Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T03:26:51.255Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Guest Editors’ Introduction: Ethical Management of Intangible Assets in Contemporary Organizations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2017

Rossella C. Gambetti ,
T. C. Melewar  and
Kelly D. Martin
Rossella C. Gambetti
Affiliation:
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
T. C. Melewar
Affiliation:
Middlesex University
Kelly D. Martin
Affiliation:
Colorado State University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

This essay explains how intangible asset management oriented toward enhancing corporate performance increasingly embeds ethical concerns, primarily to address stakeholder expectations. We discuss how ethical dimensions in intangible asset management may be co-constructed and intertwined in organization-stakeholder interactions to generate collaborative meaning making according to a stakeholder-centric view of the firm. In so doing, we adopt an ethical view that acknowledges that stakeholders beyond the firm have equal status and agency to engage in a social construction process of intangible assets nurtured by ongoing dialogue and reciprocal understanding between organization and stakeholders. The essay concludes by envisioning how the dialogic process of social construction of intangible assets involving both organization and stakeholders is best conceived as a social contract between the two that enacts a cultural bond between intangible assets together with ethical and societal resources that are collectively generated, owned, and maintained.

Keywords

corporate identitycorporate brandcorporate reputationsocial constructionist perspectivestakeholder-centric view of the firmsocial contract
Type
Special Section
Information
Business Ethics Quarterly , Volume 27 , Issue 3 , July 2017 , pp. 381 - 392
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Business Ethics 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Abratt, R., & Kleyn, N. 2012. Corporate identity, corporate branding and corporate reputations: Reconciliation and integration. European Journal of Marketing , 46(7/8): 1048–1063.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alwi, S. F. S., Ali, S. M., & Nguyen, B. 2017. The importance of ethics in branding: Mediating effects of ethical branding on company reputation and brand loyalty. Business Ethics Quarterly , 27(3): 393–422.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balmer, J. M. 2001. Corporate identity, corporate branding and corporate marketing-Seeing through the fog. European Journal of Marketing , 35(3/4): 248–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balmer, J. M., & Gray, E. R. 2003. Corporate brands: what are they? What of them? European Journal of Marketing , 37(7/8): 972–997.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balmer, J. M. T., & Greyser, S. A. 2002. Managing the multiple identities of the corporation. California Management Review , 44(3): 72–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balmer, J. M., Fukukawa, K., & Gray, E. R. 2007. The nature and management of ethical corporate identity: A commentary on corporate identity, corporate social responsibility and ethics. Journal of Business Ethics , 76(1): 7–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balmer, J. M., & Soenen, G. B. 1999. The ACID Test of Corporate Identity Management™. Journal of Marketing Management , 15(1–3): 69–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berens, G., Van Riel, C. B., & Van Bruggen, G. H. 2005. Corporate associations and consumer product responses: The moderating role of corporate brand dominance. Journal of Marketing , 69(3): 35–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berrone, P., Surroca, J., & Tribó, J. A. 2007. Corporate ethical identity as a determinant of firm performance: A test of the mediating role of stakeholder satisfaction. Journal of Business Ethics , 76(1): 35–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biraghi, S., & Gambetti, R. C. 2013. Corporate branding: Where are we? A systematic communication-based inquiry. Journal of Marketing Communications , 21(4): 260–283.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biraghi, S., Gambetti, R. C., & Quigley, S. Forthcoming. Distributed leadership: When people claim brand ownership. In Marques, J. (Ed.), Engaged leadership: Transforming through future oriented design thinking . Berlin: Springer.Google Scholar
Biraghi, S., Gambetti, R. C., & Schultz, D. E. 2017. Advancing a citizenship approach to corporate branding: A societal view. International Studies of Management and Organization , 47(2): 206–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carroll, A. B., & Buchholtz, A. 2014. Business and society: Ethics, sustainability, and stakeholder management . Scarborough, Canada: Nelson Education.Google Scholar
Christensen, L. T., & Askegaard, S. 2001. Corporate identity and corporate image revisited: A semiotic perspective. European Journal of Marketing , 35(3/4): 292–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christensen, L. T., & Cornelissen, J. 2011. Bridging corporate and organizational communication: Review, development and a look to the future. Management Communication Quarterly , 25(3): 383–414.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cornelissen, J. P., Christensen, L. T., & Kinuthia, K. 2012. Corporate brands and identity: Developing stronger theory and the call for shifting debate. European Journal of Marketing , 46(7/8): 1093–1102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cova, B., & Dalli, D. 2009. Working consumers: The next step in marketing theory? Marketing Theory , 9(3): 315–339.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dacin, P. A., & Brown, T. J. 2006. Corporate branding, identity, and customer response. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science , 34(2): 95–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fombrun, C., & Van Riel, C. 1997. The reputational landscape. Corporate Reputation Review , 1(1/2): 1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fukukawa, K., Balmer, J. M. T., & Gray, E. R. 2007. Mapping the interface between corporate identity, ethics and corporate social responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics , 76(1): 1–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grönroos, C. 2011. Value co-creation in service logic: A critical analysis. Marketing Theory , 11(3): 279–301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Handelman, J. M. 2006. Corporate identity and the societal constituent. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science , 34(2): 107–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hatch, M. J., & Schultz, M. 2010. Toward a theory of brand co-creation with implications for brand governance. Journal of Brand Management , 17(8): 590–604.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hatch, M. J., & Schultz, M. 2003. Bringing the corporation into corporate branding. European Journal of Marketing , 37(7/8): 1041–1064.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kleyn, N., Abratt, R., Chipp, K., & Goldman, M. 2012. Building a strong corporate ethical identity. California Management Review , 54(3): 61–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Logsdon, J. M., & Wood, D. J. 2002. Business citizenship: From domestic to global level of analysis. Business Ethics Quarterly , 12(02): 155–187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lusch, R. F., & Vargo, S. L. 2006. Service-dominant logic: Reactions, reflections and refinements. Marketing Theory , 6(3): 281–288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matten, D., & Crane, A. 2005. Corporate citizenship: Toward an extended theoretical conceptualization. Academy of Management Review , 30(1): 166–179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Melewar, T. C. 2003. Determinants of the corporate identity construct: A review of the literature. Journal of Marketing Communications , 9(4): 195–220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Melewar, T. C., Gotsi, M., & Andriopoulos, C. 2012. Shaping the research agenda for corporate branding. European Journal of Marketing , 46(5): 600–608.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moon, J., Crane, A., & Matten, D. 2005. Can corporations be citizens? Corporate citizenship as a metaphor for business participation in society. Business Ethics Quarterly , 15(3): 429–453.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pies, I., Hielscher, S., & Beckmann, M. 2009. Moral commitments and the societal role of business: An ordonomic approach to corporate citizenship. Business Ethics Quarterly , 19(3): 375–401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pitt, L. F., Watson, R. T., Berthon, P., Wynn, D., & Zinkhan, G. 2006. The penguin’s window: Corporate brands from an open-source perspective. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science , 34(2): 115–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Post, J. E. 2002. Global corporate citizenship: Principles to live and work by. Business Ethics Quarterly , 12(2): 143–153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ramani, G., & Kumar, V. 2008. Interaction orientation and firm performance. Journal of Marketing , 72(1): 27–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reddy, M. J. 1979. The conduit metaphor: A case of frame conflict in our language about language. In Ortony, A. (Ed.), Metaphor and thought : 284–297. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Roberts, P. W., & Dowling, G. R. 2002. Corporate reputation and sustained superior financial performance. Strategic Management Journal , 23(12): 1077–1093.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simões, C., & Sebastiani, R. 2017. The nature of the relationship between corporate identity and corporate sustainability: Evidence from the retail industry. Business Ethics Quarterly , 27(3): 423–453.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, C. J., Rindfleisch, A., & Arsel, Z. 2006. Emotional branding and the strategic value of the doppelgänger brand image. Journal of Marketing , 70(1): 50–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Riel, C. B., & Balmer, J. M. 1997. Corporate identity: The concept, its measurement and management. European Journal of Marketing , 31(5/6): 340–355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Riel, C. B., & Fombrun, C. J. 2007. Essentials of corporate communication: Implementing practices for effective reputation management . London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vargo, S. L., & Lusch, R. F. 2004. Evolving to a new dominant logic for marketing. Journal of Marketing , 68(1): 1–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vargo, S. L., & Lusch, R. F. 2008. Service-dominant logic: Continuing the evolution. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science , 36(1): 1–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood, D. J., & Logsdon, J. M. 2008. Business citizenship as metaphor and reality. Business Ethics Quarterly , 18: 51–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar