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2021/2022  KAN-CBCMO1013U  Brand Strategy and Business Processes

English Title
Brand Strategy and Business Processes

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Quarter
Start time of the course Autumn, First Quarter
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for MSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Richard Jones - Department of Marketing (Marketing)
Main academic disciplines
  • Communication
  • Marketing
  • Strategy
Teaching methods
  • Blended learning
Last updated on 18-06-2021

Relevant links
Learning objectives
This course develops students’ ability to define and develop the strategic relevance of brands and branding in relation to key organizational processes in order to drive company growth and profitability. At the end of the course, students should be able to:
  • Identify and define key internal and external assets and capabilities that underpin the brand and discuss how they contribute to the development of the brand
  • Identify and describe strategic issues for a chosen organization that the brand can help address
  • Critically discuss the role the brand plays in relation to key business processes using relevant models and concepts
  • Identify key management constraints to implementing a consistent branding perspective across the organisation and suggest strategies for ameliorating them
  • Identify key stakeholders inside and outside the organization and their contribution to the achievement of strategic brand objectives
  • Discuss how to manage relationships with key stakeholders inside and outside the organization to ensure their positive engagement
Examination
Brand Strategy and Business Processes:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Size of written product Max. 10 pages
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration 72 hours to prepare
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Autumn
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

This course introduces students to the strategic aspects of branding and brand management from a business process perspective. When managed properly, brands can be the driving force of organizational and market transformation by providing a common meaning and purpose across diverse, multiple stakeholders both outside and inside the organization.

 

This requires brand leadership that operates at the strategic level in the organization, where brand managers have a deep understanding of innovation and change processes on the one hand, and brand leadership skills on the other.

 

The course will develop students’ understanding of the relationship between innovation and change processes in an organizational context and the role of brand in driving and directing these change processes to develop the business.

 

The course will firstly identify key foundational concepts relating to: innovation and change processes; defining the brand platform, including corporate brand identity and managing relationships with key strategic stakeholders, including customers.

Secondly it will focus on applying this knowledge in the context of real cases. This part of the course develops students’ skills in identifying and defining strategic issues that the brand can address and develops key analytical, critical and creative skills necessary to drive business development using the brand.

 

Aim of the course:

 

The purpose of this course is to understand and critically reflect on the central role of branding in driving business success. In the 21st Century as the very nature of work is being redefined, successful companies are those that have brand purpose at their core. Employees demand meaningful workplaces, customers demand meaningful and purposeful brands with which they can connect and show affinity with, suppliers and distributors look for stable and reliable business partners that reflect their own core values and purpose. Investors look to minimize their risks and maximize their earnings by focusing on firms that are trustworthy and can be long terms partners.
Description of the teaching methods
This course is delivered in a blended learning format. That is, we combine online material and lectures with in-class discussions and workshops. Blended learning (the mix of online and offline platforms) creates a powerful learning environment for students, which we intend to use to its fullest potential. The course consists of online materials, online activities (e.g. online discussion forum, and/or peer graded assignments), and on-campus group work and in-class discussion. The class is highly interactive both online and offline with a corresponding expectation that students engage in these interactions.

Leaning is facilitated using cased-based teaching. Students will be introduced to working with cases as a pedagogical tool for own and group learning. Core concepts and their application are explored through the use of these cases. Cases will be taken from a variety of contexts so that students explore brand strategy in the context of start-ups, SME's and LO's.
Feedback during the teaching period
In order to boost the students’ quality of learning the course incorporates a number of feedback forms both teacher to student, student to student as well as reflections on learning.

A key part of the course is to enable students to get needed feedback throughout the course both during classes and reading through the curriculum. Students will be presenting their work in plenaries and in smaller learning groups both in-class and online. Peer review and flipped class techniques enable students to receive feedback on their ideas and understanding of core theories and model as well as application of these theories and models to cases.

Critical reflection on own and group learning is a central part of this course and will be integrated into teaching activities throughout the course.
Student workload
Lectures 33 hours
Preparation for the workshops 33 hours
Readings and preparation for the exam 140 hours
Expected literature

Abbing, E. R., & van Gessel, C. (2010). Brand-Driven Innovation, Design Thinking, T. Lockwood, ed.

 

Ayuso, S., Rodriguez, M. A., & Ricart, J. E. (2006). Responsible competitiveness at the ‘‘micro’’level of the firm: Using stakeholder dialogue as a source for new ideas: A dynamic capability underlying sustainable innovation. Corporate Governance, 6(4), 475-490.

 

Beverland, M. B., Napoli, J., & Farrelly, F. (2010). Can all brands innovate in the same way? A typology of brand position and innovation effort. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 27(1), 33-48.

 

Cohen, W. M., & Levinthal, D. A. (1990). Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative science quarterly, 128-152.

 

Gebauer, H., Worch, H., & Truffer, B. (2012). Absorptive capacity, learning processes and combinative capabilities as determinants of strategic innovation. European Management Journal, 30(1), 57-73.

 

Keller, K. L. (2014). Designing and implementing brand architecture strategies. Journal of Brand Management, 21(9), 702-715.

 

Koch, C. H., & Gyrd-Jones, R. I. (2019). Corporate brand positioning in complex industrial firms: Introducing a dynamic, process approach to positioning. Industrial Marketing Management, 81, 40-53.

 

Lewin, A. Y., Massini, S., & Peeters, C. (2011). Microfoundations of internal and external absorptive capacity routines. Organization science, 22(1), 81-98.

 

Hillebrand, B., Driessen, P. H., & Koll, O. (2015). Stakeholder marketing: Theoretical foundations and required capabilities. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(4), 411-428.

 

Iglesias, O., & Ind, N. (2020). Towards a theory of conscientious corporate brand co-creation: the next key challenge in brand management. Journal of Brand Management, 1-11.

 

Matanda, T., & Ewing, M. T. (2012). The process of global brand strategy development and regional implementation. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 29(1), 5-12.

 

Urde, M. (2013). The corporate brand identity matrix. Journal of Brand Management, 20(9), 742-761.

 

Vallaster, C., & Lindgreen, A. (2011). Corporate brand strategy formation: Brand actors and the situational context for a business-to-business brand. Industrial Marketing Management, 40(7), 1133-1143.
Last updated on 18-06-2021