In Search of Corporate Brand Alignment

Abstract

In order to successfully manage corporate brands, there must be coherency between internal and external corporate brand constituents. The philosophical foundations of corporate brand alignment theory are explored by devoting attention towards the ontological and epistemological underpinnings of different paradigms, the functionalist and interpretivist. The importance of bridging the boundaries between paradigms is presented by taking a meta-paradigm perspective. A novel conceptual model is offered that frames the mutual relationship between paradigms into a circular process that simultaneously considers the objectified corporate brand and the corporate branding process in two stages. Corporate brand alignment plays a key role to evolve across stages, as it triggers a virtuous process of value creation and co-creation by fostering connections between various stakeholders. Conversely, the absence of alignment can create relational bottlenecks in progressing from one stage to the other. Hence, it represents a strategic enabler to develop a coherent representation of multiple corporate brand symbolisms. This is followed by the development of corporate brand aligned relationships to successfully co-create value with multiple stakeholders. Internally, employees are called to live the corporate brand and coherency helps in achieving a mutual understanding that enhances the co-creation of authentic corporate brand values. For external alignment, most scholars are suggesting it is crucial to achieve successful value co-creation focused on brand communities. Scholars are also drawing their attention to the crucial importance of B2B (business-to-business) relationships, which include a wide range of stakeholders, such as business clients, suppliers, and distributors. We conclude this chapter by highlighting its main contributions, the related implications and by proposing avenues for future research.