Managing Meaning through Branding — the Case of a Consulting Firm

2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Kärreman ◽  
Anna Rylander
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Strategic Marketing ◽  
Focus Attention ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Leadership Practice ◽  
External Stakeholders ◽  
Marketing Tool ◽  
The Relationship

The current interest in organizational culture, identity, image and reputation and in organizational discourse points towards the pressure on contemporary organizations to focus attention on the symbolic dimensions of their activities. The phenomenon of branding, while originally portrayed as a marketing tool, can also be understood as an exercise in management of meaning. Branding does not only inform external stakeholders, such as customers and investors, about the values of the organization. It also potentially instructs and directs organizational members. In this sense, branding can be viewed as a management and leadership practice. Drawing on a longitudinal case study, this paper illustrates how these practices are played out in the particular context of a management consulting firm and explores the relationship between branding and organizational identity and identification. The study highlights the shortcomings of the strategic marketing perspective on brands and the need for further empirical studies that examine the role of branding from different perspectives and in different empirical contexts.

USING SUSTAINABILITY-ORIENTED PROCESS INNOVATION TO SHAPE PRODUCT MARKETS

2020 ◽  
pp. 2040001
Author(s):  
MARIA J. BUSTAMANTE
Keyword(s):  
Process Innovation ◽  
Market Development ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
External Market ◽  
Process Innovations ◽  
Representational Practices ◽  
Start Up ◽  
The Relationship

Traditionally, the innovation literature has viewed product innovation as the key competitive driver for firms in the market. But as demands for sustainability increase and technology is advancing sustainability-oriented innovation across industries, there is an opportunity to reconsider the role of process innovations. This study follows the market development process of a start-up founded on the principle of sustainability-oriented innovation and explores how the process innovation itself is used to shape the external market. This paper considers the relationship between process innovations and external market development through a longitudinal case study of a vertical farm start-up in Stockholm, Sweden. Findings show that through a number of representational practices, process innovation can also serve external objectives and play a role in external market development for firms incorporating the principles of sustainability-oriented innovation.

scholarly journals Management Accounting Change in Family Firms: The Ambivalent Role of the Successor

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Annalisa Sentuti ◽  
Francesca Maria Cesaroni
Keyword(s):  
Family Business ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Management Accounting ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Process Of Change ◽  
Succession Process ◽  
The Relationship

Why does a process of management accounting change (MAC) that started with the best premises for a successful conclusion stop? What could be the causes of failure? In the last few decades, several authors have tried to answer these questions in the field of MAC by adopting different theoretical frameworks and offering various responses. However, few contributions have dealt with this theme from the family’s perspective, and they haven’t considered the specific challenges concerning such firms, like those connected to the succession process.However, few contributions have dealt with this theme from the perspective of family and considering their specific characteristics and challenges, as in particular the succession process. To fill this gap, this paper explores the relationship between MAC and the succession process aiming to answer the question: “How can a successor influence the start, development and final outcome of a MAC process in a family business?” Using a longitudinal case study, the paper explores an Italian family firm in which a MAC and a succession process started simultaneously. However, despite all the best premises for its development and implementation, the MAC process was interrupted. The analysis focuses on the successor and his goals and motivations to better understand which role he assumed in the MAC process. Findings suggest that a successor can play an ambivalent role. He can be a key agent in promoting and triggering a MAC process in family firms, but he can also become a major obstacle to the process of change when his personal objectives and interests prevail over the company’s needs.

An Analytical Approach to Cruise Tourism As an Option For Development: a Case Study of the Sultanate of Oman

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-109
Author(s):  
Heba Aziz ◽  
Osman El-Said ◽  
Marike Bontenbal
Keyword(s):  
Capital City ◽  
Sultanate Of Oman ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Cruise Tourism ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Average Expenditure ◽  
Return Intention

The objective of this study was to measure the level of cruise tourists' satisfaction as well as the relationship between satisfaction, recommendation, return intention, and expenditure. Also, the impact of factors such as nationality, length of the visit, and age on the level of expenditure was measured. An empirical approach for data collection was followed and a total of 152 questionnaires were collected from cruise tourists visiting the capital city of Oman, Muscat, as cruise liners anchor at Sultan Qaboos Port. Results of the regression analysis supported the existence of a causal relationship between satisfaction with destination attributes, overall satisfaction, recommendation, return intention, and expenditure. It was found that the average expenditure varies according to age and length of the visit. Recommendations for policy makers were suggested on how to increase the role of cruise tourism in strengthening the economy.

scholarly journals White Pop, Shiny Armour and a Sling and Stone: Indigenous Expressions of Contemporary Congregational Song Exploring Christian-Māori Identity

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 123
Author(s):  
Shannon Said
Keyword(s):  
Hip Hop ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Congregational Song ◽  
Christian Worship ◽  
Pentecostal Churches ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Sydney Australia

It has taken many years for different styles of music to be utilised within Pentecostal churches as acceptable forms of worship. These shifts in musical sensibilities, which draw upon elements of pop, rock and hip hop, have allowed for a contemporisation of music that functions as worship within these settings, and although still debated within and across some denominations, there is a growing acceptance amongst Western churches of these styles. Whilst these developments have taken place over the past few decades, there is an ongoing resistance by Pentecostal churches to embrace Indigenous musical expressions of worship, which are usually treated as token recognitions of minority groups, and at worst, demonised as irredeemable musical forms. This article draws upon interview data with Christian-Māori leaders from New Zealand and focus group participants of a diaspora Māori church in southwest Sydney, Australia, who considered their views as Christian musicians and ministers. These perspectives seek to challenge the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations within a church setting and create a more inclusive philosophy and practice towards being ‘one in Christ’ with the role of music as worship acting as a case study throughout. It also considers how Indigenous forms of worship impact cultural identity, where Christian worship drawing upon Māori language and music forms has led to deeper connections to congregants’ cultural backgrounds.

scholarly journals Blending in: A Case Study of Transitional Ambidexterity in the Financial Sector

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1690
Author(s):  
Beniamino Callegari ◽  
Ranvir S. Rai
Keyword(s):  
Financial Sector ◽  
Economic Sustainability ◽  
Organizational Ambidexterity ◽  
Management Literature ◽  
Innovative Capabilities ◽  
Financial Firm ◽  
The Relationship

Organizational ambidexterity is widely recognized as necessary for the economic sustainability of firms operating in the financial sector. While the management literature has recognized several forms of ambidexterity, the relationship between them and their relative merits remain unclear. By studying a process of implementation of ambidextrous capabilities within a large Scandinavian financial firm, we explore the role of top-down reforms and bottom-up reactions in determining the development of sector-specific innovative capabilities. We find that blended ambidexterity follows naturally from the attempt to correct the tensions arising from harmonic ambidextrous blueprints. The resulting blended practice appears to be closely related to the reciprocal model of ambidexterity, which appears to be a necessity rather than a choice, for large firms attempting to develop innovative capabilities. Consequently, we suggest to re-interpret current taxonomies of ambidexterity not as alternative blueprints, but rather as stages in a long-term process of transition.

Higher education, post-conflict democratization and the legacies of authoritarian rule: The Tripoli University Programme for Rebuilding Libya

2021 ◽  
pp. 174619792098136
Author(s):  
Sansom Milton
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Civic Education ◽  
Authoritarian Rule ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Transitional Processes ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
The Relationship

In this paper, the role of higher education in post-uprising Libya is analysed in terms of its relationship with transitional processes of democratization and civic development. It begins by contextualising the Libyan uprising within the optimism of the ‘Arab Spring’ transitions in the Middle East. Following this, the relationship between higher education and politics under the Qadhafi regime and in the immediate aftermath of its overthrow is discussed. A case-study of a programme designed to support Tripoli University in contributing towards democratisation will then be presented. The findings of the case-study will be reflected upon to offer a set of recommendations for international actors engaging in political and civic education in conflict-affected settings, in particular in the Middle East.

Evolving Views of Islamic Law in Turkey

2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 467-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell Powell
Keyword(s):  
Islamic Law ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Exceptional Case ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Muslim Countries ◽  
Law And Politics ◽  
Legal Opinions ◽  
Turkish Constitution ◽  
The Relationship

The tradition of Kemalist secularism (laiklik) in Turkey is often cited to distinguish Turkey as an exceptional case among predominantly Muslim countries. While it is true that the Turkish Constitution, laws, and legal opinions approach the relationship between the state and religion very differently than those of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, or even Indonesia, it would be wrong to underestimate the role that religion plays in the formation of Turkish legal norms, including citizen understanding of those norms. There is a wealth of literature describing the nature of Turkish secularism and its evolution. A number of both quantitative and qualitative studies inquire about the preference forShari'aamong Turkish voters. The typical question asks whether respondents favor the establishment of aShari'astate. Over the past fifteen years, these surveys have received response rates ranging between five and twenty-five percent in favor of such a state. However, these results are extremely problematic, because they do not provide any context or meaning for “the establishment of aShari'astate,” either for those who favor it or for those who oppose it. This study begins to unpack the range of possible meanings attributed toShari'awithin Turkey, both among voters and among intellectuals, as a framework for future empirical studies and as a basis for deeper understandings of the role of Islam within Turkish law and politics.

Cooperative behaviour and place branding: a longitudinal case study in Italy

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Rinaldi ◽  
Alessio Cavicchi
Keyword(s):  
Geographical Area ◽  
Place Branding ◽  
Cooperative Behaviour ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Methodology ◽  
As Relationship

Purpose This paper aims to understand the motivations driving cooperative behaviour between heterogeneous stakeholders in place-branding activities, focusing on contract-based and relation-based cooperation constructs. Design/methodology/approach The longitudinal case study method is used to help understanding how the investigated network has evolved over four years from an attempt to build a regional umbrella-brand to a network contract between 13 enterprises. Findings The findings suggest that the relationships of trust and shared values among stakeholders are essential to foster cooperation, but also that contract-based governance complements a relation-based governance, enhancing the performance of the alliance. Research limitations/implications The main limitation is related to the case study methodology, as results are strongly dependent on the specific characteristics of the stakeholders and the geographical area analysed. Social implications The role of stakeholders in building a place brand is increasingly important. When analysing cooperative behaviour drivers, more attention should be paid to such intangible assets as social, human, relational and organisational capital. Originality/value This longitudinal case study emphasises that for success in place-branding activities, contract-based cooperation can be particularly useful at the beginning of a network alliance, while relation-based cooperation ensures the strength and continuity of the partnership but it takes time to develop. Responsible leaders, working as relationship facilitators/enablers, are important to keep network members engaged, by creating trust and favouring mutual beneficial relationships between stakeholders.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document