Index of Paper Presentations for the Parallel Sessions - Academy of ...

planned by a range of actors within and without an organization (Einwiller and Will, 2002). Itenhances the reputation of a firm by ―sending signals to all stakeholders by managing behavior,communication and symbolism‖ (p. 101). All efforts by the organization to communicate adistinctive brand are aimed at convincing stakeholders of its ability to deliver on a set of promises(Harris and de Chernatony, 2001).Essentially, therefore, corporate branding is a communicative process aimed at differentiation anddistinction based on relevance and performance. This is not the full picture, however. There isalso increasing evidence to suggest that firms can actually predict consumers‘ responses based ontheir patterns of multisensory stimulation, further supporting the view that brands rely more andmore on using interesting and multi-dimensional experiences in order to help customers feel fullysatisfied with products and services (Zarantonello and Schmitt, 2010; Schmitt, 1999). When welook at ‗servicescape‘ the visual identity of the corporation as emanating by visual cues anddesigns (that are incorporated within the servicescape) becomes an area of interest. Corporatevisual identity is an array of visual cues designed by the organization so that it may differentiateitself from competition and at the same time project an image of quality and stature to thestakeholders (Melewar et al., 2005). Corporate visual identity has a positive association with thecompany (Henderson and Cote, 1998; Van Heerden and Puth, 1995) and this lends support to theaffirmation that Corporate Visual Identity is at the centre of a business‘s projected image(Melewar and Saunders, 1998). Bartholmé and Melewar‘s (2009) proposed ‗Corporate SensoryIdentity Construct‘ has Corporate Visual Identity as one of its important constituents. Visualidentity is defined as consisting five elements- logo, name, typography, color, slogan. Inconveying corporate identity these are applied to brochures, stationary and clothing (Melewar andSaunders 2000; Van den Bosch et al., 2006 in Melewar and Jenkins, 2002). But these are alsoprominently applied to the interior walls, décor, furniture style and spatial layout of theservicescape or corporate office. Architecture and location are one of the subconstructs ofCommunication and Visual Identity, which in its turn is a subconstruct of Corporate Identity(Melewar and Jenkins, 2002). Therefore architecture and interior are exclusively linked to thevisual perspective and conceptualized as important part of the visual identity construct (Melewaret al., 2006 in Bartholmé and Melewar, 2009). Apart from logo, slogan, corporate color schemes,typography and symbol, the interior design, architecture and location of the office building arefrequently used as a means of conveying an identity (Melewar and Saunders, 2000; Schmitt et al.,1995). Interior of retail banking operations have been very potent means of conveying the rightcorporate image and the banks made a conscious effort to utilize the interior for many years. Wefind an architect responsible for the interior décor of a retail bank branch in New York City