| Summary: | Service brand has become a key factor for Chinese home furnishing malls to enhance competitiveness under the commercial tenant system. However how to build a service brand is still a much discussed question and the literature is scant on research specifically addressing the brand building process in the particular case of home furnishing malls. Taking the case of Fusen Noble House in Chengdu, China as a case study, the aim of this research is to explore empirically the building process of a service brand in a special case of a Chinese home furnishing mall. Based on the literature review, the research starts by designing a theoretical framework of service brand building and then uses personal interviews and questionnaires for data collection. Data is coded and analysed and a new model redesigned. Findings show that the most important driving forces in the brand building process of the company studied are senior managers, customer information and competitors, with senior managers being the most important. In what concerns the guarantee or support mechanisms of service brand building, results also show that they mainly include corporate strategy and organizational culture. The key is for corporate strategy and organizational culture to match the service brand, while the role of incentive mechanisms is less significant. The case also revealed the existence of a clear process of service brand building following certain developmental steps. Although the process tends to be highly informal, it still followed the basic order of service brand auditing, service brand identification, service brand positioning and service brand implementation, with an emphasis on external marketing. The thesis concludes with a discussion on the managerial and research implications.
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