An empirical study which compares the organisational structures of companies managing the World’s Top 100 brands with those managing Outsider brands

Contains the results of a quantitative research study which compared the organisational structures of the World’s Top 100 brand companies with those of less successful companies, referred to in this article as Outsider brand companies. Identifies that whilst the type of organisational structure may not be seen as a determinant of brand success, perceptions of whether the organisational structure was right for them, were. In other words, managers of brands need to feel that the organisational structure allows them to manage in the way they consider necessary to deliver brand success. In some instances this might mean an authoritarian style of management through a hierarchical organisational structure and in others, it might mean a more democratic style of management through relatively flat organisational structures. The results are discussed in the context of brand management theory and practice and the postmodern paradigm shift regarding organisational structure.