ABSTRACT
This commentary addresses how recent developments in temporality has inspired studies of corporate branding, as companies strive to reach a balance between past and future in their branding. These developments concern a shift from singular to multiple temporalities; from unitary to co-created temporalities; from abstract to situated temporality; and from linear to ongoing temporalities. Together these developments show how corporate branding may become a vehicle for temporal agency implying a more deliberate use of the past(s) creating a more engaging, relevant, and co-created future for corporate branding. The commentary discusses how the chapters in the section each contributes to this important debate. However, the commentary also discusses how striking a balance between past and future creates new dilemmas in corporate branding, such as when a multiplicity of stakeholders with each of their localized histories expect to be active co-creators of a more sustainable future of a corporate brand. The commentary points at new avenues for future research suggesting how the fight against climate change requires the ability of corporate branding to include distant futures in their brand purpose and overcome the intertemporal tensions that follow.
