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Seven dimensions of

corporate identity

A categorisation from the practitioners’

perspectives

T.C. Melewar

Brunel Business School, Brunel University, London, UK, and

Elif Karaosmanoglu

Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey

846

Received August 2003

Revised September 2004

and April 2005

Accepted May 2005

Abstract

Purpose – This paper investigates what organisations perceive as the essential components of

corporate identity concept and their contents. It proposes an operational deﬁnition of corporate

identity on the basis of the practitioners’ views.

Design/methodology/approach – The information was gathered through 32 in-depth interviews

with managers from different organisations (mainly multinational companies) and an analysis of

corporate literature and web sites. The initial analysis is based on a multidisciplinary categorisation

developed by the ﬁrst author, which facilitated the systematic analysis of a wide range of components

(e.g. corporate communication, corporate design, corporate culture etc.) associated with corporate

identity.

Findings – The study shows that there is a considerable divergence in opinions concerning the

fundamental components of corporate identity among practitioners. Most interviewees heavily

associated identity with the areas of corporate design, communication, behaviour and strategy

whereas there was no unanimous agreement as to whether or not corporate culture was a product or

determinant of corporate identity.

Research limitations/implications – Developing sub-items and their measures for each

dimension presented in the proposed deﬁnition and examining the possible relationships between

them might be the further step. Also additional empirical research which considers consequences of

corporate identity management in relation to company performance indicators could enhance overall

understanding of the concept.

Practical implications – Senior company management can use the categorisation discussed in this

paper as a starting point for development of corporate identity management strategies.

Originality/value – Recategorisation of Melewar’s corporate identity dimensions, which help deﬁne

corporate identity concept in measurable terms.

Keywords Corporate identity, Corporate strategy, Organizational identity, Corporate image

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

For a variety of reasons, both academic and business interests in corporate identity

have increased signiﬁcantly in recent years. Organisations have realised that a strong

identity can help them align with the marketplace, attract investment, motivate

employees and serve as a means to differentiate their products and services. Thus,

many organisations are striving to develop a distinct and recognisable identity. Certain

characteristics of an efﬁcacious corporate identity include a reputation for high quality

European Journal of Marketing

Vol. 40 No. 7/8, 2006

pp. 846-869

q Emerald Group Publishing Limited

0309-0566

DOI 10.1108/03090560610670025

Dimensions of

corporate

identity

goods and services, a robust ﬁnancial performance, a harmonious workplace

environment, and a reputation for social and environmental responsibility (Einwiller

and Will, 2002).

Identity is now widely recognised as an effective strategic instrument and a means

to achieve competitive advantage (Schmidt, 1995) and being researched by more

academics and practitioners. However, the lack of a clear deﬁnition (Balmer and

Greyser, 2003) makes the research in corporate identity management area a formidable

task (Melewar and Jenkins, 2002), especially, in relation to determining the parameters

of the research concept in guiding scholarly investigations (Balmer and Greyser, 2003;

Cornelissen and Elving, 2003). This lack of clarity in the academic world is also

reﬂected in the business world. Many executives confessed to having little knowledge

of how to manage, control or even explicitly deﬁne the concept (Melewar et al. , 2003).

In academic research, since corporate identity has been associated with different

levels of organisational phenomena and practices i.e. the road from visual expressions

to all expressions of the organisation (Cornelissen and Elving, 2003), developing better

measures to examine it as well as its components remain of considerable importance.

Therefore there is a need for an in-depth analysis to decipher the essence of the

corporate identity construct and its derivatives (Cornelissen and Elving, 2003).

However, the main aim of this paper is rather to develop a better understanding of

corporate identity through examining the experiences and perceptions of managers.

We review evaluations of the deﬁnitions of the corporate identity concept and elucidate

the components of corporate identity based on the literature, and investigate

empirically how corporate identity management is practiced in comparison to its

theoretically deﬁned components. By examining the managers’ views, we demonstrate

how each component’s content has been explained and perceived in practice. The

central issue this paper assumes is that this approach will enable us to operationalise

the concept and its components by examining it in an “ecologically valid environment”

(Smith et al. , 1998, p. 64) rather than at a theoretical level, since any theoretical or

conceptual argument needs to be tested in actual application (Allen and Janiszewski,

1989).

Furthermore, from the perspectives of managers interviewed, it examines the

importance of each component in the overall corporate identity management. The

study uses both in-depth interviews and secondary sources of information from

academic and corporate literature and tries to classify the essential components of

corporate identity. As a result of this attempt, it provides an operational deﬁnition of

corporate identity, which may aid further empirical research.

847

Corporate identity: the concept

A review of the literature over the past 20 years reveals that both academics and

practitioners are placing increased importance on the issue of corporate identity. The

various deﬁnitions of corporate identity were reviewed for the purpose of this study,

largely based on research by a number of commentators (Balmer and Soenen, 1999;

Ind, 1992; Melewar and Jenkins, 2002; Olins, 1990a, b).

Corporate

identity

could

interpreted

strategic

manifestation

corporate-level

vision

and

mission,

underpinned

the

strategies

which

corporation

employs

its

operations

production

(Melewar

and

Wooldridge,

2001). A strong

emphasis is placed on ethical

and cultural values,

as well as

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organisational history and philosophy (Ind, 1992). The literature reviewed almost

unanimously makes a profound link between corporate image and corporate identity,

stating that image is the collective perception that the stakeholders have of corporate

identity.

Balmer’s research (1998) is useful in outlining some of the generally accepted

features of corporate identity deﬁnitions. First, corporate identity is a multidisciplinary

ﬁeld. Second, it is a term used to identify the essence of what the ﬁrm is and thus

incorporates many unique characteristics of the ﬁrm such as history, philosophy,

culture, communication and the industry the ﬁrm operates in. Third, it is inseparable

from the corporate personality of the organisation.

Furthermore, Balmer and Soenen (1999) also provide some useful judgments. They

highlight that although there is no consensus on what elements make up the corporate

identity mix, it is widely agreed that a multidisciplinary approach to the study of

corporate identity is necessary (See also Bick et al. , 2003). This opinion is supported by

Melewar and Jenkins (2002) who state that the term “corporate identity” evolved from

undertakings in the area of marketing, primarily in areas such as corporate visual

identity systems, which are used to represent the organisational values and mission to

the outside world. However, the evolution of the corporate identity concept meant that

the term became associated with a wide range of functions including business strategy,

philosophy of key executives, corporate culture, behaviour and corporate design which

are both interdependent and unique to each organisation (Van Riel, 1997).

Melewar and Jenkins (2002) state that, whilst there is no distinctive difference

between the views of practitioners and academics, there are differences in the

approaches the two groups viewed the fundamental components of the mix. The

approach taken by practitioners is generally more process-orientated (Balmer, 1998)

and is thus generally concerned with more tangible elements of identity with a strong

emphasis on those areas that have a higher propensity for manipulation. Balmer and

Soenen (1999) highlight that this can result in practitioners concentrating on visual

aspects of identity and overlooking other areas. Academics generally take an approach

that is more orientated towards structure, and tend to address a greater number of the

mix components.

848

Research methodology

A review of the corporate identity literature was conducted along with a review of

related topics such as corporate strategy, strategic planning, marketing strategies and

organisational behaviour. The literature review revealed that although there are

several studies on corporate identity, there is still a need for a more elaborate

operational deﬁnition of the concept. Through analysing the views of both

practitioners and academics a functional deﬁnition of the term was developed by the

authors.

The initial analysis is based on the categorisation developed by Melewar (1993) as

this provides a multidisciplinary approach and facilitates the systematic analysis of a

wide range of components associated with corporate identity. The seven main

dimensions put forward in Melewar’s categorisation are; corporate communication,

corporate design, corporate culture, behaviour, corporate structure, industry identity

and corporate strategy. Figure 1 depicts the initial categorisation.

Dimensions of

corporate

identity

849

Figure 1.

The original corporate

identity categorisation

The research aimed to ascertain what respondents believed were the core components

of corporate identity and the relationship between these components. The method of

research was a case study approach, which comprised 32 in-depth interviews mainly

with directors and senior managers but also with some lower level employees in 20

companies. The study was oriented towards providing an operational deﬁnition, and

so the interviews aimed to examine a wide range of experiences and perspectives.

The companies included in the study came from a broad spectrum of industries

including

two

multinational

banks,

two

multinational

accountancy

ﬁrms,

two

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multinational oil companies, two multinational engineering companies, two

multinational IT companies, four multinational conglomerates, two internet

insurance companies, two toy companies and two marketing consultancies. Of the

32 individuals interviewed, ten held positions in the ﬁeld of marketing, four held

human resources positions, 14 were senior general managers or directors and four were

on graduate training schemes. In certain organisations we interviewed more than one

individual.

A broad spectrum of academic research on the topic of corporate identity was also

conducted for the purpose of this investigation. Secondary sources of information were

also used such as company literature, information from their respective websites and

relevant press releases about each company.

A broad cross-section of companies was chosen because part of the investigation

aimed to analyse why particular ﬁrms might perceive certain components as more

important than others. For example, whether the choice of components and identity

were related to the size of the ﬁrm, the industry in which it operates or any other

ﬁrm-speciﬁc inﬂuence. The sample thus reﬂects a diverse set of organisations,

functional areas, and positions. The interviews did not follow any particular structure.

850

Unfolding the corporate identity concept

Corporate communication

A number of academics have stressed the links between corporate communication and

corporate identity (Cornelissen and Harris, 2001; Van Riel, 1995; Varey and Lewis,

2000). Corporate communication is a term that encompasses all the ways in which the

organisation communicates with its various stakeholders. Thus, all of the messages

emanating from an organisation, everything that it produces and all of the activities it

is involved in will act to shape stakeholders’ perceptions. Corporate communication

can be both controlled and uncontrolled in nature. Communication intentionally

instigated by management with the aim of improving stakeholder relationships is

classiﬁed as controlled corporate communication. Conversely, uncontrolled

communication takes place when organisations inﬂuence stakeholders’ perceptions

unintentionally.

Controlled corporate communication . A distinction can be made between three main

types of corporate communication, categorised as management, marketing and

organisational communication. Grunig (1993) argues that the particular “mix” of these

subdivisions of communication is integral to the concept of corporate communication.

Marketing communication is generally associated with the 4Ps of product, price,

place and promotion and is aimed at supporting the sales of an organisation’s products

or services. These include, advertising, public relation activities and direct marketing.

Organisational communication is conceptualised by Van Riel (1995) as all forms of

communication with stakeholders with whom an organisation has an interdependent

relationship. Investor relations and labour relations are part of organisational

communication. Marketing and organisational communication both act as the

principal link between image and strategic management (Hatch and Schultz, 1997).

Management communication applies to attempts to “communicate the vision and

mission of the company in order to establish a favourable image and ultimately a good

reputation amongst its internal and external stakeholders” (Olins, 1989). Examples

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