Projecting banks' identities through corporate websites: a comparative analysis of Spain and the United Kingdom

This article analyses similarities and differences in corporate identities communicated through corporate brand websites between banks operating in Spain and the United Kingdom. Cross-cultural dissimilarities between Spain and the United Kingdom, and specific features of the banking sector in each country, lead to expectations about differences in the communication of corporate brand identities. As such hypotheses were developed about corporate brand identity according to these differences. Specifically, the hypotheses refer to differences in the main corporate brand identity dimensions: visual identity, corporate communications, organisational culture, behaviour, strategy and structure. In order to test the hypotheses, content analysis was conducted among 60 of the largest commercial banks, 30 in each country. The results show differences between Spain and the UK banks corporate websites due to different patterns of portraying corporate brand identity. Overall, banks in the United Kingdom rely on social and strategic aspects to project their brand identities, while banks in Spain are more prone to exhibit information concerning communications. These findings suggest that brand identity communication should be adapted to each country's cultural markers.