DIGITAL PAYMENT SYSTEMS AND FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: PANEL EVIDENCE FROM 24 EMERGING ECONOMIES, 2010–2023

Abstract

In increasingly competitive global markets, branding has become a pivotal strategic tool for firms seeking to move beyond commodity-based competition and achieve sustainable value creation. This study explores the impact of brand ownership on firm-level sales in Pakistan's textile industry. A balanced panel dataset comprising 1,177 firm-year observations of all textile companies listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange during 2014-2023 is analyzed using a fixed effect panel regression with year fixed effects to control for unobserved firm heterogeneity and macroeconomic shocks. The results show a positive correlation between brand ownership and firm sales. This connection becomes quite strong when year fixed effects are also considered. The coefficient for brands goes up from 0.844 in the baseline model to 1.255 in the model with year fixed effects. This significant rise is a strong indication that branding provides a sustainable competitive advantage that remains, even when all common macroeconomic and industry-level factors are filtered out. Overall, the study gives strong evidence that owning a brand is not just a marketing tool but a very important strategic asset that can lead to increased revenue and better market position. The findings strongly support a strategic shift toward brand creation as a sustainable pathway for growth and value addition in Pakistan’s textile industry.

 Keywords:  Textile Industry, Brand Ownership, Sales, Fixed-Effect Regression