ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with corporate associations and focuses on company identity traits and company image. Companies undertake many marketing and communication efforts to influence stakeholder's perception and achieve desired associations in the minds of individuals. The term perception denotes a sensory comprehension of the material world or in other words a selection, organization and interpretation of sensory impulses by an individual in order to make sense of his or her environment. Winick was one of the first scholars to offer an overview of possible methods of corporate image measurement. He suggested three approaches to empirical examination, namely projection techniques, open questions and structured questionnaires. Winick also suggests using linguistic-associative techniques like the semantic differential, Q-sort, adjective cards, visual techniques, thermometer techniques. Construction of the corporate image is not an end in itself but should be one of the long-term goals of the company.
