Identifying Effective Strategies for Enhancing Brand Equity in the Information and Communication Technology Industry

Abstract

This study aimed to identify and explain the effective strategies for enhancing brand equity in the information and communication technology industry from the perspective of experts at the Iranian Gas Engineering and Development Company. This applied study employed a qualitative research design using thematic analysis. The study population consisted of experts in information technology, branding, digital services, stakeholder relations, and related organizational fields employed at the Iranian Gas Engineering and Development Company in Tehran. Participants were selected through purposive sampling, and interviews continued until theoretical saturation was achieved with 21 experts. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews lasting approximately 20–30 minutes. The interview guide was developed based on a review of the literature and an initial conceptual framework and was reviewed by three marketing and branding specialists. Interview data were transcribed and analyzed in Microsoft Excel using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis procedure, including familiarization, initial coding, theme searching, theme reviewing, theme definition, and final interpretation. The analysis identified four overarching themes explaining effective brand-equity enhancement: strengthening traditional brand-equity dimensions, developing technology-enabled brand capabilities, reinforcing organizational and managerial capabilities, and ensuring cultural and environmental alignment. These themes comprised 13 subthemes and 28 basic categories. The findings indicated that brand equity was enhanced through the interaction of brand awareness, perceived quality, loyalty, stakeholder trust, digital experience, IT service quality, digital innovation, digital communication, infrastructure reliability, leadership commitment, employee capability, stakeholder relationship management, and adaptation to regulatory and cultural conditions. The final framework showed that organizational foundations support technological capabilities, which shape stakeholder experiences and are subsequently translated into stronger brand meaning and equity. Brand equity in technology-intensive environments is a multidimensional organizational outcome that depends on the coordinated development of branding, technological, managerial, human-resource, stakeholder, and environmental capabilities rather than isolated promotional activities.