The Nobel Prize: the identity of a corporate heritage brand

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to understand the identity of the Nobel Prize as a corporate heritage brand and its management challenges. Design/methodology/approach – An in-depth case study analysed within a heritage brand model and a corporate brand identity framework. Findings – The Nobel Prize is a corporate heritage brand – one whose value proposition is based on heritage – in this case “achievements for the benefit of mankind” (derived directly from Alfred Nobel’s will). It is also defined as a “networked brand”, one where four independent collaborating organisations around the (Nobel) hub create and sustain the Nobel Prize’s identity and reputation, acting as a “federated republic”. Research limitations/implications – The new and combined application of the Heritage Quotient framework and the Corporate Brand Identity Matrix in the Heritage Brand Identity Process (HBIP) offers a structured approach to integrate the identity of a corporate heritage brand. In a networked situation, understanding the role of stewardship in collaborating organisations is essential: The network entities maintain their own identities and goals, but share common values of the network hub. Practical implications – The integrated frameworks (HBIP) provides a platform for managing a corporate heritage brand. Originality/value – This is the first field-based study of the Nobel Prize from a strategic brand management perspective.

Explicating corporate heritage, corporate heritage brands and organisational heritage

“… Australia (Byrom and Lehman 2009;Cooper et al 2015a);  China (Balmer and Chen 2015;Schroeder et al 2015);  France (Bargenda 2015);  Finland (Blombäck and Brunninge, 2009;Hakala et al 2011;Hakala et al 2015);  Germany (Wiedmann et al 2011a(Wiedmann et al , 2011b;  Italy (Rindell et al 2015);  New Zealand (Cooper et al 2015a);  Norway (Urde and Greyser, 2015);  Portugal (Rindell et al 2015);  Sweden Brunninge, 2009, 2013;Blombäck and Scandelius 2013;Urde and Greyser, 2015);  United Kingdom (Balmer 2008(Balmer , 2009(Balmer , 2011aBalmer 2014a, 2015);  US (Hudson 2011; Balmer and Hudson 2013).…”

“…Empirical studies have researched the phenomenon of corporate heritage as a global issue (e.g., Urde et al 2007;Balmer 2009Balmer , 2011bMicelotta and Raynard 2011;Cooper et al 2015b;Urde and Greyser, 2015) and in diverse geographical settings including:…”

“… strategic brand repositioning and rejuvenation (Balmer 2009;Hudson 2011);  burnishing customer satisfaction (Balmer and Chen, 2015)  monarchical management Balmer 2009Balmer , 2011aBalmer , 2011b  corporate communication and corporate identity management (Blombäck and Brunninge 2009;Balmer 2013);  corporate communication strategies of family businesses and SMEs (Byrom and Lehman 2009;Micelotta and Raynard 2011;Blombäck and Brunninge 2013);  CSR communication (Blombäck and Scandelius 2013);  consumer brand image formation (Wiedmann et al 2011a(Wiedmann et al , 2011b;  its impact on corporate reputation (Wiedmann et al 2013);  consumer nostalgia and emotional brand perceptions (Merchant and Rose 2013);  place branding and name changes (Hakala et al 2015);  luxury brands and the co-creation of brand meaning (Schroeder et al 2015);  a multi-institutional phenomenon amongst a federation of corporate brand stakeholders (Urde and Greyser, 2015).…”

A Corporate Communication Analysis of a Long-Standing Turkish Brand: Is Türkiye ̇Is ̧bank a Heritage Brand?

“…From the perspective of the corporate communication literature, this philosophy is defined as a sustainable corporate story that describes the what, why, and how of a firm to internal and external stakeholders, as an explanation of the organizational raison d'être (Van Riel, 1997: 302). Core values of organizations reflect on their identity and corporate communication tools (Balmer & Chen, 2015;Balmer, 2011bBalmer, , 2013Urde et al, 2015). The investigation ofİşbank's corporate communication activities demonstrates that certain values associated with the bank's identity that we called corresponding elements, have been expressed constantly since its foundation.…”

“…Further studies investigated long-standing organizations, validated prior studies and showed that heritage brands not only focus on marketing communication, which serves to increase sales of products and services by attracting customers, but also focus on communicating with all their stakeholders (Hudson, 2011;Wiedmann et al, 2011;Balmer & Chen, 2015;Urde & Greyser, 2015). Corporate communication, which includes advertising, marketing communications, public affairs, community relations, and employee communications, encompasses all of a company's communication with its internal and external stakeholders, such as customers, investors, media, employees, board members, group leaders, and the general public (Hallahan et al, 2007: 17;Doorley & Garcia, 2007: xii;Wilcox et al, 2015: 36).…”