品牌定位市场营销外文文献翻译2014年译文3000多字(4)

exhibited lower levels of brand orientation than larger ones. In this study, the size of the company was measured both in terms of turnover and number of employees (Baumgarth, 2010).

Wong and Merrilees (2005) provide an explanation as to why smaller companies tend to be less brand oriented than larger ones; that is, smaller companies have a lower level of brand orientation than larger ones because they perceive that they have neither the time nor the resources to conduct branding activities. The authors (Wong &Merrilees, 2005, p.156) note that numerous studies "have identified many SMEs failing to fully invest in most business assets, including advertising, information technology and training, and to perceive such investments as costs instead."

In another study by Krake (2005), qualitative research was conducted with 10 mostly medium sized companies. Just over half of the companies studied admitted that they "do something about brand management" and, following clarification of the research question, three maintained that brand management had no part in their daily or weekly operations (Krake, 2005, p.230). Krake (2005) further found that other than the directors/owners, no one within these organizations was specifically concerned with brand management, nor was it widely discussed or communicated. Krake (2005) concludes that in many SME companies, brand management receives little or no attention in the daily run of affairs. Although the owners or directors of SMEs are the ones to take the lead in this area, they either seldom have the time for it or are not even aware of "brand management" as a concept (Krake, 2005).

Based on the research findings of Baumgarth (2010), Krake (2005), and Wong and Merrilees (2005), it seems that smaller companies are less brand-oriented than larger ones. This leads to the following research proposition.

PI: The size of the company has a positive effect on the company's level of brand orientation. Brand Barriers

Perhaps related to the size of the company is the construct of brand barriers identified by Wong and Merrilees (2005). 'Brand barriers' refer to obstacles that hinder smaller firms in particular in carrying out business activities based on the brand. The obstacles primarily involve limitations on financial and human resources, as well as time (Krake, 2005, Wong &Merrilees,