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Identity perspectives on corporate and organisational marketing
Edited by John M.T. Balmer and Shaun M. Powell
Introduction
Recognition of the significant role that corporate identity (CI) may play in both enabling and constraining organisational success has contributed to an increasing emphasis on corporate-level marketing (b8 b9 b11 b12 b13 Balmer, 1998, 2001, 2008, 2009a, b; [56] He and Balmer, 2007; [63] Leitch and Motion, 2007; [66] Melewar and Karaosmanoglu, 2006; [73] Powell, 2007; [75] Powell et al. , 2007; [74] Powell and Ennis, 2007). As [15] Balmer and Greyser (2003, p. 348) note, corporate marketing "connotes that the area of concern is with corporate entities in their totality, including corporate-level networks and partnerships". The concept of corporate marketing implies a synthesis of CI with related areas including corporate branding ([52] Harris and de Chernatony, 2001; [60] Knox and Bickerton, 2003), corporate reputation ([46] Fombrun, 1996), corporate image ([31] Christensen and Askegaard, 2001; [49] Gioia et al. , 2000; [69] Olins, 1978), visual identity ([7] Baker and Balmer, 1997; [82] Van den Bosch et al. , 2006), organisational identity ([6] Albert and Whetten, 1985; [25] Brown, 2006; [54] Hatch and Schultz, 2004), organisational marketing ([73] Powell, 2007) and corporate communications ([83] Van Riel, 1995). In this article we contribute to the development of corporate marketing through an exploration of the relationship between CI and the pursuit of corporate objectives, particularly those that require action at a societal level through corporate-level partnerships ([8] Balmer, 1998). In doing so, we begin to address the lacuna in marketing scholarship identified two decades ago by [1] Aaby and McGann (1989, p. 25) in relation to the achievement of corporate objectives with a broad range of stakeholder groups that include governments and the general public.
Our focus in this article is on one, under-researched type of organisation - the front organisation - as we examine how their distinctive characteristics may constitute "strategic corporate resources" ([51] Gray and Balmer, 1998) that enable societal action ([26] Brown and Starkey, 2000; [30] Chreim, 2005; [48] Gioia et al. , 2002; [59] Kimberley and Bouchikhi, 1995). We develop our argument through a case analysis of the Life Sciences Network (LSN), a front organisation that was the major vehicle for presenting a pro-genetic modification (GM)...