Integrating corporate branding and transformational leadership: Mastering macro changes

Hadiono, Alvin

Abstract

In times of a global economic crisis and corporate scandals, companies are well advised to develop strategic answers to existing threatening trends such as changing consumer behaviour, a lack of qualified personnel as well as increased scrutiny of brands by society, financial markets or international investors. This paper regards an integration of transformational leadership and corporate branding to be an effective equipment to counteract these trends and contribute to higher levels of corporate stability. The objective should be achieving the highest possible level of authenticity in the communication of companies with internal and external customers and other stakeholders. The paper focuses on its central tenet of achieving a congruence of identities of a variety of stakeholders implemented, facilitated and lived by transformational and corporate brand-orientated leadership with its core task of creating a corporate culture to authentically reflect the core values of the brand. The paper provides global marketing managers with a conceptualization for a more effective and innovative corporate branding strategy execution based on empathetic stakeholder orientation. The conceptual and interdisciplinary study aims to explain the relationship between corporate branding, brand-building behaviour, identity congruence and leadership as the key-integrating factor not integrated so far in the literature. Based on mainstream models of corporate branding, it discusses and interlinks those models with recent and relevant research findings in the field of identity and leadership and provides an innovative synthesized conceptualization. The generation of an integrated model will support leaders in adjusting to the current macro changes by holistically managing corporate branding efforts. Hence, the model enables global marketing managers to more effectively respond to current trends and stimulate consumption. The model provides the global marketing manager with the systematic steps of a corporate brand-building process targeted to stimulate consumer consumption through higher levels of authenticity and overall stakeholder empathy. The steps also imply a new and expanded skill repertoire of global marketing managers. From a political perspective, the model, as it focuses on identity congruence between the company’s corporate identity and the identity of other stakeholders (including the society), might contribute to harmonising the often competing priorities of the various market actors and improve the perception and functioning of a market economy in different economic settings.

• Presentation Conference Type: Presentation / Talk
• Conference Name: AMA Global Marketing SIG
• Start Date: Jan 13, 2011
• Deposit Date: Jun 26, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 28, 2024
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/12083795
• Publisher URL: https://www.amaglobalsig.org/cancun2011