Company slogans, morphological issues, and corporate communications

1. Contemplating the Corporate Communications, Corporate Marketing and Identity Curricula - Celebrating 15 Years of the ICIG Symposium: 1994-2009 (Klement Podnar and John M.T. Balmer) 2. Weathervanes or Signposts? Constructs or Philosophy? Scrutinsing and Explicating Corporate Image, Corporate Identity, Corporate Communications, Corporate Reputation, Corporate Brands and Corporate Marketing (John M.T. Balmer) 3. Schools of Thought in Corporate Marketing - Traces and Future Perspectives (Joachim Kernstock and Tim Oliver Brexendorf) 4. The Missing Link in Corporate Marketing (Zlatko Jancic) 5. Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Identity: Potentials for Disciplinary Cross-Fertilization within Research and Teaching (Anne Ellerup Nielsen and Trine Susanne Johansen) 6. Consumer's Identification with a Brand (Urska Tuskej and Klement Podnar) 7. Exploring How Organizational Identity is Affected by the Arrival of New Members (Laura Illia) 8. Holland's Got Talent? The Relevance of Employer Branding in Job Advertisements for Becoming an Employer of Choice (Jan-Willem Schoonderbeek, Jorinde J.C. Westhoff, Kelta Meeusen and Wim J.L. Elving) 9. Generic Charisma - A Conceptualization and Measurement Tool Development (Ana Tkalac Vercic and Dejan Vercic) 10. Exploring the Relationship between Media Sentiments and Market Capitalisation in 32 FTSE-350 Firms (Temi Abimbola) 11. Corporate Communications in China: A Preliminary Study (Ying Fan) 12. Corporate Social Responsibility, Customer Trust and the Mediating Role of C-C Identification in the Banking Industry (Ursa Golob and Klement Podnar) 13. How Do Companies Choose between Socially Responsible Suppliers? An Experimental Study (Joop-Joost Hietbrink, Guido Berens and Johan van Rekom) 14. Business Schools' Use of CSR as a Corporate Marketing Strategy (Anne Ellerup Nielsen and Christa Thomsen)

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the motivations for and the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) online reporting on organisational identity development and stakeholder relationship management through corporate web communication and information strategies.Design/methodology/approachA content analysis method is utilised to critique evidence of the use and impact of online CSR reporting in three selected corporate web sites from the automotive industry. In particular, sustainability and environmental social responsibility reporting, evidence of stakeholder engagement and acknowledgement of societal concerns for corporate identity and reputation management are critiqued from a framework of persuasion and credibility alongside organisational role responsibility.FindingsThe findings concurred with current research in corporate communication that documents the significant rise in the use of corporate web sites for the reporting of CSR activities and in corporate attempts to acknowledge and respond to changing local/national and global societal expectations concerning business practices. The automotive industry web sites showed recognition of this increase in societal expectations, projection of a desired corporate identity and the subsequent monitoring of a consistent and accessible communication strategy directed at all stakeholders.Research limitations/implicationsWhile the findings reflect the literature, the evaluation of three selected global web sites within one industry sector only allows for conclusions reflecting generalisations. Future research will necessarily incorporate consideration of both traditional and contemporary national cultures, into such evaluations.Originality/valueExploring the traditional and non‐traditional motivations for CSR and their impact on CSR reporting for a globalised world.

Background: Background: Effective communication is instrumental in reputation building, shaping public perception of an organization. The principle extends to hospitals, which are increasingly benefiting from online media. The concept of online reputation is related to the perception of hospital credibility and image cultivated through digital platforms. This includes key components such as public trust, patient engagement, and institutional transparency. However, an important gap in the existing literature is the absence of a comprehensive analysis systematically mapping reputation of public hospitals across Indonesia. Purpose: This research aims to map reputation of public hospitals in Indonesia as reflected in online media. The necessity was evident in the sustained negative public perception of several hospitals. Method: This research was conducted quantitatively through content analysis with a sample of 100 public hospitals. The unit of analysis was online media content, namely website, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube of Central Public Hospitals (Rumah Sakit Umum Pusat/RSUP) and Regional Public Hospitals (Rumah Sakit Umum Daerah/RSUD) from July 1-31, 2024. The two dimensions measured were corporate identity and communication activities. In-depth interviews were also conducted. Results: This research reported reputation map for RSUP and RSUD in Indonesia. The results showed that A-class hospitals consistently fell in the top quartile (Q1). However, reputation map suggested a more even distribution across Q1 to Q4 for B and C-class hospitals. Only one B-class and C-class hospitals were in Q4 and Q1 or Q2, respectively. Conclusion: Indonesian public hospitals used Instagram for interactivity and website for formal information to enhance reputation through corporate identity and communication. Implications: This research contributes to the development of reputation theory, particularly in hospital industry, and suggests that hospitals build a strong reputation through online media.

This commentary is intended as an amendment to Argenti's (1996) viewpoint, published in Volume 10, Issue 1, of Management Communication Quarterly. Van Riel provides an overview of research in corporate communication, focusing on achievements found in the international academic literature in both communication and business school disciplines. In the author's opinion, there are three key concepts in corporate communication research: corporate identity, corporate reputation, and orchestration of communication. International corporate communication research actually is richer than one might conclude by reading the Argenti article. It requires an interdisciplinary approach to find adequate answers to questions vital for both corporate communication practice and academe.

This research investigated the impacts of the diverse framings of corporate and activist NGOs website communications of a proposed Canadian oil-sands pipeline on participants' perceptions of a) the tripartite sustainability values of environmental safety, economic benefits and community social relations and b) the willingness to join the corporate and activist NGOs online networks.Given the importance of sustainability issues in business education curricula and research, the participants were drawn from a population of undergraduate students.They were exposed online to either neutral information (control group), or randomly exposed initially to either the Corporate or Activist NGOs website communications.These exposures were subsequently reversed creating a combined group exposed to both agenda framings.Results demonstrated the persuasive power of both communication framings.The Corporate communication created positive perceptions of tripartite sustainability values, whereas the Activist NGOs' created negative perceptions.After exposures to the opposite communications, the Corporate group's perceptions changed from positive to negative, whereas the Activist NGOs perceptions only became somewhat less negative.Also there was a stronger willingness to join an Activist NGO rather than the corporate online action network.The empirical findings reflect the powerful diverse impacts of agenda framing on a highly controversial societal issue.Concerned citizens, researchers, politicians and academics should not restrict their website consultation to just one framing of such complex wicked issues.The present findings also have important implications for developing a more balanced and ethical business curriculum in the area of sustainability and common good.

In today’s competitive business environment, corporate identity communication has become prominent and a useful strategy for gaining competitive advantage. The role of corporate websites in communicating corporate identity has also been underscored but there have been limited empirical studies investigating the actual usage of corporate websites in communicating corporate identities of hotels. To contribute to this scarce stream of research, this study identified the core elements of corporate identity from the literature and applied them to evaluate the websites’ content of 123 hotels in Hong Kong. The results indicated that, corporate identity elements relating to design such as logo and slogan were the commonly reported; but identity elements regarding corporate culture, corporate behaviour and corporate strategy were scarcely communicated by more than 60 % of the hotels. Significant differences were also found between chain-affiliated hotels and independent hotels. From a practical standpoint, these results can be used to enrich the contents of corporate websites.

This paper defines and delimits the scope of the Corporate Identity (CI) construct by exploring its applicability outside its usual research focus on large corporate entities. We also provide an important bridge between the management literature where the concept of Organisational Identity (OI) is better researched and understood, and the marketing literature where it is more common to find research defined in terms of CI. The conceptual underpinning of this paper favours a view of CI as a construct that is ‘multi-modal and multi-sensory’, therefore we use an all-encompassing definition of CI as the presentation of an organisation to every stakeholder. Moreover, research into CI and smaller entrepreneurial family-owned organisations is relatively underdeveloped, thus we based our findings on a conceptualisation of the seven broad dimensions of CI namely: Corporate Communication; Corporate Design; Corporate Culture; Behaviour; Corporate Structure; Industry Identity; and Corporate Strategy, as they relate to small family firms.

Corporate identity is related with how the institutions saw themselves. Corporate identities plays an important role for the expression of institutions itself like persons. There are seven dimensions of corporate identity such as designing of institutional elements, culture of institution, behavior of institution, strategies, institutional communication, institutional structures and industrial identities. The topic of the study is composed of the investigation of corporate website which is the most preferred first 10 universities in terms of corporate identity elements in the year of 2017. The corporate website of 10 universities are investigated for the detection of corporate identity elements by screening method between the dates of 25-30 october. The corporate website of investigated universities are sufficient in terms of design and visual elements. It is necessary to development of communication channels in websites for the employee, students and graduates in terms of institutional communication elements. There are some shortcomings in web sites for the announcement of ethic rules, purposes and policies which belongs to corporate identity elements.

PurposeThe purpose of the study was to find out about: significance and understanding of corporate identity, its elements and CI management in Slovenian companies/Slovenian and international companies with exemplary and successful corporate identity and their characteristics.Design/methodology/approachA survey was conducted among the most successful Slovenian companies (by income and by profit). A total of 44 people, from 36 companies, who are responsible for managing corporate identity were interviewed.FindingsThe main finding is that managing corporate identity is of great importance for company success. Although there is no general definition of corporate identity at theoretical level, the understanding of corporate identity is quite homogeneous – the most common definition according to the research is: corporate identity is a mix of characteristics that organization possesses as a subject. Successful managing of corporate identity, has many positive effects on company's acceptation in a role of subject in the society.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research in determining the influence of the chairman and his personality as well as the board and employees' personality on corporate identity would be important. It is recommended that in future, in similar studies, an even larger sample is included and the thought of comparing future studies with the present study should not be excluded.Practical implicationsThe main practical implication of this paper is to raise the awareness of how important the local culture is when dealing with corporate identity management.Originality/valueA brief literature review of Slovenian authors from the corporate identity field has been made and presented on an international level for the first time. Also, the empirical research on the question of how managers in Slovenian companies understand and manage corporate identity in their organizations is new. The main contribution is that results acquired in Slovenia can be partly compared with other similar researches in the EU.

Corporate identity has the power to help a firm obtain an advantage over its competitors. Scholars have stressed the importance of building this identity. The promotion and protection of a firm's corporate identity represent organizational capabilities that are critical in this pursuit. The building of corporate identity, however, is not a universal prescription for success. Under certain conditions, firms may not want to allocate scarce resources to corporate identity promotion and protection. This study explores the role of several of these contextual factors using survey data from corporate communications executives of 129 US public firms. The research explores the role of branding strategy on the promotion and protection of corporate identity, as well as the potential moderating influences of financial resources and industry characteristics. The findings suggest that firms using a monolithic approach are likely to promote and protect their corporate identity more aggressively, relative to firms employing a branded strategy. The results also suggest that the relationship between branding strategy and corporate identity promotion differs between consumer goods industries and non-consumer goods industries. Implications for researchers and managers are discussed.

This paper explores how different types of professional firms develop new services that integrate the concepts of corporate culture, identity and image. The paper is based on a survey study of 93 professional firms in Denmark. It shows how professional firms in management, public relations, advertising and corporate design perceive and apply integrated services, such as integrated communication, corporate communication and vision management. The study demonstrates that the development of integrated frameworks requires that professional firms include new forms of professional skills and challenge the notion of what their own business is about. It also shows that a smaller number of the professional firms have developed services which integrate corporate culture, identity and image in such new and holistic ways as to point to the emergence of a new professional field.

In the mid-1990s, Kao's management, corporate communications and archives team collaborated to formulate a corporate philosophy based on records and heritage. The management policy, called the ‘Kao Way,’ was published in 2004. It values ‘Yoki-monozukuri’ - a strong commitment to both products and brands of excellent value as well as consumer satisfaction, innovation, and integrity. The corporate communications team conducted workshops to train Kao employees in Japan and around the world to share the Kao Way among the Group's diverse membership. Corporate archives can thus provide the parent organization with a basis of common principles and philosophy, an invaluable resource especially given today's frequent corporate acquisitions and restructuring. Corporate archives can also provide answers to important questions about the nature and history of the company and how it has contributed to the wellbeing of customers and society at large over the years. Such heritage information can promote corporate pride and socially-responsible business conduct among employees.

Corporate marketing: insights and integration drawn from corporate branding, corporate identity, corporate communication, corporate reputation and visual identification - Author: John M.T. Balmer, Avinandan Mukherjee

Purpose – The study tries to analyze the trends in alumni relations and the role of corporate communication in developing organizational identification and a positive boomerang behavior intention among former employees. The approach of the study has been from the point of view of making this process formal and emphasize on the impact of corporate communication in maintaining alumni relationships, and attracting the former talent for the organization. Methodology- An exploratory methodology was designed to capture the perceptions of current and former employees of nine multinational companies (MNCs) in India, on alumni communication practices prevailing in their organizations. Transcripts of semi-structured interviews were analyzed, coded thematically and the essence of experiences was jointly combined into one description. Findings – Study showed that corporate alumni website, personalized messages on discounts on products and services, emails, social networking platforms, alumni engagement events, leadership and value training workshops and corporate communication standards, particularly consistency, have a positive impact on organizational identification and finally inspire the former employees to rejoin the organization. Practical implications – A number of significant managerial implications are drawn from this study, for example using both corporate communication and training to influence former employees’ attitudes and decision to participate in volunteering activities or rejoin the previous employer. Still, it should be noted that the effect of corporate communication on the behaviors of former employees depend on communication standards and HR interventions in maintaining relationships with alumni. Originality/value – The results provide valuable insights from the key former and current employees perspectives into the effectiveness of alumni communication process to facilitate the recruitment of high performing employees or their involvement in other mutually beneficially activities . Further rehiring alumni is one such innovative method which when done in the right manner can provide a quick solution to the talent crunch. Paper type: Research paper

In this paper, we develop a practice-based conceptualization of corporate communications. We review prior theoretical and empirical work on communications management and draw upon a set of case studies of European firms (Nokia, Shell, Siemens and Philips) to circumscribe and conceptualize the issues and activities that define corporate communications as an area of practice. A central contribution that emerged from our review and conceptualization is that the dimensions (structure, activities and consumption of activities, professionals, political and cultural context) of this area of practice are interrelated through two processes: strategic positioning and cultural accommodation. We discuss these two fundamental processes in corporate communications and the implications for theory, practice, and research.