Corporate Branding: the role of vision in implementing the corporate brand

Abstract

Corporate branding is a powerful tool for aligning the firm's resources in the development of strategic competitive advantage. However up to date the advantages have proved elusive in practice. It is argued that the current focus in the corporate branding literature on core values and culture makes the organisation over focused on its own identity and reduces its responsiveness to change. Heterogeneity rather than homogeneity is seen as the key to building successful corporate brands that reach across a multitude of stakeholder groups and identities. Arguing from a market oriented approach, it is suggested that corporate brand vision offers a powerful tool to aligning the corporate brand whilst maintaining requisite flexibility. A model for the management of corporate brands is presented that highlights both the role of vision and the need to evaluation systems that monitor the ways in which the corporate brand creates value for key stakeholders.