Core Values Based Brand Building: Institutional Stakeholder's Attitudes towards the Texas A&M University Brand

Research has indicated that positive and negative attitudes toward intercollegiate athletics can contribute to the perceptions of both congruency and incongruency with the established university mission and values. Core values are considered to represent philosophical viewpoints and organizational priorities, further providing a sense of purpose to stakeholders. As such, established core values are expected to be applied and enacted in daily interactions in order to fulfill the mission and vision of an organization. Over time, however, the increase in negative attitudes attributed to athletic department behavior brings into question their perceived alignment with the university core values and brand. The potential existence of incompatibility and misalignment among internal constituents concerning core values has been linked to the starting point for conflicts within the organizational setting. Thus, attitudes toward athletic department behavioral congruency or incongruency with stated university core values is worthy of investigation in order to determine the consequential impact on the university brand. The purpose of this study was to investigate stakeholder attitudes toward athletic department behavioral congruency with the stated core values of Texas A&M University and assess the subsequent implications for the university brand. Personal interviews (N=13) were conducted with individuals from each of six university internal and external stakeholder groups: current students, alumni, faculty/staff members, community members, athletic department personnel, and athletic department boosters. Findings revealed four primary themes: 1) 'Excellence' Equals Winning, 2) For Public Relations Purposes Only, 3) Separation and Isolation of the Athletic Department, and 4) Lack of Leadership from the Top-Down. Implications communicated the necessity of a consistent and accurate representation of the Texas A&M brand at all university levels. Further, the implementation of a unique, potentially more effective model for core value congruency and brand management was presented. Finally, the necessity of promotion and implementation of the core values from university and athletic department leadership was recommended for core value effectiveness and brand consistency.