Explicating brand equity in the information technology sector in Vietnam

Abstract

Vietnamese IT businesses have expanded internationally and have reached a turning point with opportunities and challenges typical when establishing a global brand. To assist Vietnamese IT firms in the development of branding strategies, this study investigated the direct influences of various firm competencies, such as innovation, marketing, networking, and dynamic capabilities, on brand equity in the business-to-business (B2B) information technology (IT) industry. In addition, the study examined whether the enterprise’s capabilities indirectly affected B2B brand equity via value co-creation and customer value. By employing PLS-SEM to analyze a sample of 182 questionnaire responses from IT firms in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the study found that innovative, networking, and dynamic capabilities had a direct, positive effect on brand equity. The mediating effect of value co-creation and customer value on the association between marketing capability and brand equity was also reported. The research also recommended branding strategies for enterprises that seek to improve their internal competencies and abilities to innovate and respond swiftly to market dynamics. In a successful marketing strategy, all stakeholders must be involved in the value co-creation and brand equity building process, and this is particularly critical in a knowledge-intensive industry such as IT.