Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Identity‐Image Interactions for the Sales Force in High Threat Situations

Abstract

During times of threat to organizational identity, managers often formulate strategies to regain the organization's original standing. Yet, they frequently ignore the identity‐image interactions that occur for boundary‐spanning members, despite such interactions having the potential to play a pivotal role in the organization's recovery. We propose that, in high‐threat situations, customer‐directed boundary‐spanners, like the sales force, become aware of the discrepancy between the organizational image projected by the organization (Projected Image) and the organizational image perceived by customers (Perceived Image). Consequently, boundary‐spanners restructure their perception of the organizational identity. This restructuring is moderated by several factors. The restructured organizational identity results in the boundary‐spanner manifesting a new projected image, with its attendant assertions and behaviors. We thus synthesize and extend the literature on identity‐image interactions and provide avenues for further research. We also discuss the beneficial managerial implications of closely monitoring the image‐identity interactions of boundary‐spanners in high threat situations.

‘Corporate image at stake’: The impact of crises and response strategies on consumer perceptions of corporate brand alliances

“…Attributional thoughts ultimately influence perceptions of the wrongdoer. In the context of brand alliances in crisis, attributional thoughts might encourage consumers to inspect the credibility of signals conveyed by the culpable brand, with consequent changes in perceptions (Rodrigues & Krishnamurthy, 2016). Crises triggering high attributions of controllability and intentionality might provide cues to the low quality of the culpable brand (Rao & Ruekert, 1994), which becomes particularly vulnerable to consumer sanctions (Connelly, Certo, Ireland, & Reutzel, 2011;Rao et al, 1999).…”

The materiality of organizational identity: a case of Codorníu wineries

“…Hatch and Schultz (2000) and Ravasi and Canato (2013) on the communication process of organizations. From a practical view, ad hoc artifacts can be used to differentiate an organization from competitors via identity-image consistency, which is a source of reputation and competitive advantage (Rodrigues and Krishnamurthy, 2016). Identity-image consistency is also crucial when organizations face high threats because it determines how the organization is positioning itself to respond to such threats (Barney and Stewart, 2002).…”