Corporate Image of Commercial Banks (1996-1997)

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The Discussion paper views the positive corporate image (CI) as a major factor for the stability of the banking system. The paper studies commercial banks in Bulgaria between 1996 and 1997: the dire 1996 bank crisis and introduction of a currency board in 1997. CI is influenced by manageable and unmanageable factors. Manageable factors are as follows: corporate identity, corporate communication and corporate public. Creation of the CI includes translation of corporate identity via corporate communication on the corporate public. The actions used to create the CI are determined by the public's expectations. The paper studies mass media as unmanageable factors. The content analysis of daily's headlines suggests that mass media both reflect and create the image of banks, ie mass media is a channel as well as an active source of information. In other words the knowledge acquired from mass media forms the group mind of the public. Any mass media creates the image of the banking system using its own methods: location of the article on the page, its publication on various days of the week, use of pictorial elements, etc. Empirical data reveals zones of similarity using various communicative approaches in reflecting the image. These zones are defined as 'Effect of communication focusing'. The effect is associated with the publication of banks' annual report in April. Based on the conclusion of the content analysis, criteria for initiating image creation campaigns in mass media are specified. More...