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Asserts that the marketing discipline has been quite instrumental in securing and maintaining both practical and theoretical attention to the issues of identity and image in contemporary organisations. Discusses and critiques much of the discourse of corporate identity and image management. This is accomplished through a semiotic exercise in which prevailing perspectives and assumptions with respect to corporate identity and image are explained, analysed and subjected to a coherent interpretive framework. Rather than trying to legislate terminology or suggest conceptual parsimony, we use the semiotic framework as one way to illustrate the benefits of theoretical consistency and to stimulate self‐reflection among scholars who use the notions of identity and image.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to our understanding of the antecedents of organizational identification. Specifically, this paper aims to integrate two perspectives developed within the social identity domain, labeled “cognitive” and “relational,” by comparing and reconciling their relationship organizational identification.

This study uses a survey method and a structured questionnaire to collect data from people working in a call center. The hypotheses were tested on a sample of 743 employees by using structural equation models and Hayes’ (2017) bootstrapping procedure.

The results provide evidence for a mediational model in which the attractiveness of organizational images (cognitive representations) mediates the relationship between perceived justice (relational judgments) and organizational identification.

The data were obtained from a single source in a cross-sectional design, which may inflate common method variance. To address threats to validity, the authors employed several procedures, the results of which revealed that no parameters corresponding to the hypotheses changed in sign or significance, thus suggesting that the presence of method bias, if any, was nonconsequential.

Not only does perceived justice relate to the sense of belonging to an organization, but it also contributes to shaping the long-term cognitive representations of the company. In particular, both HR and line managers should be aware that in this respect, the interactional dimension of justice shows the strongest effect.

Building on and enlarging the scope of the extant literature, the findings contribute to our knowledge of how relational judgments shape cognitive images about the company, influencing, in turn, the individual–organization relationship.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of competitive strategies and organizational structure on hotel performance and to explore whether organizational structure has a moderating effect on the relationship between competitive strategies and hotel performance.

This study employed a causal and descriptive research design to determine the cause‐and‐effect relationships among competitive strategies, organizational structure, and hotel performance based on previous studies. A 28‐question self‐administered questionnaire comprising three sections was employed. The target population for this study was US hotel owners and general and executive managers whose e‐mail addresses were listed on a publicly available database. A census survey was carried out and e‐mails were sent to all of the hoteliers listed in the database.

The results show a competitive human resources (HR) strategy to have a direct impact on a hotel's behavioral performance, and a competitive IT strategy to have a direct impact on a hotel's financial performance. Organizational structure is found to have a moderating effect on the relationship between both of these strategies and behavioral performance, a result similar to those reported by Jogaratnam and Tse and by Tarigan. However, the results of the current study show that organizational structure has no influence on the relationship between a brand image strategy and a hotel's behavioral performance, nor does it have any moderating effect on the relationship between a hotel's financial performance and its competitive brand image, HR or IT strategy.

When hoteliers face an uncertain environment, they need to select which form of organizational structure to adopt with care. Hotels that adopt an organic structure allow greater flexibility in the workplace, meaning that they may lose control of their employees and productivity. A mechanistic organizational structure, in contrast, gives hoteliers the power to monitor employee behavior and productivity, which may help them to achieve goals and boost financial performance.

The paper provides further evidence of how competitive HR and IT strategies help to explain hotel performance, whereas a brand image strategy and organizational structure are not good explanatory factors in this regard. Hotels with a mechanistic such structure enjoy a greater relationship between a competitive HR strategy and behavioral performance than their organically structured counterparts. With regard to IT strategic implementation, in contrast, hotels with an organic structure enjoy superior behavioral performance to those with a mechanistic structure.

Image theory has been used, in numerous studies, as a basis for understanding and describing the decision‐making activity of managers in both cooperative and competitive environments. The fundamental division of duties prescribed by image theory – namely adoption decisions and progress decision – maps very well to the adaptability requirements of intelligent agents. The issues of adaptive planning and execution monitoring in agents can be well served by applying the empirical lessons learned from the application of image theory across groups of decision makers. This paper explores the concepts of adoption and progress decisions in the context of image theory and provides a basis for creating image‐theoretic agents. This paper sets the foundation for an interdisciplinary bridge between Beach and Mitchell’s Image Theory for human decision making, and the construction of intelligent agents. We begin by presenting image theory and describing its use among human decision makers. We then show how the mechanisms of image theory can be implemented in an agent‐based architecture to implement both execution monitoring and adaptive planning. This is done through the image‐theoretic constructs of progress decisions and adoption decisions. We conclude by presenting logic‐programming implementation of the Imaginal Agent Architecture that supports the adaptive planning and execution monitoring of agents through the use of meta‐level constructs for adoption and progress decisions.

The purpose of this paper is to build on previous studies on the link between objective and subjective person-organization fit (P-O fit) and argue that the strength between objective and subjective fit is contingent on advertisement attractiveness and organizational image. Accordingly, the authors observe if advertisement attractiveness and organizational image help to strengthen the objective-subjective P-O fit relation.

The authors conduct a survey among 942 individuals and compare between prospective jobseeker (n=629) and actual jobseeker (n=313) subsamples.

Generally, the authors show that ad advertisements positively moderates the relation between objective and subjective fit. Moreover, the authors show that advertisement attractiveness moderates the relationship between objective and subjective fit for prospective jobseekers while the moderating influence of advertisement attractiveness is not significant for actual jobseekers. Organizational image, however, is shown to act as a negative moderator, particularly for the actual jobseeker sample.

The authors aim to contribute to prior research by emphasizing how the link between objective and subjective P-O fit can be elevated by cues such as advertisement attractiveness and might be disturbed by a very good organizational image.

This study informs practitioners how two important recruitment signals, job advertisement and organizational image, influence the transmission of objective into subjective fit and thus help firms to improve their recruitment efforts.

Even though many studies support the effects of P-O fit on organizational attractiveness or application intentions, only little is known in terms of how the relationship between the two dimensions of P-O fit – objective and subjective fit – can be positively influenced. Hence, there is a lack of understanding of how firms can focus their recruitment efforts effectively on highly fitting individuals.

This study aims to explore whether expected image outcomes (risk and gain) represent a mechanism through which perceived organizational climates, in the dimensions of tradition and reflexivity, affect key components of the innovation process (idea generation and idea realization).

Structural equation models have been conducted to empirically analyse 3 waves of longitudinal survey data from an Italian military organization (N = 410).

Results confirmed that image outcome expectations mediated the effects of perceived climate on idea generation, and that a serial mediation of image expectations and idea generation those on idea realization. Additionally, reflexivity was directly associated with idea generation.

The findings offer guidance for organizations that aim to strengthen employee-driven innovation, highlighting the importance of organizational climate and image outcomes expectations.

Advancing from existing organizational behaviour and individual innovation literature, this article contributes to extend knowledge about the role of organizational climate and image outcome expectations in enhancing innovative work behaviours.

Using the elaboration likelihood model as a framework, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of cause involvement, ability to process, and motivation to process on consumer judgments of organizational image following exposure to a corporate social responsibility (CSR) message.

This study relies upon an experimental manipulation of message complexity and uses quantitative survey data. The data were analyzed via tests of means differences, hierarchical multiple OLS regression, and mediation analysis.

The authors found that CSR’s influence on image is unaffected by message complexity – at least directly. However, CSR’s influence on image is intensified by greater cause involvement and information processing ability, which indicates that central route processing is more likely to move the needle on such assessments. Additionally, involvement serves as an important mediator on the effects that ability and motivation to process have on ratings of organizational image.

The findings suggest the necessity for communicators of CSR to foster cause involvement in consumers if social responsibility efforts are to resonate and garner positive results. Additionally, should organizations wish to create deeper elaboration about CSR messages among consumers, simple, straightforward messaging appears most effective. Complex messages can, however, serve as valuable peripheral cues among certain audiences.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the consequences of an unexplored and real worker behavior on the internet (worker electronic word of mouth (weWOM)) for human resource image, as well as to analyze its impact on job seekers and employee’s intentions and attitudes.

The research objectives were tested through a web-based experiment based on real weWOM. Through a self-selected sample procedure, 238 individuals were exposed to three types of weWOM: positive, negative, and intermediate.

Depending on the kind of weWOM people see on the internet, perceived HR image changes. Positive, intermediate, and negative weWOM produce different behavioral intentions with respect to different recruiting aspects. weWOM also influences two important employee attitudes and resulted more credible than firms’ recognitions.

The sample is a convenience one. Since managers may be reluctant to admit weWOM’s credibility the relationship between weWOM and other employees’ attitudes data should be analyzed.

weWOM may constitute an indicator for anticipating applicants’ key behavior (intention to apply, intention to recommend a company, and compensation demands). In order to stimulate it companies should generate relevant information about the most common categories of weWOM and place it on the employer review websites. Additionally, if weWOM is positive it can be used to create a positive external constructed image among the staff.

weWOM is a current phenomenon without information about its implications. Most of the websites that host it are free accessible. This research offers specific data about how people react to it.

Employer review websites are probably the preferred channels to express work-related WOM. Nevertheless the current spread of the internet only one study has been conducted about it. This research fits in the current social media age and sheds new information about this kind of communication. The findings contribute to strengthen the theory about how organizational image is built showing that WOM and social media exposure are significant determinants of two types of organizational images. Also we contribute to the theory about recruitment showing detailed information regarding what may occurs during the first phases of this practice.

This study examined Instagram content shared by public relations (PR) agencies, through the sensitizing framework of organizational identity theory, to determine what messages related to organizational identity, culture and image were communicated to external audiences. This study highlights the various ways that Instagram can be used for strategic organizational communication.

A qualitative, thematic analysis of Instagram content was conducted. The constant comparative analysis was guided by organizational identity theory, which provided an individual-level perspective for interpreting organizational messages within the posts.

PR agencies use hashtags, employee sharing and communicating about agency outreach efforts and accolades to communicate organizational identity. PR agencies communicate aspects of its culture through employee engagement and development, employee cohesiveness and through communicating a commitment to diversity, philanthropy and community service. PR agencies influenced its organizational image by communicating content related to promotion and support of creative efforts, having a public Instagram account and retelling the history of the agency.

This study extends our understanding of corporate self-presentation strategies on social media.

The implications of multiple organizational identities for branding research have been scarcely considered. This paper aims to explore what sources of identity internal stakeholders use to construct organizational identities and corporate identities, and identify how diversity emerges in the perceived identities across various stakeholders.

The empirical study includes 59 in-depth interviews with internal stakeholders in a business-to-business service company.

Employees may perceive identity diversity as a strategic benefit for the company, and employees may not identify with a uniform corporate identity. The corporate identity could become more identifiable for employees through managerial recognition of different dimensions of identity diversity, such as multiple professional and locational identities.

The study bridges insights between organizational identity and corporate identity and problematizes identity coherence and consistency as strategic principles for corporate branding by proposing an alternative approach guided by identity diversity. Additionally, the study discusses identity diversity-based approaches to internal branding and co-creation in branding.