Accessing retailer equity through integration in retailers' buying groups

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the circumstances under which the retailers' use of the buying group's brand name may benefit them. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 121 retailers of home appliances, members of a buying group, provided useful information about the key variables of interest in this study through self‐administered questionnaires. That information was used to test the research model and the hypotheses proposed in the paper. Findings – The data show that the retailer's use of the buying group's brand name is more capable of improving the retailer's economic satisfaction with the buying group when differentiation is perceived to be a source of competitive advantage, when environment is perceived as more dynamic and when the retailer is strategically integrated in the relationship with the buying group. Research limitations/implications – Sample is restricted to a limited type of retailers: retailers of electric appliances integrated in buying groups. Practical implications – The implications extracted are of special interest for buying groups managers about the potential of the buying group's brand to generate value to the buying group's members. Originality/value – Brand equity in business‐to‐business markets is still an under‐researched and very descriptive topic. Specifically, in the context of retailers' buying groups, the issue is completely missing. This paper reflects the current interest in brand research into non‐consumer relations by empirically demonstrating that brand equity is not only useful but also a powerful tool to explain value creation in business relationships.