Image is everything: Reflections on the dominance of image in modern organizational life

Dennis A. Gioia; Aimee L. Hamilton; Shubha D. Patvardhan

doi:10.1016/j.riob.2014.01.001

Image is everything: Reflections on the dominance of image in modern organizational life

Dennis A. Gioia, Aimee L. Hamilton, Shubha D. Patvardhan

Management and Organization

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

We develop the notion of image as a "covering concept," one that subsumes several major ideas in organization study. We draw on a number of literatures, including social psychology, marketing/branding, political science and organization studies, to make the case that "image is everything." We consider not only the pervasiveness of image, but also the power of image including its transformational potential for altering the character of even our most fundamental concepts in personal and organizational study, including identity. We articulate two major theses: (1) image harbors the power to transform substance into image, and more radically that (2) image can itself become substantive. We therefore articulate not only a substance. →. image transformation, but also an image. →. substance transformation.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	129-154
Number of pages	26
Journal	Research in Organizational Behavior
Volume	34
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2014.01.001
State	Published - Jan 1 2014

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Social Psychology
Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

Access to Document

10.1016/j.riob.2014.01.001

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