The role of corporate art in the management of corporate identity
Corporate Communications: An International Journal
ISSN: 1356-3289
Article publication date: 6 August 2008
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the potential contributions of corporate art collections (CACs) to the process of corporate identity management within companies.
Design/methodology/approach
Respondents in 181 enterprises in nine different countries completed a questionnaire concerning the roles of CACs in symbolising a firm's core values and culture, influencing the attitudes and behaviour of employees, and developing a company's external image. A regression analysis identified the variables that determined the primary roles of CACs in particular businesses.
Findings
CACs were routinely employed to facilitate marketing communications (internal as well as external) and to project corporate identities, including aspects related to a company's core values. Additionally collections were frequently used to symbolise core values to a firm's employees.
Research limitations/implications
Less than a majority of the sampling frame returned the questionnaire. Only a single manager was approached in each enterprise. Case studies of the roles of different kinds of CAC (classical, contemporary, etc.) in disparate industry sectors are required.
Practical implications
The results demonstrate that CACs represent a powerful marketing communications weapon capable both of attracting clients and developing corporate identity.
Originality/value
More than half the Fortune 500 companies and around 2000 other major enterprises in Europe and North America now collect art. This research was the first ever to investigate the use of CACs for marketing (especially corporate identity building) purposes.
Keywords
Citation
Kottasz, R., Bennett, R., Savani, S. and Ali‐Choudhury, R. (2008), "The role of corporate art in the management of corporate identity", Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 235-254. https://doi.org/10.1108/13563280810893634
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2008, Emerald Group Publishing Limited