orth, & Henderson, 2014; Raz et al.,
2008). Notwithstanding the centrality of design to the practical world
of marketing, two decades ago Bloch asserted that empirical studies
of design issues are rare in marketing journals (Bloch, 1995). Luchs
and Swan repeated that assertion in 2011 (Luchs & Swan, 2011). Design
determines marketplace success, [but] its prominence continues to lag
in the domain of academic marketing (Bloch, 2011). For the convenience of researchers, consumer preference and the design of products
are usually addressed separately, whereas for optimal (marketingorientated) decisions they need to be brought together (Michalek,
Feinberg, & Papalambros, 2005). Integrating design and marketing
should lead to competitive advantages (Kang, Kim, & Park, 2007).
Published research tends to focus on the marketing implications of
specic aspects of design such as product (e.g. Seva, Duh, & Helander,
2007) and product line design (Luo, 2011). Studies on other aspects
such as experience design (e.g. Alcntara, Artacho, Martnez, & Zamo,
2014); urban design (e.g. De Nisco & Warnaby, 2014); and website
design (e.g. Rosen & Purinton, 2004) are rarer and research into broader
aspects of the links between design and marketing is sparse (Giese et al.,
2014; Park, Eisingerich, Pol, & Park, 2013).
The guest editors hosted the inaugural 1st International Colloquium
on Global Design and Marketing in Lincoln, UK in December 2011, aiming
to address important research gaps. Following the symposium, authors
further developed their research and this special issue comprises the
best papers. The symposium and this special issue include a number
of papers in which researchers attempt to bring together design, marketing and branding approaches. In particular, authors explore a wide
range of questions concerning how design inuences consumer behavior and corporate branding.
The rst paper by Ann Petermans, Anthony Kent and Koenraad Van
Cleempoel illustrates the value for retailers of bringing together design
and marketing approaches. The paper develops and champions the
use of photo-elicitation in gaining insight into customer experiences
in retail interiors. Participants enjoy photographing their environments
and being able to make their abstract ideas concrete. These photographs
are a rich source of information that constitutes can-openers or
reminders of store-related perceptions and experiences that would be
difcult to identify from traditional research approaches, demonstrating
a useful methodological contribution in the design|marketing eld.
The second paper by Charles Dennis, J. Joko Brakus, Suraksha Gupta
and Eleftherios Alamanos also concerns retail atmospherics, in this case
the role of digital signage. The authors nd that the design of brandrelated informational cues broadcast over digital in-store monitors

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2014.06.011
0148-2963/ 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

affects shoppers' information processing. Content high on sensory

cues evokes affective experience and strengthens customers' experiential processing routes. In contrast, messages that evoke intellectual experience strengthen customers' deliberative processing routes. The
affective experience is more strongly associated with their attitude towards the ad and approach behavior towards the advertiser than is
the intellectual experience.
In the third paper, Marina Fiedler and Marko Sarstedt consider online
community design and member experiences. The results demonstrate
that common identity attachment is the primary driver of user behavior
in online communities. The authors recommend that designers of online
communities that value on-topic information exchange, generalized
reciprocity norms, robustness to member turnover, and in-group loyalty
can foster common identity by creating many connection possibilities, a
positive intergroup comparison, and superior social categorization compared to other communities. On the other hand, designers of online communities that value off-topic discussion and specic reciprocity should
emphasize common bond attachment, for example, by fostering social interaction, interpersonal similarity and collectivism, offering members the
opportunity to learn more about similar interests and social interaction.
The fourth paper by Pantea Foroudi, TC Melewar and Suraksha
Gupta concerns corporate logo. The main antecedents of a favorable
logo include: corporate name, design, and typeface. The authors draw
on research by Walker (1990) to highlight differences between designers'
and managers' mindsets, for instance, managers are more inclined to
emphasize words while designers emphasize visuals (Walker, 1990). Designers are more inclined to experiment, whereas managers tend to think
more in economic and nancial terms. The ndings reveal the importance
of corporate logo design in enhancing corporate image, attitude towards
advertisements, recognizability, familiarity, and corporate reputation.
The fth paper by Kholoud Al-Qeisi, Charles Dennis, Eleftherios
Alamanos and Chanaka Jayawardhena extends the Unied Theory of
Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model, proposing website
design quality as a multidimensional construct with a higher-order
structure. As the dimensions of website design quality are interrelated,
the overall evaluation may be inuenced by a halo-effect. The implication is that improvements to the appearance design of a website should
be reected in improvements in the overall evaluation and greater
usage intention. Their modied model conceptually outperforms
previously-existing models.
In the sixth paper, J. Joko Brakus, Bernd H. Schmitt and Shi Zhang report how experiential product attributes that are part of the design of
new products can create compelling consumer experiences. Following
processing-uency theory, they nd that when consumers focus their
attention on specic experiential features, products with experiential
attributes are evaluated more positively. The authors discuss how

2242

Editorial

marketers can use experiential product and, importantly, marketing

communications design in market segmentation and innovation. The
conclusions synthesize a theme running through many of the papers
in this special issue linking marketing success to the innovative use of
non-functional, experiential design attributes.
The seventh paper by Zalfa Laili Hamzah, Sharifah Faridah Syed Alwi,
and Md Nor Othman concerns corporate brand experience, this time in
an online context. This qualitative study builds on the original brand experience conceptualization of Schmitt (1999), identifying ve themes
and associated sub-themes of corporate brand experience corporate
visual identity, functionality, emotional, corporate/self-identity and lifestyle. There are important managerial implications as companies can
address these dimensions in their strategic corporate brand positioning
and when designing their corporate brand in an online setting. Companies can, for example, ensure that their sites offer high service quality
to encourage the feeling of greater control and interactivity among
consumers, and, importantly, encourage and create usage as part of consumers' lifestyles.
In the eighth paper, Mario Burghausen and John Balmer advance understanding of corporate heritage brands and identities. A qualitative,
theory-building case study of the UK's oldest brewery reveals two classes of management responsibilities, namely corporate heritage management activities and corporate heritage implementation strategies. The
ndings are synthesized into a normative framework of dimensions
that inform the design of corporate heritage brands. Implementation
includes using visual and other design elements linking the past, present and future, for example by the use of photographs, combining and
juxtaposing old and new photographs and re-interpreting historic design elements for present day corporate and marketing communications. The use of such corporate heritage identity design elements
helps the company to make the link between past, present, and future
more explicit.
Finally, Sharifah Faridah Syed Alwi, and Philip J. Kitchen again report
the importance of an affective component (corporate brand image)
outweighing cognitive elements (of corporate brand attributes), in a different context: students' behavioral intentions towards a business
school. This paper contributes to the corporate brand and marketing
literature by evaluating the relative effects of brand attributes (which
represent educational quality i.e. the cognitive element) and brand
image (which represents affective/values). The results will help managers to dene positioning strategies. Arising from the relative importance of affective attributes, the authors suggest that marketers should
seek to address or emphasize symbolic value in the design of institutional
images for business schools, being creative, adventurous, displaying
competence and maintaining a prestigious strategy.
Starting from a point where most prior calls for research on the relationship of design and marketing concern topics related to product design, a number of the papers in this special issue extend the theme into
areas of corporate branding, reputation and identity. In other areas, in
particular concerning emerging technological marketing media, the research remains fragmented and much remains to be done.
Finally, the guest editors thank Arch W. Woodside, editor-in-chief,
for inviting this special issue and for his outstanding support and

guidance. We also thank all of the authors who submitted papers to

the colloquium and this special issue, regardless of whether their papers
were accepted. We very much appreciate the contributions in time and
expertise of the reviewers and their insights by the detailed, constructive comments that have contributed to the development of this special
issue.
References
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De Nisco, A., & Warnaby, G. (2014). Urban design and tenant variety inuences on consumers' emotions and approach behaviour. Journal of Business Research, 67, 211217.
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T.C. Melewar
The Business School, Middlesex University, London, UK
Corresponding author at: The Business School, Middlesex University,
The Burroughs, London NW4 4BT, UK.
E-mail address: t.c.melewar@mdx.ac.uk.
Charles Dennis
University of Lincoln, Lincoln Business School, UK
E-mail address: cdennis@lincoln.ac.uk.
Anthony Kent
Nottingham Trent University, UK
E-mail address: anthony.kent@ntu.ac.uk.
1 February 2014