Corporate branding: an exploration of the influence of CRE

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to understand how corporate real estate (CRE) can add value to corporate branding and how corporate branding strategies for CRE can be determined. Design/methodology/approach - The paper presents a theoretical background for corporate branding and real estate and links these two concepts through interviews with 19 CRE managers of service providers. Findings - Analysis of the relationship between CRE and the corporate brand brings forward two links: CRE influences the perception of the corporate brand directly and indirectly (via employee behaviour). Corporate identity and its six characteristics (structure, strategy, culture, communication, behaviour and design) formed a useful tool to determine the proper branding strategy for an organization. Especially, "design" and "communication" define the way CRE should communicate the corporate brand. Two location issues are seen as the most important CRE aspects to support branding strategies. Research limitations/implications - The field research is explorative, so it only studies a small sample of four types of service providers: real estate brokers, architects, lawyers and multinationals. Practical implications - Understanding the key factors of CRE that orchestrate the direct and the indirect influence on the corporate brand provides guidelines for CREM for designing CRE that supports a successful corporate brand. Originality/value - Research done so far on corporate branding highlights the importance of CRE for corporate branding, but does not explicitly discuss the importance of (all) different CRE aspects.