Sunder Ramachandran, Djamel Eddine Laouisset
The objectives of this paper are to expand on the existing theories of de-branding and re-branding by analyzing the reasons, drivers, and enablers of de-branding and re-branding in the United Arab Emirates’ Islamic financial services organizations. The analysis of relevant theoretical and empirical studies on de-branding and re-branding enabled the reflection on the relevant elements, facilitating factors and synergistic linkages in a specific organization experience. An analysis of de-branding and re-branding existing studies enabled the extraction of proposals, which could be used in future Islamic financial services de-branding and re-branding research. This study opens up a new line of research into the de-branding and re-branding phenomena and, despite the subject having been somehow analyzed in conceptual and empirical terms, de-branding and re-branding in Islamic financial services organizations remains unexplored. The terms de-branding and re-branding have been extensively used in the business press but scarcely in academic publications (Griffin, 2002; Kaikati & Kaikati, 2003; Stuart & Muzellec, 2004). It is however, becoming a significant phenomenon deserving academic attention. The first part of this research proposes a definition that highlights the differences between branding, de-branding and re-branding. The literature review then elaborates on some de-branding and re-branding theories and models. The second part of the paper examines the case of a de-branded and re-branded Islamic bank in an effort to identify de-branding and re-branding reasons, drivers as well as critical success factors and enablers that qualified Noor bank to effectively manage the de-branding and re-branding change process.