News
| 14.03.2022

Corporate brands do not always need to be coherent

Who do we want to be as a company? And what do we promise to our stakeholders? These are questions all companies face when they want to express their corporate identity. New research suggests that companies could increase stakeholder identification by involving multiple stakeholders in their branding processes.

Corporate branding research typically assumes that a coherent and consistent corporate identity supports shared brand meaning among stakeholders. However, customers’, employees’ and other stakeholders’ perceptions of corporate brands are inherently unique and diverse, and may not necessarily be swayed by companies’ branding efforts.

In her doctoral thesis, Sonja Sarasvuo explores the diversity of stakeholders’ perceptions of corporate brands in a business-to-business service context. 

“Based on my research, employees’ views of companies vary greatly depending on, for instance, their professional background, location, and the clients with whom they work. These views are not easily changed by companies’ branding initiatives, Sarasvuo says. I have also observed similar patterns in customers’ perceptions, which may vary based on what services are bought and for how long the customer has known the company“, she continues.

Referring to her research, Sonja Sarasvuo problematizes the idea that corporate brands need to be coherent. Instead, she suggests that stakeholder identification with the corporate brand can be strengthened by developing a diverse corporate identity, which represents a variety of stakeholder perspectives.

“It is important for companies to learn how different stakeholders perceive them. This line of thinking opens up avenues to develop a more identifiable corporate identity. One way to go about this is to adopt a mentality of brand co-creation, meaning that the brand is developed together with customers, employees and other stakeholders on a continuous basis”, Sarasvuo argues. 

You can read the doctoral thesis here.  

Sonja Sarasvuo will defend her doctoral thesis “Coherence or diversity in corporate identity? – Varying perceptions of the company as sources for corporate branding” at 12:00 am (EEST) on March 18th 2022. The thesis will be defended online, and you can access the virtual Teams meeting through this link. The field of study is marketing.

Opponent: Professor Sylvia von Wallpach, Copenhagen Business School
Custos: Professor Jaakko Aspara, Hanken School of Economics