Monitoring and regulating corporate identities using the balanced scorecard

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a parallel review of the role and processes of monitoring and regulation of corporate identities, examining both the communication and the performance measurement literature.

Design/methodology/approach

Two questions are posed: Is it possible to effectively monitor and regulate corporate identities as a management control process? and, What is the relationship between corporate identity and performance measurement?

Findings

Corporate identity management is positioned as a strategically complex task embracing the shaping of a range of dimensions of organisational life. The performance measurement literature likewise now emphasises organisational ability to incorporate both financial and “soft” non‐financial performance measures. Consequently, the balanced scorecard has the potential to play multiple roles in monitoring and regulating the key dimensions of corporate identities. These shifts in direction in both fields suggest that performance measurement systems, as self‐producing and self‐referencing systems, have the potential to become both organic and powerful as organisational symbols and communication tools. Through this process of understanding and mobilising the interaction of both approaches to management, it may be possible to create a less obtrusive and more subtle way to control the nature of the organisation.

Originality/value

This paper attempts the theoretical and practical fusion of disciplinary knowledge around corporate identities and performance measurement systems, potentially making a significant contribution to understanding, shaping and managing organisational identities.

Citation

Kim, J. and Hatcher, C. (2009), "Monitoring and regulating corporate identities using the balanced scorecard", Journal of Communication Management, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 116-135. https://doi.org/10.1108/13632540910951740