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Faculty responses to business school branding : a discursive approach

Frandsen, Sanne LU ; Gotsi, Manto ; Johnston, Allanah ; Whittle, Andrea ; Frenkel, Stephen and Spicer, André (2018) In European Journal of Marketing
Abstract
Purpose
The branding of universities is increasingly recognized to present a different set of challenges than in corporate, for-profit sectors. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how faculty make sense of branding in the context of higher education, specifically considering branding initiatives in business schools.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on qualitative interviews with faculty regarding their responses to organizational branding at four business schools. Discourse analysis was used to analyze the interview data.

Findings
The study reveals varied, fluid and reflexive faculty interpretations of organizational branding. Faculty interviewed in the study adopted... (More)
Purpose
The branding of universities is increasingly recognized to present a different set of challenges than in corporate, for-profit sectors. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how faculty make sense of branding in the context of higher education, specifically considering branding initiatives in business schools.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on qualitative interviews with faculty regarding their responses to organizational branding at four business schools. Discourse analysis was used to analyze the interview data.

Findings
The study reveals varied, fluid and reflexive faculty interpretations of organizational branding. Faculty interviewed in the study adopted a number of stances towards their schools’ branding efforts. In particular, the study identifies three main faculty responses to branding: endorsement, ambivalence and cynicism.

Originality/value
The study contributes by highlighting the ambiguities and ambivalence generated by brand management initiatives in the higher education context, offering original insights into the multiple ways that faculty exploit, frame and resist attempts to brand their organizations. The authors conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for branding in university contexts. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
keywords
branding, higher education, discourse analysis, business schools, brands
in
European Journal of Marketing
pages
26 pages
publisher
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
external identifiers
  • scopus:85045648076
ISSN
0309-0566
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b482830d-dcc2-4533-9d5d-552fc5c9b041
date added to LUP
2018-02-19 21:36:04
date last changed
2022-04-25 05:38:51
@article{b482830d-dcc2-4533-9d5d-552fc5c9b041,
  abstract     = {{<b>Purpose</b><br/>The branding of universities is increasingly recognized to present a different set of challenges than in corporate, for-profit sectors. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how faculty make sense of branding in the context of higher education, specifically considering branding initiatives in business schools.<br/><br/><b>Design/methodology/approach</b><br/>The paper is based on qualitative interviews with faculty regarding their responses to organizational branding at four business schools. Discourse analysis was used to analyze the interview data.<br/><br/><b>Findings</b><br/>The study reveals varied, fluid and reflexive faculty interpretations of organizational branding. Faculty interviewed in the study adopted a number of stances towards their schools’ branding efforts. In particular, the study identifies three main faculty responses to branding: endorsement, ambivalence and cynicism.<br/><br/><b>Originality/value</b><br/>The study contributes by highlighting the ambiguities and ambivalence generated by brand management initiatives in the higher education context, offering original insights into the multiple ways that faculty exploit, frame and resist attempts to brand their organizations. The authors conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for branding in university contexts.}},
  author       = {{Frandsen, Sanne and Gotsi, Manto and Johnston, Allanah and Whittle, Andrea and Frenkel, Stephen and Spicer, André}},
  issn         = {{0309-0566}},
  keywords     = {{branding; higher education; discourse analysis; business schools; brands}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Emerald Group Publishing Limited}},
  series       = {{European Journal of Marketing}},
  title        = {{Faculty responses to business school branding : a discursive approach}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}