Product Brand Autonomy and Stakeholder Orientation: Corporate and Brand Social Responsibility in House-of-Brands Firms
(A2026-134266)

AUTHORS

Conrad Homm, WHU � Otto Beisheim School of Management; Anna-Karina Schmitz, WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management; Peter Liebens, WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study explores how the autonomy and stakeholder orientation of product brands influence brand social responsibility (BSR) in house-of-brands firms. Drawing on a multiple case study design with 39 interviews with corporate and product brand managers, we examine how product brands understand BSR, prioritize stakeholders, and manage tensions between autonomy and alignment with the corporate brand. Results show that product brands generally perceive limited short-term instrumental benefits from BSR, reveal variation in “hard” and “soft” stakeholder orientations for product brands, and highlight tensions where reputational imbalances and greenwashing concerns shape product brand autonomy. We propose a framework that maps product brand autonomy and stakeholder orientation, identifying four configurations that explain how these factors influence BSR. This study advances social responsibility and brand architecture research by theorizing how stakeholder orientation, product brand autonomy, and sustainability-specific tensions shape the development of BSR in house-of-brands firms.