The underlying dimensions of brand orientation and its impact on financial performance

This research responds to the need for an increased understanding of brand orientation and its impact on financial performance. Since brand orientation is often perceived as a somewhat elusive concept we here present a theoretical framework for the purpose of identifying the underlying dimensions of brand orientation from a holistic perspective. Based on this framework we have performed a study on Sweden's 500 largest companies, aimed at analysing how brand oriented these companies are and how that degree of brand orientation influences their financial performance. In our analysis we have identified eight dimensions that can be seen as the anatomy of brand orientation. The analysis also provides empirical evidence of a significant positive relationship between brand orientation and profitability, showing that the most brand-oriented companies in this study have almost double the profitability of the least brand-oriented companies. © 2011 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1350-23IX.