Journal of Marketing and Market Studies 06/2022

Research purpose. The current business environment is characterized by extreme competitiveness and consumer bargaining power due to the amount of information available, which makes it increasingly difficult for brands to stand out from the competition and attract new clients. Despite great efforts to create a unique value proposition to respond to changing consumption habits and preferences, a brand will not achieve its goals without the basic and primary value stage which is the creation of awareness. Well-known brands gain advantage over the unknown ones because they seem more trustworthy to the consumer and are therefore more commonly purchased (Shabbir et al., 2017). Increasing awareness allows to convey to the consumer valuable brand-related information, which is consciously combined with certain image-shaping associations. Brand awareness becomes even more important in the market that is filled by many brands with a similar value proposition. The market of such everyday consumer goods, as bread and pastry products, is one of these. The purpose of this article is to identify solutions allowing to increase the brand awareness of bread and pastry products.

Design/Methodology/Approach. Analysis of statistical databases and online sampling were chosen as research methods. A questionnaire for sampling was developed applying validated scales of brand awareness, consumer habits, and positioning of the brand in the market.

Findings. Empirical research has revealed that such elements of the marketing complex, as the product range (i.e., the product and its attributes related to quality, health benefits and packaging), distribution of bakery products in a diversity of outlets, as well as marketing communication tools (advertising on TV, at the point-of-sale, on social networks, outdoor advertising) and sales promotion (discounts) receive the greatest attention from the consumers of bakery products. Recommendations for raising awareness include development of the brand personality by appointing a brand ambasador that is in line with the core concept and values of the brand and is attractive and close to the identity of a target consumer. It is suggested to use non-standard and outstanding boards at the point of sale, outdoor advertising in the busiest places of cities and on the main roads. It is also proposed to use paid advertising on social networks, combining it with content marketing and placing not only brand-related entries, but also general, consumer-relevant information about the bread and pastry market. Sales promotion activities should be in line with marketing communication tools. These recommendations would contribute to raising the awareness of brands in the bread and pastry market, as the study revealed that consumers have little knowledge of brands in this market and do not attribute them to their respective manufacturers, which influences their purchasing decision.

Originality/Value/Practical implications. Analysis of statistical data and consumer opinion surveys allows to make assumptions about the bread and pastry market brand awareness management in Lithuania. These insights can be useful for companies engaged in producing and selling food products in the Lithuanian market.

Research background. The history of cooperative enterprises in Poland dates to the middle of XIX century. Despite the long history after the transformation of the central economy into a free market economy the cooperative branch in Poland is drastically diminishing, while in market economies the cooperative business model is an alternative to consumption and production. The ''free choice'' of the market means there is room for everyone.

Purpose of the article. The aim of the article is to analyze enterprises based on the cooperative and the commercial business models in terms of their economic results and their social functions on the Polish market.

Methods. The article is of theoretical and empirical nature. The theoretical part includes the overview of the two business models. The empirical part consists of a study containing two independent elements. Both were based on the method of analyzing financial reports, available on the Polish Ministry of Finance and The National Court Register (Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy — KRS) websites. The MS Excel 2016 and applications for creating and reading financial reports by e-KRS were used.

Findings & Value added. The results of the first empirical study have confirmed the usefulness of the biggest payer rankings in comparing the economic results of the enterprises based on cooperative business model (CBM) and commercial business model. The results of the second empirical study have shown that applying the criterion of value added in CBM allowed for determining the degree of their social utility. Economic results of the chosen enterprises based on the CBM model turned out to be similar to those of commercial business model but higher in terms of social utility. The presence of the cooperatives among the biggest taxpayer group in Poland confirms their economic results. Social utility was confirmed by gross value added (GVA) distribution structure, which included i.e. participation of members, employees, local budgets and governmental budget. The research, conducted in Poland, covered cooperatives operating only in one country. Therefore, the results may be affected by a cultural factor.

The goal of the research undertaken in the article is to evaluate the efficiency of the intellectual capital of banks listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Various research methods have been applied in the article. In the theoretical layer, a critical analysis of the literature was conducted. In the empirical layer, the desk research method, the descriptive statistics method and the VAIC™ method was applied. The time range covered the period of 2014–2020. The study showed that the analyzed companies differ in terms of intellectual capital efficiency. Despite the difference in the level of intellectual capital efficiency, all banks exhibit a very similar model structure. Human capital efficiency makes up the greatest share of the VAIC™ coefficient. The study also showed that the value added intellectual coefficient (VAIC™) in the majority of the analyzed companies grows slightly or remains at a rather uniform level throughout the years 2014–2019. A substantial drop in VAIC™ value occurs in 2020, due to the effect of events on global financial markets caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The article fills a research gap in the area of intellectual capital, concerning the study of its efficiency. This aspect remains insufficiently represented in research concerning banks, in which intellectual capital is becoming a critical success factor. The issues discussed in the article are of significant importance in the context of the structure of the Polish banking services market. The effective use of intellectual capital enables banks to achieve and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage, and thus shape their market share. Furthermore, this paper is a starting point for further research with the subject of evaluating the influence of intellectual capital efficiency on the financial and market results of banks listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

The aim of the article was to explore banking service customers' brand associations with cooperative banks. The research was performed using a thematic analysis of indepth interviews conducted among representatives of three existing market segments: clients of cooperative banks, clients of other banks living in villages and small towns and clients of other banks living in large urban areas. The results indicate that the perception of cooperative banks depends on each person's relationship with this kind of institution. In the opinion of clients, cooperative banks represent trust and openness. In the view of other people, however, cooperative banks are perceived as second-class banks, resulting in a lack of trust in these institutions. These findings provide practical implications for cooperative bank marketing managers by showing them the image elements that require the greatest improvement.