Supporting Culture to Improve Corporate Image: The Case of Greek Banks

Abstract

Banks are under criticism that their business models are not adequately sustainable and also that they do not contribute largely to the resolution of the big issues of humanity. For this, banks seek eagerly to develop sustainable and socially responsible strategies as a means for supporting their public image, establishing trusted relationships with society and increasing customer loyalty. Greek banks implement such strategies; however, they seem to have image issues due to the harsh and extended economic crisis that occurred in the country, as well as their policies of the past. It is interesting to investigate the impact of such activities undertaken by institutions with a damaged image, an area that does not seem to have been investigated yet in the relevant literature. The purpose of the paper is to record the supporting activities in culture of the Greek banks and explore the public’s attitude towards them. The research method combines a content analysis on the banks’ websites and published annual reports to specify their actions in culture, and a structured survey to investigate the evaluation of these actions by the public. The findings of this study reveal that the Greek banks pay much attention to the support of culture. These activities have a positive impact on the public’s attitude towards them, but not on customer loyalty.