Brand, Identity and Reputation: Exploring, Creating New Realities ...

First, we conducted in-depth interviews with the senior managers of four select retail pharmacies in a Western Canadian
city. These four stores were purposefully selected to represent diverse organizational types, including a) an outlet of a
national retail pharmacy specialty chain, b) an independent retail pharmacy, c) a multinational supermarket pharmacy,
and d) a retail pharmacy that is a member of a local co-operative. We measured these managers‘ branding and
competitive strategies, their perceptions of their customers‘ experiences and expectations, and their assessments of their
competitors.
Second, a survey was conducted via consumer intercepts at each of these stores. Consumers were approached at one of
four retail pharmacies mentioned above and asked to fill out a questionnaire regarding their perceptions of the retail
pharmacy. The questionnaire was based on a pilot study we previously conducted. Those completing the questionnaire
were provided a gift card ($5 CDN) for a national franchise coffee shop.
Finally, after the survey was completed and data was analyzed, we conducted follow-up interviews with the same
managers of the stores mentioned above. Gaps between customer experiences and managerial metaperceptions were
identified; implications on organizational learning and strategy change were discussed.
Key Findings
Customers reported significant differences in corporate brand personalities and service quality among the stores. The
results indicated that customers rated the independent retail pharmacy slightly more trustworthy than the co-operative
retail pharmacy, the multinational supermarket pharmacy and the national retail chain pharmacy.
The managers reported that they have deliberately developed competitive strategies based on their branding objective of
differentiating from major competitors. While the managers of the independent store and the co-op store reported that
they have considerable managerial discretion in designing, implementing, and modifying competitive and branding
strategies, the managers of the national chain and multinational supermarket stores reported that many of such
managerial strategic decisions have come from their respective head offices. While all of the managers in our study
were reasonably accurate in assessing customers‘ evaluations of their competitors, the national chain and multinational
supermarket store managers reported frustrations about 1) misalignment between national overall strategies and local
context, and 2) lack of empowerment to the local managers. That having been said, substantial gaps exist between these
managers‘ assessment of their own stores and their customers‘ ratings.
Limitations
The smaller sample size and the specificity of locale at a Western Canadian city may not allow for a broader
generalization. Because of the cross sectional nature of the survey, we were unable to observe strategy changes and the
results thereof. Future action-based longitudinal studies would further enhance the practical implications of the study.
We have discussed with our participants about potential future follow up studies on empowerment, organizational
learning, and strategy change.
Implications
The fundamentals of marketing concept and market orientation are based on intimately understanding customer needs,
and designing and delivering products and services to satisfy customer needs via concerted efforts throughout the entire
organization (Kohli & Jaworski, 1990). However, as our data have indicated, many managers (and especially the
corporate managers at head offices) have relied upon what they think their customer needs might have been. While
many of the companies in our study have adopted sophisticated strategy developing processes, including goal setting,
environment scanning, and strategy formulation and implementation, few have made an effort in seeking the external
validity of their metaperceptions; many have ignored the specificity of local context.
Strategy dissonance can be costly; strategy change can be complicated. Once a brand image has been established in
customers‘ minds, it is difficult to change. For retail pharmacies, particularly independent retail pharmacies and local
co-op retail pharmacies, managers should continuously monitor their organizational performance, and proactively seek
customer feedback. These independent or co-op retail pharmacies are more flexible and better equipped to quickly adapt
to its constantly changing competitive environment. In comparison, national or multinational retail chains have better
resource endowments. They might have the advantage of being able to collect market data on a larger scale and develop
branding and competitive strategies based on national and regional information, but not necessarily local characteristics.
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