The importance of corporate
social performance in place
branding of retail banks in Egypt
Passent Tantawi and Amr Youssef
College of Management and Technology, Arab Academy for Science,
Technology & Maritime Transport, Alexandria, Egypt
Abstract
Purpose – Branding issues and corporate social performance (CSP) are growing in importance for
both companies and customers. In place marketing, places could be branded as each place should
define and communicate its competitive advantages effectively and adapt to fit the needs of place
customers. On the other hand, in Egypt, a major challenge for marketers is retail banking which is
experiencing significant changes and entails the marketing of intangible services rather than tangible
products. The purpose of this paper is to provide a useful starting point to consider retail banks as
place brands, and advise place brand managers about how to integrate their values with CSP and
branding issues.
Design/methodology/approach – The study is quantitative in nature, focusing on the relationship
between CSP measures and place branding through enhancing brand equity. A total of
220 self-administered surveys were distributed among bankers and investors of two
Egyptian-based retail banks listed in the CASE (Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange).
Findings – Results indicated that there is a lack of association between CSP measures and brand
equity measures of retail banks in Egypt. Findings yield useful insights for both academics, and
corporate and brand practitioners about the importance of synthesizing brand equity of a place with
CSP in the banking sector.
Research limitations/implications – A longitudinal and qualitative research is required to
investigate how customers perceive retail banks’ brands in Egypt and whether or not they value banks
applying CSP. A quantitative study should be conducted on a larger sample to generalize findings
within the banking sector.
Practical implications – CSP is mainly driven by external pressures such as pressure of
international financial institutions. This will only encourage passive compliance without any effective
change on the ground in terms of greater corporate accountability and transparency. Banks should
emphasize their CSP to develop or enhance their brand equity.
Social implications – Results depicted that if the individuals themselves can conduct their
businesses in an ethical and sustainable manner, then companies will inevitably conform to any
external CSP standard that will be utilized in the development of place brands image and the welfare of
the society.
Originality/value – Limited research has addressed the relationship between CSP and place
branding. This study draws a model that investigates the relationship between applying corporate
social responsibility (CSR) and place branding through improving brand equity of retail banks in a
developing country, namely Egypt. Results of this research might be of interest to companies,
practitioners, and society concerning the role of CSR in developing a place brand.
Keywords Egypt, Banking, Corporate social responsibility, Corporate social performance, Brand equity,
Place branding, Retail banking
Paper type Research paper
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CSP in place
branding
77
African Journal of Economic and
Management Studies
Vol. 3 No. 1, 2012
pp. 77-94
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
2040-0705
DOI 10.1108/20400701211197294