The Impact of Entrepreneurship-Based Branding in the Cyberspace on the Performance of Startups

Abstract

Purpose: The key to startup success is a brand-centric approach that combines brand leadership strategy with creative, targeted, and cost-effective business methods. In the brand-centered approach, all company processes revolve around the development of brand identity in continuous interaction with customers, to create long-term competitive advantages for the brand. The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of entrepreneurship-based branding in cyberspace on the performance of startups.Method: The current research is of an applied type and with a mixed method and a sequential qualitative-quantitative approach, first qualitative and then quantitative data was collected and analyzed. Due to the small size of the population, sampling was not done and all 52 people were examined. Smart PLS software was used to analyze quantitative data and test research hypotheses and implement structural equation modeling. Confirmatory factor analysis was also used to test the significance of the relationships and the fit of the obtained measurement models. To analyze the data and test the research hypotheses, the structural equation modeling method was applied.Findings: Qualitative findings showed that the branding model based on entrepreneurship in cyberspace includes six main themes and 18 sub-themes. Causal factors include risk-taking categories, business situation analysis, and brand content capabilities; Background factors include the categories of brand organizational structure, market orientation, and brand orientation; intervening conditions include the categories of legal infrastructure, customer characteristics, and economic uncertainty; the central category includes the three categories of brand vision depiction, brand integrity and entrepreneurial capabilities; strategies including three categories of brand positioning, strategic planning for branding and value creation; And the consequences include three categories of competitive advantage, strategic brand development and brand identity development. Quantitative findings showed that the causal conditions of branding with a score of 26.719 has a positive and significant effect on entrepreneurial branding; Entrepreneurial branding with a score of 4.873 on value-based brand positioning; And value-based positioning with a score of 29.960 has a positive and significant effect on the performance of startups.Conclusion: The results indicate that the branding model based on entrepreneurship in cyberspace and its impact on the performance of startups includes six main themes and 18 sub-themes, and branding based on entrepreneurship in cyberspace has a positive and significant effect on the performance of startups.

Keywords

• branding
• digital space
• entrepreneurship
• startups