The Combined Effect of Organizational Strategy and Competencies on Corporate Brand Identity

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of various factors of corporate brand identity on corporate brand identity dimensions in the banking industry. The present study also seeks localization and highlights the factors affecting corporate brand identity in the banking environment based on the identification of influential factors and the extent of the impact of each factor in order to invest for improvement. As a result of classifying the actions and identifying their effectiveness, banks can progress steps step by step by prioritizing these measures and building capacity to create an effective platform to help improve their brand identity. In general, the research questions include: “What are the relationships between the dimensions and components of organizational brand identity in the corporate banking environment in Iran?”, “What are the factors affecting organizational brand identity in the corporate banking environment?”, and “How significant is each factor in shaping and influencing the organizational brand identity according to the Iranian banking environment?”.

This quantitative study is an explanatory research in terms of purpose and developmental-applied in terms of the results. The research strategy is based on survey. The statistical population of this study included managers, experts, corporate banking account managers who are in contact with corporate banking clients, heads of private bank branches, and legal clients of private banks. Structural equation analysis has been used to evaluate the impact of five dimensions of organizational brand identity; moreover, path analysis was implemented to determine the impact of factors affecting organizational brand identity. The data were collected by a questionnaire from the subjects.

The present study could identify different dimensions of organizational brand identity and the importance of these factors, explore the factors affecting organizational brand identity, determine the weight of each factor in shaping and influencing organizational brand identity according to the Iranian banking environment, and create a comprehensive view on brand identity. Based on the outputs of factor analysis, the most significant factors were "brand reputation", "brand identity", "brand communication", "estimated value", and "visual identity", respectively. Therefore, brand reputation and identity were recognized as the most important dimensions of organizational brand identity. In addition, organizational strategy and competencies had the greatest impact on different dimensions of organizational brand identity.

Prior to creating a brand identity in new business environments, managers are required to identify the dimensions of the brand identity construct. Thus, the results of this study can be regarded as an instrument for the managers to audit the status of their corporate brand concerning corporate banking environment. If implemented over time, the effectiveness of brand identity measures can be evaluated and revised measures could be defined and implemented in necessary. Organizational strategy and competencies are considered as the most influential factors affecting organizational brand identity; hence, particular attention should be devoted to these factors in order to create organizational brand identity.