اثر CSR و برند تجاری بر وفاداری برند: صنعت بانکی هند CSR and Corporate Branding Effect on Brand Loyalty: A Study of Indian Banking Industry

Introduction Corporate branding is a holistic brand management approach adopted by firms to construct a unique corporate identity (Abratt and Kleyn, 2012; Pillai, 2012; So, 2013; Balmer et al., 2017). Whereas, the corporate brand is a distinct identity type, having a life of its own (Balmer, 1995, 2001a). Corporate identity refers to the organisational characteristics that anchor an organisation in a given period (Cornelissen et al., 2007; Balmer, 2010a). Therefore, corporate identity provides a foundation on which corporate brands are formed and closely linked with the organisation (Balmer, 1995, 2001a and b; Balmer and Thompson, 2009). Since the mid-1990s, the notion of corporate brand, as introduced by Balmer (1995) has invariably been an avenue of a vital, ubiquitous, and moreover, as a global, strategic imperative and is a mainstream concern for corporate marketing scholars (Balmer et al., 2017). Besides, it is imperative that the ascendancy of corporate branding has permanently altered the comprehension of the brandscape by challenging the traditional approaches, and has given rise to become an integral part of the corporate marketing philosophy (Balmer 1998, 2009, 2011; Olins, 2000; Balmer and Greyser, 2003; Balmer, 2001a; Balmer, 2010a). The evolution of corporate branding further gained popularity among the corporate branding and marketing scholars (Balmer, 1998; Papasolomou and Vrontis, 2006; He, 2008; Tsai, 2008; Balmer, 2009; Balmer, 2011; Powel, 2011; Balmer et al., 2017), which is the prime rationality to undergo the study. Hulberg (2006) explained ‘differentiation’, ‘transparency’ and ‘cost reduction’ as the three most important reasons for the increasing interest in corporate branding from the perspective of the functionalist, interpretive, radical humanist and radical structural paradigm. As a result, various companies at the national and multinational level are gradually moving towards corporate branding strategies (Kowalczyk and Pawlish, 2002; Lam, et al., 2013). According to Balmer (1995) and Hulberg (2006), there are no universal rules for managing the corporate brand. Nevertheless, the prevailing antecedents of the corporate brand have been prolonged to investigate the corporate branding constructs such as corporate identity, organisational culture, corporate behavior, image, reputation and communication among others (Hulberg, 2006, Melewar et al., 2012). This evolution of corporate level constructs can be witnessed in corporate branding literature (Pillai, 2011; Melewar et al., 2012; Balmer et al., 2017).