It's a chain, it's a hierarchy, it's leadership, governance and accountability systems - protocols and processes - and transparency towards results/outcome. It's why "historically" good brands can get taken over by relative bad actors, perhaps "just" greed, and pillage the good reputation and reach a brand has - and because they already have the resources, processes, and reach - they can maintain it more easily; it's far harder to break through the noise to create a new brand with mass mindshare than to acquire, and why acquisitions happen and conglomerates form - as a form of suppression and to continue maintaining control.