Revealing the Corporation: Perspectives on Identity, Image, Reputation, Corporate Branding, and Corporate‐level Marketing

Citation

Corti, P. (2003), "Revealing the Corporation: Perspectives on Identity, Image, Reputation, Corporate Branding, and Corporate‐level Marketing", International Marketing Review, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 216-218. https://doi.org/10.1108/imr.2003.20.2.216.1

When confronted with concepts such as corporate identity, communications, image, reputation and branding, practitioners and scholars, as well as managers and consultants, still encounter major difficulties: the size of literature, the lack of consensus, the impenetrable, terminology and the fragmentation along disciplinary lines. This book overcomes these difficulties and appears to have achieved the impossible in doing so. This explains why Revealing the Corporation is probably the most awaited book on the topic, as pointed out by Lord Marshall of Knightsbridge (the Chairman of British Airways) who provides the preface to the book. Although written with the needs of faculty and students in mind, this compilation will also appeal to managers and consultants across the range of fields addressed. This is because the editors have shown considerable skill in their selection and orchestration of academic as well as practitioner articles. These reflect multidisciplinary and global perspectives. The book is user‐friendly and yet has depth and breadth.

The book is edited by two illustrious academicians: John M.T. Balmer and Stephen A. Greyser. Professor Balmer holds the Chair of Corporate Identity at Bradford School of Management, UK. Professor Greyser is Professor Emeritus Marketing/Communication at Harvard Business School, USA, and a former editorial board chairman of Harvard Business Review, and past executive director of the Marketing Science Institute (MSI). The anthology incorporates some of their own work, including an important collaborative endeavour which is discussed in the book's opening section.

This is no ordinary anthology. It is a world away from the “stack and staple” variety. This is because the editors guide us through every section and article of the book with their insightful and lucid commentary. The introductions to the sections are, in effect, mini literature reviews, while the editors’ synopsis of the articles capture its merits and its contribution to the field. Often there is some welcome background information on the authors: this adds colour and helps to bring the authors to life. The introduction to David Bernstein's article is a case in point.

Revealing the Corporation provides a valuable overview of developments in the area reaching back to the 1950s. It includes the pioneers of the past and authorities of the present. There are many classics that have appeared in leading journals such as the Harvard Business Review, and the California Management Review from 1958 to the present. The book is a veritable “Who's Who” of the area covering the last half‐century: David Aaker, Kevin Lane Keller, James Grunig, Stuart Albert, David Whetten, Pierre Martineau, Walter Margulies, Wally Olins and David Bernstein.

The anthology has six sections and includes 15 articles. In addition, there is a very recent “Harvard‐style” case study. The six sections deal with the following themes: multiple identities, the identity concept, corporate communication, image and reputation and corporate brands. A broad vista is adopted throughout the book with the notion of corporate‐level concerns being one of the book's leitmotifs.

Each section has a number of “added value” elements. These include a section entitled, “Issues for discussion and reflection”, which are not only study questions but issues which often require, as the title suggests, a good deal of reflection. The editors also include a comprehensive bibliography which will appeal to the advanced student.

The book also contains two notable essays by the editors, namely the prologue and epilogue. The opening prologue, entitled “New beginnings”, provides a useful historiography of the area and outlines the reasons that have led to the growing importance of corporate‐level constructs such as identity, reputation, communications and branding. The editors explain that while the anthology adopts an identity‐based perspective there are “new beginnings” to be discovered.

The epilogue, entitled, “Beyond the age of annocence”, is, as we say in Italian, la ciliegina sulla torta, (“the cherry on the cake”). This is no mere summary since it indicates future development in the marketing area which the editors see as representing a new meta level of analysis: a new philosophy of management. They conclude that this area should be known as corporate‐level marketing. They argue that the concepts discussed in the book provide a new gestalt of the corporation. It seems that corporate‐level marketing could provide a fascinating basis for further academic exploration.

I particularly appreciated sections one and six for their operational implications.

Section one refers to the editors’ article, entitled “Managing the multiple identities of the corporation”, which appeared in the California Management Review. Its focus is the AC²ID Test^TM (and its most recent variant, the AC³ID Test^TM). I found this to be an effective tool for analysing and managing the multiple identities of the corporation and to comprehend the different time frames of each identity type. As the authors say, “… it can also help in navigating the company through the complexities of identity change and realignment”.

In section six we find the Harvard‐style case study on “Bank One”, linking corporate branding to corporate strategy. This fascinating and absorbing case study draws on the many concepts and issues examined in the anthology. This real‐life case study confirms the importance of the area and the need for further academic interest and further empirical work. Currently, these are the major weaknesses in this area.

The magnetism and significance of the contributions will ensure that Revealing the Corporation, will appeal to a wide audience. The insights provided by Professors Balmer and Greyser are discerning if not enlightening. This, coupled with the dynamic orchestration of the various elements making up this anthology, recommends this book not only to self‐professed “connoisseurs” (to use the editors’ words) but to scholars, senior managers and consultants. It lends itself both as a textbook, as a digest for independent study, or as a guide for the busy executive.

Of course, with such a new and dynamic area of study, Revealing the Corporation cannot, and does not claim to, offer every possible perspective in comprehending the various dimensions of corporate meaning. However, it does provide precious insights, both new and old, into revealing the corporation. It will be a most valuable resource for my students as well as for my current research interests. It is a book I will return to often and will, I know, have a place of honour in my library.

In short, this is a real gem of a book.