Co-creating Stakeholder and Brand Identities

Deadline for paper submissions:  15 April 2015

The management-oriented literature depicts brand identities as creations by managerial decision-making and implementation (e.g., Kapferer, 2008). However, research provides evidence that management is not the sole creator of brand identity (Csaba & Bengtsson, 2006; Schau, Muñiz, & Arnould, 2009).  Individuals actively contribute to the construction of identities of brands that affect their personal lives. By disseminating brand knowledge, expectations, evaluations, experiences and ways of usage, consumers contribute to a brand¡¯s identity. In a similar manner, other stakeholders, such as employees, investors, suppliers, intermediaries or media, contribute to the development of brand identity (cf. Vallaster & von Wallpach, 2013). Literature on public relations, for example, discusses the impact of media on the identity of brands (e.g., Madhavaram, Badrinarayanan, & McDonald, 2005). Retailers also influence the identity of brands by presenting branded products in specific physical and social environments.

Brands have an impact on consumers as ¡°major contributors to and reflections of our identities¡± (Belk, 1988, p. 139). This tenet may apply in certain industries, for instance, the luxury industry, where consumption of brands is a direct expression of one¡¯s personality or identity (Kastanakis & Balabanis, 2012). The identities of brands help retailers and suppliers build their own identities. And the identities of employees depend to some extent on the identities of the brands they help creating (Chouinard, 2006).

The turn from a consumer-focused to a stakeholder-focused era in marketing research highlights the active role of multiple stakeholders (Kornum & Mühlbacher, 2013) and introduces an understanding of brands as social processes of interaction in stakeholder networks (Merz, He, & Vargo, 2009). In reciprocity, stakeholder identities and brand identities continuously emerge as dynamic outcomes of these processes (cf. Csaba & Bengtsson, 2006) which may differ due to cultural influences (Kastanakis & Voyer, 2014).

This JBR Special Issue aims at providing space for further advancing our understanding of the reciprocal co-creation of stakeholder identity and brand identity.  

We welcome conceptual and empirical work which contributes to achieve at least one of the following objectives:

¡¤         critically reviewing extant literature in marketing research to identify higher order perspectives on the reciprocal co-creation of stakeholder identity and brand identity;

¡¤         empirically understanding processes of stakeholder identity and brand identity co-creation;

¡¤         building on developments/findings from various disciplines, add new insights on the reciprocal co-creation of stakeholder identity and brand identity to marketing research. 

Topics for the JBR special issue focus on, but are not limited to, the following:

¡¤         Historical overview on core concepts like stakeholder identity and brand identity to understand their dynamic nature and processes of co-creation

¡¤         Critical reflection on various identity theories¡¯ (e.g., individual, social, cultural, personal, organizational, or brand identity theory) potential contribution to understand processes of stakeholder identity and brand identity co-creation

¡¤         Drivers of stakeholder identity and brand identity co-creation

¡¤         Relevance of brand identity co-creation for stakeholder identity: Implications for stakeholder everyday life

¡¤         Relevance of stakeholder identity co-creation for brand identity: Implications for brands and brand management

¡¤         Co-creation of multiple stakeholder role identities and brand identity/identities

¡¤         Co-creation of identities of stakeholders who are confronted with several salient brand identities (e.g., employer and supplier brand identities)

¡¤         Stakeholder identity and brand identity co-creation in the digital age

¡¤         Possible cross-cultural differences in terms of the reciprocal co-creation of stakeholder and brand identity

Scholars submitting their papers for publication in this special JBR issue should communicate such intention to all four JBR Guest Co-Editors: 

Sylvia von Wallpach, Copenhagen Business School, Dept. of Marketing, Solbjerg Plads 3DK-2000 Frederiksberg (Denmark) (svw.marktg@cbs.dk ); 

Hans Mühlbacher, International University of Monaco, 2, Avenue Albert II, MC-98000 Monte-Carlo, Principality of Monaco (hmuehlbacher@inseec.com);

Minas Kastanakis, ESCP Europe London, Depart. of Marketing, 527 Finchley Road, Hampstead, London NW3 7BG (UK) (mkastanakis@escpeurope.eu);

Benjamin Voyer, ESCP Europe London, Depart. of Marketing, 527 Finchley Road, Hampstead, London NW3 7BG (UK)(bvoyer@escpeurope.eu).

Notification to authors: 30 June 2015
Deadline for revisions: 15 October 2015

Notification to authors: 15 December 2015
Deadline for revisions: 30 January 2016
Online publication: Spring 2016

References

Belk, R. W. (1988). Possessions and the extended self. Journal of Consumer Research, 15, 139-168.

Chouinard, Y. (2006). Let my people go surfing: The education of a reluctant businessman.New York: The Penguin Press.

Csaba, F. & Bengtsson, A. (2006). Rethinking identity in brand management. In J. E. Schroeder and M. Salzer-Mörling (eds) Brand Culture, 118–35. London: Routledge.

Kapferer , J. N . (2008). The new strategic brand management. London: Kogan Page.

Kastanakis M. & Balabanis G. (2012). Between the mass and the class: Antecedents of the 'bandwagon' luxury consumption behavior. Journal of Business Research, 65 (10), 1399-1407.

Kastanakis M. & Voyer B. (2014). The effect of culture on perception and cognition: A conceptual framework. Journal of Business Research, 67 (4), 425-433.

Kornum, N. & Mühlbacher, H. (2013). Multi-stakeholder virtual dialogue: Introduction to the special section, Journal of Business Research, 66 (9), 1460-1464.

Madhavaram, S., Badrinarayanan, V., & McDonald, R. E. (2005). Integrated marketing communication (Imc) and brand identity as critical components of brand equity strategy: A conceptual framework and research propositions. Journal of Advertising, 34(4), 69-80.

Merz, M. A., He, Y., & Vargo, S. L. (2009). The evolving brand logic: a service-dominant logic perspective. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 37(3), 328-344.

Schau, H. J., Muñiz Jr, A. M., & Arnould, E. J. (2009). How brand community practices create value. Journal of Marketing, 73 (5), 30-51.

Vallaster, C. & von Wallpach, S. (2013). An online discursive inquiry into the social dynamics of multi-stakeholder brand meaning co-creation. Journal of Business Research, 66 (9), 1505-1515.