Topic Introduction
In the last ten years, substantial research has been conducted on the role of branding for service companies. Four of them were selected for their insights and analyzed. All of them contain explicitly or implicitly such central themes and terms as branding, brand image, brand equity, business performance, and customer experience.
Research Summary and Comparison
Erkmen & Hanser vs. Jeong & Kubikova
Erkmen and Hanser (2015) examine how certain professional behaviors of hospital employees, namely the brand citizenship one, positively influence the perception of guests. Jeong and Kubikova (2021) explore how hotel branding through high-end and luxury bathroom amenities brands, together with sustainable packaging, improves the customer experience and the overall brand image of hotels. While Erkmen and Hanser’s study has no contradictions or weaknesses, Jeong and Kubikova’s academic paper does. They mention, “the results of this study cannot be generalized due to its convenience sample and the experimental study design” (Jeong and Kubikova, 2021, p. 579). Aside from that, both studies have a logical and well-thought-out study design, claims supported by existing and original evidence, and thoroughly discussed topics and phenomena, which makes them valid and credible.
Fan, Hsu & Liu vs. Mai & Nguyen
Many studies on the criticality of branding for the hospital and beauty industries have been carried out in the Eastern economic region. Researchers focus on broad and specific topics, such as brand identity transformation and website quality. Fan, Hsu, and Liu (2023) argue that significant strengthening of intangible and tangible areas of the hotel business can be achieved via the building of brand identity with the help of social capital. It is worth mentioning that their research was done in the context of Chinese hospital competency markets. It makes the practical implications of this work a little less valid and effective in other cultural and geographical settings, as the nature of social capital varies from country to country.
Mai and Nguyen (2021, p. 781) reveal that “website quality has a positive impact on customers’ brand impressions and perceived quality towards beauty salons.” The last two, being positively influenced, strengthen their brand and customer loyalty (Mai and Nguyen, 2021). No contradictions were found in their work, and both of the academic papers discussed provide significant evidence, consistency, and enough relevant information.
Reference List
Erkmen, E. and Hancer, M. (2015) ‘“Do your internal branding efforts measure up?” Consumers’ response to brand supporting behaviors of hospitality employees’, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(5), pp. 878-895. Web.
Fan, D. X., Hsu, C. H. and Liu, A. X. (2023) ‘Transforming brand identity to hotel performance: The moderating effect of social capital.’ Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 47(7), 1270-1298. Web.
Jeong, M. and Kubickova, M. (2021) ‘Do the brand and packaging matter? The case of hotel bathroom amenities’, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, 4(5), pp. 565-581. Web.
Mai, V. and Nguyen, Q. (2021) ‘The importance of website quality to brand loyalty: The case study of beauty salons in Vietnam’, International Journal of Data and Network Science, 5(4), 775-784. Web.
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