Revisit: COBIIR 2012

July 2, 2012

Revisit: COBIIR 2012

Introduction

Second International Colloquium on Corporate Branding, Identity, Image and Reputation, London, 12-13 Sep 2012; Deadline now 31 Jul

Second International Colloquium on
Corporate Branding, Identity, Image and Reputation (COBIIR):
Evaluating the Scope of Corporate Marketing and Performance
in Public and Private Sectors

12th and 13th September 2012, at Middlesex University, London, UK

The best papers will be submitted for review to a special issue of International Studies of Management and Organization

Abstract deadline extension: 31st July 2012

The colloquium will address the role of corporate branding, identity, image and reputation in public and private sector marketing. We conceptualise organisational marketing as an integrated deployment of competitive policy by differentiation, such as branding, reputation, image etc. designed to create, develop, nurture and maintain a firm’s ability to serve its customers and constituent profitably. The foci of the colloquium are a congruence of themes on corporate branding, reputation and identity linked to the public and private sectors. We invite papers which examine the increasing impact of corporate identity and reputation on performance in these sectors, both external and internal, and what determines how customers seek to engage with an organisation and what it offers.

The brand encompasses images, signs and significations designed to strengthen identities to match those internal capability and competence with the external identity of the same (Melewar and Karaosmanoglu, 2006). Branding and reputation building play a crucial role in the firms’ ability to link and articulate their identity through practices such as competitive strategy of differentiation. This enables organisations to create and constantly attempt to influence and shape the impressions of their corporate body among their various constituencies.

Customers may engage with brands using social networks, by word-of-mouth or through personal recommendation (Trosov, Bucklin and Pauwels, 2009). These multiple engagements increase the average consumer’s confidence in brands and perception of them, which in turn increases their influence on the management of brands (Vrontis and Paliwoda, 2008). As the economic environment becomes more customer-driven, corporate and brand identity become an essential part of organizational strategy which is in turn driven by both customer demands for value co-creation and increased competitive performance. Hence, today corporate, product or service brands are collectively defined by their customers and in the environment in which they operate (Navare and Jin 2010). This can be based on personal or business requirements for economic, emotional or experiential value, which is derived from personal experiences, word-of-mouth, research and multiple marketing tactics (Opoku, Abratt and Pitt, 2006). From this a model of organizational attributes emerged that consisted of the organization’s core attributes vis-a-vis its central purpose and distinctive philosophy in establishing organizational identity. Organizations need to create an identity that defines their existence in terms of what they are and what they are not in time and space.

The themes of this colloquium can be interpreted broadly. We seek and welcome multidisciplinary papers that engage with literature, ideas from corporate (external) and organisation (internal) identity perspectives as they relate to brand management, corporate reputation and marketing communications. We welcome papers based on original research, be they empirical, conceptual or practical.

We are particularly eager to attract submissions from international participants engaged in high quality research which explore new ideas on branding, organisational identity and reputation. The initial submission should comprise an abstract of no more than 500 words which describes the proposed research. If accepted, this will be followed by a presentation at a conference to be held at Middlesex University, London, in September 2012. Full papers must be submitted by the 31st January 2013, to be considered for publication in the International Studies of Management and Organization.

腿栓芙郊利

Revisit: COBIIR 2012

Introduction