Key drivers of Corporate Image: A Comparative Study of Conventional Banks and Islamic Banks

Purpose- The main objective of this study is to find out the key drivers of corporate image of banking sector in Pakistan and make the comparison of Islamic and conventional banks based on these drivers.Methodology- A total of 320 bank customers were selected using a systematic sampling technique from four cities of Pakistan.The responses were collected through self-administered questionnaire from bank customers which are focused on the drivers of corporate image. Findings- The brand Image, firm reputation and CSR are the main drivers for building the corporate image of Islamic Banks whereas the word of mouth, firm reputation and security are the drivers in case of conventional banks.The individual critical drivers of Islamic banks are identified from Brand familiarity, Firm Reputation, CSR and the Firm Communication. The management of these banks should make efforts to enhance the values of these factors of CSR and firm Communication so that they will improve the brand familiarity and firm reputation which will ultimately enhance the corporate image of the Islamic Bank.Similarly the individual critical drivers of conventional banks are identified from word of mouth, firm reputation, security and firm communication. The management of the conventional banks should invest for the improvements in Security and firm communication.These factors will improve the Word of mouth and Firm reputation which ultimately will enhance the corporate Image of the conventional banks.Research limitations/implications- In this study the corporate image have been taken for the banking sector only in Pakistan.The aspect of culture and other factors of banking sector are ignored by giving preference to the image only. Originality/value- This study is the first study conducted to make a comparison between Islamic and conventional banks corporate image and to know the key drivers in both types of banks separately