scholarly journals Exploring and consolidating the brand personality elements of the political leader

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Varsha Jain ◽  
Meetu Chawla ◽  
B.E. Ganesh ◽  
Christopher Pich
Keyword(s):  
Brand Personality ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Leader ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
External Stakeholders ◽  
Political Branding ◽  
Negative Trait ◽  
Internal Stakeholders

Purpose This study aims to examine brand personality and its application to political branding. This study focuses on the brand personality of a political leader from the BJP Party brand (Bharatiya Janta Party). The development of a strong political brand personality is crucial for success at the polls. Little research has been dedicated to this phenomenon particularly beyond Western political and post-election contexts. Design/methodology/approach The scope and development of the study required a qualitative approach. The theoretical frameworks of the study acted as the deductive base of the study. The insights of the respondents were the inductive base of the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with external stakeholders [voters]. In addition, semi-structured interviews were also adopted to capture the branding activities used by internal stakeholders [BJP]. Findings The brand personality dimensions such as sincerity; agreeableness, competence, energy, openness, conscientiousness and emotional stability were clearly associated with a political leader. Negative qualities such as dictatorial attitudes and arrogance affected the political leader’s brand personality. Religious partisanship was another strong negative trait affecting the brand personality of the political leader. Originality/value The study has an actionable framework for political brand personality in the post-election context. It offers negative qualities to be avoided in the development of the political brand personality of the leader. It offers insights about the political brand personality of the leader in terms of young digitally savvy voters.

scholarly journals Problematizing the presentation and reception of political brands

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 190-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Pich ◽  
Guja Armannsdottir ◽  
Dianne Dean ◽  
Louise Spry ◽  
Varsha Jain
Keyword(s):  
Conservative Party ◽  
The Political ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Young Voters ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Brand Meaning ◽  
Elite Interviews ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Internal Stakeholders

Purpose There are explicit calls for research devoted to how political actors present their brand to the electorate and how this is interpreted. Responding to this, the purpose of this paper is to build an understanding of how political brand messages and values are received and aligned with voter expectations, which in turn shapes the consistency of a political brand. Design/methodology/approach Using an interpretivist perspective, this two-stage approach first focuses on semi-structured interviews with internal stakeholders of the UK Conservative Party and second uses focus group discussions with external stakeholders (voters) of age 18-24 years. Data was collected between 1 December 2014 and 6 May 2015. Findings The findings suggest that the UK Conservative brand had recovered from the “nasty party” reputation. Further, the Conservative brand was perceived as credible, trustworthy and responsible, with positive associations of “economic competence”. However, while the nasty party imagery has declined, the UK Conservative brand continues to face challenges particularly in terms of longstanding negative associations perceived by both internal and external markets. Research limitations/implications It must be acknowledged that all research methods have their own limitations, and acknowledging these will strengthen the ability to draw conclusions. In this study, for example, due to time constraints during the election campaign period, 7 participants supported stage one of the study and 25 participants supported stage two of the study. However, participants from stage one of the study represented all three elements of the UK Conservative Party (Parliamentary, Professional and Voluntary). In addition, the elite interviews were longer in duration and this provided a greater opportunity to capture detailed stories of their life experiences and how this affected their brand relationship. Similarly, participants for stage two focussed on young voters of age 18-24 years, a segment actively targeted by the UK Conservative Party. Practical implications The brand alignment framework can help practitioners illuminate components of the political brand and how it is interpreted by the electorate. The increasing polarisation in politics has made this a vital area for study, as we see need to understand if, how or why citizens are persuaded by a more polarised brand message. There are also social media issues for the political brand which can distort the carefully constructed brand. There are opportunities to evaluate and operationalize this framework in other political contexts. Originality/value The brand alignment model extends current branding theory first by building on an understanding of the complexities of creating brand meaning, second, by operationalizing differences between the brand and how it is interpreted by the electorate, finally, by identifying if internal divisions within the political party pose a threat to the consistency of the brand.

scholarly journals Stakeholder management in PPP projects: external stakeholders’ perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chika Amadi ◽  
Patricia Carrillo ◽  
Martin Tuuli
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Stakeholder Management ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
External Stakeholder ◽  
External Stakeholders ◽  
Project Location ◽  
Internal Stakeholders

Purpose This paper focusses on external stakeholders’ perspective of stakeholder management in public–private partnerships (PPP) projects within the context of developing countries where public opposition to PPP projects is prevalent. The purpose of this paper is to identify the key enablers to PPP projects’ success from the perspective of external stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from two case studies via semi-structured interviews in two PPP project locations in Nigeria. In total, 14 external stakeholders comprising community leaders, trade unionists and human right activist participated in the research. Findings Five key enablers of external stakeholder management were identified. These are as follows: the choice of project location; transparency of the internal stakeholders; timing of stakeholder engagement; knowledge of PPP; and relationship with internal stakeholders. Originality/value External stakeholders’ perspective of stakeholder management in PPP projects within the context of developing countries new to PPP has been established. The practical implications of the five enablers can be used by policy makers and industry professionals to ensure effective stakeholder management of PPP projects.

Participation of Indigenous employees in the Quebec's forestry sector: opportunities and barriers

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Michel Beaudoin ◽  
Marie-Eve Dufour ◽  
Eve Desroches-Maheux ◽  
Luc Lebel
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous People ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Job Insecurity ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Personal Problems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Forestry Sector

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to better understand the factors influencing the attraction of Indigenous workers to the Quebec forestry sector.Design/methodology/approachUsing a collaborative approach, 64 semi-structured interviews were conducted between 2016 and 2018 with workers and stakeholders from three Indigenous communities in Quebec, Canada.FindingsThe results highlight the motivations for choosing a job in the forestry sector, including family and friends, attachment to the territory, financial necessity, the search for a challenge and a sense of pride. They also show some of the obstacles to holding a job in forestry, namely work–life conflict, transportation, job insecurity, education and personal problems.Social implicationsIndigenous people have a lower employment rate than non-Indigenous people, which can be explained by a number of factors that hinder their integration into the labour market. They nevertheless represent an interesting labour pool for companies working in the natural resources sector. This study sheds light on the opportunities and barriers to attract this workforce.Originality/valueThe study is one of the few to use theoretical frameworks focused on motivation and a qualitative approach to data collection in order to examine to examine the attraction of Indigenous workers to the forestry sector in Quebec (Canada) from a worker's perspective.

The use of environmental performance indicators in “the greenest city in Europe”

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 122-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Alpenberg ◽  
Tomasz Wnuk-Pel ◽  
Philip Adamsson ◽  
Johannes Petersson
Keyword(s):  
Performance Indicators ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Environmental Indicators ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
External Stakeholders ◽  
Municipal Managers ◽  
Environmental Performance Indicators

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine why and how municipal managers and CEOs for municipally owned companies use the environmental performance indicators. Design/methodology/approach A case study approach as a research design was used. In total, 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted among managers for administrative departments and municipal company CEOs. Findings This study found that the environmental performance indicators are used by department managers mainly for resource allocation, control and for teaching the employees. The CEOs of the municipal companies use the environmental indicators for communicating with external stakeholders and see the indicators primarily as marketing tools. The main reason why the environmental performance indicators are used in the municipality can be the strong demand from the local politicians to push the “green agenda,” and therefore the managers have to comply. Research limitations/implications As in any case study, generalizations from the research should be made with care, but since this is only one municipality, further research is needed to find additional evidence. Practical implications The findings of this study have a number of implications for future practice, and it is worth mentioning that clear guidelines for how the information could be made more useful for managers at the managerial level in Växjö municipality (VM) are requested for both the municipal managers and the CEOs. Social implications Overall, this study strengthens the idea that environmental performance indicators could be used to a larger extent for communicating with external stakeholders both for municipal departments and companies. Originality/value The research adds to the literature by examining different patterns of using environmental performance indicators in a unique setting – in VM, which is called “the greenest city in Europe” and is one of the “pioneers” in environmental work and extensively uses performance indicators.

scholarly journals Intra-organizational brand resistance and counter-narratives in city branding – a comparative study of three Danish cities

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 1001-1018
Author(s):  
Marianne Wollf Lundholt ◽  
Ole Have Jørgensen ◽  
Bodil Stilling Blichfeldt
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Data ◽  
Political Support ◽  
The Political ◽  
City Branding ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
City Brand ◽  
Counter Narratives ◽  
The City ◽  
Competition For Resources

Purpose This study aims to contribute to an increased understanding of intra-organizational city brand resistance by identifying and discussing different types of counter-narratives emerging from the political and administrative arenas. Design/methodology/approach The empirical material consists of secondary data as well as six in-depth semi-structured interviews with Danish mayors and city managers in three different municipalities in Denmark. Findings Intra-organizational counter-narratives differ from inter-organizational counter-narratives but resemble a number of issues known from extra-organizational resistance. Still, significant differences are found within the political arena: lack of ownership, competition for resources and political conflicts. Lack of ownership, internal competition for resources and distrust of motives play an important role within the administrative arena. Mayors are aware of the needs for continued political support for branding projects but projects are nonetheless realized despite resistance if there is a political majority for it. Research limitations/implications This study points to the implications of city brand resistance and counter-narratives emerging from the “inside” of the political and administrative arenas in the city, here defined as “intra-organizational counter-narratives”. Practical implications It is suggested that politicians and municipality staff should be systematically addressed as individual and unique audiences and considered as important as citizens in the brand process. Originality/value So far little attention has been paid to internal stakeholders within the municipal organization and their impact on the city branding process approached from a narrative perspective.

Employees as ambassadors: embracing new role expectations and coping with identity-tensions

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 702-716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rickard Andersson
Keyword(s):  
Internal Communication ◽  
Role Expectations ◽  
Communication Education ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Employee Perspective ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
External Stakeholders ◽  
And Coping

Purpose To provide an employee perspective on ambassadorship in the context of corporate communication, the purpose of this paper is to explore how employees relate to and experience ambassadorship. Design/methodology/approach The study has a qualitative approach, and the empirical material consists of semi-structured interviews with, and focus groups of, employees of seven organizations in both the public and private sectors. The paper draws on a contemporary understanding of identity where identity is perceived as an ongoing reflexive process in which employees negotiate and construct of their selves through relating to role expectations and interacting with others. Therefore, ambassadorship is understood as a social-identity, or persona, that is referenced by employees in their identity work. Findings The findings indicate that employees embrace this persona as they imagine that external stakeholders, colleagues and managers expect it of them. However, the ambassador persona also gives rise to identity-tensions both during work and off work. Research limitations/implications The paper contributes a novel way to understand ambassadorship as well as highlighting some of the more problematic aspects of it and furthering the understanding of the concept. Practical implications The findings highlight that ambassadorship can have problematic consequences that needs to be addressed. They suggest that the employee perspective should be taken into consideration in internal communication education and training. Originality/value The paper contributes a novel employee perspective on ambassadorship.

The “betrayal effect” on post-acquisition integration

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-303
Author(s):  
Nazila Razi ◽  
John Garrick
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Change ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Acquisition Integration ◽  
Integration Strategies

Purpose This paper aims to draw on Latour’s (1991) conceptual “performative” framework to investigate the role of management control systems (MCSs) in the establishment of post-acquisition integration. The study adopts a qualitative case study approach, where data are collected and analysed from an Australian company which had recently completed a number of acquisitions. Findings demonstrate the performative powers and effects of MCSs, which contribute to shaping customer and sales integration activities, including the forms some resistance may take. In this case, a bitter betrayal was perceived to have occurred in an early stage of the merger, and this paper argues that the use of a performative theoretical framework has enabled subsequent post-acquisition integration strategies to be rendered more visible and thus actionable. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a qualitative approach where data are collected and analysed from an Australian case study company which had recently completed a number of acquisitions. Research methods used include semi-structured interviews, a review of archival documents and observations to capture daily integration activities and practices of actors operating in the company. Findings Findings demonstrate the performative powers and effects of MCSs, which structure customer and sales integration activities and make post-acquisition integration relations strategy visible and actionable. Research limitations/implications Findings are only on one case study, and there is a need to undertake further detailed case studies across a range of industries and timeframes, plus, where possible, revisit such studies post hoc to assess the stability of success of the integration. Practical implications Integration strategy and strategic change may be constituted by non-human actants such as MCSs. Practitioners who are engaged in acquisitions and making integration decisions need to recognise that MCSs do not merely play a subordinate role to integration strategies, but rather is an important moderating variable that play an active role in their formulation, configuration and enactment. Originality/value A performative approach is taken to provide a broader analytical framework for analysing the construction and sustaining of post‐acquisition integration relations, where there is no distinction between technical and social dimensions of action but, rather, the two are merged. This makes it possible to overcome the limitations inherent in existing theoretical frameworks. Using this approach, integration relations involve construction of a network of entities that are enrolled to support, create and sustain the integration.

Focusing on dilemmas challenging reputation management in higher education

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 461-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kati Suomi ◽  
Päivikki Kuoppakangas ◽  
Ulla Hytti ◽  
Charles Hampden-Turner ◽  
Jukka Kangaslahti
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Master's Degree ◽  
Reputation Management ◽  
Student Survey ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Degree Programme ◽  
External Stakeholders ◽  
Master’S Degree ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the dilemmas that challenge reputation management in the context of higher education (HE). Design/methodology/approach – The paper introduces one Finnish multidisciplinary master's degree programme as a case in point. The empirical data comprises a student survey and semi-structured interviews with internal and external stakeholders whose work relates to the master's degree programme in question. Findings – The findings identify different types of dilemmas arising from collaboration between stakeholders of HE. Practical implications – The paper demonstrates how the dilemma-reconciliation method can be used to enhance reputation management in HE. Originality/value – The novelty of the paper is in applying dilemma theory (Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars, 2000) in parallel with reputation theories. Dilemma theory attributes reputation risks to conflicting aims.

Identification, emergence and filling of organizational knowledge gaps: a retrospective processual analysis

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 411-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sajjad Haider
Keyword(s):  
Real Life ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
Organizational Knowledge ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Knowledge Gaps ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Requirements ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Processual Approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the processes of identification, emergence and filling of organizational knowledge gaps over an extended period of time, using the strategy in action perspective. Specifically, it aims to explore the nature and types of knowledge gaps, to capture their changes and to shed some light on the processes of filling knowledge gaps. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on two case studies and adopts a processual approach. It analyses 40 years of data collected using secondary sources and semi-structured interviews over a period of two years and identifies critical organizational events both in retrospect and real time. Findings – The findings show that the two case study companies have identified a number of knowledge gaps over the 40 years period. Changes in the nature and type of knowledge gaps are identified and discussed in detail leading to a new taxonomy of organisational knowledge gaps. The findings report that knowledge gaps emerge due to changes in both exogenous and endogenous conditions over time. The filling of those gaps depends on a number of factors. Among these, the ability to make a distinction between “strategic” and “imposed” knowledge gaps and the ability to build absorptive capacity within a stipulated time frame have a predominant role. Research limitations/implications – The respondents were asked to look back into the history of their company using their memory of events to provide explanations surrounding critical organizational events. Since some of the respondents had not witnessed all of the events in question, their responses were at times based on hearsay. However, every effort was made to check the authenticity of the respondents ' explanations, such as using a range of sources and discussing the events with respondents at different hierarchical levels of the company. Practical implications – This study provides examples of knowledge in practice and puts forward a new taxonomy of knowledge gaps which can help managers to deal with imposed and strategic knowledge requirements. Specifically, this study equips managers with tools on how to devise their knowledge strategy, how to identify their knowledge requirements and what are different sources (internal and external) which they can explore to fill those knowledge gaps. Originality/value – The paper builds on the strategy in practice perspective, which stresses the need for further studies to link theoretical frameworks with practical solutions. In this respect, this paper attempts to make sense of organizational knowledge theory by applying it in real life business situations and by unearthing the concept and usage of knowledge gaps. The use of a retrospective processual approach to study changes in organizational knowledge requirements over time is another interesting aspect of this research. Finally, the paper provides a new taxonomy of organizational knowledge gaps.

scholarly journals The politics behind design projects: when space, organization, and technology collide

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Grégory Jemine ◽  
François Pichault ◽  
Christophe Dubois
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Work Organization ◽  
Organization Design ◽  
The Political ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Ways Of Working ◽  
Political Complexity ◽  
Space Organization

PurposeWhile more and more organizations commit to transformation projects with the aim of redesigning simultaneously their workspaces, work organization, and technologies, the design process supporting such projects remains largely understudied. This paper examines the political tensions that occur when such processes unfold as well as their implications for project management. By doing so, the paper counterbalances the prescriptive and normative literature on “New Ways of Working” which largely overlooks the political complexity of such projects.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on a qualitative study of a triple design process in a media company. Data collection mainly consists of a nine-month process of non-participant observation of weekly meetings held by the strategic group in charge of the project. Semi-structured interviews with members of the executive committee have also been conducted.FindingsThe analysis illustrates how space, organization and technology are gradually designed and structured. Four interconnected and often concealed mechanisms that support triple design processes are identified: political tensions, unexpected twists, conflicting temporalities and arbitration measures.Originality/valueThe originality of the paper lies in breaking down the concept of design in three separate objects – organization, space and technology – and examining how these objects were conjointly problematized by an organization in transformation, whereas existing studies often investigate organization design, space design or technology design in isolation.

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