RISULTATI RICERCA

The article explains how corporate museums employ rhetorical history to construct a narrative of continuity against discontinuities in the organizational past. By analyzing the exhibition narratives and what these communicate to the stakeholders, the article ex- plores the case of the Polish Vodka Museum in Warsaw, which was established in the revitalized remains of a defunct vodka plant. The analysis has revealed that features of the former plant that represented continuity, such as the location, buildings, and brands, were emphasized in the narrative, while discontinuous features, such as ownership, legal status, and the core business were downplayed. The article contributes to the literature on rhetorical history, or the strategic uses of the past, by providing a case study of how corporate museums deal with organizational discontinuity by applying rhetorical tools. The case study is a corporate museum from Eastern Europe, an underrepresented region in the business history field characterized by political and socio-economic discontinuities.

This paper looks at how Barclays used the services of its in-house corporate archives during a period of severe legitimacy crises. In 2012, Barclays were found to have been rigging the LIBOR rate, another scandal in a succession of scandals for the bank and the banking industry since 2008. To rebuild its legitimacy and create a new set of corporate values for employees, Barclays used its historical resources to con- struct new values based on its Quaker heritage. Barclays Group Archives (BGA) were integral in conducting the research that underpinned the narrative that was used to disseminate these values. The archives were also used to preserve and provide the artefacts that Barclays would use in its promotional material. This paper will show the importance of the archives and the archivists in this process and how they pro- vided unique resources and professional skills that were integral in pursuing a use of the past strategy.

This article looks at of what marketing has produced regarding the way consumers engage with brand heritage. The literature review shows how marketing scholars take the heritage discourse and analyses the way the message is communicated to external audiences, if they accept it or not, and what effects it has on their broad relation to the company. Then, the first part of the paper clarifies the distinction in brand heritage literature between the focus on the corporate brand and the focus on the marketing mix and its perception by consumers. The second part defines brand heritage as it is perceived by consumers, while the third examines protocols and, most particularly, scales that facilitate the measurement of brand heritage percep- tion. The fourth part reviews the known consequences of brand heritage perception. Finally, the conclusion lists avenues for further research.