The non-existent firm: relations between corporate image and strategy

Increasing competitiveness and changes in social expectations of firms has resulted in a growing interest in the field of the corporate image and its strategic role in the networking management of internal and external relationships. If a firm’s image is positive, it may convey cohesion within the organization, and trust, credibility and legitimacy to the stakeholders. The aim of this study of the successful corporate image is to reach a definition for such an image, and possible solutions for improving it. The study concludes that an unequivocal and universal corporate image does not exist. As a result, there are as many images as there are people who interact with a company. Each person’s perception is a result of the communication process, their satisfaction and the way they perceive the entire interaction. If a firm pays attention to its image, it should not conform to its interlocutors’ requests or attempt to change its stakeholders’ expectations; but rather, to express its culture and personality, and on the basis of its shared values, act ethically on the same wavelength as social expectations. On the contrary, if a firm cannot express its identity, it will not be able to have a specific role in society and runs the risk of not surviving in a future context, which, like the current one, is characterized by strong environmental discontinuity.