IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eco/journ3/2024-06-35.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Brand Image as a Strategic Lever for Mergers and Acquisitions in the Financial Services Sector in South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Ridwaan Asmal

    (Faculty of Finance, MANCOSA, Durban, South Africa)

  • Marlini Moodley

    (Faculty of Marketing, MANCOSA, Durban, South Africa)

Abstract

There were a number of mergers and acquisition (M&A) and hostile take overs in South Africa over the past decade and half. Companies in a M&A are in most instances preoccupied in pursuit of increasing the shareholder value and securing the biggest market share through effective branding. The research objectives of the study were to evaluate the effectiveness of mergers and acquisitions in relation to its image as a brand and to provide recommendations in respect of future merger and acquisition deals for an organisation. The study adopted the quantitative method of research by means of a survey questionnaire and the target population for this study was 310 managers (in the financial services sector) in Kwazulu-Natal. Relevant descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data collected. The research findings uncovered that from a turnaround perspective in mergers and acquisition deals, brand image should be skilfully and appealingly crafted to generate the desired return on investment. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by revealing that institutions who merge in the financial services sector consolidate their position in the market if brand image is aligned to the institution’s strategy. A fortified brand image results in greater market share.

Suggested Citation

  • Ridwaan Asmal & Marlini Moodley, 2024. "Brand Image as a Strategic Lever for Mergers and Acquisitions in the Financial Services Sector in South Africa," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 14(6), pages 346-354, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eco:journ3:2024-06-35
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econjournals.com/index.php/irmm/article/download/17579/8368
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.econjournals.com/index.php/irmm/article/view/17579
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Y. Dwivedi & E. Ismagilova & L. Hughes & J. Carlson & R. Filieri & J. Jacobson & V. Jain & H. Karjaluoto & H. Kefi & A. S. Krishen & V. Kumar & M. Rahman & R. Raman & P. Rauschnabel & J. Rowley & J. S, 2021. "Setting the future of digital and social media marketing research: Perspectives and research propositions," Post-Print hal-04713688, HAL.
    2. Teresa Borges-Tiago, Maria & Santiago, Joanna & Tiago, Flavio, 2023. "Mega or macro social media influencers: Who endorses brands better?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    3. Lundin, Lisa & Kindström, Daniel, 2023. "Digitalizing customer journeys in B2B markets," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Raghavendra Prasanna Kumar & Arindam Banerjee & Zahran Al-Salti & S. Ananda, 2024. "Technology acceptance model and customer engagement: mediating role of customer satisfaction," Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 29(3), pages 1062-1076, September.
    2. Suhaib Ahmed & Tahir Islam & Abdul Ghaffar, 2024. "Shaping Brand Loyalty through Social Media Influencers: The Mediating Role of Follower Engagement and Social Attractiveness," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(2), pages 21582440241, May.
    3. Abdulwahed Nasser M Alharkan & Edyta Wolny-Abouelwafa & Ashwaq Althowibi & Hana Khalid Alhumaid & Amera Alharbi & Haifa Alghamdi & Shahla Abu Zahra, 2024. "Exploring EFL Teachers’ Perspectives on the Role of Social Media for Building Trust in the Workplace," World Journal of English Language, Sciedu Press, vol. 14(6), pages 405-405, November.
    4. Conde, Rita & Casais, Beatriz, 2023. "Micro, macro and mega-influencers on instagram: The power of persuasion via the parasocial relationship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    5. Ariana Polyviou & Ilias O. Pappas, 2023. "Chasing Metaverses: Reflecting on Existing Literature to Understand the Business Value of Metaverses," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 25(6), pages 2417-2438, December.
    6. Norhidayah Ali & Suhaida Abu Bakar & Rini Lestari, 2025. "From Responsivity to Retention: Unpacking the Role of Timely Engagement in Customer Loyalty," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(4), pages 494-507, April.
    7. Wünderlich, Nancy V. & Blut, Markus & Brock, Christian & Heirati, Nima & Jensen, Marcus & Paluch, Stefanie & Rötzmeier-Keuper, Julia & Tóth, Zsófia, 2025. "How to use emerging service technologies to enhance customer centricity in business-to-business contexts: A conceptual framework and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    8. Mirzaei, Abas & Wilkie, Dean Charles Hugh & Burgess, Amelie Jay, 2024. "Does human value-expressive brand anthropomorphism on social media lead to greater brand competitiveness?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    9. Hofstetter, Reto & Gollnhofer, Johanna Franziska, 2024. "The creator’s dilemma: Resolving tensions between authenticity and monetization in social media," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 427-435.
    10. Guangce Ruan & Lei Xia & Xin Wen & Yinuo Dong, 2025. "Exploring the Dynamic Interplay of User Characteristics and Topic Influence on Weibo: A Comprehensive Analysis," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(1), pages 3030-3057, March.
    11. José Ramón Saura, 2024. "Algorithms in Digital Marketing: Does Smart Personalization Promote a Privacy Paradox?," FIIB Business Review, , vol. 13(5), pages 499-502, October.
    12. Rizzo, Cristian & Baima, Gabriele & Janovská, Kamila & Bresciani, Stefano, 2025. "Navigating the uncertainty path of virtual influencers: Empirical evidence through a cultural lens," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 210(C).
    13. Benevento, Elisabetta & Aloini, Davide & Roma, Paolo & Bellino, Davide, 2025. "The impact of influencers on brand social network growth: Insights from new product launch events on Twitter," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    14. Yogesh Dwivedi & Janarthanan Balakrishnan & Abdullah Baabdullah & Ronnie Das, 2023. "Do Chatbots Establish “Humanness” in the Customer Purchase Journey? An Investigation Through Explanatory Sequential Design," Post-Print hal-04533557, HAL.
    15. Adalarasu, K. & Ghousiya Begum, K. & Vishnu Priyan, M. & Devendranath, C. & Sriram, G.V., 2025. "Neuro-signaling techniques in advertisement endorsements: Unveiling consumer responses and behavioral trends," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    16. Niken Suyanti & Budiyanto & Khuzaini, 2024. "The Power of Atmosphere, Gifts, and Interaction: Exploring Hedonic Value's Mediation in Repurchase Intention for Oppo Smartphones," European Journal of Studies in Management and Business, EUROKD, vol. 31, pages 48-63.
    17. Benhui Ren & Rosita Binti Mohd Tajuddin & Shaliza Binti Mohd Shariff & Binyao Ning & Rosmini Omar & Jing Deng, 2025. "Social Media Influencers – Current Dynamics and Future Prospects," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(1), pages 554-567, January.
    18. Ricardo Costa-Climent & Samuel Ribeiro Navarrete & Darek M. Haftor & Marcin W. Staniewski, 2024. "Correction to: Value creation and appropriation from the use of machine learning: a study of start‑ups using fuzzy‑set qualitative comparative analysis," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 2451-2452, September.
    19. Janarthanan Balakrishnan & Yogesh K. Dwivedi & Laurie Hughes & Frederic Boy, 2024. "Enablers and Inhibitors of AI-Powered Voice Assistants: A Dual-Factor Approach by Integrating the Status Quo Bias and Technology Acceptance Model," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 921-942, June.
    20. Truong Thi Hue & Ta Huy Hung, 2025. "Impact of artificial intelligence on branding: a bibliometric review and future research directions," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-11, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Brand Image; Mergers and Acquisitions in South Africa; Rebranding; Branding for Business; Branding Strategies for the Financial Sector;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M30 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - General
    • M31 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - Marketing
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eco:journ3:2024-06-35. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Ilhan Ozturk (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.econjournals.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.