BRAND-NAMING INDUSTRIAL-PRODUCTS

Previous studies of branding either focused exclusively on consumer products or understated the incidence and importance of branding industrial products. This study indicates that branding provides powerful benefits for, and is practiced extensively by, industrial companies. This article attempts to reduce the gaps identified by presenting relevant findings drawn from samples of large and small manufacturers of industrial products. Specifically it develops and tests ten propositions concerning the perceived importance of brand names, the incidence of brand-name usage, brand-name strategies, brand naming processes, and managerial resource commitment to brand naming. Findings from large and small firms are compared and managerial implications are discussed.