Balancing the Past and Future in Corporate Branding

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Abstract

This commentary addresses how recent developments in temporality has inspired studies of corporate branding, as companies strive to reach a balance between past and future in their branding. These developments concern a shift from singular to multiple temporalities; from unitary to co-created temporalities; from abstract to situated temporality; and from linear to ongoing temporalities. Together these developments show how corporate branding may become a vehicle for temporal agency implying a more deliberate use of the past(s) creating a more engaging, relevant, and co-created future for corporate branding. The commentary discusses how the chapters in the section each contributes to this important debate. However, the commentary also discusses how striking a balance between past and future creates new dilemmas in corporate branding, such as when a multiplicity of stakeholders with each of their localized histories expect to be active co-creators of a more sustainable future of a corporate brand. The commentary points at new avenues for future research suggesting how the fight against climate change requires the ability of corporate branding to include distant futures in their brand purpose and overcome the intertemporal tensions that follow.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Routledge Companion to Corporate Branding
EditorsOriol Iglesias, Nicholas Ind, Majken Schultz
Number of pages9
Place of PublicationAbingdon
PublisherRoutledge
Publication date2022
Pages408-416
Chapter25
ISBN (Print)9780367476632, 9781032252599
ISBN (Electronic)9781003035749, 9781000573589
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022
SeriesRoutledge Companions in Business, Management and Marketing

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