Conceptualizing corporate identity in a dynamic environment

Abstract

Purpose – The study revisits the meaning of Corporate Identity (CI) in practice to identify its key dimensions and the interrelationships between them, and to provide insights on how to operationalize the construct. Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on a comprehensive literature review and qualitative research consisting of 22 semi-structured interviews with senior managers from 11 UK-leading companies, and three in-depth interviews with corporate brand consultants who worked closely with these firms in cognate areas. Findings – The study identifies six key dimensions of CI in UK industry: communication, visual identity, behavior, organizational culture, stakeholder management, and founder valuebased leadership. Research limitations/implications – The focus on UK leading companies limits the generalizability of the results. Further studies should be conducted in other sectors and country settings to examine the relationships identified in the current study. Originality/value – This study identifies the salient dimensions of CI and, for the first time, the role of founder transformational leadership, employee identification and top management behavioral leadership as key dimensions and sub-dimensions of CI. The study also provides novel insights about the measurements for these dimensions. Additionally, this study introduces a model for the interrelationships between CI dimensions and their influence on corporate image, based on rigorous theoretical underpinnings, which lays the foundation for future empirical testing.