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This conceptual paper aims to respond to the dearth of theory and mechanisms for handling the inherent ethereality, multiplicity and mutability of organisational identity and organisational image.

This study considers existing approaches to organisational identity noting the diverse understandings of the paradoxical nature of identity. The authors suggest that identity is still essentially perceived as what is core and enduring about the character of an organisation with changes of identity being viewed as occurrences effectuated by events. In contrast, the authors argue that, because of the fluid interrelationships between identity and image, organisational identity is better viewed as an unstable construct.

Departing from Bakhtin’s logic of dialogism, this study proposes that identity–image result from dialogic relationships which in turn construct a system of polyphony. This study devises a preliminary polyphonic model which has the capacity to incorporate diverse stakeholder associations and fluctuating interpretations as well as situational understandings of organisational messages.

This study’s proposed model allows to trace how organisational identity–image is continually co-constructed recursively and cyclically and to systematise the various voices that are important for an organisation’s strategic objectives.

This paper aims to present an exploration of possible associations between the Jungian archetypes frequently used in marketing and three well-known products based on artificial intelligence (AI), namely, Sophia, Alexa and Articoolo.

The study conducted emotionalist interviews to gather thick data from 11 participants on how they conceptualize these AI-based products. In the absence of any existing relevant hypotheses, this paper attempts to build theory using a case study approach and qualitative analysis of interview narratives.

Despite the human attributes ascribed to these products, participants were principally concerned with their purpose, efficiency and the degree of trust which they felt could be accorded to the product. Anthropomorphism emerged as significant with participants making some associations with common archetypes traditionally exploited in marketing and this suggests a possible means of enhancing consumer trust in AI products.

Little research has been conducted on the marketing of AI and this study presents a timely identification of some potentially significant issues. As AI is intended to mimic some aspects of human intelligence, the role of the archetype in creating a personality to enhance trust may prove crucial in securing consumer confidence.

This paper aims to adopt the “simple rules” approach developed by Sull and Eisenhardt (2016) and apply it to explain how corporate social responsibility (CSR) manifests in myriad ways depending on the particular socio-economic and geopolitical context.

It illustrates the implicit principle of “simple rules” through the case of a major petroleum company in the United Arab Emirates (Emirates National Oil Company [ENOC]) using content analysis to trace its interpretation and practice of CSR as transmitted via its social media platforms and stakeholder response.

ENOC’s CSR is primarily associated with two government objectives. One relates to human resource initiatives, most especially to the development of local talent in response to the government’s priority of reducing the country’s excessive reliance on expatriate labor. The second is that of preserving local heritage which is reflected in the prominence of local religious values in its posts. The prioritization of these two key themes is a manifestation of how, from the vast range of activities that can be considered as constituting CSR, an individual company chooses those that serve local and immediate intentions.

A tight scoping of CSR within cherished national objectives appears to enhance the co-creation of shared value between company and stakeholders.

This study’s contribution does not so much problematize the many classifications and theories developed to account for diverse conceptualizations and implementations of CSR; rather, it proposes a “simple rules” approach as a parallel and potentially efficient, economical means to explain diversity within CSR interpretation and execution according to the specific geopolitical and socio-economic context in which it is implemented.