A PROPOSED COMPREHENSIVE MODEL FOR BRAND ORIENTATION IN SERVICE SECTOR: EVIDENCES FROM AIRLINES

Brand Orientation has been recently introduced as a viable way to conduct the branding process. The main concern for introducing this concept is to measure how an organization should control and conduct its internal activities to develop a sustained strong brand. The present research aimed at recognizing the indexes of brand orientation in service organizations and discussing their effects on creating a competitive advantage for a service organization and developing a strong service brand.150 experts and managers of the business and marketing units of Airlines were chosen to attend the current project by filling out the pre designed questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using structural equation modelling. The results indicate that brand orientation indexes in service organizations including brand symbolization, Brand Identity, internal marketing and implementation of integrated marketing communications, lead to a strong service brand development and differentiation from competitors in the marketplace. Furthermore attitudes of senior managers to brand orientation as an investment approach affects their participation in branding process thus it provides a situation for brand orientation improvement in the organization. According to this research, Competitive advantage and differentiation from competitors are attained as a result of developing a strong service brand.