Choose and evaluate one example of a current global corporation and how they managed their global organizational structure.

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Correspondence: Rafael Bravo Facultad de Econom í a y Empresa, Universidad de Zaragoza, Gran V í a 2, Zaragoza 50005, Spain E-mail: [email protected]

Original Article

Projecting banks ’ identities through corporate websites: A comparative analysis of Spain and the United Kingdom Received: 10 th October 2012

Rafael Bravo is Senior Lecturer at Universidad de Zaragoza. He holds a PhD since 2006 and his main research interests are focused on consumer research and brand management. He has participated in different research projects, and nowadays he is deepening on the study of corporate brand identity on the banking sector. He has several publications in refereed journals. He has also published chapters in books, working papers and conference proceedings, and he is a frequent reviewer in many journals and chair in conferences.

Leslie de Chernatony is Professor of Brand Marketing at Universit à della Svizzera italiana, Lugano, Switzerland, Honorary Professor at Aston Business School, Birmingham, UK and Managing Partner at Brands Box Marketing & Research Consultancy. His research is globally disseminated through books, frequent international conferences and a signifi cant stream of international journal articles, some of which have won best paper prizes. de Chernatony was elected a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and also a Fellow of the Market Research Society. His work has resulted in TV programmes and radio broadcasts. He is a frequent speaker at management conferences. Winning several major research grants helped him and his team investigate factors associated with brand success. He has run many highly acclaimed branding workshops throughout Europe, America, Asia and Australia. His advice has been sought by numerous organisations globally on developing more effective brand strategies. On several occasions he has acted as an expert witness in court cases over branding issues.

Jorge Matute is Lecturer in Marketing at Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain. He holds a PhD and a Master in Corporate Communications and Advertising. His research focuses on topics related to environmental marketing, corporate social responsibility and corporate image and identity and he has published various articles in different international journals. He has participated in several research projects and his contributions have frequently been presented in different international marketing conferences.

Jos é M. Pina is Senior Lecturer at Universidad de Zaragoza. He holds a PhD in Brand Strategy since 2006. From the beginning of his professional career, his research interest includes branding strategies such as brand extensions, co-branding, corporate branding, corporate image, corporate identity and country image. He has articles in refereed national and international journals and he also frequently reviews research articles for these journals. He regularly attends and disseminates the results of his research in the main Spanish and European marketing conferences.

ABSTRACT This article analyses similarities and differences in corporate identities communicated through corporate brand websites between banks operating in Spain and the United Kingdom. Cross-cultural dissimilarities between Spain and the United Kingdom, and specifi c features of the banking sector in each country, lead to

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than the more narrowly focused audit- based approaches to just understand the cur- rent situation. To better appreciate how corporate identity contributes to corporate success, organisations could benefi t from moving their focus from ‘ what the organiza- tions is or stands for ’ to more strategic per- spectives of ‘ how does the organization wish to be seen? ’ and ‘ what does the organization wish to become? ’ ( He and Balmer, 2007 ).

Previous research has attempted to understand how websites are used by organisations to engage with their publics and to position their corporate brands ( Esrock and Leichty, 1998 ; Connolly- Ahern and Broadway, 2007 ). Consistent with other corporate communications channels, corporate websites are important tools for organisations that wish to manage their representation ( Cornelius et al , 2007 ). Despite the potential of websites, questions remain as to how to take advantage of them to more effectively communicate identities. For example, given the ubiquity of multi- national fi rms, there is surprisingly little published about how the importance of corporate identity varies between countries, albeit a paucity of evidences suggests that

INTRODUCTION In the current context of fi nancial turmoil, it is even more important to have a strong and differentiated brand. One of the con- tributors to corporate brand success is cor- porate identities that appeal to diverse stakeholders ( Markwick and Fill, 1997 ; Suvatjis and de Chernatony, 2005 ; Leitch and Davenport, 2011 ). Managing the dif- ferent elements of an organisation ’ s identity is of particular concern to practitioners who strive for favourable images and, in the long term, well-regarded corporate reputations ( de Chernatony, 1999 ).

However, while there is agreement about the critical role of corporate identity as a driver of corporate success, no consen- sus exists among academics about its con- ceptualisation and defi nition. Leitch and Davenport (2011) contend that corporate identity defi nitions ‘ have been studied from multiple perspectives within multiple research literatures, which has led to some scholarly confusion when different research- ers use the same term to mean different things ’ . Researchers agree the need for adopt- ing alternative and complementary perspec- tives to managing corporate identity, rather

expectations about differences in the communication of corporate brand identities. As such hypotheses were developed about corporate brand identity according to these differences. Specifi cally, the hypotheses refer to differences in the main corporate brand identity dimensions: visual identity, corporate communications, organisational culture, behaviour, strategy and structure. In order to test the hypotheses, content analysis was conducted among 60 of the largest commercial banks, 30 in each country. The results show differences between Spain and the UK banks corporate websites due to different patterns of portraying corporate brand identity. Overall, banks in the United Kingdom rely on social and strategic aspects to project their brand identities, while banks in Spain are more prone to exhibit information concerning communications. These fi ndings suggest that brand identity communication should be adapted to each country ’ s cultural markers. Journal of Brand Management (2013) 20 , 533 – 557. doi: 10.1057/bm.2012.59 ; published online 7 December 2012

Keywords: corporate brand identity; commercial banks; corporate websites; content analysis; Spain; the United Kingdom

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organisations in different countries do not place the same importance on particular manifestations of identity ( Maignan and Ralston, 2002 ). In an increasingly global economy, companies can benefi t from the implementation of consistent visual identity systems. However, the existence of cultural differences between countries requires that the mechanisms to transmit corporate iden- tity are tailored to the cultural markers of each country for effective communication. Consequently, this study examines how banks in two different countries with cul- tural dissimilarities communicate their cor- porate identities through their websites. Building on previous literature, this article argues that the importance organisations attach to the projection of different identity dimensions varies across countries and that certain dimensions will be more prominent depending on the market.

To meet these aims, content analysis was undertaken of 60 websites of fi nancial serv- ices corporations operating in the United Kingdom and Spain. These countries present different institutional environments in terms of stakeholder involvement and coordination with other European econo- mies and institutions ( Jackson and Apostolakou, 2010 ) that result in different patterns of external disclosure. Additionally, previous research points at the existence of differ- ences between British and Spanish consum- ers regarding their reactions to corporate branding strategies ( Martinez et al , 2008 ). Dissimilarities in the Anglo-Saxon and Latin approaches of organisational structure and orientation also explain the existence of differences in the management and com- munication of corporate identities across cultures ( Balmer, 2001 ).

This article opens with a literature review about the nature of corporate identity and differences across countries. The methodol- ogy is presented, explaining how informa- tion was collected and analysed. The main fi ndings are shown and then, conclusions,

managerial implications, limitations and future research issues are discussed.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Concept and dimensions of corporate identity Like people, companies have their own identities. Identities symbolise internally and externally what corporate brands stand for ( Cornelissen and Elving, 2003 ; Powell, 2007 ). Generally, corporate identity is built upon central and distinctive attributes that makes an organisation unique and differen- tiated ( Albert and Whetten, 1985 ; Dutton et al , 1994 ). Despite a lack of consensus in the literature as to the components of corporate identity, most authors regard this as being composed of six common dimen- sions: visual identity, communication, behaviour, culture, strategy and organisa- tional structure (see Table 1 ).

Visual identity embodies any visual ele- ment that is associated with an organisation. Most authors consider this to include ele- ments such as the logo, slogan, typography and corporate colours ( Dowling, 2001 ; Simoes et al , 2005 ). Some researchers also include aesthetics in the visual identity, which includes the architecture of the com- pany buildings, the style of its shops and staff dress styles ( O ’ Cass and Grace, 2004 ; Kirby and Kent, 2010 ).

Corporate communications relate to the information fi rms wish to transmit to stake- holders, along with the preferred channels of communication. It is considered as a strategic tool that allows the company to transmit information about the fi rm and its activities ( Torp, 2009 ; Christensen and Cornelissen, 2011 ). Internally, corporate communications can contribute to align the ideal identity desired by management and actual identity perceived by employees ( Powell et al , 2009 ). Externally, for many consumers, the most valuable information on websites is the contact information and

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communicating the fi rm ’ s identity and emphasising the positioning of its corporate brand ( P é rez and Rodr í guez del Bosque, 2011 ). CSR activities can be explained by altruistic motivations, but also by an organ- isational self interest in search of social legitimacy ( Maignan and Ralston, 2002 ; David et al , 2005 ).

Organisational culture refers to the collective values and norms shared by the organisational members ( Schein, 1990 ). It is founded on the corporate history, devel- oped in different hierarchical levels, and refl ected by organisational artefacts ( Hatch and Schultz, 1997 ). These collective values assumed by employees infl uence their rou- tines in their workplaces. However, an organisation is characterised by a cluster of heterogeneous subcultures (national identi- ties, subsidiaries, functional departments, and so on) that provides a collective per- sonality ( King, 2007 ). The extent to which a company ’ s desired identity is projected is infl uenced by a company ’ s ability to

the different channels to communicate with the organisation ( Patsioura et al , 2011 ).

Organisational behaviour refers to all the actions taken by the organisation and its members which can, or cannot, be control- led ( Schmidt, 1995 ). Previous research dis- tinguishes between ‘ corporate behaviour ’ and the ‘ behaviour of the organisational members ’ that includes the actions per- formed by employees and the management team ( Melewar and Karaosmanoglu, 2006 ). The public and private behaviour of the staff may constitute a visual representation of the organisation to the external audi- ences ( Suvatjis and de Chernatony, 2005 ) and managers are frequently considered as role models in the work place ( Melewar and Karaosmanoglu, 2006 ). From a wider perspective, corporate behaviour refers to the actions an organisation performs refl ect- ing its culture and strategy or that occur spontaneously and without previous plan- ning. Within the planned actions corporate social responsibility (CSR) emerges, further

Table 1 : Corporate identity dimensions

Corporate identity dimensions

Authors

Visual identity van Riel and Balmer (1997) , Balmer and Soenen (1999) , de Chernatony (1999) , Stuart (1999) , Alessandri (2001) , Cornelissen and Elving (2003) , Suvatjis and de Chernatony (2005) , Melewar and Karaosmanoglu (2006) .

Communications Dowling (1986) , Abratt (1989) , van Riel and Balmer (1997) , Balmer and Soenen (1999) , Stuart

(1999) , Cornelissen and Elving (2003) , Suvatjis and de Chernatony (2005) , Melewar and Karaosmanoglu (2006) .

Culture Dowling (1986) , Abratt (1989) , Markwick and Fill (1997) , van Riel and Balmer (1997) , Balmer and

Soenen (1999) , de Chernatony (1999) , Stuart (1999) , Alessandri (2001) , Cornelissen and Elving (2003) , Suvatjis and de Chernatony (2005) , Melewar and Karaosmanoglu (2006) .

Behaviour Dowling (1986) , van Riel and Balmer (1997) , Balmer and Soenen (1999) , Stuart (1999) , Alessandri

(2001) , Cornelissen and Elving (2003) , Suvatjis and de Chernatony (2005) , Melewar and Karaosmanoglu (2006) .

Strategy Abratt (1989) , Markwick and Fill (1997) , van Riel and Balmer (1997) , Balmer and Soenen (1999) ,

Stuart (1999) , Cornelissen and Elving (2003) , Suvatjis and de Chernatony (2005) , Melewar and Karaosmanoglu (2006) .

Structure Abratt (1989) , Balmer and Soenen (1999) , Stuart (1999) , Cornelissen and Elving (2003) , Melewar

and Karaosmanoglu (2006) .

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minimise incongruities between its subcul- tures ( Harris and de Chernatony, 2001 ; Ravishankar et al , 2011 ).

Strategy refers to the scope and direction an organisation sets for the long term, which seeks to match organisational resources to the environment in order to meet stake- holder expectations ( Johnson and Scholes, 1993 ; Hafsi and Thomas, 2005 ). The strat- egy component is closely related to the cor- porate or organisational structure, about which there is a notable literature on the strategy-structure-performance relationship ( Amitabh and Gupta, 2010 ). Basically, organisational structure relates to the resources and rules guiding employees ’ day- to-day activities and includes both corporate structure and the organisation of the brand portfolio through monolithic, endorsed and branded structures ( Giddens, 1979 ; Olins, 1989 ; Korver and van Ruler, 2003 ).

Country infl uence in identity management Recognising cross-cultural differences is crucial for companies seeking successful international expansion; one of the factors that can contribute to international expan- sion strategies is the adaptation of the corporate identity to each market. Some authors argue that brands with a global ori- entation should foster a homogenous iden- tity, while adapting corporate identity elements to local cultures ( Jord á -Albi ñ ana et al , 2005 ; Asikhia, 2010 ). In international settings, companies attach different impor- tance to their websites to project their identities ( Lee et al , 2006 ; Robbins and Stylianou, 2010 ). Therefore, it is necessary to understand the context to effectively manage corporate identity communications since national cultures affect corporate will- ingness to disclose certain types of informa- tion in each market ( Haniffa and Cooke, 2005 ; Birth et al , 2008 ). Additionally, it should be taken into account that country- and fi rm-specifi c contextual factors

not directly related to culture can also determine identity projection. For example, corporate and industrial characteristics such as company size or institutional and legislative environments also infl uence fi rm ’ s behavioural and external reporting patterns ( Adams et al , 1998 ; Jackson and Apostolakou, 2010 ).

Our discussion about identity commu- nication is based on a multidisciplinary mix of literature although theoretical underpin- ning basically relies on contributions regard- ing cultural markers of every country ( Hofstede, 1984 ). The Hofstede ’ s model argues that country cultures vary along fi ve dimensions: power distance, individualism versus collectivism, femininity versus mas- culinity, uncertainty avoidance, and long- versus short-term orientation. It states that cultural values and cultural differences between countries are stable and have existed for a long time. Therefore, previous research in a large variety of disciplines (for example, cross-cultural and organisational psychology, management of communica- tions, and so on) has frequently adopted Hofstede ’ s classifi cation to ascertain if cul- ture matters in explaining consumer and corporate behavioural patterns. However, this model has its criticisms since some authors argue it is based on fl awed assump- tions ( McSweeney, 2002 ), has validity weaknesses related to transversal studies ( Smith, 2002 ) and it is contingent on every country ’ s particular cultural characteristics ( Gannon, 2012 ). This article primarily employs Hofstede ’ s interpretive view of national cultures to hypothesise why banks operating in Spain and the United Kingdom differ in corporate identity communica- tions. However, given criticisms of this model, it also employs a large multidisci- plinary mix of literature such as website design and contents ( Halliburton and Ziegfeld, 2009 ), social theory and organi- sational psychology ( Morris et al , 2008 ), and social disclosures ( Tixier, 2003 ).

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different clusters ( Hofstede, 1984 ; Kale, 1995 ; Kumar, 2000 ). In comparison with Spain, Hofstede ’ s cultural dimensions reveal that UK society has a lower level of inequality (power distance) and individuals attempt to avoid unexpected situations to a lesser extent (uncertainty avoidance), but act in a more self-centred manner (indivi- dualism) with ‘ masculine ’ (competitiveness, ambition, and so on) rather than ‘ feminine ’ values (quality of life, and so on). According to Halliburton and Ziegfeld (2009) , com- panies in the United Kingdom usually tai- lor the visualisation and design of websites to the host country although brand features are globally communicated. Despite the paucity of literature, some studies report that differences in masculinity and uncer- tainty avoidance lead to differences in web- site design and content. Srite and Karahanna (2006) posit that it is important in low mas- culinity cultures to create a pleasant (online) atmosphere, and the work by Marcus and Gould (2000) recommends emphasising the online visual aesthetics in feminine cultures. From a different angle, Lee et al (2009) show a negative moderating effect of masculinity in the relationship between website design and satisfaction. In this sense, we may think that cultures with lower scores in masculin- ity should give more emphasis to visual identity than cultures with higher scores. Owing to Spain having a lower score on masculinity than the United Kingdom, we put forward the following hypothesis:

Hypothesis 1: Websites of banks operat- ing in Spain exhibit more elements of visual identity than UK banks.

Regarding uncertainty avoidance, this is critical in fi nancial services, and companies operating in cultures with high levels need to be particularly careful when developing their websites. According to the fi ndings by Lee et al (2009) , in a context of high uncertainty avoidance, the relationship

When developing a corporate identity, corporate websites are helpful to commu- nicate with diverse stakeholders such as consumers, business partners and employees ( Ingenhoff and Fuhrer, 2010 ). Previous research has revealed signifi cant differences in the way companies ’ corporate websites vary across countries ( Halliburton and Ziegfeld, 2009 ; Lim et al , 2010 ). In our research, we focus on identities portrayed through banks ’ corporate websites in Spain and the United Kingdom, since these countries have different cultures, language and regulations ( Nelson and Paek, 2007 ). In both these countries, fi nancial services make a signifi cant contribution to their economies, albeit the origin and evolution of the fi nancial services sectors are different. In the United Kingdom, some of the banks have their roots in building societies (for example, Abbey National, Halifax, Bradford and Bingley, and so on). These building societies gave emphasis to their collective character and, as a consequence, a generic reputation was built over the years. Changes in regulation, especially during the 1980s, resulted in increasing competition with foreign entrants and companies from dif- ferent sectors such as supermarkets ( He and Balmer, 2007 ). With such a dynamic mar- ket, fi nancial services corporations put a signifi cant effort behind building and com- municating their corporate identities. In Spain there are certain parallels, again brought about by changes in regulation and increasing competition. Spanish competi- tion also came from savings banks expand- ing branches beyond their regional scope, and providing full services as traditional banks. Surprisingly, traditional banks in Spain have been mimicking savings banks and during the last few years have placed greater emphasis on CSR actions to improve their corporate images.

In terms of culture, the United Kingdom and Spain exhibit signifi cant differences such that researchers position them in

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between risk and satisfaction is more nega- tive than in countries with low levels. From a similar perspective, Jarvenpan and Tractinsky (1999) highlight that in cultures with high levels of uncertainty avoidance, a perception of risk leads to low levels of trust. Given that Spain has a higher score on uncertainty avoidance, this suggests that banks in Spain will include more elements regarding its communication on their web- sites to minimise risk perceptions. We thus propose the following:

Hypothesis 2: Websites of banks operat- ing in Spain exhibit more elements of communication than UK banks.

As regards the behaviour and cultural dimensions, classic social theory and organ- isational psychology provide some clues to explain why organisational behaviour varies across countries ( Morris et al , 2008 ). For example, classic social theory suggests that employees in different countries have dif- ferent relational norms and develop different habits within their work place. Not only norms, but also individuals ’ values deter- mine corporate identity and lead to different behavioural and communication patterns. The variation of these values across coun- tries, as suggested by Hofstede (1984) , will be translated into different patterns of cor- porate identity projection among organisa- tions. For example, Robbins and Stylianou (2010) reported that Anglo-Saxon compa- nies disclosed more information about their culture, culture sensitivity or vision and mis- sion statements than Latin organisations. Callahan (2005) also noted that cultural val- ues were refl ected in the contents of Anglo- Saxon corporate websites. These differences may be refl ected in the banks ’ communica- tion of their corporate culture, and therefore a higher emphasis is expected from banks in the United Kingdom than banks in Spain to disclose information regarding the exist- ence of a homogeneous culture within the

organisation as well as information regarding its origin and evolution. Thus, it is hypoth- esised that:

Hypothesis 3: Websites of banks oper- ating in Spain exhibit less elements about their cultures than UK banks.

Previous research also suggests that cul- tural markers explain corporate proneness to communicate particular manifestations of organisational behaviour. For example, power distance could explain the presence of specifi c elements, such as organisational charts, bio-sketches of top leaders and mes- sages from CEOs, across countries. Indeed, Robbins and Stylianou (2010) found that while Anglo-Saxon companies disclosed more information about managers ’ biogra- phies and about internal codes of conduct than Latin counterparts, they were more favourably disposed to use CEOs ’ messages as representative of corporate identity. In the same vein, CSR is driven by different principles across borders and these princi- ples are translated into different CSR ini- tiatives across countries ( Maignan and Ralston, 2002 ). According to Tixier (2003) , there are basically two alternative approaches for disclosing CSR information: ‘ total dis- cretion ’ and ‘ high-risk ’ strategies. High-risk strategy is typical of fi rms that integrate CSR within their business models and con- sider CSR disclosure as a source of com- petitive advantages ( Birth et al , 2008 ). Specifi cally, cultural sensitivity and CSR actions appear to be more important for Anglo-Saxon than for Latin countries ( Jackson and Apostolakou, 2010 ). Latin organisations are more likely to follow a total discretion strategy in CSR reporting since they perceive it as an uncertain strat- egy that is not valued by public opinion ( Tixier, 2003 ). Tixier’s (2003) dichotomy has also been supported by other authors ( Dawkins and Lewis, 2003 ) and in other cultures. For example, Birth et al (2008)

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that may be behind the attitude toward the communication of strategic issues across countries: uncertainty avoidance. As a whole, countries with lower uncertainty avoidance (the United Kingdom) should be more open to reveal strategy to stakehold- ers on their corporate websites. The fol- lowing hypothesis is therefore proposed:

Hypothesis 5: Websites of banks oper- ating in Spain exhibit less elements about strategy than UK banks.

In order to facilitate the execution of the strategy to achieve stretching targets, organ- isational structure plays a key role ( Amitabh and Gupta, 2010 ). Owing to the inter-rela- tionship between strategy and structure as drivers of corporate success, stakeholders such as employees and shareholders are interested in information on organisational structure. In the same way that UK com- panies would be more committed to pro- viding information on strategy ( Santema et al , 2005 ; Mabey, 2008 ), information on corporate websites about structure might also be more prominent. However, some differences could arise when it comes to specifi c items. For example, Han and Schmitt (1997) demonstrate that collective societies, such as Hong Kong, attach more importance to the company behind the launch of new products. Therefore, in indi- vidualistic countries such as the United Kingdom, the endorsed brand structures should be less frequently employed com- pared with Spain. As such, from the litera- ture reviewed, we postulate:

Hypothesis 6: Websites of banks oper- ating in Spain exhibit less elements about structure than UK banks.

METHOD In this study information relating to any component of banks ’ corporate identities

observed that the high-risk approach pre- vailed in the Swiss context but, at the same time, companies in this country presented an ambiguous attitude towards the media ’ s power. Indeed, certain institutional factors, like corporate governance systems, are also likely to infl uence CSR reporting ( Jackson and Apostolakou, 2010 ). Therefore, it is expected that Spanish banks, operating in a Latin culture, prefer a discrete approach to manage behavioural and social dimen- sions of CSR. On the other hand, banks operating in an Anglo-Saxon context will be more open to provide both social infor- mation and information about behavioural strategies. Drawing on this, we postulate:

Hypothesis 4: Websites of banks oper- ating in Spain exhibit less elements about behaviour than UK banks.

The voluntary disclosure of corporate strategy is increasingly becoming a com- mon practice despite the fear shown by some companies, sectors and even countries ( Higgins and Diffenbach, 1989 ; Garc í a- S á nchez et al , 2011 ). Regarding the coun- try issue, Spanish companies do not seem to be especially willing to provide strategic information beyond the legal or standard contents ( Santema et al , 2005 ; Garc í a- S á nchez et al , 2011 ). Santema et al (2005) reported that UK companies are more prone to describe their strategy in their annual reports than other European com- panies. Mabey (2008) also observed that compared with the United Kingdom, Spanish companies seem to follow a tacit rather than an explicit approach to describe certain strategies. Sometimes, the commu- nication of the strategy may differ not only in the host country but also in the destina- tion country. Thus, it is not uncommon for the English versions of a company ’ s website to have different objectives than their foreign counterparts ( Callahan, 2005 ). In general, there is a Hofstede ’ s dimension

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was the subject of analysis. The sample consisted of the main commercial banks operating either in Spain and / or the United Kingdom. This means that foreign banks were considered if they had a website suited to the host nation (for example, www. deutsche-bank.es or www.citibank.co.uk ). Therefore, the article does not solely focus on organisations with Spanish or British origins. However, for simplicity we will refer to them as UK and Spain entities in the article. Specifi cally, 30 of the largest retail banks operating in each country were selected (60 in total) using size criteria (for example, assets, branches, and so on). According to the data collected by the European Banking Federation (EBF) , the UK ’ s banks had in 2010 the highest assets ( S 8844.26 billion), loans ( S 3557.43 billion) and deposits ( S 4563.31 billion) across all the banks operating in European countries as well as Southern Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan) and Russia. In order to establish comparisons appropriately, we sought to select two countries whose banking sectors were relatively similar in quantitative terms, yet with differences from a cultural view- point. This requirement was fulfi lled by Spain and the United Kingdom since, within the big fi ve (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom), Spanish and UK banking sectors are the most similar ones in key variables such as loans per GDP (Spain = 1.87; UK = 2.10), deposits per GDP (Spain = 1.78; UK = 2.69) and total number of banks (Spain = 337; UK = 327), yet with cultural differences as earlier con- sidered. The banks selected are shown in Appendix A.

All the information disclosed on the banks ’ websites was analysed as well as any reports and documents that the banks uploaded onto their websites, such as annual reports, corporate responsibility reports, and so on. The aim of covering not only the website information but also all the documents uploaded fi lls a gap in the

literature, which previously had focused solely either on the website information, or any of the documents uploaded.

Content analysis was undertaken. This methodology is suitable for text research and the classifi cation of data. It has been widely used in previous research in corpo- rate identity (for example, Knox and Bickerton, 2003 ; Baak and Singh, 2007 ; Cornelius et al , 2007 ; Haniffa and Hudaib, 2007 ; Rodrigues and Child, 2008 ). Fol- lowing the accepted procedure, the fi rst step was to create a coding of all the ele- ments of the bank ’ s corporate identities. This resulted in 212 identity elements. These elements were categorised into the six most frequent dimensions of corporate identity, as previously described, that is, visual identity, communication, behaviour, culture, strategy and structure. The data collected fi tted easily into these dimen- sions. As the analysis was undertaken, sub- categories within the six dimensions were created to facilitate understanding ( Florek et al , 2006 ; Rowley, 2009 ). Appendix B shows the categorisation of the identity ele- ments into the different sub-categories and dimensions.

In order to ensure the quality of the analysis, we followed the recommendations made for content analysis and developed training and control systems for the researchers ( Bakeman and Gottman, 1986 ). In the fi rst round of coding some of the banks ’ identities, discussions took place between the researchers to reach agreement on categorisations. Subsequently, regular meetings were held to discuss and refi ne the classifi cation criteria. Each identity ele- ment was independently analysed by two researchers and the concordance coeffi - cients of the categories analysed were in all cases above 90 per cent. These fi gures are acceptable for this type of methodology ( Neuendorf, 2002 ; Ingenhoff and Fuhrer, 2010 ) and are in line with other studies ( Perry and Bodkin, 2000 ; Gram, 2007 ).

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typography ’ ). Afterwards, we calculated the average score for all the banks. In the same example, average of scores for all the banks (HSBC = 0.4; Santander = 0.2) is 0.25 for the logo and slogan category. The results of all these summary-categories are shown in Table 2 .

To test the hypotheses, we analyse mean differences in corporate identity dimensions between banks operating in Spain and the United Kingdom. When investigating any signifi cant differences, we considered whether these differences are due to the variable ‘ country ’ (banks in Spain versus banks in the United Kingdom) or due to other variables such as size of the bank (in terms of number of employees), specialisa- tion (specialised bank versus non-special- ised) and country of origin (domestic versus foreign). To control the effect of the latter variables, we performed a series of hierar- chical multiple regressions. In the fi rst stage, only control variables (size, specialisation, country of origin) were entered in the regression; afterwards, the country variable (banks in Spain versus banks in the United Kingdom) was included to study the addi- tional effect over the regressions and to check any signifi cant effect. Main results from multiple regressions can be seen in Table 3 .

Regarding the visual identity dimension, this can best be appreciated through the constituent categories of the logo and slo- gan and that of aesthetics. Coherence between the colours of the logo and the colours of the website and a clear slogan was noted in most of the banks ’ websites. Concerning aesthetics, the most common elements in both the Spanish and UK web- sites were pictures of the banks ’ emblematic buildings, their management and employ- ees. No systematic differences were found between both countries, and only banks in Spain showed signifi cantly more logo-web- site coherence than those in the United Kingdom (Spain = 93.3 per cent; UK = 63.3

When discrepancies arose, the researchers met to revise the dissenting category. No pattern of systematic differences was found between researchers.

Owing to the notable amount of data, the analysis was carried out between May 2010 and January 2011. Given that websites are dynamic, and they can be modifi ed regularly, each entity was analysed at approximately the same time by both researchers.

RESULTS The coded data were classifi ed according to the six dimensions of corporate identity and to facilitate understanding, categories were created within these dimensions whereby related issues were clustered together. Within each category, we calcu- lated the percentage of websites containing information regarding the components of that category in each country. Comparisons between the elements of corporate identity between the banks in Spain and the United Kingdom are shown in Appendix B.

We also analysed every category as a whole, and summary-category data were calculated following a similar procedure to the one used by Ettredge et al (2001) . Given that every category may be considered as a dichotomous variable (value 0 when no such information appears on the web and 1 when it appears), we fi rst calculated coef- fi cients between the number of categories of information that appears in every bank website divided by the total number of cat- egories. For instance, the score of HSBC in the logo and slogan category is 2 / 5 = 0.4, due to there being information on the web- site of HSBC in two out of the fi ve catego- ries considered in the logo-slogan category (specifi cally, there is information in the categories ‘ coherence logo-website ’ and ‘ clear slogan ’ ; and there is no information regarding the categories of ‘ existence of logo variants ’ , ‘ reference to identity stand- ard manual ’ and ‘ reference to a specifi c

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per cent; P < 0.01). Overall, no signifi cant differences were found between the two countries in the summary-categories related to the slogan (Spain = 0.29; UK = 0.22; P > 0.1) and related to aesthetics (Spain = 0.32; UK = 0.33; P > 0.1). As such, Hypothesis 1 is not supported.

The communication dimension is com- posed of categories related to communica- tion channels (internal and external) and nature of information (internal and exter- nal). The most frequently observed chan- nels were internal meetings, intranet, customer call-centres and social networks.

Table 2 : Differences across countries in the corporate identity dimensions

Total

Spain

Means test

Hypotheses

Visual identity Logo and slogan 0.25 0.29 0.22 t =1.50 H1 (Spain > UK)

Not supported Aesthetics 0.32 0.32 0.33 t = − 0.74 Communication Internal channels of communication 0.18 0.27 0.10 z =1.70* H2 (Spain > UK)

Partially supported External channels of communication 0.41 0.43 0.39 t =0.89 Internal information 0.41 0.50 0.32 t =2.26** External information 0.37 0.46 0.28 t =2.60** Culture Corporate subcultures 0.39 0.41 0.37 z =0.48 H3 (UK > Spain)

Not supported Corporate history 0.26 0.23 0.28 z =0.73 Behaviour Suppliers CSR 0.33 0.28 0.38 t =0.88 H4 (UK > Spain)

Partially supported Customers CSR 0.52 0.46 0.58 t =2.13** Community CSR 0.27 0.26 0.27 t =0.04 Employees CSR 0.45 0.35 0.54 t =2.08** Environmental CSR 0.43 0.36 0.49 t =1.39 Employees ’ behaviour 0.14 0.19 0.09 z =1.67* Managerial behaviour 0.32 0.23 0.41 z =2.09** Strategy Plans 0.22 0.22 0.22 t =0.00 H5 (UK > Spain)

Partially supported Multichannel strategy 0.76 0.77 0.74 t =0.28 Effi cient management models 0.15 0.24 0.07 z = − 1.67* Product portfolio (in general) 0.36 0.42 0.30 t =2.74*** Financial products 0.70 0.79 0.62 z =3.26*** Specifi c professional services 0.36 0.51 0.21 z =3.59*** Non-fi nancial products 0.07 0.08 0.05 z = − 1.66* Other additional services 0.32 0.30 0.34 t = − 0.75 Segmentation by consumers 0.44 0.37 0.51 t = − 2.00* Segmentation by companies and institutions 0.37 0.30 0.44 t = − 1.83* Structure Organisational structure 0.33 0.50 0.17 � 2 =7.50*** H6 (UK > Spain) Not

supported

Note : *P < 0.10; **P < 0.05; * * *P < 0.01.

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channels (Spain = 0.43; UK = 0.39; P > 0.1). Multiple regressions confi rm the signifi cant effect of country variable when controlling for other variables. Consequently, Hypothesis 2 is partially supported.

Regarding the cultural dimension, no differences were found between countries on the two constituent categories of cul- ture, that is, history (Spain = 0.23; UK = 0.28; P > 0.10) and subcultures (Spain = 0.41; UK = 0.37; A > 0.10); thus Hypothesis 3 is

The most common categories of informa- tion were general fi nancial information, annual reports, awards and stock market information. From Table 2 , banks ’ websites in Spain overall cited more internal com- munication channels (Spain = 0.27; UK = 0.10; P < 0.10) and provided more informa- tion both internally (Spain = 0.50; UK = 0.32; P < 0.05) and externally (Spain = 0.46; UK = 0.28; P < 0.05). However, differences were not signifi cant in the case of external

Table 3 : Main results in multiple regression analyses

F change a Country b Size b Specialis. b Origin b

Visual identity Logo and slogan 0.06 0.26* — — — Aesthetics 0.79 — — — — Communication Internal channels of comm.. 0.01 0.27*** — 0.35*** — External channels of comm.. 0.36 — — — — Internal information 0.03 0.29** — 0.26** — External information 0.01 0.51*** 0.26** — — Culture Corporate subcultures 0.71 — 0.47*** — — Corporate history 0.40 — — — — Behaviour Suppliers CSR 0.78 — 0.35*** 0.30** — Customers CSR 0.13 — — — — Community CSR 0.53 — 0.32** — Employees CSR 0.07 0.24* — 0.23* — Environmental CSR 0.36 — 0.28** 0.24* — Employees ’ behaviour 0.03 0.28** — 0.28** — Managerial behaviour 0.24 — 0.47*** 0.22** — Strategy Plans 0.94 — — 0.24* — Multichannel strategy 0.40 — 0.27* — — Effi cient manag. models 0.01 0.31** — 0.34*** — Product portfolio 0.01 0.33*** — 0.45*** 0.22* Financial products 0.03 0.25** — 0.51*** 0.36*** Specifi c prof. services 0.01 0.51*** — 0.35*** — Non-fi nancial products 0.87 — — 0.31** — Other additional services 0.78 — — — — Segmentation consumers 0.02 0.26** — 0.55*** 0.26** Segmentation companies 0.07 0.22* — 0.43*** — Structure Organisational structure c 0.01 4.26** — 0.19** —

Note : a sign. of F -change when adding variable country; b standardised parameters of the variables; c logistic regression (omnibus test of model coeff. and odds ratio for each variable); *P < 0.10; **P < 0.05; ***P < 0.01.

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rejected. When digging deeper into the components of these two categories, some differences emerge. While banks in both countries did not differ in the publication of information concerning corporate his- tory and evolution, banks in Spain showed more information about the former heads of banks (Spain = 20 per cent; UK = 0 per cent; P < 0.05). Besides, banks in the United Kingdom were more multicultural than those operating in Spain. Signifi cant differ- ences arose regarding the attribute homo- geneous culture (Spain = 16.7 per cent; UK = 0 per cent; P < 0.05) and for the items that refl ect organisations including infor- mation about cultural diversity (Spain = 33.3; UK = 56.7; P < 0.10) and multicultural teams (Spain = 20; UK = 43.3; P < 0.05).

As regards the behavioural dimension, fi ndings indicated that CSR was one of the most salient manifestations of the corporate ethos. The attributes of CSR were clus- tered into fi ve categories relating to the fi ve target stakeholder. As shown in Table 2 , banks in the United Kingdom were more likely to create distinctive identities through social reporting, where they have higher scores in all the CSR categories. However, two CSR categories were statistically different, that is, those relating to custom- ers (Spain = 0.46; UK = 0.58; P < 0.05) and employees (Spain = 0.35; UK = 0.54; P < 0.05), suggesting that banks in the United Kingdom placed more emphasis on internally and externally involving stake- holders in the CSR activities. The fi ndings also showed that banks in both countries differed because of the importance placed on managing organisational members ’ behaviour. While banks operating in the United Kingdom were more intense controlling their executives ’ conduct (Spain = 0.23; UK = 0.41; P < 0.05), banks in Spain were more interested in control through audi ting employees ’ decisions, routines and work activities (Spain = 0.09; UK = 0.19; P < 0.10). Multiple regression

analyses confi rm two out of the four signifi cant relations detected in the mean differences. Specifi cally, the variable ‘ country ’ explains differences in CSR aimed at employ- ees and behavioural control of employees. The other two relations are diluted when including variables size and specialisation. Therefore, Hypothesis 4 is partially supported since banks in the United Kingdom are more prone to create distinctive identities through CSR communications.

Focusing on the strategy dimension, there were no differences between banks in the United Kingdom and Spain about showing on their websites aspects of stra- tegic plans or, to a lesser extent, marketing plans. However, interesting patterns emerge when investigating specifi c business strate- gies. Many banks in Spain cited explicitly that they were following a specialisation strategy (Spain = 53.5 per cent; UK = 33.3 per cent; P > 0.1) and customer loyalty (Spain = 20 per cent; UK = 0 per cent; P < 0.01) rather than customer recruitment (Spain = 6.7 per cent; UK = 23.3 per cent; P < 0.1). Websites talking about online channels are common between all the banks, as are telephone banking services and, to a lesser extent, mobile banking serv- ices. Some differences were found regard- ing the use of effi cient management models with more information on the Spanish web- sites (CRM, market research procedures, and so on), contrary to expectations. However, the UK websites exhibited more information on global products, which refl ects their international approach on banking policy (Spain = 36.7 per cent; UK = 66.7 per cent; P < 0.05).

Projecting their products, around 80 per cent of banks communicated that their product portfolios consist of investment funds, loans, mortgages, cards and insur- ances, with a greater emphasis on savings products in Spain (Spain = 73.3 per cent; UK = 90 per cent; P < 0.1). In addition some banks ’ websites spoke about products

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For both countries, most banks adopted a monolithic brand identity, followed by the endorsed option. Compared with the United Kingdom, banks in Spain were more likely to use their corporate brands as umbrellas for all their different business units ( � 2 = 7.95; P < 0.01). It should be noted that this information was gathered from the visual observation of logotypes and brand names exhibited on the websites. Most banks did not explicitly disclose their branding strategy through either statements on the webpage or formal documents like brand image plans.

CONCLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS AND FURTHER RESEARCH The fi ndings have consequences from an aca- demic and managerial perspective since they advance knowledge of cross-cultural differ- ences in the corporate website strategies in the banking sector. There are not many stud- ies devoted to cross-cultural differences on websites, and none of them are focused exclusively on corporate identity in the bank- ing sector. This work has led not only to show the existence of differences between Spain and the United Kingdom, but to inter- pret these differences at the light of their causes. At the light of the results obtained, we can extract three main conclusions.

First, the overall conclusion for the academia in this work is that cross-cultural research as the Hofstede ’ s cultural dimensions theory or alternative classifi cations ( Hofstede, 1984 ; Kale, 1995 ), comparative studies bet- ween Anglo-Saxon and Latin companies ( Callahan, 2005 ; Robbins and Stylianou, 2010 ), or theories from social organisation ( Morris et al , 2008 ) are helpful to explain some of the differences that have been found in this study between banks in Spain and the United Kingdom. However, there are other forces that may also play to explain differences and similarities. Thus, different legal or envi- ronmental context may reinforce differences between countries.

beyond their core business, such as selling properties in the case of Spanish banks (Spain = 40 per cent; UK = 0 per cent; P < 0.01). Surprisingly around 7 per cent of the banks spoke about selling electronics and electrical appliances, shopping, leisure products and health-related services. Services such as fi nancial simulations were more likely to be available on websites from banks in the United Kingdom than Spain (Spain = 36.7 per cent; UK = 66.7 per cent; P < 0.05). In general, the summary-categories showed a higher presence of products, either fi nancial or non fi nancial, in the port- folios of banks operating in Spain. Regarding the target of these products, most banks target all types of customers and companies, although some groups such as personal / private / large deposits seem to be particu- larly attractive. In general, more information about segments was found for the UK banks. This result is consistent when seg- menting by both consumers (Spain = 0.37; UK = 0.51; P < 0.1) and by companies (Spain = 0.30; UK = 0.44; P < 0.1), which is in line with Hypothesis 5. Multiple regres- sions also confi rm that these differences are due to the ‘ country ’ variable. However, since information on product portfolio and general strategy was not systematically higher for the United Kingdom, only mod- erate support is noted for Hypothesis 5.

For the organisational structure dimension the heterogeneity of measures prevented the building of a global measure. Contrary to Hypothesis 6, the most representative item in organisational structure, the presence of organisational charts, was exhibited more on Spanish websites (Spain = 0.50; UK = 0.17; P < 0.05). When reported, the most common structure presented is functional organisa- tional chart. Regarding the committees, the most cited ones are ‘ nomination and remu- neration ’ , ‘ audit ’ and ‘ board risk ’ committees. However, this specifi c information on organ- isational structure did not show signifi cant differences across countries.

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While cultural aspects may infl uence fi rms ’ interests in exhibiting certain identity dimensions, it must be noted that there are singularities in stakeholder environments that contribute to explaining the reported dissimilarities. Banks operating in the United Kingdom have to deal with het- erogeneous environments where their cor- porate cultures would benefi t from being aligned with the numerous subcultures resulting from the nationalities or the branch locations where staff work. This is also the case of the specifi c composition of the product portfolios, which may refl ect the legal and tax environments ( Melewar and Bains, 2002 ). From a strategic view- point, banks from both countries may not share the same objectives, being subjected to different regulations from the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and the Bank of England. Therefore, the role of environ- ment pressures in communicating cor porate brand identity should be further explored.

Besides, there are factors that may reduce the differences across countries in the man- agerial practices in this sector. Thus, we may think in the globalisation phenomenon where companies and consumers behav- iours are becoming more and more homo- geneous. The banking sector is not an exception, where stakeholders are com- posed by individuals from different nation- alities, and many banks are becoming more and more international. In general, this study ’ s results suggest that while cultural factors may help to explain some differ- ences in online disclosures across countries, they cannot be considered the only infl u- ence upon corporate identities ’ manifesta- tions. Certainly, cultural factors determine certain aspects such social reporting and information concerning behavioural pat- terns, which may be affected by the social and political structure of society as well as from the nation ’ s history ( Adams, 2002 ). However, many of the banks included in the study are large corporations that

transcend national boundaries. In such a globalised context, country- and culture- specifi c features may have a relative impor- tance explaining which specifi c elements of corporate identity are more relevant in every country.

As revealed in this study, specifi c factors related to size and specialisation contribute to explaining differences in corporate iden- tity communications. Consequently, while certain similarities and differences in cor- porate identity communication can be interpreted in terms of cross-cultural differ- ences as the Hofstede ’ s dimensions, future research should incorporate alternative the- oretical approaches and complementary variables. This does not mean that the Hofstede ’ s model or alternatives are invalid, but the sole inclusion of these models are not effective enough to explain cross- cultural differences in communication behaviours. Complementing it with environ- mental, institutional and other organisa- tional variables will allow researchers and practitioners to obtain a nuanced view of how cultural traits are refl ected in corporate identity manifestations.

Second, another contribution for the academia is in comparing the results obtained in every particular corporate iden- tity dimension with previous research, and then to discuss the causes of the expected or unexpected results at the light of the literature and how this study complement it. As expected from ideas developed from the literature, banks in high uncertainty- avoidance societies (Spain) try to minimise perceived risk by disclosing more informa- tion and channels of communication at the same time as concealing ‘ confi dential ’ issues related to strategy. Fear of showing some aspects of corporate strategy, especially in a sector that consumers perceive as risky, may be justifi ed as strategy provides the sense of purpose and uniqueness of companies ( Hafsi and Thomas, 2005 ; Simoes et al , 2005 ). Only the information on product portfolio

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was higher in Spanish banks than the UK ’ s banks, which may be considered as a tacti- cal and commercially driven policy rather than purely strategic. Although information on organisational structure was also higher in Spanish banks, the results might be explained by the role of other cultural dimensions, such as power distance, rather than differences in uncertainty avoidance. A similar result is also reported by Robbins and Stylianou (2010) contrasting British and North American companies against Latin countries.

Regarding the behaviour dimension, the results provided mixed support about the greater emphasis placed on this by UK banks due to cultural differences ( Marcus and Gould, 2000 ). British banks were more intense in the externalisation of CSR and in the implementation of mechanisms to control and audit managerial behaviour. Regardless of the level of individualism (higher in the United Kingdom), British banks may see social disclosures as an effec- tive approach to increase corporate credi- bility and enhance corporate image ( Adams, 2002 ). Moreover, UK banks are also more prone to disclose information about prac- tices to control managerial conduct, while Spanish banks presented more information concerning employees ’ behaviour. It could be that the lower power distance of British banks is refl ected in an interest for com- municating information about their manag- ers to refl ect managerial and employees ’ roles within the organisation.

Contrary to expectations, neither visual identity nor corporate culture showed sta- tistical differences across the samples. In the case of visual identity, it was proposed that the higher masculinity of UK society would lead to a higher emphasis on visual elements such as logo or aesthetics. In line with previous comparative studies, differences related more to the content rather than design of websites ( Callahan, 2005 ; Robbins and Stylianou, 2010 ) with differences in

quality rather than quantity of disclosure. This result may be explained by the fact that visual elements are less relevant in the banking sector than in other sectors like clothing, although it could also show the role of consulting agencies designing cor- porate websites. As suggested by Callahan (2005) , these observational studies do not allow researchers to identify who the designers are and what motivated their designs. Perhaps, differences and similarities in corporate identity externalisation are due to agencies ’ differences across countries, to others ’ banks websites design and contents or to other institutional factors, and not to merely cultural dissimilarities between Spain and the United Kingdom.

The fi ndings on corporate culture confl ict with previous studies that show differences in issues such as cultural statements or organ- isational history across countries ( Robbins and Stylianou, 2010 ). According to Marcus and Gould (2000) , and following Hofstede’s (1984) cultures ’ characterisation, one could argue that cultural differences between coun- tries could be the reason behind these results. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that British banks, in a highly individualist country, display more social information than banks in a more collectivist cultures. Therefore, Hofstede ’ s model may not be as applicable to the study of certain dimensions of corporate identity through websites. Additionally, it is signifi cant that most Spanish and UK banks do not seem to show a special emphasis on country of origin and their cul- tural elements (for example, fl ags, symbols, and so on) through their websites. Country of origin information is commonly found in the history sections of websites, yet there was not a systematic pattern of disparity bet ween banks in Spain and in the United King dom. Future research could investigate the infl uence of the country, rather than the importance attached to the country, when it comes to the communication of corporate identity.

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Third, from a practitioner ’ s perspective, this study provides a tool for bank manag- ers to analyse the communication of the bank ’ s corporate identity. From a revision of the concept of corporate identity, this work has built a list of elements to consider in a bank ’ s corporate website. Every bank can use this list to analyse systematically whether it is interesting or not to show each kind of information. Together with the list, this work also provides a picture of the situation in this sector in both coun- tries, pointing at the differences and simi- larities in the display of corporate identity information in the websites. This image is of interest for managers of banks that are becoming international. Not only for those banks that goes international from Spain to United Kingdom or the other way around, but also for banks going to other different countries. Managers should study the anal- ogies with the characteristics of this work for their specifi c case. In the same vein, this study is also of interest for managers of companies that are becoming international, and they should study the analogies of the banking sector with the characteristics of their specifi c industry.

Marketing managers in the fi nancial services sector should be aware of the cultural differences that exist between the United Kingdom and Spain when com- municating their corporate identity in these countries. Otherwise, incongruence between organisational and country cul- tures may cause problems ( Scholtens and Dam, 2007 ), which is key in this sector where organisations are expanding their commercial activities abroad. Even though differences have been found in content rather than in the design of websites, it is signifi cant that visual identity has been pre- viously reported as a major driver to atti- tude towards websites ( Patsioura et al , 2011 ). Therefore, visual identity should also be adapted to the particular character- istics of each country. In the same vein, the

importance of CSR should not be under- estimated. Only two of the 60 banks did not display any information regarding their roles within society, which indicates that, in both countries, banks employ social report- ing to legitimise their behaviour and to pro- mote more favourable images. Internally, Powell et al (2009) note that in order to cre- ate a trustworthy CSR-based identity, fi rms require more than top down communica- tions and monolithic brand structures. The same rationale is applicable to strategy, where the competence in an international environment favours the launching of global products that, nonetheless, try to meet the particular needs of different groups. Furthermore, this policy signals the local approach of Spanish banks, with the excep- tion of a few signifi cant cases (mainly Santander and BBVA). Regarding the brand- ing strategy, there was a predominance of monolithic brand identity over the ‘ endorsed ’ and ‘ branded ’ alternatives. In fact, a pure branded strategy was not identifi ed in any case. The monolithic mould that has tradi- tionally characterised the banks ( Morison, 1997 ) continues to dominate. Regardless of the presence of additional identities, the lev- eraging of a strong corporate name seems to be an appropriate option to transmit confi - dence to stakeholders. In a time of mergers characterising numerous Spanish banks, wise decisions need to be made about the brand- ing strategy that should prevail.

Finally and for future research purposes, it is also advisable to consider a broader sample of countries as well as including qualitative information about different chan- nels beyond the Internet. Furthermore, it is desirable to explore alternative forms of cultures and business structures ( Powell, 2011 ). This study raises the question as to whether stakeholders in both Spain and the United Kingdom give similar weighting to each dimension of corporate identity, or whether it is just bank managers who perceive these differences.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors want to thank the fi nancial support provided by the following sources: Plan Nacional I + D + i project (ECO2009- 08283) and GENERES project (ref. S-09, Departamento de Ciencia, Tecnolog í a y Universidad del Gobierno de Arag ó n y Fondo Social Europeo). The authors would like to thank the editor and reviewers for their useful feedback and comments.

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APPENDIX A

Table A1 : List of banks

Spain UK

Altae Alliance & Leicester Banco Espirito Santo Bank of Scotland Banesto Barclays Banif Cater Allen Int. Ltd. Bankinter Cheltenham & Gloucester Bankoa Citibank Barclays Clydesdale Bank BBVA Co-Operative Bank BNP Paribas Credit Suisse First Boston Caixa Geral Egg Banking Plc Citibank Halifax Deutsche Harrods Bank Limited Dexia Sabadell HSBC Etcheverria JP Morgan Fibanc-Mediolanum Lloyds TSB Gallego Mbna Europe Bank Limited General Electric Money

Bank Mizuho Int. Plc

Guipuzcoano Natwest ING Direct Northern Bank Inversis Northern Rock Madrid RBS March Royal Bank of Canada

Europe Limited Pastor Sainsbury ́ s Bank Popular Santander (UK) Pueyo Standard Chartered Sabadell Standard Life Bank Santander Tesco Bank UBS Bank UBS Urquijo Sabadell Ulster Bank Valencia Yorkshire Bank

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APPENDIX B .

Table B1 : Differences in the main elements of corporate identities across countries

Indicator Total ( % ) Spain ( % ) UK ( % ) � 2 test

VISUAL IDENTITY Logo and slogan Logo-website coherence 78.3 93.3 63.3 7.95*** Clear slogan 36.7 33.3 40.0 0.28 Logo variants 15.0 20.0 10.0 1.17 Aesthetics Pictures of the architecture 60.0 63.3 56.7 0.28 Pictures of management 58.3 50.0 66.7 1.71 Pictures of employees 48.3 43.3 53.3 0.60 Pictures of offi ces 36.7 46.7 26.7 2.59 COMMUNICATIONS Channels of internal communication Internal meetings and presentations 41.7 36.7 46.7 0.62 Intranet 25.0 46.7 3.3 15.02*** Internal improvement mechanisms 25.0 33.3 16.7 2.22 Employee hotline 13.3 23.3 3.3 5.19** Channels of external communication Customer call centre 95.0 93.3 96.7 0.35 Press room 88.3 86.7 90.0 0.16 LinkedIn 81.7 83.3 80.0 0.11 Facebook 73.3 63.3 83.3 3.07* Twitter 66.7 53.3 80.0 4.80** Application for candidates to upload their curricula 65.0 73.3 56.7 1.83 Complaints forms and suggestions box 58.3 40.0 76.7 8.30*** Representation offi ces 55.0 40.0 70.0 5.45** Internal information General fi nancial information 73.3 80.0 66.7 1.36 Annual reports 56.7 66.6 46.6 2.44 Corporate governance codes 48.3 63.3 33.3 5.40** Corporate social responsibility reports 50.0 43.3 56.7 1.06 Statutes and regulations 35.0 53.3 16.7 8.86*** Reports of the directors 26.7 36.7 16.7 3.07* External information Prizes awarded 68.3 50.0 86.7 9.32*** Stock market information 55.0 76.7 33.3 11.38*** Rating agencies reports 55.0 50.0 60.0 0.61 Money laundering prevention 43.3 66.7 20.0 13.30*** Audit and compliance reports 36.7 60.0 13.3 14.07*** Quality certifi cates 38.3 43.3 33.3 0.64 CORPORATE CULTURE Corporate subcultures Importance of cultural diversity 45 33.3 56.7 3.30* Importance of multicultural teams 31.6 20 43.3 3.77** Existence of a homogeneous culture 8.3 16.7 0 5.45**

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555

Table B1 : Continued

Indicator Total ( % ) Spain ( % ) UK ( % ) � 2 test

Corporate history History of the organisation 90 90 90 0.00 Evolution of the organisation 81.6 80 83 0.11 Information about the former head 10 20 0 6.66** CORPORATE BEHAVIOUR Suppliers CSR Existence of codes of ethics in purchasing policies 36.7 30 43.3 1.14 Preference of responsible purchases 30 26.7 33 0.32 Customers CSR Security recommendations for online transactions 75 66.7 83.3 2.22 Accessibility to communications for disabled

customers 60 40 80 10.00***

Actions to promote fi nancial inclusion 45 33.3 56.7 3.30* Community CSR International solidarity initiatives 48.3 40 56.7 1.67 Information and incentive actions of CSR 46.7 33.3 60 4.29** Assistance and social integration actions 41.7 33.3 50 1.17 Support to entrepreneurship 38.3 26.7 50 3.45* Exhibitions and conferences sponsorship 33.3 40 26.7 1.20 Research and development support 28.3 40 16.7 4.02** Collaboration with universities 23.3 36.7 10 5.96** Historical and artistic heritage conservation 15 26.7 3.3 6.40** Employees CSR Social benefi ts for employees 51.7 40 63.3 3.27* Promotion of employees ’ social voluntary work 45 33.3 56.7 3.30* Special fi nancial conditions for employees 41.7 40 43.3 0.07 Health-care special benefi ts for the staff 38.3 26.7 50 3.45* Environmental CSR Actions against climate change 58.3 43.3 73.3 5.55** Responsible practices within the organisation 58.3 43.3 73.3 5.55** Financing environmental projects 48.3 43.3 53.3 0.60 Sustainable fi nancial products 43.3 36.7 50 1.08 Promoting rural development 6.7 13.3 0 4.28* Employees ’ behaviour Existence of a code of conduct 30 43.3 16.7 5.07** Existence of a code of conduct for stock markets 26.7 46.7 6.7 12.27*** Employees ’ commentaries on the entity 16.7 30 3.3 7.68** Managerial behaviour Existence of a code of conduct 33.3 20 26.7 1.36 Actions aimed to control managers ’ salaries 33.3 30 36.7 0.30 Publication of managers curricula and awards 26.7 6.7 46.7 6.23** Publication of messages from managers 21.7 6.7 36.7 7.95*** Control of extra-professional activities of the

managers 20 6.7 33.3 6.66**

STRATEGY Plans Strategic plans 41.6 40.0 43.3 0.07 Marketing plans 1.6 3.3 0.0 1.02

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Table B1 : Continued

Indicator Total ( % ) Spain ( % ) UK ( % ) � 2 test

Multichannel strategy Online banking services 95.0 93.3 96.7 0.35 Telephone banking services 76.6 73.3 80.0 0.37 Mobile banking services 55.0 63.3 46.7 1.68 Effi cient management models Internal quality systems 18.3 26.7 10.0 2.78* CRM systems 15.0 30.0 0.0 10.59*** External market research 18.3 33.3 3.3 9.02*** Internal market research 20.0 23.3 16.7 0.42 Performance assessment systems 11.6 20.0 3.3 4.04** Financial products Deposits 81.6 73.3 90.0 2.78* Investment funds 85.0 83.3 86.7 0.13 Pension plans 66.6 83.3 50.0 7.50*** Mortgages 73.3 76.7 70.0 0.34 Loans 86.6 83.3 90.0 0.58 Cards 86.7 86.7 86.7 0.00 Insurance policies 80.0 83.3 76.7 0.42 Securities 66.6 83.3 50.0 7.50*** Renting 33.3 63.3 3.3 24.30*** Leasing 41.6 70.0 13.3 19.82*** Specifi c professional services Virtual TPV 25.0 43.3 6.7 10.76*** Common agricultural policy (PAC) 10.0 20.0 0.0 6.67*** Payment and collection solutions 46.6 63.3 30.0 6.70*** Risk management services 63.3 70.0 56.7 1.15 Consultancy services 33.3 56.7 10.0 14.70*** Non-fi nancial products Motor vehicle selling 3.3 3.3 3.3 0.00 Electronic and appliance selling 6.7 6.7 6.7 0.00 Leisure time products selling 6.7 6.7 6.7 0.00 Household goods selling 6.6 3.3 10.0 1.07 Food products selling 6.6 3.3 10.0 1.07 Jewellery selling 5.0 3.3 6.7 0.35 Tickets selling 1.6 0.0 3.3 1.02 Property selling 20.0 40.0 0.0 15.00*** Health services selling 6.7 6.7 6.7 0.00 Mobile recharge 3.3 6.7 0.0 2.07 Travel selling 5.0 3.3 6.7 0.35 Other additional services Financial simulators 51.7 36.7 66.7 5.41** Links of interest 46.6 43.3 50.0 0.27 Software downloading 51.6 50.0 53.3 0.07 Income tax returns services 8.3 16.7 0.0 5.45** Valuation services 1.6 3.3 0.0 1.02 Segmentation by consumers Individuals 88.3 80.0 96.7 4.04** Young people 41.6 40.0 43.3 0.07 Personal / private / large deposits 71.7 76.7 66.7 0.74 Senior citizens 23.3 23.3 23.3 0.00 Children 30.0 20.0 40.0 2.86*

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557

Table B1 : Continued

Indicator Total ( % ) Spain ( % ) UK ( % ) � 2 test

Resident international customers 21.6 13.3 30.0 2.45 Non-resident international customers 50.0 26.7 73.3 13.07*** Shareholders 41.3 39.3 43.3 0.10 Undergraduates 23.3 6.7 40.0 9.32*** Segmentation by companies and institutions General companies 71.6 60.0 83.3 4.02** Stores 35.0 26.7 43.3 1.83 Self-employed / professionals 35.0 36.7 33.3 0.07 SME banks 45.0 30.0 60.0 5.45** Agriculture / stockbreeding / cooperatives 21.6 20.0 23.3 0.10 Entrepreneurs 30.0 20.0 40.0 2.85* Institutions 25.0 40.0 10.0 7.20*** Business banks 40.0 23.3 56.7 6.94*** Other related categories Differentiation 15.0 23.3 6.7 3.27* Cost leadership 3.3 6.7 0.0 2.07 Specialisation 35.0 36.7 33.3 0.07 Customer recruitment 15.0 6.7 23.3 3.27* Customer loyalty 10.0 20.0 0.0 6.67*** Mixed strategy 16.6 23.3 10.0 1.92 Product diversifi cation 31.6 50.0 13.3 9.32*** Countries where it competes 46.6 40.0 53.3 1.07 Global products 51.7 36.7 66.7 5.41** Investment strategy 51.6 53.3 50.0 0.07 STRUCTURE Organisational chart Organisational chart 33.3 50.0 16.7 7.50*** Other related categories Functional chart 65.0 50.0 80.0 1.36 Decentralised decision making 6.6 10.0 3.3 1.07 Commercial autonomy (branches) 1.6 3.3 0.0 1.02 Representative board of directors 11.7 16.7 6.7 1.46 Nomination and remuneration committee 38.3 40.0 36.7 0.07 Audit committee 36.6 40.0 33.3 0.29 Board risk committee 33.3 30.0 36.7 0.30 Monolithic brand identity 78.3 63.3 93.3 7.95*** Endorsed brand identity 21.7 36.7 6.7 7.95*** Branding Plans 3.3 3.3 3.3 0.00

Note : * P < 0.10; ** P < 0.05; *** P < 0.01.

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