role of the corporate art collection in corporate identity management : the case of Deutsche Bank

Results of a case study of the role of corporate art at Deutsche Bank, which possesses the world's largest corporate art collection. A substantial body of (mainly practitioner) literature suggests the existence of certain motives for purchasing corporate art. This study investigated whether these motives apply in the case of Deutsche Bank. It also explored the degree to which the company's art collection reflects its organizational identity and expresses its corporate identity. In addition, it examined the collection's contributions to corporate identity management. Some of the motivations for collecting corporate art reported in the literature were found to apply to the case company. However, the primary roles of Deutsche Bank's art collection appeared to involve the development of the firm's corporate identity (especially through certain desirable images of the organization), the use of the collection for external marketing communications, and stimulation of the creative imaginations of employees.