Prelims

Half Title Page

The Emerald Handbook of Multi-Stakeholder Communication

Title Page

The Emerald Handbook of Multi-Stakeholder Communication: Emerging Issues for Corporate Identity, Branding and Reputation

Edited by

Pantea Foroudi

Middlesex University, UK

Bang Nguyen

Shanghai University, China

And

T. C. Melewar

Middlesex University, UK

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2022

Editorial matter and selection © 2022 Pantea Foroudi, Bang Nguyen and T. C. Melewar.

Individual chapters © 2022 The authors. Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited.

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No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the chapters are those of the authors. Whilst Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the chapters' suitability and application and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-80071-898-2 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-80071-897-5 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-80071-899-9 (Epub)

Dedication

To my lovely brother, Dr Mohammad Mahdi Foroudi – My life started whenyou were born; since you have flown to heaven, we live with your memories; our love for you shall live forever till we meet again. Also, to my Father, Dr Mohammad Foroud Foroudi and my Mum, Flora Mahdavi.

Pantea Foroudi

I dedicate this book to my beloved Rob

TC Melewar

About the Contributors

Marwa Abdellateef University of South Wales MBA holder, currently a UNICAF University DBA candidate, a certified mentor by RELO, US Embassy in Cairo and an IVLP alumnus.

Joseph Abraham is currently Senior Lecturer in Business and Management in the Management and Human Resources department at the Coventry University London campus. He is also the Course Director for a popular undergraduate course. His research interests are in corporate rebranding, corporate branding, brand identification and brand engagement.

Ogechi Adeola is an Associate Professor of Marketing and Head of Department of Operations, Marketing and Information Systems at Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria. She has published academic papers in top peer-reviewed journals, and her co-authored articles won Best Paper Awards at international conferences in 2016–2019, consecutively.

Hashem Aghazadeh is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Tehran. He also serves as Executive and Support Deputy at the University of Tehran Science and Technology Park. He is the author of over 10 books such as Principles of Marketology and papers published in credible journals such as the Journal of Business Research and Industrial Engineering and Management Systems.

Emeka Raphael Agu currently works as a Research Assistant in Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria. As a researcher, he has collaborated with top academics to publish academic papers in top scholarly journals. His research interests include public policy, marketing communication, organizational behaviour and human resource management.

Ahmed Alhabashi is a Lecturer of Business Administration with previous professional work experience in the oil and gas sector. He obtained an MA from the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, USA, and a BSc from Jubail Industrial College, KSA. Currently he has been assigned as Head of Planning at an affiliated organization and holds several professional certifications.

Amad Ali is a DBA candidate at the University of West Scotland. His research interest is on corporate identity and reputation in higher education.

Zyad M. Alzaydi Assistant Professor of Marketing at Al Baha University, Faculty of Administrative and Financial studies, Prince Mohammad Bin Saud, Al Bahah Province, Saudi Arabia.

Angela Antonia Beccanulli is a PhD candidate in Management and Innovation at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Italy). At the Università Cattolica she is affiliated with LABCOM (Research Lab on Business Communication) and she also teaches Brand Communication at the Master in Digital Communication Specialist programme. Her current research topics include object–consumer relationships, technology and tourism, and cultural branding.

Silvia Biraghi PhD, is Assistant Professor at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Italy). She is interested in how consumer collectives and prosumption shape markets and consumer culture, especially in technomediated contexts. She teaches corporate communication, branding, omnichannel management and brand innovation. She was visiting scholar at Boston University and Northwestern University.

Rosa Maria Caprino is Adjunct Professor and currently teaches International Business at the Department of Economics and Statistics. She has published chapters nationally and internationally in books and articles on international business and technologies. Since 1995 she has been working as a financial and board member for several organizations, especially in the banking sector.

Dr Nazan Colmekcioglu is a Lecturer in Marketing and Strategy at Cardiff University. Her research interests span the field of consumer behaviour and communication. More specifically, Dr Nazan investigates the motivations behind consumption and anti-consumption attitudes of consumers to develop effective communication strategies for marketers and businesses.

Maria Teresa Cuomo PhD, is an Associate Professor of Business Economics at the University of Salerno, where she teaches ‘Management and Innovation’ and ‘Management’. She taught at the Business School of the ‘Bicocca’ University in Milan. She is a member of several editorial committees of national and international journals. She has published in top international journals, about: reputation, consumer behaviour, augmented retail, and corporate and investment assessment. She has presented papers and research outcomes at numerous conferences all around the world. She carries out research, consultancy and training in various organizations (both public and private) on finance and performance, investment assessment, market research and marketing.

Alex Deffner is Professor of Urban and Leisure Planning at the Department of Planning and Regional Development, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece. He has numerous scientific publications in journals, books and conference proceedings. His work covers the fields of place marketing/branding, tourism, culture, sport, event planning, urban planning and regeneration, planning theories.

Charles Dennis Professor of Consumer Behaviour at The Business School, Middlesex University (UK), and Associate Editor in the Marketing section of the Journal of Business Research. His main teaching and research area is (e-)retail and consumer behaviour – the vital final link of the Marketing process.

Farbod Fakhreddin is a PhD candidate in marketing management at Payame Noor University (PNU). His research interests include consumer behaviour, strategic marketing and innovation. He has published original research papers in the Journal of Product & Brand Management, Journal of Promotion Management and Journal of Marketing Analytics.

Rahime Zaman Fashami is PhD student in Business Management. Her research interests are in the scope of digital marketing, social media, content marketing, branding, brand engagement, sharing economy etc. and has written papers on these areas. She also is a marketing consultant.

Pedram Fazlinejad is a Strategic Management PhD candidate at the University Of Tehran. His work focuses on open strategy and OVP.

Pantea Foroudi (PhD, SFHEA) is the business manager and solution architect at Foroudi Consultancy as well as is a member of Middlesex University London. Her primary research interest has focused on consumer behaviour from a multidisciplinary approach with a particular focus on the concept of customer perception and its effect on corporate brand identity, design, sustainable development goals (SDGs). Pantea has published widely in international academic journals such as the British Journal of Management, Journal of Business Research, European Journal of Marketing and so on. She is the associate/senior/editor of the International Journal of Hospitality Management, Journal of Business Research, International Journal of Hospitality Management, International Journal of Management Reviews, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management and more.

Rossella C. Gambetti PhD, is Professor of Branding and Consumer Culture at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan. Rossella is also a Research Fellow of the Jane and Hans Hufschmid Chair of Strategic Public Relations and Business Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism (University of Southern California), Los Angeles.

Cinzia Genovino PhD in Management and Information Technology from the University of Salerno, where she currently teaches Management at the Department of Economics and Statistics. She has published national and international chapter in books and articles on place branding, as well as marketing and corporate finance. Since 1998 she works as financial and marketing consultant for several organizations, especially in the financial sector.

Suraksha Gupta is a Professor of Marketing at Newcastle University, London, UK. She has been conferred with an award of Best Professor in Marketing for her teaching and for Excellence in Academic Research for her work as a marketing scholar. She has also been awarded for her outstanding achievements by intel corporation and Samsung during her industry tenure.

Manijeh Haghighinasab is a Faculty Member in Alzahra University. She Holds PhD in Management, majoring in International Marketing from the University of Tehran. She was a Lecturer in Marketing at the Tourism School of UAB in Spain. Her expertise is mostly in international marketing, digital marketing, B2B marketing etc. She had published many books and papers on these subjects.

Jane Hemsley-Brown (Prof Dr) has over 100 publications in marketing, branding and higher education consumer choice. Her most notable publications are: Hemsley-Brown and Oplatka (2015) Higher Education Consumer Choice, Palgrave; Hemsley-Brown and Oplatka (2006) Universities in a competitive global marketplace. Jane was Editor in Chief of the Journal of Marketing for Higher Education (2009–2019).

Linda D. Hollebeek is interested in consumer and/or customer engagement and interactive consumer/brand relationships. Linda's work has been published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Service Research, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Interactive Marketing and Journal of Business Research, among others.

Oserere Ibelegbu is a Management Scholar Academy-Research Assistant at Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria. She obtained a master's degree in Information Science and a bachelor's degree in Economics, both from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. She has academic publications in the areas of customer service and service quality, digital technologies, tourism and corporate social responsibility (CSR), among others.

Chanaka Jayawardhena Professor of Marketing at Surrey Business School (SBS) and Head of the Department of Marketing and Retailing. He also holds visiting professorial positions at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland and University of Hull. Prior to joining SBS (in February 2020), he was the Professor of Marketing at University of Hull. Previously, he held faculty positions at the University of Loughborough, DeMontfort University and University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. He is a former Cambridge Commonwealth Scholar and has also been a consultant and adviser to governments and has worked with a number of public and private organizations.

Maria Jesus Jerez-Jerez holds a PhD in Business Management from Middlesex University, London, UK, an MA in International Hotel and Restaurant Management from London Metropolitan University, UK, and a BSc in Hospitality and Tourism, Madrid, Spain. Before becoming an educator, she held various positions in hotel and tourism management.

Nina Overton-de Klerk is Emeritus Professor of Strategic Communication at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, where she remains active in doctoral supervision, research and publications. Apart from spending many years in public and private higher education in South Africa, she has spent 13 years in the brand communication industry where she has, amongst other, acquired extensive experience in corporate reputation building.

Helnaz Ahmadi Lari is currently a PhD student in Marketing, and a recent MSC strategic marketing graduate who was awarded a distinction alongside an employment history in the business field.

Sajedeh Sadat Majidi is a Marketing PhD candidate at the University of Tehran. Her research interests include eWOM, investor behaviour and social media marketing. She has authored a book titled Principles and Techniques of Negotiation which has been published by the University Publication Center, and she is author of the Encyclopedia of Applied Scientific Education. She has published articles in peer-reviewed journals and conferences.

Hossein Maleki is a Research Fellow in industrial Marketing and B2B relationships at the University of Tehran. He was honored as the top student at undergraduate and graduate degrees in 2015 and 2018. He has written some papers on buyer–supplier relationships, industrial marketing, supply chain management and business strategies in peer-reviewed journals.

Reza Marvi is an Associate Lecturer in Marketing in Middlesex University. His prime research interest includes customer engagement.

Luciana Mattiello is an Architect and Urbanist, with a Postgraduate Degree in Graphic Design and Strategic Design. She is the Creative Director and founder of STUDIOMDA, a Belgian-Brazilian studio specializing in strategies for wayfinding design (1993–2022). Luciana has realized many award-winning projects. She is a team strategist and leader, responsible for company management, international ventures and connecting with markets.

T. C. Melewar Professor of Marketing and Strategy, Middlesex University London, UK. TC's research and publications are in the areas of branding, corporate identity and international marketing.

Mohamed Idrus Abd Moin is a principal specialist at Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology (UniKL MIAT) in Subang, Selangor, Malaysia. He is a former Dean at UniKL MIAT and has vast teaching and industry experience in the field of aviation management. His experiences in the airline industry span (the airline) strategic and operational footprints over a period of 35 years in Malaysia.

Clarissa Muir is a PhD candidate and lecturer in the Department of Strategic Communication at the University of Johannesburg where she lectures on both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Her research focusses on the topics of corporate sustainability and organizational purpose. She has presented both nationally and internationally and frequently provides corporate training within the field of branding and marketing.

Alireza Nankali is a PhD student in marketing management at University of Tehran. His research interests are co-innovation, co-creation, customer engagement, customer experience, IMC and branding. He has published national and international chapters in books and articles on marketing issues. Since 2017 he has been working as a marketing consultant and manager for several organizations.

Asieh Nazemi is a PhD candidate in marketing management. She is the Co-founder of IMCacademy.ir and has related experience in CRM, IMC, SST and service ecosystem. She also has experience teaching in the marketing field in top universities. Also, she has publications, workshops, meetings and lectures on these areas.

Bang Nguyen is Professor at the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Shanghai University, in Shanghai, China. His research interests include customer relationship management (CRM), branding, entrepreneurship, BtB marketing and innovation management.

Maria Palazzo (PhD, AFHEA, FHEA, MSc Honours, MA, BA Honours) is a Research Fellow at the Department of Political and Communication Studies, University of Salerno (Italy). She is also an academic tutor and a lecturer at the Universitas Mercatorum (Rome, Italy). Her articles have been published in the TQM Journal, Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing, Journal of Brand Management and in other academic outlets.

Ann Petermans is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Architecture and Arts, Hasselt University, Belgium. She chairs the Design Research Society's Special Interest Group on Design for Wellbeing, Happiness and Health. Her research interests pertain in particular to designing for experience in designed environments and for diverse user groups, and research related to design for subjective well-being and how architecture and interior architecture can contribute in this respect. Ann is editorial board member of The Design Journal and publishes in various high-quality journals. She is also co-editor of the books Design for Well-being: An Applied Approach (2020) and Retail Design: Theoretical Perspectives (2017), both published by Routledge.

Nor Aida Abdul Rahman is an Associate Professor at Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology (UniKL MIAT) in Subang, Selangor, Malaysia. Currently, she serves as a Head of Aviation Management at Universiti Kuala Lumpur. She earned a PhD in Management (supply chain management) from Brunel University, London, and Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Business and Administration from National University of Malaysia.

Nakisa Rezaie is a Marketing PhD candidate at the University Of Tehran. His work focuses specifically on consumer behaviour and brand fluidity. Currently, she is working on her PhD thesis which is entitled: Explaining the phenomenon of brand fluidity by theories of learning.

Orsola Salmista is a PhD student in Politics and Market at the University of Salerno, where she currently teaches Marketing at the Department of Economics and Statistics. She has published national and international chapter in books and articles on international business, as well as marketing. Since 1995 she has been working as a financial consultant for several organizations.

Nader Seyyedamiri is a Faculty Member in University of Tehran, Faculty of Entrepreneurship. He holds PhD in Marketing from the University of Tehran and works as a Guest Researcher in Aalborg University of Denmark, Campus of Copenhagen. Nader's research area is Entrepreneurial and Digital Marketing in Tourism and Small and Medium E-Businesses. As a member of the ITS and the Asian Marketing Association, he is consultant and author of varied academic articles and book in these fields.

Kleanthis Sirakoulis is Associate Professor at the Department of Business Administration, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece. He holds a PhD in Urban Leisure Planning. He also worked as an expert in various European-funded projects. He is a member of the Scientific Board of Institute of Local Authorities. He is also a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Project Management. His current research is focused on planning methodologies for developmental projects.

Waleed Yousef is an Assistant Professor of Marketing, and previously a Marketing Lecturer at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University. Currently he is assigned as Director of Planning and Quality for the Education Sector at an affiliated organization. He obtained his PhD from Middlesex University London, an MSc in Marketing Communications from Manchester Metropolitan University and a BS in Marketing Management from King Faisal University, KSA. His research interests include consumer behaviour, branding and culture.

Dongmei Zha presently a PhD candidate at the Business School, Middlesex University, London. She has extensive experience in marketing practise having worked as a sales and marketing manager in technology companies in China. Dongmei's research interests are in the fields of experiential marketing, sensory marketing, branding and consumer psychology. Her research has been published in marketing and management journals including the International Journal of Management Review and Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal.

Preface

There has been a growing interest in the subject of stakeholders and communication in recent years amongst academics and practitioners because there is a belief that a business operating in a competitive corporate market gains reputational value from a strong corporate brand reputation which in turn influences consumer patronage and consumer decision-making. The significant role of the corporate communications is to developing and maintaining relationships with the stakeholders of a contemporary organization. There is an extensive belief in today's society on how the company is viewed by key stakeholders such as investors, shareholders, consumers, customers, members of the community and employees in which the company resides. The challenge is to explore new and effective ways to harness the power of the communication opportunities it presents to engage with stakeholders in interactive, immediate and innovative ways. Any successful communication campaign will include them in its strategy. We view the study of the relationship between brands, identity, internal and external stakeholders and companies to be timely topics for further investigation.

Readers will be able to understand research studies on The Emerald Handbook of Stakeholder Communication for Corporate Branding, Identity and Reputation from different branding points of view. In this sense, they will be able to compare, contrast and comprehend whether the stakeholders' communication from difference lenses are delivered similarly or otherwise in different parts of the world. This enables readers to understand differences and subsequent application towards managing these stakeholders. In this context, readers will be able to acquire ‘knowledge and understanding’ of (1) the key issues in stakeholder and communication theories; (2) the need for a strategic approach to planning and campaign management and (3) new developments in stakeholder and communication theories. In addition, they will be able to (1) analyze the complex web of stakeholder audiences that brands must address; (2) develop and manage stakeholder strategy and campaigns and (3) adapt to the differing demands of stakeholders such as employees, the media and other stakeholder audiences.

The book provides researchers, scholars and postgraduate students in marketing and business with a comprehensive treatment of the nature of relationships between companies, brands and stakeholders in different areas and regions of the globe.

Pantea Foroudi is a Senior Lecturer in Branding with the Department of Marketing, Branding and Tourism at the Business School, Middlesex University London, UK.

Bang Nguyen is Professor of Marketing with the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Shanghai University, China.

T. C. Melewar is Professor of Marketing and Strategy with the Department of Marketing, Branding and Tourism at the Business School, Middlesex, University of London.

Acknowledgements

Having an impression and turning it into a book is as hard as it sounds; however, it was a very thought-provoking and enjoyable experience for us. We believe we have managed to bring a distinct collection of thoughts from academics and practitioners who pursue their enthusiasm for advancing contemporary branding issues globally. We hope the chapters compile in this book advance the readers' knowledge and deliver clarity in understanding contemporary issues on stakeholders' communication empirically, theoretically and globally. Also, we hope our book encourages readers to conduct more challenging studies in the future.

Readers will be able to understand research studies from different stakeholders' communication points of view and able to acquire ‘knowledge and understanding’ of (1) the key issues in stakeholder and communication theories; (2) the need for a strategic approach to planning and campaign management and (3) new developments in stakeholder and communication theories. In addition, they will be able to (1) analyze the complex web of stakeholder audiences that brands must address; (2) develop and manage stakeholder strategy and campaigns and (3) adapt to the differing demands of stakeholders such as employees, the media and other stakeholder audiences.

In this sense, they will compare, contrast and comprehend whether the branding from different lenses is delivered similarly or otherwise in different parts of the world. This enables readers to understand differences and subsequent applications towards managing these brands. It determines current practices and research in diverse areas, regions and commercial and non-commercial sectors worldwide. Comparing and contrasting the brand values covering different research methodologies and settings will be very interesting. It is stimulating to compare and contrast different markets covering essential aspects of companies' brands, identity, stakeholders and reputation.

We appreciate all our colleagues who contributed chapters to this book. We especially want to thank Nick Wolterman, Virginia Chapman, Brindha Thirunavukkarasu, Kousalya Thangarasu and David Mulvaney at Emerald, whose inspirations have assisted us in creating this book.

Pantea Foroudi, Bang Nguyen and T. C. Melewar