An Empirical Study on Branding as a Predictor of Market Competitiveness: The Mediating Role of Brand Reputation

Branding, Market Competitiveness, Brand Reputation, PLS-SEM, Competitive Advantage, Brand Equity, Organizational Performance.

In today's competitive business world, branding has become a strategy which helps to distinguish an organization and maintain market position. The study aims to investigate the mediated relationship of brand reputation and the role of branding as a predictor of the competitiveness in the market. The research used a quantitative research design, and primary data were gathered from 490 respondents from Tiruchirappalli district in Tamil Nadu using structured questionnaire and convenience sampling technique. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to determine direct and indirect links between branding, brand reputation, and market competitiveness. The results showed that branding positively affects market competitiveness and brand reputation significantly affects market competitiveness. Moreover, the mediation analysis has also yielded that brand reputation plays a significant mediation role between brand and market competitiveness, which means that the organizations can improve their competitiveness if they have strong and credible brand reputation. The study concludes that integrated branding and reputation management practice can be a strategic advantage in sustaining a sustainable competitive advantage. The results are relevant for branding literature because they offer empirical evidence of the mechanisms by which branding can have an impact on the competitiveness of an organisation and provide managerial, marketing and policy implications for managers, marketers and policymakers interested in improving the long term competitiveness of organisations.