Franchisee-based brand equity: The role of brand relationship quality and brand citizenship behavior Munyaradzi W. Nyadzayo a , Margaret J. Matanda b , Michael T. Ewing c, ⁎ a Swinburne University of Technology, Department of Marketing, Tourism and Social Impact, Cnr Wakefield and William Streets, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia b Monash University, Department of Marketing, Peninsula Building D4, Room 24, McMahon's Road, Frankston, VIC 3199, Australia c Deakin University, Faculty of Business & Law, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia abstract article info Article history: Received 10 July 2014 Received in revised form 12 November 2014 Accepted 17 November 2014 Available online xxxx Keywords: Franchisee-based brand equity B2B branding Brand relationship quality Brand citizenship behavior Franchisor competence Relationship duration Despite the evidence that brand management is core to the success of franchising businesses, limited empirical work has focused on branding in such business-to-business (B2B) exchanges. Integrating social exchange theory and the identity-based brand management framework, this study proposes that brand relationship quality is cru- cial in promoting franchisee brand citizenship behavior that can enhance brand equity attributable to franchisees, thereby advancing a model of ‘franchisee-based brand equity’ (FBBE). Survey results from 352 franchisees in fran- chised B2B exchanges suggest that brand relationship quality promotes brand citizenship behavior, thereby en- hancing FBBE. Additionally, moderated mediation analysis indicates that the indirect effect of brand relationship quality on FBBE via brand citizenship behavior is stronger when franchisor competence is high. However, franchi- sor–franchisee relationship duration has no moderating effects on these relationships. The findings of this study have implications for franchising practitioners that are interested in understanding the role of brand relationship management in promoting franchisee brand citizenship behavior and FBBE. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Franchising is increasingly becoming an important model for busi- ness growth across the globe. In this business arrangement the franchi- sor sells contractual rights to franchisees to distribute goods or services using the franchise brand name and business practices (Combs, Michael, & Castrogiovanni, 2004). Thus, much of the success of franchise business models is attributed to branding, as firms with high brand eq- uity are able to attain a sustainable point of differentiation and gain more financial leverage than those without (Aaker, 1991). However, de- spite the importance attributed to the franchise brand, limited empirical research has focused on franchise branding (Zachary, McKenny, Short, et al., 2011) and business-to-business (B2B) branding in general (Leek & Christodoulides, 2012). Literature indicates that channel members tend to gain competitive advantage through the co-creation of brand equity (Gordon, Calantone, & di Benedetto, 1993). Thus, both franchisors and franchisees share the incentive to promote and sustain franchise brand equity (Pitt, Napoli, & van der Merwe, 2003). Prior research confirms that successful franchise brand management is a reflection of the value addition of both B2B (franchisor–franchisee) and business-to-consumer (B2C) (franchisee– customer) relationships that nurture a shared objective, that is, building the franchise brand (Doherty & Alexander, 2006). While franchisees are expected to contribute to the development of the franchise brand, they may, in the absence of negative impacts on their short-term profits, have little incentive to safeguard brand equity (Dant & Nasr, 1998). Therefore, when compared to other traditional B2B models, brand man- agement within franchise systems poses unique challenges and oppor- tunities. For instance, even though the responsibility of developing and managing the franchise brand rests with all parties, neither franchisors nor franchisees have total control of the brand management process (Pitt et al., 2003). This situation presents unique challenges that require internal franchise branding activities to be well-coordinated and inte- grated between both parties. However, despite the above-recognized importance of B2B branding and internal branding in enhancing the franchise brand (Doherty & Alexander, 2006; Zachary et al., 2011), lim- ited empirical work has focused on franchise brand management. Internal branding literature suggests that a strong brand personality is important in brand building (Aaker, 1997). Thus, to be effective brand ambassadors or representatives it is essential for franchisees to align their behavior and identify with the franchise brand. Since the notion that franchisees can form relationships with their franchise brand is central to this study, there is therefore a need to assess the strength and effects of such a relationship on brand equity. This inference is based on the assumption that brands are imbued with human-like fea- tures that can lead to the development of self-brand relationships that are similar to the way individuals form personal relationships (Aaker, Industrial Marketing Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: mnyadzayo@swin.edu.au (M.W. Nyadzayo), margaret.matanda@monash.edu (M.J. Matanda), michael.ewing@deakin.edu.au (M.T. Ewing). IMM-07243; No of Pages 12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.07.008 0019-8501/© 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Industrial Marketing Management Please cite this article as: Nyadzayo, M.W., et al., Franchisee-based brand equity: The role of brand relationship quality and brand citizenship behavior, Industrial Marketing Management (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.07.008