Corporate Identity

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EJM 40,7/8

Seven dimensions of corporate identity
A categorisation from the practitioners’ perspectives
T.C. Melewar
Brunel Business School, Brunel University, London, UK, and

846
Received August 2003 Revised September 2004 and April 2005 Accepted May 2005

Elif Karaosmanoglu
Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
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

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Elif Karaosmanoglu is a member of faculty at Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey. Dimensions of corporate identity 869 To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: [e-mail] Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.