The Authenticity of Personal Branding
(2011)Department of Business Administration
- Abstract
- The purpose of this study is to explore how authentic online brands are created when the actual brand building process can lead to an inauthentic product. Relevance for theory and practice:
Authenticity in personal online branding is something of an abstract concept that has been seldom examined on this level. By combining the corporate branding, personal branding and authenticity literature the idea of how to create an authentic personal online brand.
Given that attempting to create an ‘authentic’ online brand can be viewed as process that essentially creates a less authentic persona, there is a need for an in-depth study showing how a certain level of authenticity can be achieved. Method:
A netnography was used to conduct this study.... (More) - The purpose of this study is to explore how authentic online brands are created when the actual brand building process can lead to an inauthentic product. Relevance for theory and practice:
Authenticity in personal online branding is something of an abstract concept that has been seldom examined on this level. By combining the corporate branding, personal branding and authenticity literature the idea of how to create an authentic personal online brand.
Given that attempting to create an ‘authentic’ online brand can be viewed as process that essentially creates a less authentic persona, there is a need for an in-depth study showing how a certain level of authenticity can be achieved. Method:
A netnography was used to conduct this study. Five bloggers had their practices studied through observations as well as their motivations analyzed through in-depth qualitative interviews. The results of the observation and interviews were analyzed through the use of Kapferer’s Brand Identity Prism, Rampersad’s authenticity framework and Aaker’s brand personality dimensions. Findings:
All subjects identified blogging to be the most authentic way to create a personal online brand. Using the corporate and personal brand building literature a process was derived as to how authentic online brands are created when the actual brand building process can lead to an inauthentic product. This is a new development to the field of personal online branding and will help private individuals cultivate an authentic personal online brand. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/2062209
- author
- Hillgren, Graham and O Connor, Karen
- supervisor
- organization
- year
- 2011
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- authenticity, personal branding, branding, Management of enterprises, Företagsledning, management
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 2062209
- date added to LUP
- 2011-05-31 00:00:00
- date last changed
- 2012-04-02 19:11:38
@misc{2062209,
abstract = {{The purpose of this study is to explore how authentic online brands are created when the actual brand building process can lead to an inauthentic product. Relevance for theory and practice:
Authenticity in personal online branding is something of an abstract concept that has been seldom examined on this level. By combining the corporate branding, personal branding and authenticity literature the idea of how to create an authentic personal online brand.
Given that attempting to create an ‘authentic’ online brand can be viewed as process that essentially creates a less authentic persona, there is a need for an in-depth study showing how a certain level of authenticity can be achieved. Method:
A netnography was used to conduct this study. Five bloggers had their practices studied through observations as well as their motivations analyzed through in-depth qualitative interviews. The results of the observation and interviews were analyzed through the use of Kapferer’s Brand Identity Prism, Rampersad’s authenticity framework and Aaker’s brand personality dimensions. Findings:
All subjects identified blogging to be the most authentic way to create a personal online brand. Using the corporate and personal brand building literature a process was derived as to how authentic online brands are created when the actual brand building process can lead to an inauthentic product. This is a new development to the field of personal online branding and will help private individuals cultivate an authentic personal online brand.}},
author = {{Hillgren, Graham and O Connor, Karen}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{The Authenticity of Personal Branding}},
year = {{2011}},
}