Volume 15 (2026-27)

The energy sector has long been regarded as a low-engagement, mistrusted commodity market where brands struggle to differentiate. Octopus Energy Group challenges this orthodoxy by treating brand not as a marketing veneer but as the operating system of the company. This paper, written from the perspective of Octopus’s Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Creative Officer, explores how brand philosophy shapes behaviour across technology, culture, product design and customer service. Drawing on established brand and marketing theory, the paper demonstrates how creativity and emotional design are engineered into every interaction, how Kraken — Octopus’s proprietary technology platform — acts as a brand engine at scale, and how the company’s wider moral imperative creates value simultaneously for customers, employees, society and the planet. Culture is presented as the kernel of the operating system, ensuring coherence and resilience as the company grows. The paper concludes with lessons for brand leaders in any industry: coherence between promise and practice, technology as an expression of values, culture as a safeguard and morality as strategy. Octopus Energy shows that even a utility can build trust, loyalty and love when brand becomes the system through which the whole organisation operates. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
Keywords: brand strategy; brand as an operating system; customer experience design; service dominant logic; organisational culture; creating shared value; energy transition

Public evaluations of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives increasingly hinge on perceptions of authenticity rather than on CSR activity alone. Understanding how organisations design and execute CSR programmes that are viewed as authentic is therefore of value to both scholars and practitioners. This paper examines the factors that contribute to CSR authenticity through a qualitative case study of the Philadelphia Eagles Autism Foundation, a team‑operated initiative launched by a National Football League franchise. Drawing on publicly available documents and in‑depth interviews with senior foundation executives, the study analyses the formulation and implementation of the initiative. The findings show that CSR authenticity is achieved through a combination of cause selection grounded in personal relevance to organisational leadership, a long‑term and organisation‑wide commitment, alignment with the team’s mission and values, transparent communication, and the credible distribution of all funds to scientific research and community programmes. The case further demonstrates how a professional sports organisation can leverage distinctive resources—including a passionate fan base, players, venues, sponsors, and high‑visibility communication platforms—to drive engagement and fundraising while maintaining authenticity. The paper contributes to the CSR literature by illustrating that authenticity is not the result of a single attribute but a comprehensive, ongoing process embedded in strategic decision‑making. Instructive elements are extrapolated to guide organisations seeking to plan, implement, and sustain authentic CSR initiatives. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
Keywords: corporate social responsibility; authenticity; Philadelphia Eagles; autism

In spite of decades of technology investment, data silos remain persistent because organisations misdiagnose the problem as purely technical. This paper argues that barriers to data sharing are predominantly strategic, operational and cultural rather than technological. Using recent research identifying five dimensions of data-sharing resistance (strategic, operational, technological, cultural and regulatory), this paper presents a diagnostic framework enabling brand leaders to identify which barriers are dominant in their organisations. For brand management, these silos create fragmented customer experiences, inconsistent brand positioning and missed commercial opportunities. The paper provides six evidence-based interventions matched to specific barrier types: leadership modelling, transparency building, cross-functional collaboration, clear communication of benefits, training and support, and data governance. Implementation guidance includes diagnostic tools for auditing barrier profiles, decision rules for sequencing interventions and documentation of common failure modes including premature celebration, compliance mandates without meaning, vendor distraction and leadership inconsistency. Readers will gain practical frameworks for understanding and diagnosing their organisation’s specific barriers, selecting targeted interventions based on evidence rather than assumptions, and implementing change that addresses human behaviour alongside technical infrastructure. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
Keywords: data silos; organisational behaviour; change management; brand strategy; digital transformation; AI strategy

Consumers frequently develop strong relationships with brands and thus are profoundly affected when these beloved brands are deleted from firm portfolios. The purpose of this research is to develop a fine-grained understanding of brand deletion from the consumers’ perspective, by identifying their key responses to brand deletion and developing self-report measures to assess these responses. A practical framework was developed to help firms understand and measure consumer reactions through an instrument and an overarching model conceptualising consumers’ responses to brand deletion. Consumers’ responses to brand deletion were found to emerge as a three-stage process: 1) thoughts and interpretations of the brand’s discontinuation; 2) emotional reactions such as sadness and/or betrayal; and 3) actions that can include complaining and/or negative word of mouth. Prior research has focused on a variety of specific atomistic consumer responses to brand deletion, including grief, rage and retaliation. In contrast, the research applies an integrated approach grounded in the tripartite model of cognition-affect-behaviour and the theory of cognitive appraisal. Actionable insights are offered for brand managers to anticipate consumer backlash and design effective communication strategies to plan and implement brand deletion decisions effectively. This framework equips businesses to reduce risk and maintain customer loyalty in the event of brand deletions. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
Keywords: brand deletion; consumer responses; measurement instrument; measurement scale; conceptualisation; validation

This paper proposes the utilisation of blockchain technology to improve focus group research, to address long-standing challenges in participant recruitment, data security, transparency and incentivisation. Traditional focus group methodologies often suffer from logistical limitations, recruitment issues, privacy concerns and data management inefficiencies. Blockchain’s decentralised, transparent and immutable architecture offers innovative solutions to these issues. Specifically, the paper explores how blockchain can enhance participant anonymity and authenticity, automate fair and timely incentive distribution and facilitate secure, real-time collaboration across geographic boundaries. Through a synthesis of academic literature and conceptual application, the paper contributes to the growing discourse on blockchain in qualitative research and offers actionable insights for qualitative researchers seeking to explore ways to integrate blockchain into their methodological practices. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
Keywords: blockchain; focus groups; participant recruitment; qualitative research

Brand management has become a respected science with various subdisciplines. At the same time, researchers have noted that the field tends to solidify popular paradigms and neglects critical contributions that challenge them. This could lead to concerns about the future of brands and brand management. The dominance of the co-creative school of brand management has resulted in a lack of consideration for other schools of thought, potentially leading to a loss of practical relevance. Brand sociology, a school of thought developed in Germany, has received little international attention despite its popularity in German-speaking countries. This perspective challenges existing explanatory patterns and offers a critical view of popular brand management approaches. This paper introduces the theory of brand sociology and develops four principles that are fundamental to brand management from this perspective. These principles are applied to the topic of purpose-driven brands, and it is demonstrated how brand sociology can provide new insights and challenge current marketing practices. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
Keywords: brand sociology; provoking theory; trust; self-similarity; gestalt; purpose-driven-marketing