Moving from service dominant to solution dominant brand innovation
| Date | 23 August 2011 |
| Pages | 394-401 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/10610421111157919 |
| Published date | 23 August 2011 |
| Author | Frank Franzak,Dennis Pitta |
| Subject Matter | Marketing |
Moving from service dominant to solution
dominant brand innovation
Frank Franzak
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA, and
Dennis Pitta
University of Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Abstract
Purpose – The paper aims to track the development of service dominant logic (SDL) applied to brand management and highlights its essential
elements. The paper attempts to extend the application of SDL to a form thatmakes the consumer part of the development process, a solution dominant
approach.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews the literature and suggests how brand managers can use service concepts, based on service-
dominance logic, to develop their new and differentiated products. The key is the relationship that customers develop with products,not the providers
of those products, and how technology contributes to these linkages. This view, termed solution dominant, extends service dominant thinking. The
paper also elaborates on the events and developments that have moved product development more firmly in the direction of relationships. Finally,it re-
examines some of the techniques that product developers use from a relationship perspective.
Findings – The relationship is the most important element in brand management. Relationships can take many forms based on the partners. While
brand managers have traditionally focused on the relationship of the consumer with the brand, other relationships exist and are important. The internet
has made it possible for consumer-to-consumer relationships to flourish. That presents both a challenge and opportunity for brand managers. Finally,an
impending technological change reveals the potential importance of another relationship, consumer to thing (like a software application) which can
build a bond, a relationship, between the consumer and a brand. The last logical possibility, thing-to-thing relationships already exist and their
importance to brand managers is covered.
Practical implications – Service dominant logic and a focus on relationships has already been applied to brand management with success. It helps to
refine the practice of branding. Consideration of a solution dominant logic, may help refine the practice further.
Originality/value – While service dominant logic has been applied to brand management, solution dominant logic, in which the consumer is part of
the product/service design process has not been.
Keywords Brands, Innovation, Brand management
Paper type Conceptual paper
An executive summary for managers and executive
readers can be found at the end of this article.
Introduction
The next era of marketing is upon us and it is bringing
together developments and challenges that present a perfect
storm of opportunity for brand managers. Marketing theor y
has triggered the market orientation culture, with its renewed
focus on customers, at the same time marketing managers
have redefined the meaning of a brand. Similarly,
technological developments that customize experience and
that revolutionize communication are moving forward at a
rapid pace. The rise of engaged consumers and the growth of
social media represent both opportunities and challenges to
brand managers.
Since the 1970s, marketers have broadened the nature and
scope of their field by embracing exchange as the fundamental
principle permeating all transactions (Bagozzi, 1975). With
this broadened view, prior emphasis on economic utility gave
way to recognition of symbols as mechanisms for
differentiation of products in competitive marketplaces. This
shift eventually led to focus on relational exchanges, which
extend traditional product boundaries, are ongoing, and can
take place among multiple parties, throughout the value
chain. The simultaneous evolution of services marketing, with
emphasis on actions, procedures, and events, fit neatly into
this paradigm. A product that was entirely or primarily an
ephemeral outcome (or series of outcomes) could be
designed, communicated, valued and delivered. In their
seminal article on service dominant logic (SDL), Vargo and
Lusch (2004) took the thinking of services as products to an
insightful conclusion, proposing that all market offerings have
a service dimension. That candy bar, a cup of coffee, and your
bicycle all have non-tangible attributes. The candy wrapper
can have sustainable properties, the coffee enjoyed in the
comfort of your local Starbucks, and the bike contains
memories as several children learn to ride on it. Combining
SDL and exchange prin ciples meant that making a nd
marketing a physical good was no longer the major purpose
for which a company existed. The long-run satisf action of
customers was, and that would rely on multiple touchpoints
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1061-0421.htm
Journal of Product & Brand Management
20/5 (2011) 394–401
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]
[DOI 10.1108/10610421111157919]
394
To continue reading
Request your trial