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

commenting in 1970 that ―For branch office design, he (the architect) must keep attuned to thechanging attitudes of bank customers and create an environment that not only reflects thecorporate image of his banking client, but that will also accommodate the changing marketingand promotional operations of the bank‖ (Lowery, 1970). The architect had been essentiallyreferring to the servicescape of the branch as he elaborated that the bank‘s ―office layouts,furnishings, color schemes, and decoration should create a climate conducive to their (the bank‘semployees‘ and customers‘) successful performance‖ (Lowery, 1970). How the retail bankconsumers read the visual corporate identity of the banks and what meanings they attach to themcan give us a hitherto untapped idea as to the impact of servicescape on consumers with relationto corporate visual identity. The symbolic elements of the servicescape may also becommunicated through visual identity just as well its design. Finally there is the question ofethnic, religious and cultural perception of the servicescape. In a servicescape study carried out inthe US it was found that a particular ethnic community or religious denomination maybe attunedto responding to servicescape elements that they interpret as being welcoming to them(Rosenbaum, 2005). A congruency between ethnic identity and built environment could be avariable that may be explored further for influencing behaviour of certain target customers.One other important aspect of corporate branding and identity is also the issue of industry identitythat influences corporate identity. It is posited that the industry identity of a particular sector canhave a profound effect on a company‘s ability to project its individual corporate identity(Melewar et al., 2005). In the US the oil companies had a hard time changing their corporateidentities in the 1970s despite their best efforts as the public viewed negatively the whole industry(Winters, 1986, 1988). Considering the banking industry of developing countries like Bangladeshand India the ‗Industry Identity‘ has a bearing on the image of the government owned banks.Collectively the government owned banks are perceived as staid, lacking modernity and advancedprocesses as well as up to date servicescapes. In a survey on retail customer satisfaction in Indianbanks the clients of banking services unanimously agreed that the government owned banks didnot have visually appealing physical facilities, stimulating signs, symbols, and advertisementdisplays. They also complained that the bank staff were not well dressed and frequently illmannered(Bedi, 2010).Atmosphere(s): How and Why it Matters‗Atmosphere‘ is a concept which is both immediately understood by consumers and alsonotoriously difficult to define. However, it is well-recognized as a determinant and antecedent ofconsumer behavior in many contexts, including, but not limited to, retail and/or service settings