Branding as a higher-order dynamic capability: a dynamic capability theory framework for governing brand meaning in AI-driven markets
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66578/btis.v2i2.34Keywords:
Brand management, Brand meaning, Dynamic capabilities, Artificial intelligence, Brand governanceAbstract
Brands increasingly operate in digital and AI driven markets where brand meaning is continuously shaped by algorithmic systems, platforms, and decentralized stakeholder interactions. While branding research has extensively examined brand equity, identity, and engagement, it offers limited explanation of how firms systematically adapt and govern brand meaning over time under conditions of technological turbulence. Addressing this gap, this study reconceptualizes branding as a dynamic organizational capability rather than a static strategic asset. Drawing on dynamic capability theory, the paper develops a process framework that explains how firms govern brand meaning through the coordinated operation of brand sensing, brand seizing, and brand reconfiguring capabilities. The framework theorizes how artificial intelligence simultaneously enhances adaptive branding through analytics and personalization while intensifying risks related to brand coherence, authenticity, and governance. By integrating branding theory with strategic adaptation, the study advances a process-oriented explanation of brand management that clarifies why some firms sustain brand trust and coherence in AI mediated environments while others experience fragmentation and erosion of brand meaning. The paper contributes to brand management theory by offering a unifying conceptual framework that informs future empirical research and provides strategic guidance for managing brands in digitally mediated markets.
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