Exploring the auditory dimension of corporate identity management

Purpose – Despite the significance of sound, hitherto the auditory dimension has been widely ignored with regard to corporate identity management and corporate communication. This paper aims to expand the domains of corporate identity and corporate communication by focusing on the auditory dimension as a component of company‐controlled communication. Design/methodology/approach – Based on an extensive review of corporate identity and corporate communication literature, a set of hypotheses is proposed that reflect antecedents of corporate auditory identity management. Findings – The paper not only illustrates the importance of the auditory dimension as part of corporate identity management, it also provides initial suggestions of antecedent factors that are expected to determine the utilisation of sound on a corporate level. Originality/value – The presented discussion about the role of auditory identity vis‐à‐vis corporate identity management provides initial guidance for managers when considering the auditory dimension as a potential ingredient of their communication tool kit. Moreover, this paper advances existing knowledge by providing initial insight into the relationship between domains such as auditory identity and corporate identity, visual identity and corporate communication.