British Airways & Balmer's ACID Test of Corporate Brand Management (Balmer 2004, WPS)

The working papers are produced by the Bradford University School of Management and are to be circulated for

discussion purposes only. Their contents should be considered to be preliminary. The papers are expected to be

published in due course, in a revised form and should not be quoted without the author’s permission.

Working Paper SeriesBritish Airways and Balmer’s AC3ID Test of Corporate Brand Management

Professor John M T Balmer

Dr Helen Stuart

Working Paper No 04/26

July 2004

BRITISH AIRWAYS AND BALMER’S AC3ID

TEST OF CORPORATE BRAND MANAGEMENT

Professor John M. T. BalmerProfessor of Corporate Identity

Bradford School of Management

Emm Lane

Bradford

West Yorkshire

BD9 4JL

England

U.K.

and

Dr Helen StuartLecturer

School of Business and Informatics

McAuley Campus

Australian Catholic University

PO Box 456 Virginia

Brisbane 4014 QLD,

Australia.

ABSTRACT

There can be few organizations that have received

as much media attention as British Airways (BA).

This is particularly in regard to its various changes

of identity/corporate brand that have been key

elements of its changing strategy. As a

consequence, BA has been the subject of

considerable international interest. As such, its

changing corporate identity and corporate

branding strategies have received many plaudits,

and sometimes censure. In this article the

wisdom of the BA’s various changes of corporate

identity is assessed using the Balmer’s AC3ID Test

of Corporate Brand Management. The test is a

diagnostic tool for examining the relationships

(and possible misalignments) between the six

identities that are found within many

organizations.

Our analysis confirms the efficacy of Balmer’s

AC3ID test for its diagnostic ability in detecting

key identity issues, given that the test

encapsulates multiple disciplinary roots and time

frames. As we will show in the article, the early

changes to the BA identity brought into

alignment some key dimensions described by the

AC3ID test. One subsequent change, the

unsuccessful graphic-design-driven ‘ethnic tails

fins’ identity change was narrowly conceived.

Although highly creative and ambitious, and

although it had a degree of logic, it was,

ultimately, unsuccessful owing to crucial identity

misalignments.

The importance of considering multiple

perspectives regarding corporate identity/

corporate branding and the inextricable link

between identity and corporate brand are some of

the main implications derived from this article.

These implications have particular relevance in

light of the growing numbers of organisations

that have recently undergone a change in their

corporate branding. The British Airways case

study is, for these organizations, a salutary tale.

However, it would appear that BA has adopted a

mature approach in the management of identity

in more recent years and has learnt from the

debacle that accompanies its latest corporate

rebranding exercise. In short, it has brought its

corporate brand into alignment with key identity

elements of the organization.

3

WO R K I N G PA P E R S E R I E S

INTRODUCTION

There can be few organizations that have received

as much media attention as British Airways (BA).

Over the past two decades the corporate identity

and corporate branding strategies of BA have

been the subject of considerable public interest.

For the main, such strategies have received

numerous plaudits but in one, ill conceived

change of strategy, British Airways received

widespread censure. In considering the period

from the 1970s to the present, our analysis

revealed that the corporate identity of BA has

undergone six identifiable periods of change. We

label these periods as Appalling (pre 1981),

Adjusting (1981-1983), Appealing (1984-1987),

Adoring (1988-1996), Astonishing (1997-2000)

and Affirming (2001 to the present).

As such, the history of BA over the last three

decades has been one of dramatic and sometimes

turbulent change. Change, which for the most

part, has served the airline well. The airline has

metamorphosed from a state-owned, loss-making

organization, to a streamlined, focused and highly

profitable entity. It then became a more business-

focused, less British, less profitable company.

More recently, the airline has re-affirmed its

traditional British identity: this is part of its

strategy which draws on the airline’s historical

roots and is felt to be a strategy that will serve BA

well during the present period of considerable

volatility within the airline sector.

These six eras will be the subject of our analysis

using the AC3ID test, which is described in the

next section.

BALMER’S AC3ID TEST OF CORPORATE

BRAND MANAGEMENT

The AC3ID test represents the latest version of a

model that has recently been adapted by Balmer 1.

In this model six, crucially important, identity types

have been identified. This version of the model

introduces the corporate brand as a distinct

identity type (the covenanted identity) and this

represents a significant departure from the earlier

version comprising five identity types 2, 3, 4.. The

latest model is called the AC3ID Test of corporate

brand management and which is represented in

diagrammatic form in Exhibit One. He argues that

all six identities are crucial. It is crucial in terms

of the successful implementation of strategy. In

addition, it is central to the effective management

and maintenance of a positive reputation, and

moreover for the maintenance of a corporate

brand.

4


AACTUAL

C2CONCEIVED

CCOMMUNICATED

IIDEAL

DDESIRED

C3

C3

C3

C3C3 TMBalmer 2002

C3 = Covenanted Identity

THE AC3ID TESTTM EXHIBIT THREE

EXHIBIT ONE – THE AC3ID TESTTM

The six identities are described below. Each

identity type is descibed in terms of its

(a) dimensions

(b) stakeholders, and

(c) key concepts.

Actual identity (a) The current attributes of the corporation,

shaped by corporate ownership, leadership

style of management, organizational

structure, business activities and markets

covered, the range and quality of products

and services delivered and overall business

performance. The values held by managers

and employees are also encompassed.

Especially important is employee

identification with the company. In terms of

organizational culture, the organization is

probably best viewed as a cluster of sub

cultures some of which have their roots

outside the organization.

(b) The key stakeholder groups involved tend to

be internal, that is, those who represent or

support the company, deliver its services or

make its products. Increasingly, outsiders are

considered part of the company (business

partners, alliance partners etc)

(c) Concepts: organizational identity, corporate

identity.

Communicated identity(a) This is most clearly revealed in terms of on

‘controllable’ channels of corporate

communication. This includes advertising,

sponsorship and corporate public relations.

(b) The key stakeholder groups are both internal

(internal marketing programs) and external

(covering a wide spectrum of stakeholder

groups).

(c) Concepts: corporate communications, total

corporate communications, and corporate

public relations.

Conceived identity(a) This refers to the perceptions held of the

organization by internal and external

stakeholder groups and networks. Some will

boundary-span the organization. There is an

important temporal (time) dimension to the

above in that past, present as well as future

perspectives are important.

(b) There are a variety of important stakeholder

groups and networks and will vary from

organization to organization.

(c) Concepts: corporate reputation and corporate

image (in its various facets).

Covenanted identity(a) This refers to the covenant (promise) that

relates to the corporate brand. A promise that

underpins that serves as an informal contract

between an organization and its various

publics. The corporate brand covenant is

derived from identity attributes (the corporate

brand needs to be supported by appropriate

behavior.) Once established, a corporate

brand has a life and meaning of its own. For

this reason it is regarded as a distinct (sixth)

identity type.

(b) The corporate brand is of wide relevance to

internal, external stakeholder groups and

networks.

(c) Concepts: the corporate brand.

Ideal identity(a) Typically, this is articulated in terms of an

organization’s strategic plan. The optimum

positioning of the organization in its market

in a given time frame. The ideal identity is

usually expressed only after careful analysis

of organizational competencies, assets, etc

along with predictions as to the changing

industry, political, economic, ethical, social

and technological environment.

(b) The key stakeholders here are internal

(strategic planners) and external (financial

analysts, regulators/legislative entities).

(c) Concepts: corporate strategy and

environmental analysis.

Desired identity(a) This lives in the hearts and minds of the

corporate leaders; it is their vision for the

organization within a given time frame.

While this may be the same as the ideal

identity this is not always the case. The

desired identity, in some instances, represents

a powerful and insightful “emergent” strategy

that is gradually revealed by the actions of

senior executives. Major differences between

the ideal and desired identities can be very

damaging indeed.

5


(b) The key stakeholders here are internal - the

CEO and Senior Executives (including those

involved in strategic planning formulation)

(c) Concepts: Leadership and strategy.

It is the task of management to manage the six

identities so that they are broadly calibrated. If

not, then potentially harmful misalignments may

occur.

THE REDS2 AC3ID TEST PROCESS

In operationalizing the framework, Balmer has

devised a five stage process: the so called REDS2

AC3ID Test Process:

R: REVEAL the six identity types

E: EXAMINE key identity interfaces

D: DIAGNOSE the problem areas

S1: SELECT the interfaces that should be brought

in to alignment

S2: STRATEGY - develop a strategy to bring key

identities into alignment

In the next section we examine each of the six

changes of identity of British Airways as outlined

in the introduction. This reveals the saliency of

the AC3ID Test of corporate brand management as

an important diagnostic framework for senior

management.

THE CHANGING FACE OF BRITISH AIRWAYS

Any examination of the airline industry needs to

take cognisance of the fact that country-of-

origin is often a key point of differentiation.

The strong association between country and

airline had its roots in the early 20th century

when airlines were, in effect, seen as instruments

of the state.

British Airways is typical in this regard in that the

airline reflected Britain’s position on the world

stage British Airways roots are to be found in the

halcyon days of the British Empire when, in 1924,

four small British airlines were merged to become

what was known as Imperial Airways.

The name is not without significance. It was at

the behest of the British Government that the

airline was created. It enjoyed a favored position.

Not only was it granted was a national monopoly

but the British Government was jealous of its

growing international role (and stature) and was

wary of the emergence of other (state sponsored)

airlines from the Continent. Many of these airlines

received state subsidies. As such, the British

Government, during the first ten years of the

airline’s existence, funded the airline to the tune

of £100,000 (Jeremy 1999, p.31). Imperial

Airways was seen to be linked to Britain’s

international prestige.

As its name suggests, it had a crucially important

imperial role. It provided a critically important link

between Britain’s colonial outposts and London.

Accordingly, it facilitated speedier communication

throughout the Empire’s Dominions, Colonies and

Protectorates. It was particularly important to the

dispatching of the most senior colonial envoys

and administrators to the furthest reaches of the

Imperial Realm. In short, Imperial Airways was

not merely an airline: it was also an important

instrument of Pax Britannica.

The formation of a second international airline,

operating out of Britain in 1935, sought to

consolidate Britain’s aviation interests in South

America and Continental Europe. The new airline

was called British Airways. While the brand

name of British Airways was to temporarily

disappear in 1939 with the nationalization of the

British airline sector, it arose, phoenix like, in 1974

when the state-controlled airline sector was

restructured and which led to the establishment

of single, national, carrier.

The early years of the new airline were far from

auspicious. Among the British public there was a

general consensus that British Airways was over

manned and suffered from bad labor relations

(Green and Vogelsang 1994).

It is at this historic juncture that we start our

analysis of the changing identities of British

Airways using Balmer’s AC3ID test of corporate

brand management. We have drawn from a

number of sources for our analysis including

keynote presentations given by the former and

current chairmen of BA. We also marshal the

relevant literature on the area as well as material

from business and aviation journals, the quality

press and from documentary material produced

by British Airways.

‘Appalling’ Identity - 1974 to 1980We begin in 1974 with the formation of British

Airways as a result of the merger of Britain’s two

national airlines, British Overseas Airways

Corporation (BOAC) and British European Airways

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(BEA). Internally, there were tensions between

employees from each of the airlines. The former,

who had worked on intercontinental routes,

viewed themselves as superior to their new

colleagues who had served on the less-glamorous

European BEA.

Poor service quality was a particular problem and

was epitomized by the myopic mind-set of pilots,

many of whom were former Royal Air Force (RAF)

pilots who believed that if passengers wished to

join them on a flight “they were welcome” (King

1994). This poor quality was particularly galling

for customers since BA, as a state-controlled

entity, had a monopoly of many routes. For many,

BA did not stand for British Airways but, to use

English colloquialism, for ‘Bloody Awful,’ and this

explains why we have labelled this first period as

appalling.

The airline’s legacy did not augur well for the

organization’s future. The airline was hidebound

by its cultural legacy, and, as a state concern,

suffered from government inertia, rising debt, lack

of strategic focus, ineffective management and,

significantly, a product rather than customer

orientation.

There were, however, some aspects of the airline’s

identity that were positive and unique. These

characteristics had the potential to be exploited

to good effect. Among these identity “assets”

were the flight-deck personnel who were reputed

to perform to exacting standards of safety. In

addition, British Airway’s benefited from Britain’s

imperial past, resulting in a privileged access to

London’s Heathrow Airport - the world’s most

profitable airport for airliners.

Our analysis revealed that the most serious

misalignment was alignment was between the

actual identity and the ideal identity. As we

have demonstrated, poor service and

management were key components of the actual

identity as were cultural and employee tensions.

However, the ideal identity envisioned for the

airline was that of a safe, customer-focussed,

profitable world-class carrier that capitalized on

its inherited assets (as detailed above).

‘Adjusting’ Identity - 1981 to 1983By 1981, BA had a new chairman. Sir John King

(now Lord King). Prime Minister Thatcher had

given King the task of turning the airline from the

loss-making, state-owned, concern to a profitable

company in the private sector. However, this was

to be done without further financial state aid.

Prime Minister Thatcher, in subsequent meetings

with her new chairman, reiterated her mandate

with the words, “Remember John, there is no

money” (King 1994).

King was confronted with a dire financial

situation. As he told us:

The first, and most important, change I

made at BA was to establish the business on

a stable financial basis. Without cash there

could be no question of improving the

company’s image or changing the company’s

identity. Without cash a company simply

ceases to exist (King 1994).

At the time, BA carried a £1+ billion overdraft

and Sir John King resorted to drastic measures.

He pruned personnel, airline routes, capacity and

the airline’s peripheral activities (Green and

Vogelsang 1994). In addition, King appointed a

new board of directors who, he believed, were

equipped with the skills and experience that were

necessary to prepare the airline for its eventual

privatization.

King understood that staff morale was at a low

ebb after what had been a traumatic period of

change. It was apparent that a prerequisite for

improving service quality was to build staffmorale. In an attempt to address the issue, he

embarked on a range of initiatives. One initiative

was a high profile advertising campaign which

featured the so-called “the Manhattan ad”, which

became a classic of the era. King, in responding to

criticisms about the advertisement’s cost, justified

it terms of the following:

Many thought, ‘what an expensive piece of

marketing’! Well, they missed the point! At

the time BA’s workforce had been cut by one

third, the quality of service was a joke for

many customers, and employees for years

had been reading how much the company

was losing. I wanted an advertisement that

would make my staff feel proud (King 1994).

This period was characterized by the misalignment

between actual and desired identities which Sir

John King sought to bridge.

‘Appealing’ Identity - 1984 to 1987King was an accomplished communicator and

realized that one pressing task was that of

communication. There was also a need to

communicate the fact that BA was transforming

itself from an appalling to an appealing airline

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and an airline that was commercially orientated.

For this reason, the airline’s corporate

communications strategy had shareholders,

financial analysts and the city media in its sights

and not just customers and employees, even

though both were of crucial importance.

However, in order to achieve this he realized that

he would need a consummate marketer to oversee

this next stage of the airline’s evolution. Colin

Marshall, with a senior management profile in

services industries and having the necessary

marketing credentials was duly appointed as CEO.

Sir John King was appointed to the position of

chairman. As King told us in 1994:

“We started to change the image and self image

of the company”.

Under Colin Marshall change came quickly. The

primary accent was on superior customer service.

The vehicle to effect this was an ambitious and

exhaustive training program entitled “Putting

People First.” Marshall practised what he preached

by being highly visible. For instance, he took care

to mingle with passengers and crew alike (Harper

2000).

This new found confidence and new identity was

reflected in the Saatchi brothers being retained to

produce innovative and highly striking

advertisements for the airline. More noticeable,

however was BA’s introduction of a new system of

visual identification created by Landor Associates:

a US based graphic design consultants. The new

livery made great play of the airline’s British roots

and incorporated elements derived from the

British flag (the union flag) and also assigned a

good deal of prominence to British Airways

armorial bearings: perhaps the most

quintessential of British design features.

“Britishness” does, of course, have several

manifestations. In the hands of Richard Branson

and his Virgin brand, “Britishness” captures

something of the UK’s vibrant youth culture and

draws on contemporary notions relating to British

culture. In the hands of King and Marshall,

however, the airline’s core positioning leveraged

more traditional characterizations of Britishness:

calmness, efficiency and politeness.

Characteristics that are likely to resonant in an

organization having an extremely high service

element.

Having begun the process of aligning the desired

and actual identities in the first stage this era was

characterized by bringing the actual and

communicated into alignment.

‘Adoring Identity’ - 1988 to 1995The successful privatization of the airline in 1997

marked an important milestone in the airline’s

history. Prime Minister Thatcher, noted that Lord

King turned around British Airways by a bold

policy of slimming it down, improving its service

to the customer and giving its employees a stake

in its success. It was sold as a thriving concern in

1987. Green & Vogelsang (1994)

The metamorphosis of British Airways was far

from complete, however. With privatisation came

the need to reaffirm the airline’s commercial

credentials. There was also a need to position the

airline as a major player in international markets.

The exigencies of the industry meant that British

Airways needed to develop the positioning of its

corporate brand. In essence, a corporate brand

covenant is akin to an informal contract between

a corporation and with its key stakeholder groups.

Although corporate branding is closely related to

an organization’s identity, it is not an identical

construct. In effect, it relates to the summation of

the organization’s identity is terms of espoused

set of identifiable values which become shorthand

for recognizing and evaluating a company’s

activities. For staff it provides a standard for

service delivery. For customers and other key

stakeholder groups it represents the organization’s

covenant with them, or what in common parlance

is known as the corporate brand promise.

There was much in British Airway’s identity from

which to distil distinctive brand values. In

particular, its enviable international network, its

privileged position at Heathrow Airport, its history

of innovation (it being one of two carriers offering

supersonic flights on Concorde), its record of

safety, its recently improved customer service and

the positive associations that it garnered from

Britain, made it distinct among other carriers.

Thus, British Airways felt that its claim to be “The

World’s favorite airline” was justified. To a

significant degree this strap line epitomized the

positioning of BA in the post-privatization period.

Great play was made of the airline’s international

credentials in BA’s high-profile advertising

campaigns. This revealed the creativity and élan

of the Saatchi brothers which reached new

heights.

As if to corroborate BA’s claims, the editorial staff

of Air Transport World selected British Airways as

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the Airline of the Year in 1992. By this point the

airline was, unlike many other airlines, profitable.

Not only was 80 percent of its passenger traffic

international but also it was estimated that one in

every fifteen passengers taking an international

flight selected British Airways as their carrier (Air

Transport World 1993).

Moreover, the airline had at last become

profitable. This was no mean achievement. At the

time many other airlines were incurring significant

losses.

In a very real sense BA had turned rhetoric into

reality.

In terms of the AC3ID Test King and Marshall

introducing a clear corporate brand positioning

for the airline. A positioning that brought into

alignment the covenanted identity with the actual

identity (along, it must be said with many of the

other identities.) Of crucial importance here was

that the promise of the corporate brand was

supported by behavior.

‘Astonishing’ Identity - 1996 to 2000In 1996 Robert Ayling became the new CEO of

British Airways. One writer accurately described

the challenges faced by Ayling:

It was always going to be a hard act to

follow. Lord King and his first co-pilot, Sir

Colin Marshall, took the controls just as

BA was heading down the runway towards

privatisation.... The two turned BA into

what was truly “the world’s airline”...When

Ayling took over the reins, his most

pressing challenge was what on earth to

do for an encore (Harrison 1999, p. 28).

Ayling felt that it was crucial to distance the

company from its role as Britain’s flag carrier and

move towards a positioning as a freestanding

international business. Research showed that 60

percent of British Airway’s customer base was

non-British. As before, a new system of visual

identification was deployed to articulate a major

shift in strategy vis a vis the airline’s identity with

the London graphic design agency, Newell and

Sorrell, being given the commission.

The most prominent feature of the change in

graphic design was the introduction of fifty global

images that were to adorn the tail fins. The

diversity of symbolism was meant to encapsulate

the diverse cultures of British Airways customer

base in an attempt to confirm the airline’s

international credentials. The introduction of a

myriad of visual symbols for a single entity had

never been done before and effecting this change

was a mammoth task. It was an approach that

was highly audacious: something that appears

very much to be part of BA’s psyche. The cost of

the change was £60 million sterling and the

process of change was code-named ‘Utopia’. In

retrospect, the choice of code name was far from

propitious.

It soon became clear that there were problems

with the radical approach adopted by the airline.

However, most writers of the time were critical of

the downplaying of the airline’s Britishness, at

least in terms of visual symbolism. One writer

(Stelzer, 1999) noted that ‘Britishness’ is

associated with calm efficiency, polite service and

a crew that knows their business. However, the

reassurance of a single BA emblem (with strong

British overtones) had been replaced by global

images that appeared to come from a graffiti

spray. The logic of the change was questioned for

other reasons. For instance, why have an image of

foreign country whose native airline you wouldn’t

consider boarding except in an ‘extreme

emergency’ (Stelzer, 1999).

In reference to the change, Curtis (1997, 19)

reflected on the positive and negative associations

of ‘Britishness’. He observed that although there

were negative associations regarding Britishness

such as tradition, conservativeness, insularity and

exclusivity (which might not be so appealing for

an airline), there were an equal number of

positive associations - creativity, ingenuity,

individualism and invention. In short, it appears

that notions of Britishness might have been

narrowly conceived by Ayling as well as by the

design consultants, Newell and Sorrell.

There were other critics of the new BA visual

identity campaign. Margaret Thatcher

communicated her dissent by draping a

handkerchief over a tail fin of a model British

Airways plane at the Conservative Party

conference in 1997. She was not alone in her

disquiet; British travellers, the other 40 percent of

passengers, particularly disliked the non-British

tailfins. More significantly, the move alienated a

core stakeholder group - British businessmen.

Many loathed the new global images and many

saw it an affront to Britishness in that it

undermined British confidence and the UK’s

international profile.

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One competitor seized the opportunity to fill the

void left by British Airways attempts to assert its

global credentials and the downplaying of its

Britishness (at least in terms of graphic design but

not in terms of company name). Richard Branson

at Virgin Atlantic Airlines exploited BA’s mistake

by his announcement that the new livery of Virgin

Atlantic would feature the British flag on its wing

tip and fuselage. Branson claimed that the move

positioned Virgin airline as ‘Britain’s flag carrier’

(Rosler 1999, p. 5).

The furore caused by the change led to a dramatic

volte face on behalf of British Airways. Two years

after the ethnic tail fins were introduced, half

were removed and replaced with the Union flag,

with Ayling stating that he had accepted the

reality of BA as a British-based global airline

(McIllroy and Marston, 1999).

The changes made by Ayling had an effect on the

airline’s balance sheet with £4.2 billion being

wiped off BA’s market value in two years. On

March 10 2000, Ayling finally stepped down as

CEO.

Although the new strategy introduced had a

certain logic it was far too ambitious and was not

adequately supported by a change of the

organization’s actual identity. In introducing the

new strategy and system of visual identification

Ayling had identified the wrong set of identity

types that required alignment, that is, the desired

and communicated identity. What was required

was a change in the actual identity so that it

reflected the new strategy as envisioned in the

ideal identity.

Recourse to the AC3ID Test by Ayling and his

advisors might possibly have avoided the pubic

furore and ultimate demise of his initiative. It was

not so much that it was wrong. It was that it was

inadequately supported and implemented.

Moreover, a too great a reliance was placed on

graphic design in effecting such a momentous

change of strategy (such a reliance had notcharacterized previous changes of strategic

direction of the airline.)

We now turn to the last period in our study of BA,

illustrating the present complexities of the

identity issues surrounding British Airways.

‘Affirming’ Identity - 2000 to presentRod Eddington, an Australian, became chief

executive of British Airways on the 2nd May

2000. His appointment was made in the midst of

a new threat to the viability of British Airways -

the success of ‘no frills’ airlines who were proving

to be extremely competitive on short-haul

journeys.

The main issue faced by Eddington was that

British Airlines could no longer afford to be the

‘World’s Favourite Airline’ by being all things to all

people. The decision was made to reposition BA

with a focus on premium service and on business

passengers travelling on long-haul routes.

The previous dilemma, of whether BA should be

perceived as British or not, seems a distant

memory in this present competitive climate in

which British Airways has affirmed its identity

along traditionally “British” lines (in effect

returning to certain aspects of its long-held

strategy as encapsulated in the ideal identity.)

During this period BA brought its actual and

communicated identities into alignment.

INSIGHTS RE BALMER’S AC3ID TEST OF

CORPORATE BRAND MANAGEMENT

An acid test denotes a test of success and value.

In relation to the British Airways case study, the

AC3ID test indicates that while King and Marshall

managed to orchestrate the key identity elements

so that they were broadly congruent, the later

corporate identity campaign initiated by Ayling

(although highly courageous) failed to effect

changes to the actual identity of the organization:

a prerequisite of most changes of identity. Table 1

below summarizes some of the key interfaces that

were involved in relation to the six periods of the

British Airways history. (It should be borne in

mind that there are inevitably multiple

misalignments that require attention at any one

point in time. Here, we outline some of the key

misalignments. Many of the misalignments

involve the actual identity. This is because any

gap between the actual identity and other

identity types is pretentiously dangerous.)

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TABLE 1

THE KEY INTERFACES IN RELATION TO THE CHANGING IDENTITY OF BRITISH AIRWAYS

TIME FRAME

1974-1980

1981 - 1983

1984 - 1987

1988 - 1995

1996-2000

2001-present

IDENTITY CHANGEDESCRIPTOR

Appalling

Adjusting

Appealing

Adoring

Astonishing

Affirming

KEY INTERFACES

Actual - Ideal

Actual - Desired

Actual - Communicated

Actual - Covenanted

Actual-Ideal

(however, senior management

focussed on the

Desired-Communicated

interface)

Actual -Communicated

COMMENTS

The airline began the process of

changing from an airline that

had a public sector ethos to one

that had a more commercial

character. The change of

strategy (ideal identity) required

change of reality (actual

identity).

Sir John King’s wish (desired

identity) was to place BA on a

firm footing prior to

privatization. Building staff

morale was an important part

of this change and as such

entailed changes to the airline’s

activities as well as ethos

(actual identity)

Changes to the actual identity

(including superior customer

service) were reflected in a

comprehensive communications

program aimed at key

stakeholder groups. These

included those groups that

would be important in a post-

privatization context.

In this era BA developed a

corporate brand positioning

strategy encapsulated by the

phrase “the world’s favourite

airline.”

BA pursued an ambitious

strategy focussing on the

airline’s global credentials.

However, the strategy ultimately

failed. Not only was the new

strategy too ambitious and had

an overtly graphic-design bias

but such a radical change of

strategy was not underpinned

by changes to the actual

identity). The real priority was

brining the actual and ideal

identities into alignment.

BA reaffirmed its traditional

identity and British inheritance

and identity. However, the

airline increasingly focussed on

(a) their business customers (b)

offering a premium service and

(c) focussing on their

transcontinental route network

CONCLUSION

The main aim of this article was to demonstrate

the saliency of the AC3ID Test of Corporate Brand

Management as a means of highlighting key

identity misalignments that can occur over the life

of an organization. The test utilizes multiple

perspectives and multiple time frames. Whilst in

some periods of change, senior management at

BA was able to correctly diagnose the key

misalignments in its identities and effectively deal

with them, in other periods, the misalignments

were not identified, severely hampering the

airline’s ability to handle major challenges in its

history. The test would avoid such difficulties.

As more organizations consider undertaking what

is now known as a corporate rebranding exercise,

the British Airways case study is salutary tale. The

message is clear: consider misalignments between

all identity types and realize that bringing two

identities into alignment may have the opposite

effect on other identity interfaces.

The study detailed here also appears to support

the following:

(a) the inextricable link between corporate brands

and identity

(b) the efficacy of adopting multiple perspectives

(disciplines, stakeholders and time frames)

(c) the inseparability between identity and

strategy

(d) the crucial role of senior executives in terms of

identity management

(e) the efficacy of undertaking a regular audit of

various identity types

(f) the realization that an organization’s identities

are dynamic and sclerotic

We conclude that the AC3ID Test of corporate

brand management, as related to British Airways

over three decades, confirms the test to be

comprehensive, effective and dependable.

NOTES1. Balmer’s original model was discussed in

Balmer and Soenen (1999)

2. A revised model of the framework (which clearly

delineated the five identity types) appeared in

Balmer (1999)

3. The revised framework (in 2) was discussed,

making reference to case histories, in Balmer

and Greyser (2002)

4. The author acknowledges the assistance of

Guillaume Seonen, Professor Balmer’s research

assistant, in the initial stages of the research vis

a vis the ACID test model. He also wishes to

thank Professor Stephen A. Greyser who served

as a special adviser to the research project vis a

vis the ACID test.

12


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Multiple Identities of the Corporation”, California

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Balmer, J.M.T. (2001), “From the Pentagon: A New

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Test of Corporate Identity Management”, Journal

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Balmer, J.M.T. and Dinnie, K. (1999), “Corporate

identity and corporate communications: the

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Curtis, J. (1997), “Global BA queries British

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(Eds) (1994), Privatisation & Economic

Performance, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Harper K. (2000), “Frustrations of the World’s

Favourite Airline”, MT January, pp. 42- 47.

Harrison, M. (1999), “Heathrow, We Have a

Problem: Can Bob Ayling put the wheels back on

British Airways”, The Independent, 26th May.

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Britain, 1900 -1990s, Oxford University Press,

Oxford.

King, J. (1994), Speech given at the First

International Symposium on Corporate Identity,

University of Strathclyde, 17 June.

McIllroy, A. J. and Marston, P. (1999), The Daily

Telegraph, 7th June, p.8.

Rosler B. (1999), “BA and Virgin prepare for the

battle of the flags”, Marketing, 10th June, p.5.

Stelzer, I. (1999), “The sorry tale of British

Airways’ weakened brand”, The Times, 25th

March, p.31.

FURTHER READING

Ashworth, J. (2000), “Writing was on the wall for

Ayling”, The Times, 11th March, p.8.

Fund J. H. 1999, ‘The Oscars of Advertising’, Wall

Street Journal, July 12, p. A26.

The Guardian 1998, ‘BA profit slumps as love

affair cools’, November 10, p.5.

Moorman, R. W. (1997), “The Emperor’s new

clothes”, Air Transport World, Vol. 9, pp.93 -95.

Morrocco, J. D. (1997), “British Airways Dons New

Global Image”, Aviation Week & Space

Technology, Vol. 146 No. 25, p.81.

Prokesch, S. E. (1995), “Competing on Customer

Service: An Interview with British Airways, Sir

Colin Marshall”, Harvard Business Review,

November/December, pp.101-112.

Schmidt, C. (1995), The Quest for Identity, Cassell,

London.

Skapinker, H. (2000), “The last ride of Bob

Ayling”, Financial Times, 12th March, p.14.

Williamson J. (1997), “A crisis of identity at BA”,

Marketing, 17th July, p.6.

Wall Street Journal Eastern Edition (1993), “Virgin

Atlantic files suit against British Airways”, 22nd

October, p. A11.

13


LIST OF WORKING PAPER TITLES

2004

04/26 – Professor John M T Balmer & Dr Helen Stuart

British Airways and Balmer’s AC3ID Test of Corporate Brand Management

04/23 – Nur Naha Abu Mansor, Mike Tayles & Richard Pike

The Role of Team-Realated Factors in Implementations Success of

Activity-Based Costing Systems

04/22 – Musa Mangena

On the Perceived Importance of Disclosure Items in UK Interim Financial

Reports: Evidence from the Investment Analysis

04/21 – Arvid Falgestad & Christine A Hope

Stakeholders in a Winter Sports Destination:

Identification and Prioritisation

04/19 – Michael Baum, Sandra Hogarth-Scott & Devashish Pujari

The Auction Flow: Goal-Directed and Experimental Flow Effects on User

Experience in Online Auctioning

04/18 – Hong-We He & John MT Balmer

The Saliency & Significance of Generic Identity:

An Exploratory Study of UK Building Societies

04/17 – Professor John M T Balmer

The British Monarchy as a Corporate Brand: Heresy or Necessity?


The British Monarchy: Does the British Crown as a Corporate Brand Fit?


Dimensions and Associations of Corporate Identity: Insights from the

British Monarchy, the BBC and from Indenity Consultancy

04/14 – Edmund R Gray & John M T Balmer

The Sustainable Entrepreneur

04/13 – Professor Zairi M, Dr Hogg L & Dr Ahmed A M

Introducing A New Innovation By Stimulating A Real Shopping

Experience

04/12 – Dr Al-Rasheed S, Professor Zairi M & Dr Ahmed A M

Getting in The Mind of The Customer: An Empirical Study of Consumer

Behaviour in Retailing

04/11 – Dr Al-Nofal A, Professor Zairi M & Dr Ahmed A M

Critical Factors of TQM: An International Comparative Benchmarking

Analysis

04/10 – Belinda Dewsnap & David Jobber

The Antecedents of Sales-Marketing Collaboration:

An Empirical Investigation

04/07 – Zahid Hussain & Peter Prowse

Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) as Means of Fulfilling Job

Roles More Professionally for Human Resource (HR) Managers

04/06 – Damian Ward

Measuring the Value of Differentiation In The UK Monthly Savings Market

04/05 – Stephanie Hussels & Damian Ward

Cost Efficiency and Total Factor Productivity in the European Life

Insurance Industry: The Development of the German Life Insurance

Industry Over the Years 1991-2002

04/04 – Axèle Giroud & Hafiz Mirza

Intra-firm Technology Transfer: The Case of Japanese Manufacturing

Firms in Asia

04/03 – David Spicer

The Impact of Approaches to Learning and Cognition on Academic

Performance in Business and Management

04/02 – Hafiz Mirza & Axèle Giroud

Regionalisation, Foreign Direct Investment and Poverty Reduction:

The Case of ASEAN

04/01 – Gretchen Larsen & Veronica George

The Social Construction of Destination Image – A New Zealand Film

Example

2003

03/35 – Alexander T Mohr & Jonas F Puck

Asymmetries in Partner Firms’ Perception of Key Variables and the

Performance of International Joint Ventures

03/34 – Hafiz Mirza & Axèle Giroud

The Impact of Foreign Direct Investment on the Economic Development

of ASEAN Economies: A Preliminary Analysis

03/33 – Raissa Rossiter

Networks, Collaboration and the Internationalisation of Small and

Medium-Sized Enterprises: An Interdisciplinary Perspective on the

Network Approach – Part 1

03/32 – Stephanie Hussels, Damian Ward & Ralf Zurbruegg

How Do You Stimulate Demand For Insurance?

03/31 – Donal Flynn & Zahid I Hussain

A Qualitative Approach to Investigating the Behavioural Definitions of

the Four-Paradigm Theory of Information Systems Development

03/30 – Alexander T Mohr & Simone Klein

Adjustment V. Satisfaction – An Analysis of American Expatriate

Spouses in Germany

03/29 – David Spicer & Eugene Sadler-Smith

Organisational Learning in Smaller Manufacturing Firms

03/28 – Alex Mohr & Markus Kittler

Foreign Partner Assignment Policy & Trust in IJVs

03/27 – Avinandan Mukherjee & Rahul Roy

Dynamics of Brand Value Management of Entertainment Products –

the Case of a Television Game Show

03/26 – Professor Andrew Taylor

Computer-Mediated Knowledge Sharing and Individual User Difference:

An Exploratory Study

03/25 – Dr Axèle Giroud

TNCs Intra- and Inter-firms' Networks: The Case of the ASEAN Region


Exploring the Determinants of the Trust-Control-Relationship in

International Joint Ventures

03/23 – Scott R Colwell & Sandra Hogarth-Scott

The Effect of Consumer Perception of Service Provider Opportunism

on Relationship Continuance Behaviour: An Empirical Study in

Financial Services

03/22 – Kathryn Watson & Sandra Hogarth-Scott

Understanding the Influence of Constraints to International

Entrepreneurship in Small and Medium-Sized Export Companie

03/21 – Dr A M Ahmed & Professor M Zairi

The AEQL Framework Implementation: American Express Case Study

03/20 – Dr K J Bomtaia, Professor M Zairi & Dr A M Ahmed

Pennsylvania State University Case Study:

A Benchmarking Exercise in Higher Education


Inter-Sender Role Conflicts, General Manager Satisfaction and Joint

Venture Performance in Indian-German Joint Ventures

03/18 – Mike Tayles & Colin Drury

Profiting from Profitability Analysis in UK Companies?

03/17 – Dr Naser Al-Omaim, Professor Mohamed Zairi & Dr Abdel

Moneim Ahmed

Generic Framework for TQM Implementation with Saudi Context:

An Empirical Study

03/16 – AM Al-Saud, Dr AM Ahmed & Professor KE Woodward

Global Benchmarking of the Thrid Generation Telecommunication

System: Lessons Learned from Sweden Case Study

03/15 – Shelley L MacDougall & Richard Pike

Consider Your Options: Changes to Stratetic Value During

Implementation of Advanced Manufacturing Technology

03/14 – Myfanwy Trueman & Richard Pike

Building Product Value by Design. How Strong Accountants/Design

Relationships Can Provide a Long-Term Competitive

03/13 – Jiang Liu, Ke Peng & Shiyan Wang

Time Varying Prediction of UK Asset Returns

03/12 – A M Ahmed, Professor M Zairi & S A Alwabel

Global Benchmarking for Internet & E-Commerce Applications

03/11 – A M Ahmed, Professor M Zairi & Yong Hou

Swot Analysis for Air China Performance and Its Experience with Quality

03/10 – Kyoko Fukukawa & Jeremy Moon

A Japanese Model of Corporate Social Responsibility?:

A study of online reporting

03/09 – Waleed Al-Shaqha and Mohamed Zairi

The Critical Factors Requested to Implement Pharmaceutical Care in

Saudit Arabian Hospitals: A Qualitative Study

03/08 – Shelly MacDougall & Richard Pike

The Elusive Return on Small Business Investment in AMT: Economic

Evaluation During Implementation

03/07 – Alexander T Mohr

The Relationship between Inter-firm Adjustment and Performance in

IJVs – the Case of German-Chinese Joint Ventures

03/06 – Belinda Dewsnap & David Jobber

Re-thinking Marketing Structures in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods

Sector: An Exploratory Study of UK Firms

14


03/05 – Mohamed Zairi & Samir Baidoun

Understanding the Essentials of Total Quality Management:

A Best Practice Approach – Part 2

03/04 – Deli Yang & Derek Bosworth

Manchester United Versus China: The “Red Devils” Trademark Problems

in China

03/03 – Mohamed Zairi & Samir Baidoun

Understanding the Essentials of Total Quality Management:

A Best Practice Approach – Part 1


The Relationship Between Trust and Control in International Joint Ventures

(IJVs) – An Emprical Analysis of Sino-German Equity Joint Ventures

03/01 – Mike Tayles & Colin Drury

Explicating the Design of Cost Systems

2002


Exploring the Performance of IJVs – A Qualitative and Quantitative

Analysis of the Performance of German-Chinese Joint Ventures in the

People’s Republic of China

02/33 – John M T Balmer & Edmund Gray

Comprehending Corporate Brands

02/32 – John M T Balmer

Mixed Up Over Identities

02/31 – Zoë J Douglas & Zoe J Radnor

Internal Regulatory Practices: Understanding the Cyclical Effects within

the Organisation

02/30 – Barbara Myloni, Dr Anne-Wil Harzing & Professor Hafiz Mirza

A Comparative Analysis of HRM Practices in Subsidiaries of MNCs and

Local Companies in Greece

02/29 – Igor Filatotchev

”Going Public with Good Governance’’: Board Selection and Share

Ownership in UK IPO Firms

02/28 – Axele Giroud

MNEs in Emerging Economies: What Explains Knowledge Transfer to

Local Suppliers

02/27 – Niron Hashai

Industry Competitiveness – The Role of Regional Sharing of Distance-

Sensitive Inputs (The Israeli – Arab Case)


Towards a Theory of MNEs from Small Open Economics – Static and

Dynamic Perspectives

02/25 – Christopher Pass

Corporate Governance and The Role of Non-Executive Directors in Large

UK Companies: An Empirical Study

02/24 – Deli Yang

The Development of the Intellectual Property in China

02/23 – Roger Beach

Operational Factors that Influence the Successful Adoption of Internet

Technology in Manufacturing

02/22 – Niron Hashai & Tamar Almor

Small and Medium Sized Multinationals: The Internationalization

Process of Born Global Companies

02/21 – M Webster & D M Sugden

A Proposal for a Measurement Scale for Manufacturing Virtuality

02/20 – Mary S Klemm & Sarah J Kelsey

Catering for a Minority? Ethnic Groups and the British Travel Industry

02/19 – Craig Johnson & David Philip Spicer

The Action Learning MBA: A New Approach Management Education

02/18 – Lynda M Stansfield

An Innovative Stakeholder Approach to Management Education:

A Case Study

02/17 – Igor Filatotchev, Mike Wright, Klaus Uhlenbruck,

Laszlo Tihanyi & Robert Hoskisson

Privatization and Firm Restructuring in Transition Economies:

The Effects of Governance and Organizational Capabilities

02/16 – Mike Tayles, Andrew Bramley, Neil Adshead & Janet Farr

Dealing with the Management of Intellectual Capital: The Potential Role

of Strategic Management Accounting

02/15 – Christopher Pass

Long-Term Incentive Schemes, Executive Remuneration and Corporate

Perfomance

02/14 – Nicholas J Ashill & David Jobber

An Empirical Investigation of the Factors Affecting the Scope of

Information Needed in a MkIS

02/13 – Bill Lovell, Dr Zoe Radnor & Dr Janet Henderson

A Pragmatic Assessment of the Balanced Scorecard: An Evaluation use in

a NHS Multi-Agency Setting in the UK

02/12 – Zahid Hussain & Donal Flynn

Validating the Four-Paradigm Theory of Information Systems Development

02/11 – Alexander T Mohr & Simone Klein

The Adjustment of American Expatriate Spouses in Germany –

A Qualitative and Quantative Analysis

02/10 – Riyad Eid & Myfanwy Trueman

The Adoption of The Internet for B-to-B International Marketing

02/09 – Richard Pike & Nam Cheng

Trade Credit, Late Payment and Asymmetric Information

02/08 – Alison J Killingbeck & Myfanwy M Trueman

Redrawing the Perceptual Map of a City

02/07 – John M T Balmer

Corporate Brands: Ten Years On – What’s New?

02/06 – Dr Abdel Moniem Ahmed & Professor Mohamed Zairi

Customer Satisfaction: The Driving Force for Winning Business

Excellence Award

02/05 – John M T Balmer & Stephen A Greyser

Managing the Multiple Identities of the Corporation

02/04 – David Philip Spicer

Organizational Learning & The Development of Shared Understanding:

Evidence in Two Public Sector Organizations

02/03 – Tamar Almor & Niron Hashai

Configurations of International Knowledge-Intensive SMEs:

Can the Eclectic Paradigm Provide a Sufficient Theoretical Framework?

02/02 – Riyad Eid, Myfanwy Trueman & Abdel Moniem Ahmed

The Influence of Critical Success Factors on International Internet

Marketing


The Impact of Distance Sensitivity and Economics of Scale on the

Output and Exports of Israel and its Arab Neighbours

2001

01/18 – Christopher M Dent

Transnational Capital, the State and Foreign Economic Policy:

Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan

01/17 – David P Spicer & Eugene Sadler-Smith

The General Decision Making Style Questionnaire:

A Comfirmatory Analysis

01/16 – David P Spicer

Expanding Experimental Learning: Linking Individual and

Organisational learning, Mental Models and Cognitive Style

01/15 – E Grey & J Balmer

Ethical Identity; What is it? What of it?

01/14 – Mike Talyes & Colin Drury

Autopsy of a Stalling ABC System: A Case Study of Activity Based Cost

Management and Performance Improvement

01/13 – N Esho, R Zurbruegg, A Kirievsky & D Ward

Law and the Deminants of International Insurance Consumption

01/12 – J Andrews Coutts & Kwong C Cheug

Trading Rules and Stock Returns: Some Preliminary Short Run Evidence

from the Hang Seng 1985-1997

01/11 – D McKechnie & S Hogarth-Scott

Linking Internal Service Encounters and Internal Transactions: Unravelling

Internal Marketing Contract Workers

01/10 – M Webster & D M Sugden

Operations Strategies for the Exploitation of Protected Technology: Virtual

Manufacture as an Alternative to Outward licensing

01/09 – Axèle Giroud

Buyer-Supplier Transfer and Country of Origin: An Empirical Analysis of

FDI in Malaysia

01/08 – Damian Ward

Do Independent Agents Reduce Life Insurance Companies’ Free Cash Flow?

01/07 – Daragh O’Reilly

Corporate Images in ‘Jerry Maguire’: A Semiotic Analysis

01/06 – Tony Lindley & Daragh O’Reilly

Brand Identity on the Arts Sector

15


01/05 – M Trueman, J Balmer & D O’Reilly

Desperate Dome, Desperate Measures! Managing Innovation at London’s

Millennium Dome

01/04 – M Trueman, M Klemm, A Giroud & T Lindley

Bradford in the Premier League? A Multidisciplinary Approach to

Branding and Re-positioning a City

01/03 – A Harzing

Self Perpetuating Myths and Chinese Whispers

01/02 – M Webster

Supply Systems Structure, Management and Performance:

A Research Agenda

01/01 – A Harzing

Acquisitions Versus Greenfield Investments: Exploring the Impact of the

MNC’s International Strategy

2000

0031 – John Ritchie & Sue Richardson

Leadership and Misleadership in Smaller Business Governance

0030 – Mary Klemm

Tourism and Ethnic Minorities in Bradford: Concepts and Evidence

0029 – (not available)


0027 – Axèle Giroud

Determinant Factors of the Degree of Supply-Related Technology Transfer:

A Comparative Analysis Between Asian Affiliates

0026 – A Cullen, M Webster & A Muhlemann

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems: Definitions, Functionality and

the Contribution to Global Operations

0025 – B Chennoufi & M Klemm

Managing Cultural Differences in a Global Environment


0023 – Simon Best & Devashish Pujari

Internet Marketing Effectiveness:

An Exploratory Examination in Tourism Industry

0022 – Dr Myfanwy Tureman

Divided Views, Divided Loyalties: Changing Customer Perceptions by Design

0021 – Yasar Jarrar

Becoming World Class Through a Culture of Measurement

0020 – David Spicer & Eugene Sadler-Smith

Cognitive Style & Decision Making

0019 – Z J Radnor & R Boaden

A Test for Corporate Anorexia


0017 – Peter Prowse

Public Service Union Recruitment Workplace Recovery or Stagnation in

a Public Services Union? Evidence From a Regional Perspective

0016 – Yasar F Jarrar & Mohamed Zairi

Best Practice Transfer for Future Competitiveness:

A Study of Best Practices

0015 – Mike Tayles & Colin Drury

Cost Systems and Profitability Analysis in UK Companies: Selected

Survey Findings

0014 – B Myloni & A Harzing

Transferability of Human Resource Management Practices Across

Borders: A European Reflection on Greece


0012 – Nick J Freeman

Asean Investment Area: Progress and Challenges

0011 – Arvid Flagestad & Christine A Hope

A Model of Strategic Success in Winter Sports Destinations:

the Strategic Performance Pyramid

0010 – M Poon, R Pike & D Tjosvold

Budget Participation, Goal Interdependence and Controversy:

A Study of a Chinese Public Utility

0009 – Patricia C Fox, John M T Balmer & Alan Wilson

Applying the Acid Test of Corporate Identity Management

0008 – N Y Ashry & W A Taylor

Information Systems Requirements Analysis in Healthcare:

Diffusion or Translation?

0007 – T Lindley, D O’Reilly & T Casey

An Analysis of UK Television Advertisements for Alcohol

0006 – Eric Lindley & Frederick Wheeler

The Learning Square: Four Domains that Impact on Strategy

0005 – K K Lim, P K Ahmed & M Zairi

The Role of Sharing Knowledge in Management Initiatives

0004 – C De Mattos & S Sanderson

Expected Importance of Partners’ Contributions to Alliances in

Emerging Economies: A Review

0003 – A Harzing

Acquisitions Versus Greenfield Investments: Both Sides of the Picture

0002 – Stuart Sanderson & Claudio De Mattos

Alliance Partners’ Expectations Concerning Potential Conflicts and

Implications Relative to Trust Building

0001 – A Harzing

An Empirical Test and Extension of the Bartlett & Ghoshal Typology of

Multinational Companies

1999

9922 – Gerry Randell & Maria del Pilar Rodriguez

Managerial Ethical Behaviour


Requirements Analysis as Innovation Diffusion: A Proposed

Requirements Analysis Strategy for the Development of an Integrated

Hospital Information Support System

9920 – C Hope

My Way’s The Right Way! Or, With Particular Reference to Teaching on

Tourism Courses, is ‘Best Practice’ in Operations Management

Dependent Upon National Culture?

9919 – A Harzing

Of Bumble-Bees and Spiders: The Role of Expatriates in Controlling

Foreign Subsidiaries


Who will take the Garbage Out? The Potential of Information

Technology for Clinical Waste Management in the NHS

9917 – D O’Reilly

Nice Video(?), Shame about the Scam… Paedagogical Rhetoric Meets

Commercial Reality at Stew Leonard’s

9916 – A Harzing

The European Monolith: Another Myth in International Management?

9915 – S MacDougall & R Pike

The Influence of Capital Budgeting Implementation on Real Options:

A Multiple-Case Study of New Technology Investments

9914 – C Pass, A Robinson & D Ward

Performance Criteria of Corporate Option and Long-Term Incentive

Plans: A Survey of 150 UK Companies 1994-1998

9913 – R Beach, A P Muhlemann, D H R Price, J A Sharp & A Paterson

Strategic Flexibility and Outsourcing in Global networks

9912 – H M stewart, C A Hope & A P Muhlemann

The Legal Profession, Networks and Service Quality

9911 – J F Keane

Design and the Management Paradigms of Self-Organisation

9910 – D O’Reilly

On the Precipice of a Revolution with Hamel and Prahalad

9909 – S Cameron & D Ward

Abstinence, Excess, Success?: Alcohol, Cigarettes, Wedlock & Earnings

9908 – M Klemm & J Rawel

Eurocamp – Strategic Development and Internationalisation in a

European Context

9907 – M Webster & R Beach

Operations Network Design, Manufacturing Paradigms

and the Subcontractor

9906 – D Ward

Firm Behaviour and Investor Choice: A Stochastic Frontier Analysis of

UK Insuramce

9905 – D Ward, C Pass & A Robinson

LTIPS and the Need to Examine the Diversity of CEO Remuneration

9904 – C Smallman

Knowledge Management as Risk Management: The Need for Open

Corporate Governance

9903 – R Beach, D Price, A Muhlemann & J Sharp

The Role of Qualitative Research in the Quest for Strategic Flexibility

9902 – N Hiley & C Smallman

Predicting Corporate Failure: A Literature Review

9901 – M Trueman

Designing Capital: Using Design to Enhance

and Control Technological Innovation

16


1998

9826 – A Harzing

Cross-National Industrial Mail Surveys: Why do Response Rates Differ

Between Countries?

9825 – B Dewsnap and D Jobber

The Sales-Marketing Interface: A Synthesis of Theoretical Perspectives

and Conceptual Framework

9824 – C De Mattos

Advantageous Exectutives’ Characteristics in Establishing Biotechnology

Alliances in an Emerging Economy: The Case of Brazil

9823 – C A Howorth

An Empirical Examination of the Usefulness of the Cash Conversion Cycle

9822 – A Harzing

Who’s in Charge? An Empirical Study of Executive Staffiing Practices in

Foreign Subsidiaries

9821 – N Wakabayashi & J Gill

Perceptive Differences in Interorganizational Collaboration and

Dynamics of Trust

9820 – C Smallman

Risk Perception: State of the Art

9819 – C Smallman

The Breadth of Perceived Risk: Why Integrated Risk Management of

Health, Safety & Environmental Risks is only the End of the Beginning

9818 – P S Budhwar, A Popof & D Pujari

Evaluating Sales Management Training at Xerox in Greece:

An Exploratory Study

9817 – W A Taylor

An Information-Based Perspective on

Knowledge Capture in Business Processes

9816 – S Hogarth-Scott

Category Management Relationships:

Is it Really Trust Where Choice is Limited?

9815 – W A Taylor

Sustaining Innovation in Organisations: Managing the Intangibles

A Study of TQM Implementation in Northern Ireland Organisations

1991-1996

9814 – M Webster, A Muhlemann and C Alder

Subcontract Manufacture in Electronics Assembly:

A Survey of Industry Practice

9813 – M J S Harry

Is Object-Orientation Subject-Oriented?: Conflicting and

Unresolved Philosophies in Object-Oriented Information

Systems Development Methodology

9812 – J Jackson

The Introduction of Japanese Continuous Improvement Practices to a

Traditional British Manufacturing Site: The Case of RHP Bearings

(Ferrybridge)


A Comparative Study Between Perceptions of British and German

Executives, in the Biotechnology Sector, Relative to Potential Future

Contributions of Greatest Importance to and from Transnational

Alliance Partners in Emerging Economies

9810 – J Martin-Hirsch & G Wright

The Cost of Customer Care – A Value Analysis of Service Delivery

Approaches


A Service Provider’s View of Success Factors in Alternative Service

Stategies


A Professional’s Evaluation of Alternative Service Delivery Regimes for

Customer Care and Satisfaction


A User’s Perspective of Alternative Service Delivery: A Comparative

Study of the Evaluation of Service Strategies


The Case for Choice in Health Care: A Comparison of Traditional and

Team Midwifery in Effective Service Provision

9805 – M Woods, M Fedorkow amd M Smith

Modelling the Learning Organisation

9804 – W A Taylor

An Action Research Study of Knowledge Management in Process Industries

9803 – C Singleton

Quantitative and Qualitative – Bridging the Gap Between Two

Opposing Paradigms

9802 – R McClements & C Smallman

Managing in the New Millennium: Reflections on Change, Management and

the Need for Learning

9801 – P Eyre & C Smallman

Euromanagement Competencies in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises:

A Development Path for the New Millenium

1997

9729 – C Smallman

Managerial Perceptions of Organisational

Hazards and their Associated Risks

9728 – C Smallman & D Weir

Managers in the Year 2000 and After: A Strategy for Development

9727 – R Platt

Ensuring Effective Provision of Low Cost Housing Finance in India:

An In-Depth case Analysis



9724 – S Estrin, V Perotin, A Robinson & N Wilson

Profit-Sharing Revisited: British and French Experience Compared


9722 – R Beach, A P Muhlemann, A Paterson, D H R Price and J A Sharp

Facilitating Strategic Change in Manufacturing Industry

9721 – R Beach, A P Muhlemann, A Paterson, D H R Price and J A Sharp

The Strategy Options in Manufacturing Industry: Propositions Based on

Case Histories

9720 – A Giroud

Multinational Firms Backward Linkages in Malaysia: A Comparison

between European and Asian Firms in the Electrical and Electronics Sector

9719 – L Kening

Foreign Direct Investment in China: Performance, Climate and Impact

9718 – H Mirza

Towards a Strategy for Enhancing ASEAN’s Locational Advantages for

Attracting Greater Foreign Direct Investment

9717 – B Summers & N Wilson

An Empirical Study of the Demand for Trade Credit in UK

Manufacturing Firms

9716 – R Butler & J Gill

Reliable Knowledge and Trust in Partnership Formation

9715 – R Butler

Stories and Experiments in Organisational Research

9714 – M Klemm & L Parkinson

British Tour Operators: Blessing or Blight

9713 – C A Hope

What Does Quality Management Mean for

Tourism Companies and Organisations?

9712 – S Hogarth-Scott & P Dapiran

Do Retailers and Suppliers Really have Collaborative Category

Management Relationships?: Category Management Relationships in

the UK and Australia


The Importance of Potential Future Contributions from/to Transnational

Joint Venture Partners: Perception of Brazilian Managing Directors and

Specialists Linked to Biotechnology

9710 – N T Ibrahim & F P Wheeler

Are Malaysian Corporations Ready for Executive Information Systems?

9709 – F P Wheeler & A W Nixon

Monitoring Organisational Knowledge in Use

9708 – M Tayles & C Drury

Scoping Product Costing Research: A Strategy for Managing the Product

Portfolio – Cost System Design

9707 – N Wilson, B Summers & C Singleton

Small Business Demand for Trade Credit, Credit Rationing and the Late

Payment of Commercial Debt: An Empirical Study

9706 – R Beach, A P Muhlemann, A Paterson, D H R Price & J A Sharp

The Management Information Systems as a Source of Flexibility:

A Case Study

9705 – E Marshall

Business Ethics: The Religious Dimension

17


9704 – M Wright, N Wilson & K Robbie

The Longer Term Effects of Management-Led Buy-Outs

9703 – G Hopkinson & S Hogarth Scott

Quality of Franchise Relationships: The Implications of Micro Economic

Theories of Franchising

9702 – G C Hopkinson & S Hogarth-Scott

Channel Conflict: Critical Incidents or Telling Tales.

Methodologies Compared

9701 – K Watson, S. Hogarth-Scott & N Wilson

Marketing Success Factors and Key Tasks in Small Business Development

1996

9619 – B Summers & N Wilson

Trade Credit Management and the Decision to use Factoring:

An Empirical Study

9618 – M Hiley & H Mirza

The Economic Prospects of ASEAN : The Role of AFTA in the Future

Development of the Region

9617 – A Brown

Prospects for Japanese Foreign Direct Investment in Thailand

9616 – H Mirza, K H Wee & F Bartels

The Expansion Strategies of Triad Corporations in East Asia

9615 – M Demirbag & H Mirza

Inter-Partner Reliance, Exchange of Resources & Partners’ Influence on

J’V’s Strategy

9614 – R H Pike & N S Cheng

Motives for Investing in Accounts Receivable: Theory and Evidence

9613 - R H Pike & N S Cheng

Business Trade Credit Management: Experience of Large UK Firms

9612 – R Elliott, S Eccles & K Gournay

Man Management? Women and the Use of Debt to Control

Personal Relationships

9611 – R Elliott, S Eccles & K Gournay

Social Support, Personal Relationships & Addictive Consumption

9610 – M Uncles & A Manaresi

Relationships Among Retail Franchisees and Frachisors:

A Two-Country Study

9609 – S Procter

Quality in Maternity Services:

Perceptions of Managers, Clinicians and Consumers’

9608 – S Hogarth-Scott & G P Dapiran

Retailer-Supplier Relationships: An Integrative Framework Based on

Category Management Relationships

9607 – N Wilson, S Hogarth-Scott & K Watson

Factors Contributing to Entrepreneurial

Success in New Start Small Businesses

9606 – R Beach, A P Muhlemann, A Paterson, D H R Price & J A Sharp

The Evolutionary Development of the Concept Manufacturing Flexibility

9605 – B Summers

Using Neural Networks for Credit Risk Management:

The Nature of the Models Produced

9604 – P J Buckley & M Carter

The Economics of Business Process Design: Motivation, Information &

Coordination Within the Firm

9603 – M Carter

Is the Customer Always Right?

Information, Quality and Organisational Architecture

9602 – D T H Weir

Why Does the Pilot Sit at the Front? And Does it Matter?

9601 – R A Rayman

A Proposal for Reforming the Tax System

1995

9506 – A L Riding & B Summers

Networks that Learn and Credit Evaluation

9505 – R A Rayman

The Income Concept: A Flawed Ideal?

9504 – S Ali & H Mirza

Market Entry Strategies in Poland: A Preliminary Report

9503 – R Beach, A P Muhlemann, A Paterson, D H.R Price & J A Sharp

An Adaptive Literature Search Paradigm

9502 – A S C Ehrenberg & M Uncles

Direchlet-Type Markets: a Review, Part 2: Applications & Implications

9501 – M Uncles & A S C Ehrenberg

Direchlet-Type Markets: A Review, Part 1: Patterns and Theory

1994

9411 – R A Rayman

The Real-Balance Effect Fallacy and The Failure of Unemployment Policy

9410 – R A Rayman

The Myth of ‘Says’ Law

9409 not issued

9408 not issued

9407 not issued

9406 not issued

9405 – F Bartels & N Freeman

Multinational Enterprise in Emerging Markets: International Joint

Ventures in Côte D’Ivoire Vietnam

9404 – E Marshall

The Single Transferable Vote – A Necessary Refinement Abstract

9403 – G R Dowling & M Uncles

Customer Loyalty programs: Should Every Firm Have One?

9402 – N Wilson, A Pendleton & M Wright

The impact of Employee Ownership on Employee Attitudes:

Evidence from UK ESOPS

9401 – N Wilson & M J Peel

Working Capital & Financial Management

Practices in the Small Firm Sector

1993

9310 – R Butler, L Davies, R Pike & J Sharp

Effective Investment Decision-Making: The Concept and its

Determinants no longer available

9309 – A Muhlemann, D Price, M Afferson & J Sharp

Manufacturing Information Systems as a Means for Improving

the Quality of Production Management Decisions in Smaller

Manufacturing Enterprises

9308 – F P Wheeler, R J Thomas & S H Chang

Towards Effective Executive Information Systems

9307 – F P Wheeler, S H Chang & R J Thomas

The Transition from an Executive Information System to Everyone’s

Information System: Lessons from a Case Study

9306 – S H Chang, F P Wheeler & R J Thomas

Modelling Executive Information Needs

9305 – S. Braga Rodrigues & D Hickson

Success in Decision Making: Different Organisations,

Differing Reasons for Success.

9304 – R J Butler, R S Turner, P D Coates, R H Pike & D H R Price

Ideology, Technology and Effectiveness


Strategy, Structure and Technology


Competitive Strategies and New Technology


Investing in New Technology for Competitive Advantage

Copies of the above papers can be obtained by contacting the Research

Programme Administrative Secretary at the address below:

Bradford University School of Management

Emm Lane

Bradford

West Yorkshire

BD9 4JL

Tel: 01274 234323 (mornings only)

Fax: 01274 546866

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British Airways & Balmer's ACID Test of Corporate Brand Management (Balmer 2004, WPS)

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Transcript of British Airways & Balmer's ACID Test of Corporate Brand Management (Balmer 2004, WPS)