Effective Corporate Reputation Maintenance: The Importance of Codification. Yakimova Raisa, Mavondo Felix, Freeman Susan, Monash University.

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1 Page 1 of 8 ANZMAC 2009 Effective Corporate Reputation Maintenance: The Importance of Codification Yakimova Raisa, Mavondo Felix, Freeman Susan, Monash University Abstract Previous studies have found a lack of empirical research to examine brand management practices. This study examines how the brand management practice of codification supports the maintenance of a favourable corporate reputation. A case study research design is used to examine the codification of eight corporate brands. Rousseau s (1998) perspective of organisational identification is used to examine how codification enables organisational members to produce consistent corporate communications. The findings show that when organisational members use effective codification, they are able to embrace clearly articulated attributes. As a result, they have the ability to implement consistent corporate communications. The findings of this study will permit managers to use codification to support effective brand maintenance. Keywords Corporate branding, corporate reputation maintenance, codification, organisational identification. Author s raisa.yakimova@buseco.monash.edu.au, felix.mavondo@buseco.monash.edu.au, susan.freeman@buseco.monash.edu.au

2 ANZMAC 2009 Page 2 of 8 Effective Corporate Reputation Maintenance: The Importance of Codification Introduction Senior managers are concerned with understanding how a favourable corporate reputation can be maintained effectively (Pharoah, 2003). However, there has been little empirical research to examine how organisations maintain a favourable corporate reputation (Mahon, 2002). Studies have indicated that a favourable corporate reputation can be maintained through formalised practices (Dukerich and Carter, 2000; Gray and Balmer, 1998). Within the corporate branding literature, researchers have found a lack of empirical research to examine brand management practices (Karreman and Rylander, 2008; Knox and Bickerton, 2003). To address this research gap, this study investigates the broad research problem of how does the brand management practice of codification maintain a favourable corporate reputation? Literature Review Corporate reputation has been defined to comprise the collective perceptions of stakeholders (Balmer, 2001). In this study, the corporate image includes customer perceptions of the brand (Keller, 2002). Researchers suggest that a favourable corporate image is maintained through corporate communications that consistently convey brand attributes (Kapferer, 1997; Keller, 2003; Mitchell, 2002). Corporate communications represent all the ways an organisation communicates with its stakeholders (Melewar and Karaosmanoglu, 2006). This includes the behaviour of organisational members, or the co-ordinated behaviour among organisational members to implement communications. Thus, it is important that organisational members align their behaviour and cognition with brand attributes. Rousseau s (1998) perspective of organisational identification is important to understand this alignment. Rousseau (1998) proposed that organisational identification occurs at two levels, one of which is situated identification. Situated identification is likely to exist when individuals work in temporary taskforces. According to Rousseau (1998), situated identification is the cognitive awareness of being a member of the organisation striving to meet a common goal. Rousseau (1998) suggested that attitudes and behaviour are outcomes of organisational identification. This study argues that employees and partners who are part of temporary teams to implement corporate communications embrace brand attributes as elements of their situated identification. Employees and partners adopt or implement brand management practices as part of their involvement in implementing the brading program. This study anticipates that when employees and partners embrace brand attributes they are able to implement corporate communications that reflect these attributes. Yakimova and Beverland (2005) suggested that the brand management practice of codification encourages organisational members to align their behaviour with the brand. Codification represents the formal expression of attributes of the brand (Kapferer, 1997; Yakimova and Beverland, 2005) and behavioural guidelines (Burmann and Zeplin, 2005; Keller, 2003; Vincent, 2002). Yakimova and Beverland (2005) suggested that codification which documented attributes supported managers in maintaining a favourable corporate reputation. However, they did not address how codification enables organisational members to maintain a favourable corporate reputation. The purpose of this study is to examine how

3 Page 3 of 8 ANZMAC 2009 codification supports organisational members in the maintenance of a favourable corporate reputation. Method A multiple-case-study method was used in this study. McCutcheon and Meredith (1993) suggested that case studies are suitable when there has been little prior research to examine a phenomenon. Eight corporate brands were selected in keeping with Eisenhard s (1989) suggested number of cases. Purposeful sampling was used to select cases that clearly did and did not possess a favourable corporate reputation. To select cases that possessed a favourable corporate reputation, the researcher examined listings of the Interbrand valuation rankings. This includes the 100 Top Brands globally, The most valuable brands in Australia, and The Interbrand Reader s Choice of the Year between 2001 to Five of the selected cases featured in these lists, while the remaining three cases did not. The characteristics of the selected corporate brands are shown in Table 1. Pseudonyms have been used in place of the actual brand names. Table 1. Characteristics of the Eight Corporate Brands Selected in This Study Case Price Cut Home FBank Kanga ABank Trekker Softech Industry Financial Airline Financial Travel type publishing Global status of operation Listed as a reputable brand Health, lifestyle and beauty retail franchise Beauty retail franchise Home ware retail franchise High technology software National National National Global Global Global Global Global No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Multiple methods were used to collect the data including interviews, and secondary data. Interviews were adopted as the primary source of data collection. Participants included those individuals primarily responsible for implementing of the branding program; managers who oversee the implementation of codification and senior agency partners who adopt codification. 51 interviews were conducted in Sydney and Melbourne. Interviews ranged between 30 minutes and 90 minutes in length. Secondary data included confidential documents concerning corporate branding and publicly available documents. Data was analysed using the analytic processes of open coding, axial coding, and selective coding (Strauss and Corbin, 1998). Also, the analytic technique of pattern matching was used to facilitate the analysis (Yin, 2003). Comparisons were made between the data and studies of codification, as well as literature about social identity theory and social categorisation theory. Findings

4 ANZMAC 2009 Page 4 of 8 The findings demonstrate that some cases adopted codification more effectively than others. Kanga codification which expressed clearly the meaning of attributes enabled organisational members to embrace clearly articulated attributes. As a result, organisational members were able to implement consistent corporate communications. However, in Trekker, Cut, Price, Home where codification did not express attributes clearly, organisational members were not able to embrace clearly articulated attributes. Organisational members from these four cases were not able to implement consistent corporate communications. Consultant Vincent recommended that metaphors and descriptors be used in codification to convey the governing theme of the brand (2002, p. 141). The findings from Trekker, Kanga, Price, and FBank clarify that metaphors and descriptors were used to convey the meaning of brand attributes. For example, Kanga codification featured metaphors and descriptors to convey the desired meaning of the brand personality. Metaphors represented examples of communication work. These examples fell within two distinct categories - those that did, and those that did not convey the intended meaning of the brand personality. Additionally, the Manager of Brand Advertising and Design recalled that their codification also captured definitions of each word describing the brand personality. This manager considered these definitions to be clear articulations of the meaning of each of word.... What the brand stands for, so our brand personality, natural, engaging, spirited, resourceful and contemporary and then we just defined what they mean because obviously they re quite subjective words and what you think of natural could be different from what I think so we say natural is open, genuine and down to earth; engaging is inclusive, outgoing and friendly, warm and approachable; spirit is energetic, dynamic, active; resourceful is responsive, adaptable, innovative; contemporary outward looking, youthful and fresh... In contrast, Trekker codification gave examples of communication work that ranged across indistinct categories in an attempt to convey the meaning of the points of differentiation attitude and authority (Global Sales and Promotions Manager). It should be noted that managers at Trekker considered that the meaning of the brand was partly based on external communications that conveyed how the product addressed these points of differentiation. Returning to the discussion of Trekker codification, ratings across indistinct categories were used to convey the perceived degree to which examples of communication work reflected points of differentiation. These ratings ranged from: ho hum, getting there, on the spot, to don t go there. Commentary which described why particular ratings were given provided little clarification on the meaning of the points of differentiation. For instance, the judge commentary for a picture caption rated ho hum, read uses similar language as the previous captions but this one lacks authority. The findings from Kanga and Trekker clarify Vincent (2002) by demonstrating that the use of metaphors and descriptors may range from clear to less clear articulations of the intended meaning of attributes. At Kanga the implementation of codification which elucidated the meaning of brand attributes enabled employees and partners to embrace a clearer understanding of these attributes. This understanding of brand attributes was part of the cognitive element of the situated identification of individuals. This identification was primed when individuals embarked on

5 Page 5 of 8 ANZMAC 2009 team work to implement advertising and communications. Apart from the activities of crossfunctional teams to implement corporate communications, full-time marketing managers operated rather distinctly from employees and managers of other functions. As part of the development of these communications, employees and partners were made aware of and adopted codification. The Brand and Design Advisor indicated that, as a result of this codification, these organisational members also had favourable attitudes towards codification. Importantly, due to the enhanced cognitive understanding of brand attributes, employees and partners were able to implement corporate communications that reflected brand attributes consistently. It s [codification] been really well received. Everyone loves it... [the effects of this codification being]... our designers understanding our brand better and we re getting better creative execution based on the fact that we re giving more information up front... [this creative execution is]... More on brand, we don t have to go through so many iterations of things. The Brand and Design Advisor also admitted that organisational members were able to more effectively co-ordinate action to produce consistent corporate communications as a result of this codification. This ability can be explained by organisational members understanding brand attributes more clearly. As a result, less time was wasted making proposals for external communications that did not reflect brand attributes. By contrast, at Trekker, Price, Cut, and Home, where the meaning of attributes was not clearly expressed in codification, organisational members could not embody clearly articulated attributes. This resulted in organisational members making proposals for corporate communications and also implementing communications that managers considered detracted from the differentiation of the brand. The Brand Marketer of Price gave an example of a franchisee who sought to implement a store sign that detracted from the typical consistent look of Price signs.... I saw some plans and for whatever reason, someone decided to do something a little bit different which isn t probably ideal. Like you don t drive past McDonalds and see a sign different or you don t drive past Baker s Delight and see Simon s Baker s Delight written on the side. It s always just Baker s Delight. So I sort of put my foot down... The findings from Price, Cut, Home, and Trekker demonstrate that when codification did not elucidate the meaning of brand attributes organisational members could not embrace an understanding of these attributes. Price, Cut, and Home codification did not convey clear expressions of brand attributes to partners responsible for in-store service delivery because this codification was not widely disseminated. The existing codification was used largely by employees involved in implementing printed promotions. Therefore, partners responsible for behavioural facets of the brand, important to in-store service delivery, lacked an understanding of the brand. As a result, retail stores lacked consistent service and presentation. Conclusion and Implications of the Study

6 ANZMAC 2009 Page 6 of 8 Karreman and Rylander (2008) found a lack of empirical research that examines brand management practices. This study examined how codification supports organisational members in maintaining a favourable corporate reputation. The findings show that codification that expresses clearly the meaning of brand attributes used metaphors and descriptors. Metaphors represented examples of communication work that fell within two distinct categories those that did, and those that did not convey the meaning of attributes. Descriptors were definitions of each word describing an attribute. When employees and partners used this codification, they were able to embrace clearly articulated brand attributes. As a result, they had the cognitive ability to implement consistent corporate communications. Rousseau s (1998) perspective of organisational identification explains the ability of organisational members to implement consistent corporate communications. Rousseau (1998) posited that formalised practices may encourage situated identification. Consistent with Rousseau (1998) the findings from Kanga indicate that situated identification was enhanced when employees and partners, part of taskforces to implement communications, used codification that expressed clearly brand attributes. As a result, employees and partners were able to embrace clearly articulated brand attributes. Given the clarity of brand attributes, employees and partners were able to implement corporate communications that conveyed brand attributes consistently. This study has implications for managers who are concerned with the effective maintenance of a favourable corporate reputation. By implementing codification that expresses the meaning of brand attributes clearly, managers promote the effective maintenance of corporate reputation. Managers should focus on the use of metaphors and descriptors to support brand maintenance. The findings, however, should be interpreted in the light of the limitations of this study. Only managers and partners responsible for implementing the branding program were interviewed. These organisational members provided insight into the effects of codification on those employees and partners adopting this practice. Interviews were triangulated across at least three organisational members for each case. This enabled the researcher to achieve converging findings about the dimensions of codification (Yin, 2003). However, other employees using codification were not interviewed. Future studies should examine other brand management practices that support the maintenance of a favourable corporate reputation. References Balmer, J.M.T., Corporate Identity, Corporate Branding and Corporate Marketing: Seeing Through the Fog. European Journal of Marketing 35 (3/4), Burmann, C., and Zeplin, S., Building Brand Commitment: A Behavioural Approach to Internal Brand Management. Journal of Brand Management 12 (4),

7 Page 7 of 8 ANZMAC 2009 Dukerich, JM., and Carter, S.M., Distorted Images and Reputation Repair. In: Hatch, M.J., and Schultz, M., and Larsen, M.H. (Eds.), The Expressive Organization. Oxford University Press Inc.: New York, NY, pp Eisenhardt, K.M., Building Theories from Case Study Research. Academy of Management Review 14 (4), Gray, E.R., and Balmer, J.M.T., Managing Corporate Image and Corporate Reputation. Long Range Planning 31 (5), Kapferer, J., Strategic Brand Management. Kogan Page; London, U.K. Karreman, D., Rylander, A., Managing Meaning Through Branding - the Case of a Consulting Firm. Organization Studies 29 (1), Keller, K.L., Branding and Brand Equity. In: Weitz, B. A., and Wensley, R. (Eds.), Handbook of Marketing. Sage: London, pp Keller, K.L., Strategic Brand Management. Prentice Hall: New Jersey. Knox, S., and Bickerton, D., The Six Conventions of Corporate Branding. European Journal of Marketing 37 (7/8), McCutcheon, D.M., and Meredith, J.R., Conducting Case Study Research in Operations Management. Journal of Operations Management 11 (3), Melewar, T.C., and Karaosmanoglu, E., Seven Dimensions of Corporate Identity. European Journal of Marketing 40 (7), Mitchell, A., Selling the Brand Inside. Harvard Business Review (1), Pharoah, A., Corporate Reputation: The Boardroom Challenge. Corporate Governance 3 (4), Rousseau, D. M. (1998). Why Workers Still Identify With Organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior 19 (3), Strauss, A., and Corbin, J., Basics of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, Sage Publications: California. Vincent, L., Legendary Brands: Unleashing the Power of Storytelling to Create a Winning Market Strategy. Dearborn Financial Publishing: Chicago, IL. Yakimova, R., and Beverland, M.B., The Brand-Supportive Firm: An Exploration of Organisational Drivers of Brand Updating. Journal of Brand Management 12 (6), Yin, R.K., Case Study Research Design and Methods. Sage Publications, Inc.: Thousand Oaks, California.

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