Branding Behavior in the Danish Food Industry Derek Baker Production and Technology Division, Danish Research Institute of Food Economics, Rolighedsvej 25, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Copenhagen, Denmark Kenneth Baltzer International Economics and Policy Division, Danish Research Institute of Food Economics, Rolighedsvej 25, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Copenhagen, Denmark Anja Skadkær Møller Production and Technology Division, Danish Research Institute of Food Economics, Rolighedsvej 25, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Copenhagen, Denmark ABSTRACT Cross-sectional data from a survey of Danish firms are used to examine branding behavior in 2002 and its change between 1997 and 2002+ Summary data from the survey are presented+ Branding behavior is defined and relevant literature is reviewed+ Based on hypotheses developed from this literature and supporting features of the Danish food marketing chain, six econometric models are specified+ Specification accounts for dependent variables’ characteristics ~count and fractional data, and truncated samples!+ Missing values are replaced using Griliches’ method ~Griliches, 1986!+ Large firms are found to own and introduce the most brands, although few associations with the commodity sector are identified+ Firms’ use of retail brands is found to substitute for brand intro- duction in the long run and to increase with ownership by retail firms+ Conclusions are drawn regarding the strategic stance of retailers in the Danish food system and its employment of retailers’ own-label brands+ @ECONLIT Classifications: Q120; Q130; L190#+ © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc+ 1. INTRODUCTION Brands are information signals about a product, a group of products, or a firm that dis- tinguish the product from others+ The benefits of branding include improved market seg- mentation, increased consumer loyalty , increased repeat business, ease of new product introduction, and improved corporate image ~ Beierlein & Woolverton, 1991!+ For the purposes of this article, we define branding behavior as the choices made by firms as to the number of brands to own and introduce, and the decisions associated with manufac- turing retailers’ own-label brands+ In the current article we address the lack of research into Danish firms’ branding behavior + Its objectives are to identify relationships between their branding behavior and their commercial features and activities, and to apply this knowledge to issues of Danish food industry development+ To do this, we review litera- ture from a range of sources to formulate research hypotheses, and use recent firm-level Danish data to test them+ Agribusiness, Vol. 22 (1) 31–49 (2006) © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/agr.20077 31