July, 2016
Sandra Challita et al., « Linking ownership structure and branding strategy to financial performance and stability: case of French wine cooperatives », HALSHS : archive ouverte en Sciences de l’Homme et de la Société, ID : 10670/1.aljes7
This research explores the impact of branding on financial performance of a firm while taking into account its ownership structure. Using the decisional theory, we apply a normative approach to better explain the incentives and constraints of branding in two types of firms: Cooperatives and Investor Owned Firms (IOFs). We adopt a quantitative analysis, using a survey of 207 French firms in the wine sector, combing its data with financial information. We show that cooperatives are more constrained to brand, therefore, they invest more in collective branding whereas IOFs are more likely to invest in specific branding. Additionally, we find that branded firms have lower financial and commercial performance. Finally, we find that the main factor contributing to the stability of financial performance is the cooperative ownership structure rather than the creation of a brand.