eThesis - School of Business electronic theses

The objective of this research is to perform an explorative study on the international brand valuation standard ISO-10668 and study its relevance in the Finnish context. This non-binding standard has been analyzed in order to give an in depth description of the standard, its motivations and attributes. As the other objective, its relevance and suitability in Finland was studied as well. The study treats the ISO-10668 as a management control tool. The study is believed to create useful information for various stakeholders as a similar study has not been conducted before.

The study is conducted as an explorative research. To gather information interviews were conducted on a range of stakeholders for the standard. Two (2) OMX Helsinki listed case study companies were studied in order to understand the process of implementation and the forces at play. The case company interviewees were the entity Brand Managers. People involved with the ISO-10668 drafting were contacted in order to understand the theory and motives behind the standard. Furthermore, valuation providers were interviewed to gain practical information on the ISO-10668 standard.

The ISO-10668 was published in 2010. After 5 years there is no clear indication of proliferation of adoption. The standard was found to be a balanced description of attributes needed to conduct a coherent brand valuation. Based on the findings it can be said that the ISO-10668 is not relevant in brand valuation or management control in Finland. The case companies proved that the barriers to implement were stronger than the advancing forces. Neither case company chose to systematically implement the standard as a tool. This was expected based on the difficulty of case material gathering.

The standard left too much room for interpretation and manipulation. As it is, the ISO-10668 standard does not adequately and precisely describe the process of brand valuation. Implementing it requires expertise and it still does not alleviate the obscure nature of brand valuation. Noteworthy is the need for certification. This would increase the standard's appeal. Furthermore, more could be done to promote the standard and increase the discovered low public awareness.