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The Buy-in Benchmark: How Staff Understanding and Commitment Impact Brand and Business Performance
Abstract
This paper considers the way that greater staff understanding (intellectual buy-in) and commitment (emotional buy-in) can enhance brand and business performance. Focusing on internal branding it shows from the literature review why these two issues are important drivers of brand success. The intellectual-emotional buy-in matrix is developed, showing how managers can better use internal communication to enhance employee buy-in and thus achieve better performance. Interviews with 350 managers and employees provided benchmark readings about intellectual and emotional buy-in. Links between buy-in and perceived employee performance are reported. The proportions of employees in each quadrant of the matrix are detailed, with strategies proposed to increase the proportion of “champion” employees. The positive impact effective communication has on buy-in, and therefore performance, is noted.
... Further, employees' brand experiences are necessarily aligned with those of customers (Mosely, 2007), and this may lead to confusion among employees on how to be aligned with value propositions and fulfill given promises in customer interactions (Henkel et al., 2007), as they may become ambivalent about the meaning of brand promises (Balmer, 2012). To be able to align with value propositions and act as brand ambassadors, FLEs need to emotionally buy in to the value that is proposed to customers (Thomson et al., 1999), as well as have knowledge and be aware of and understand brand promises (Mitchell, 2002;Urde et al., 2013;Xiong et al., 2013). Specifically in a business-to-business (B2B) setting with comprehensive offerings, it is important that behavior among FLEs is aligned with brand promises (Baumgarth and Schmidt, 2010). ...
... FLEs' experiences, a co-active working mode has a positive impact on both their awareness and understanding of value propositions, which, according to Mitchell (2002) and Xiong et al. (2013), are important parts of promise delivery. Further, the empirical findings show that co-activity enhanced the emotional buy-in of value propositions, which has also been established as an important part of promise delivery in previous research (Thomson et al., 1999). Moreover, coactivity seemed to foster engagement in the development process, and thereby a commitment to value propositions, which, according to Thomson et al. (1999), are crucial aspects of emotional buy-in. ...
... Further, the empirical findings show that co-activity enhanced the emotional buy-in of value propositions, which has also been established as an important part of promise delivery in previous research (Thomson et al., 1999). Moreover, coactivity seemed to foster engagement in the development process, and thereby a commitment to value propositions, which, according to Thomson et al. (1999), are crucial aspects of emotional buy-in. Thus, FLE knowledge integration through deliberate co-activity enhances bottom-up strategising, which facilitates FLEs' agency to participate. ...
Purpose
Customer value creation is dependent on a firm’s capacity to fulfil its brand promises and value propositions. The purpose of this paper is to explore frontline employees’ (FLEs’) motivation to align with value propositions.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper explores FLEs’ motivation to align with a firm’s value propositions as operationalised brand promises. A longitudinal, three-phase case study was conducted on a business-to-business company in the building and technical trade sector.
Findings
This study reveals factors that foster and weaken employees’ motivation to align with a firm’s brand promises and value propositions. The findings show that co-activity and authentic, practice-driven promises and value propositions foster FLEs’ motivation to uphold brand promises and value propositions, whereas an objectifying stance and power struggle weaken their motivation.
Practical implications
The study indicates that a bottom-up approach to strategising is needed and that FLE is to be engaged in traditional managerial domains, such as in developing value propositions. By creating space and agency for FLE in the strategising process, their motivation to align with value propositions is fostered. Four motivational modes are suggested to support bottom-up strategising.
Originality/value
The paper is unique in its focus on FLEs’ motivation. Developing value propositions traditionally falls within the domain of management strategising, while employees are ascribed the role of enactment. Contrary to the established norm, this paper highlights employees’ active role in strategising and developing value propositions.
... The rebranding process can be successful when stakeholders buy-in to the rebranded identity, vision and values of the corporate brand (Daly & Moloney, 2004;Hatch & Schultz, 2003;Mitchell, 2002;Muzellec & Lambkin, 2006) and is hence considered a principle of success in corporate rebranding theory (Merrilees & Miller, 2008). Buyin from employees can be at an intellectual and an emotional level according to Thomson, de Chernatony, Arganbright, and Khan (1999). Corporate brands that undergo corporate rebranding need employees to comprehend the changes to the brand attributes and its vision, its goals and be committed to its success. ...
... When employees comprehend what the corporate brand represents; values and promise to its customers, it helps them exhibit greater cognitive and emotional attachment and commitment to the corporate brand (Thomson et al., 1999;Punjaisri & Wilson, 2007;Punjaisri, Wilson, & Evanschitzky, 2008). Furthermore, the view that the alignment of employees' values with that of the corporate brand can influence the desire to remain loyal to it is postulated by organisational identification and commitment theories (Dutton et al., 1994;van Dick, 2001). ...
... For an organisation gaining the support of employees can be a critical success factor (Hankinson et al., 2007). In one of the earlier studies on employee buy-in, Thomson et al. (1999) from a survey of 350 employees that included managers of large British organisations found a correlation between employee buy-in and business or brand performance. They also explained that internal corporate communication was a key vehicle to create intellectual and emotional buy-in from employees (Thomson et al., 1999). ...
Corporate rebranding that modifies logos, tagline and the corporate brand name is common among practitioners. Available literature reports the success of corporate rebranding by the response and perception of external stakeholders but there is little reflection of the internal perspective. Employees however represent the brand values and fulfil the corporate brand promise. To fill this gap a multiple case study approach was adopted, and semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted followed by thematic analysis of the data. Findings of the study emphasized upon the role of rebranding communication by leadership in facilitating changes to the corporate brand, resulting in employee buy-in. This important contribution to the literature will also help managers achieve employee buy-in to strategic changes in the organisation especially post Brexit. Further research is recommended to measure existing levels of employee engagement and corporate brand identification that will support post rebranding employee buy-in.
... Необходимо иметь в виду, что на практике внутренние установки сотрудников часто не соответствуют ценностям бренда, культивируемым компанией. Заслуживает внимания способ оценки степени этого соответствия, предложенный в [Thomson et al., 1999]. Этот подход является универсальным: его можно использовать в отношении не только товарного бренда, но и бренда работодателя. ...
... В зависимости от степени вовлеченности сотрудников в процесс создания бренда в матрице выделяется четыре категории сотрудников [Thomson et al., 1999]: 1) «Сторонники» (champions): полностью разделяют ценности бренда, являются пропагандистами бренда, готовы рекомендовать бренд окружающим; 2) «Наблюдатели» (bystanders): осведомлены о ценностях бренда и имеют полное представление, как претворить их в жизнь, однако эмоционально не вовлечены в процесс брендинга. Требуется выяснить причины низкой эмоциональной вовлеченности таких сотрудников и разработать комплекс мероприятий по ее усилению; 3) «Холостые пушки» (loose cannons): сотрудники эмоционально вовлечены в бренд-строительство, но не понимают целей бренда и не в полной мере разделяют его ценности. ...
... Рис. 1. Матрица оценки степени вовлеченности сотрудников в процесс создания бренда С о с т а в л е н о п о: [Thomson et al., 1999] 25 Бренд-ориентированность компании: разработка и тестирование шкалы измерения на примере... не вовлечены в процесс брендинга. Требуется выяснить причины низкой эмоциональной вовлеченности таких сотрудников и разработать комплекс мероприятий по ее усилению; 3) «Холостые пушки» (loose cannons): сотрудники эмоционально вовлечены в бренд-строительство, но не понимают целей бренда и не в полной мере разделяют его ценности. ...
... These two essential sources of EBE have been discussed frequently in past literature (Baumgarth and Schmidt, 2010;Kwon, 2013;Piehler et al., 2015;Yang et al., 2015). Thomson et al. (1999) highlighted that employee might reflect brand values from their behaviour if they internalise and understand brand values. On the contrary, in branding literature, many studies reported the inconsistent and weak relationship of brand role clarity (BRC) with EBE (Baumgarth and Schmidt, 2010;Kimpakorn and Tocquer, 2009;Xiong et al., 2013;Grace, 2009, 2010;King et al., 2012). ...
... EBC refers to the employees' psychological attachment towards the brand that influences employees' willingness to channel brand-related behaviour (Handayani and Herwany, 2020;Burmann and Zeplin, 2005). In this regard, according to Thomson et al. (1999), both role clarity and employee commitment are essential to developing EBE. High level of BRC and low level of commitment make employees act as "bystander" because even though they know what to do, they are not committed to the organizational goals. ...
... In other cases, a high level of commitment and a low level of understanding make employees act as "loose cannons" where employees are committed to organizational goals, but they cannot deliver. In fact, according to the buy-in matrix, the presence of both will make employees "champions" (Thomson et al., 1999) in terms of EBE. ...
Purpose-Employee position is acknowledged as central in service brand management to achieve competitive advantage. Hence, this study aims to illustrate the importance of brand role clarity (BRC) and employee brand commitment (EBC) by investigating the moderating role of EBC on the relationship between BRC and employee brand equity (EBE) in Islamic banking. Design/methodology/approach-Data is collected from 259 respondents who are involved in Islamic banking. Proportionate stratified random sampling was used to select bank branches for the study, and simple random sampling was adopted to choose respondents within these bank branches. Findings-Building on the insight obtained from data analysis, the results of this study demonstrate that the EBC strengthens the significant relationship between employee BRC and EBE. It indicates that EBC is vital in affecting the employee BRC on EBE. Originality/value-The importance of BRC and EBC has been widely discussed in the literature that both of these variables are essential sources of EBE. However, empirical studies on the combined effect of EBC and BRC on EBE have not been considered in past studies.
... Унифицированный продукт (в нашем случае мероприятие) всегда оставляет неохваченные зоны, проблемные участки и неудовлетворенность конечного потребителя (в нашем случае сотрудников), он просто не способен удовлетворить 100% аудитории, поэтому, наряду с вопросом классификации самих корпоративных мероприятий, перед эффективными event-менеджерами встает вопрос о классификации и категоризации (сегментировании) самих сотрудников компании, с тем, чтобы предложить каждой группе или индивиду участие в подходящем именно им (ему) событии или мероприятии. Исходя из того, что довольно часто на практике внутренние установ-ки сотрудников не соответствуют культивируемым компанией ценностям, заслуживает внимания способ оценки этого соответствия, предложенный К. Томсоном [8], в частности для оценки степени соответствия внутренних установок сотрудников ценностям бренда компании, которые в трактовке бренда как культурного наследия компании (Enterprise Cultural Heritage) могут представлять собой обсуждаемые нами корпоративные ценности компании. Предлагается адаптировать и применить эту матрицу в качестве основы для сегментирования аудитории мероприятий, планирования корпоративных мероприятий и их смыслового и художественного наполнения. ...
... Рис. 1. Матрица для оценки степени вовлеченности сотрудников [7,8]. ...
В статье автор проводит анализ такого инструмента событийного маркетинга, как корпоративные мероприятия в свете их целесообразности и востребованности согласно потреб ностям их целевой аудитории (сотрудников компании). На основе расширенной и дополненной класси фикации корпоративных мероприятий приведенных Консалтинговой компанией «АМИКО», строит адаптивную матрицу для стратегического и тактического планирования мероприятий и корпора тивных событий, направленных на укрепление и развитие корпоративной культуры, мотивации и стимулирования сотрудников к более эффективному труду, в зависимости от оценки степени их во влеченности в брендстроительство и разделения ими основополагающих ценностей компании.
... Employee-based brand equity (EBBE) is a fairly new concept that was first used in 1999. It has been used as the subject of numerous books and articles (Keller, 1999;Thomson et al., 1999). Due to the growing importance of internal branding, this concept is expanding to different kinds of corporate brands, including services and business-to-business (B2B) and non-profit industries. ...
Although servant leadership may be equipped to provide a leadership model that addresses the issues of the modern workforce, little literature is available regarding the relationship between servant leadership and employee brand-based equity. This study contends to address this gap for which data have been collected from the service industry under a cross-sectional research design by distributing 410 questionnaires among the participants, out of which 337 were received back. After discarding the partially filled and incomplete responses, the useable responses were 314. Data were analyzed via the Smart PLS approach by applying the structural equation modeling technique. Results indicate that servant leadership directly increased the employee-based brand equity by the mediating role of interpersonal trust. However, this study has not established the moderating role of an ethical work climate.
... Despite the applicability of this objective from internal branding research in the city branding context, differences between employees and residents and between corporate and city branding create some challenges in adopting certain brand management-related antecedents. With brand-oriented human resource management (Aurand et al., 2005;Burmann and Zeplin, 2005;De Chernatony et al., 2006;Punjaisri and Wilson, 2011;Saleem and Iglesias, 2016), brand-oriented leadership (Burmann and Zeplin, 2005;Morhart et al., 2009;Saleem and Iglesias, 2016;Terglav et al., 2016;Vallaster and De Chernatony, 2005) and brand communication (Baker et al., 2014;Burmann and Zeplin, 2005;De Chernatony et al., 2006;Henkel et al., 2007;Hughes, 2013;Piehler et al., 2019;Punjaisri and Wilson, 2011;Saleem and Iglesias, 2016;Thomson et al., 1999;Wentzel et al., 2010), internal branding research in the corporate branding domain has investigated three types of brand management-related antecedents that affect key employee-related objectives (Burmann and Zeplin, 2005;Piehler et al., 2018;Schmidt and Baumgarth, 2018). ...
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the brand-oriented leadership of a city’s mayor and city online brand communication as brand management-related antecedents of residents’ city brand commitment. It thus examines if city brand managers can apply internal branding concepts from the corporate branding domain in a city branding context.
Design/methodology/approach
The relationships between the brand management-related antecedents and the internal city branding (ICB) objective are tested through structural equation modeling using cross-sectional survey data of 414 residents of a German city.
Findings
Both the brand-oriented leadership of the mayor in terms of acting as a role model by living the city brand and its identity and by showing commitment to the brand and the city’s online brand communication in terms of its quality have positive effects on residents’ city brand commitment. Moderation analyses reveal no significant differences between the path estimates for age, place of birth, duration of residency and education. However, the results differ significantly for gender.
Research limitations/implications
As this study’s sample is limited to only one city in Germany, further research needs to investigate the relationships in different cities and other countries to ensure the generalizability of the results. Future studies might also include other aspects of city brand communication, as well as cognitive and behavioural ICB objectives.
Practical implications
To increase residents’ city brand commitment, city brand managers should ensure that a city’s online brand communication is adequate, complete, credible, useful and clear. Furthermore, through creating awareness for the importance of a mayor’s brand-oriented leadership and through educating and training the mayor to engage in this specific form of brand-oriented transformational leadership, city brand managers can increase residents’ emotional attachment with the city brand.
Originality/value
This study integrates internal branding research from the corporate branding domain with place and city branding research. It confirms that certain aspects of internal branding (i.e. brand-oriented leadership, brand communication and brand commitment) are applicable not only in the corporate branding domain but also in other branding contexts such as city branding if adapted properly.
... It is also defined as the extent of psychological attachment of employees to the brand, which influences their willingness to exert extra effort towards reaching the brand goals (Burmann & Zeplin, 2008). Employees' commitment to the brand is said to be affected by their knowledge to the brand behaviors (Thomson et al. (1999), Kimpakorn and Tocquer (2009)) As employees brand knowledge lays the base for employees brand commitment, the more employees are committed the more they will become the citizens of the brand, and this brings us to relatively new concept, brand citizenship behavior. ...
Employees brand commitment and citizenship behavior to it has been stated well
... The services sector plays an increasingly important role in the development of national as well as global economy. In today's competitive market, for businesses to be successful, only financial capital is not sufficient, there is an obvious need to build the human capital as well (Thomson et al., 1999). In this regard, the study makes an attempt to appraise the service employees' professional expertise and its implications in internal branding. ...
The purpose of this study is to measure the role of job stress among the academic staff of the private universities of Bangladesh. A survey was conducted among 150 academic staffs of the private universities across Dhaka and Chittagong city in Bangladesh, concerning the trends of job stress and satisfaction and the likely relationship between
them. Primary data analysis revealed that the private universities showed different directions for varying forms of job stress. Moreover, five types of stressors were found to be significant for the academic staff in Universities of Bangladesh, which when tested on their job stress revealed the significant impact on job stress. More specifically, pay,
growth stressors and work-related stressors were found to negatively and significantly influencing job stress for the academic staff. Future research of time series analysis can be conducted to understand the trends of stress under different situations over time for academic staff.
... Despite the applicability of this objective from internal branding research in the city branding context, differences between employees and residents and between corporate and city branding create some challenges in adopting certain brand management-related antecedents. With brand-oriented human resource management (Aurand et al., 2005;Burmann and Zeplin, 2005;De Chernatony et al., 2006;Punjaisri and Wilson, 2011;Saleem and Iglesias, 2016), brand-oriented leadership (Burmann and Zeplin, 2005;Morhart et al., 2009;Saleem and Iglesias, 2016;Terglav et al., 2016;Vallaster and De Chernatony, 2005) and brand communication (Baker et al., 2014;Burmann and Zeplin, 2005;De Chernatony et al., 2006;Henkel et al., 2007;Hughes, 2013;Piehler et al., 2019;Punjaisri and Wilson, 2011;Saleem and Iglesias, 2016;Thomson et al., 1999;Wentzel et al., 2010), internal branding research in the corporate branding domain has investigated three types of brand management-related antecedents that affect key employee-related objectives (Burmann and Zeplin, 2005;Piehler et al., 2018;Schmidt and Baumgarth, 2018). ...
Among the target groups of city branding, actual residents are one of the most important because they are strategically the most valuable resource as co-creators in the branding process. Although researchers have called for a consideration of internal branding for more than a decade, it has not been properly adapted to the city branding context, especially because cognitive brand under-standing and brand management-related antecedents have not been considered so far. Therefore, this study develops an internal city branding (ICB) model that comprises actual residents’ inten-tion to stay, city brand citizenship behavior, city brand commitment, satisfaction, and city brand understanding as ICB outcomes and the city communication quality as brand management-related antecedent. The results of an online survey of 442 residents from the city of Bremen in Germany reveal that actual residents’ city brand commitment has positive effects on their inten-tion to stay and their city brand citizenship behavior. Furthermore, their satisfaction positively affects their city brand commitment and their intention to stay in the city, but not their city brand citizenship behavior. Most important, actual residents’ city brand understanding has positive ef-fects on their satisfaction, city brand commitment, and city brand citizenship behavior. In terms of the proposed brand management-related antecedent, city communication quality has a positive effect on actual residents’ city brand understanding. From a managerial perspective, actual resi-dents’ city brand understanding represents an important objective for city brand managers that can be improved by ensuring that communication with actual residents is adequate, complete, credible, useful, and clear.
... Despite the applicability of this objective from internal branding research in the city branding context, differences between employees and residents and between corporate and city branding create some challenges in adopting certain brand management-related antecedents. With brand-oriented human resource management (Aurand et al., 2005;Burmann and Zeplin, 2005;De Chernatony et al., 2006;Punjaisri and Wilson, 2011;Saleem and Iglesias, 2016), brand-oriented leadership (Burmann and Zeplin, 2005;Morhart et al., 2009;Saleem and Iglesias, 2016;Terglav et al., 2016;Vallaster and De Chernatony, 2005) and brand communication (Baker et al., 2014;Burmann and Zeplin, 2005;De Chernatony et al., 2006;Henkel et al., 2007;Hughes, 2013;Piehler et al., 2019;Punjaisri and Wilson, 2011;Saleem and Iglesias, 2016;Thomson et al., 1999;Wentzel et al., 2010), internal branding research in the corporate branding domain has investigated three types of brand management-related antecedents that affect key employee-related objectives (Burmann and Zeplin, 2005;Piehler et al., 2018;Schmidt and Baumgarth, 2018). ...
Residents are both an important internal target group of city branding efforts and a strategically valuable resource as co-creators in the city branding process that aims to retain and attract residents, companies and visitors. Therefore, this study’s goal is to develop an internal city branding model for implementing the city brand in residents’ minds, emotions and behaviours. It is empirically tested using a sample of 446 residents of the city of Bremen in Germany. The results reveal that city brand commitment and satisfaction have positive effects on the intention to stay. City brand citizenship behaviour is positively affected by city brand commitment, satisfaction and understanding. City brand satisfaction and understanding have positive effects on commitment. Moreover, a positive relationship arises between city brand understanding and satisfaction. The quality of online city brand communication as a managerial antecedent exerts positive effects on city brand understanding and satisfaction but not on commitment.
... Despite the applicability of this objective from internal branding research in the city branding context, differences between employees and residents and between corporate and city branding create some challenges in adopting certain brand management-related antecedents. With brand-oriented human resource management (Aurand et al., 2005;Burmann and Zeplin, 2005;De Chernatony et al., 2006;Punjaisri and Wilson, 2011;Saleem and Iglesias, 2016), brand-oriented leadership (Burmann and Zeplin, 2005;Morhart et al., 2009;Saleem and Iglesias, 2016;Terglav et al., 2016;Vallaster and De Chernatony, 2005) and brand communication (Baker et al., 2014;Burmann and Zeplin, 2005;De Chernatony et al., 2006;Henkel et al., 2007;Hughes, 2013;Piehler et al., 2019;Punjaisri and Wilson, 2011;Saleem and Iglesias, 2016;Thomson et al., 1999;Wentzel et al., 2010), internal branding research in the corporate branding domain has investigated three types of brand management-related antecedents that affect key employee-related objectives (Burmann and Zeplin, 2005;Piehler et al., 2018;Schmidt and Baumgarth, 2018). ...
This study integrates internal branding with place and city branding research to develop an internal city branding (ICB) model that includes resident-related ICB outcomes and the quality of online city brand communication as a brand management–related antecedent.
Research Question
This study aims to develop an internal city branding (ICB) model for implementing the city brand in residents’ minds, emotions and behaviors. Two research questions are addressed:
RQ1: What are the relationships between resident-related ICB outcomes?
RQ2: Does city brand communication affect the ICB outcomes?
... The clear understanding based on the knowledge and brand value in the minds of employees, will not only enhance the brand knowledge and emotional understanding, but it will also increase the enterprise performance (Thomson et al., 1999;Tsai and Yang, 2010). High revenue are incurred with problems such as reference checks, security clearance, temporary workers costs, relocation costs, formal training costs and induction expenses. ...
... Although the term "internal branding" was introduced relatively late to the brand management literature (Keller 1999; Thomson et al. 1999), today's research on the internal anchorage of a brand is an important building block of the discipline (Piehler et al. 2018;Iglesias et al. 2017). According to Saleem and Iglesias (2016, p. 50), internal branding is a process with the objective "to enable employees to consistently co-create brand value with multiple stakeholders." ...
Research on the internal anchorage of a brand constitutes an important building block of the brand management discipline. Considering this, the increasing importance of a positive overall brand experience along all brand touch points has resulted in a parallel increase in the importance of how employees can live the brand. Corporate influencers, an area of study that is to date underresearched, could be a vehicle to authentically bring a brand’s identity closer not only to customers but also to employees. Therefore, our research focuses on the question of how a corporate influencer expresses the positioning of a corporate brand to internal audiences. To gain a deeper understanding of the instruments and tactics of an impactful corporate influencer, we chose an in-depth case study approach. We selected Pawel Dillinger, an informal corporate influencer of the German telecommunication brand Deutsche Telekom, and deeply analyzed his use of an internal social media platform to promote the corporate brand. Our research presents content categories and communication styles, underpins the role of authenticity in internal brand management, and illustrates how a brand ambassador contributes to the enacting of the values of a corporate brand. We do so by offering seven propositions characterizing the communication habits of a corporate influencer.
... We defined widespread buy-in as a commitment to the innovation by a larger group of individuals within the organisation or the organisation as a whole, specifically their commitment to support and engage in an initiative. Although we could find no clear definition or operational specificity of this concept in the existing health literature, the management and business literature does characterise buy-in in terms of one's intellectual and emotional commitment to an organisation's cause and/or plan, 45 and provides guidance to increase buy-in during organisational change initiatives. 46 While buy-in, as we have defined, can be present during the decision to adopt an innovation and/or its implementation, it is also a desired result of the strategies and activities (eg, communications, education/training, use of opinion leaders) put in place during implementation. ...
Objectives
Moving innovations into healthcare organisations to increase positive health outcomes remains a significant challenge. Even when knowledge and tools are adopted, they often fail to become integrated into the long-term routines of organisations. The objective of this study was to identify factors and processes influencing the sustainability of innovations in cancer survivorship care.
Design
Qualitative study using semistructured, in-depth interviews, informed by grounded theory. Data were collected and analysed concurrently using constant comparative analysis.
Setting
25 cancer survivorship innovations based in six Canadian provinces.
Participants
Twenty-seven implementation leaders and relevant staff from across Canada involved in the implementation of innovations in cancer survivorship.
Results
The findings were categorised according to determinants, processes and implementation outcomes, and whether a factor was necessary to sustainability, or important but not necessary. Seven determinants, six processes and three implementation outcomes were perceived to influence sustainability. The necessary determinants were (1) management support; (2) organisational and system-level priorities; and (3) key people and expertise. Necessary processes were (4) innovation adaptation; (5) stakeholder engagement; and (6) ongoing education and training. The only necessary implementation outcome was (7) widespread staff and organisational buy-in for the innovation.
Conclusions
Factors influencing the sustainability of cancer survivorship innovations exist across multiple levels of the health system and are often interdependent. Study findings may be used by implementation teams to plan for sustainability from the beginning of innovation adoption initiatives.
... In addition, internal branding includes three roles as follows: effectively communicating corporate brand to employees, convincing them of relevant and valuable things, successfully linking all jobs in the organization (Bergstrom et al., 2002). In summary, internal branding is seen as a tool to influence employee attitudes and shape their behavior associated with the brand by giving employees knowledge related to the insight value of the brand name and the actual brand association (de Chernatony & Segal-Horn, 2001;Drake, Gulman, & Roberts, 2005;Thomson, Chernatony, Arganbright, & Khan, 1999). ...
Human resource quality as one important factor affects the success of each organization. The need to build human resource foundation with knowledge, skills and good attitude is one urgent task for all business leaders. The first task is to attract and recruit excellent individuals to work for the business; therefore, how to attract candidates is always academic researchers’ as well as business managers’ top priority. Employer attractiveness factor (Berthon et al., 2005) has been applied in some recent studies. However, because talent recruitment and attraction is diverse and different for individual organization, culture and country, the scale of employer attractiveness concept still implies many points that are not absolutely appropriate for Vietnamese contexts. This research, based on the social exchange theory, the signaling theory, the person - organization fit theory and the employer branding theory, develops in great details and confirms the employer attractiveness scale in Vietnamese business. The mixed method (interviewing 4 experts and 2 staff in-depth groups as well as surveying quantitatively 937 employees working for Vietnamese enterprises) has been applied. The research results determine the employer attractiveness dimension factor comprising social value, development value, application value, safety value and economic value. This research has discovered a new factor of employer attractiveness scale: safety value.
... Employee-brand performance is positively associated with firm performance, thus investing in employees as brand bearers is a critical step to building a strong corporate brand (Leijerholt et al., 2019). In growing employee engagement, Thomson et al. (1999) argue that effective internal communication stimulates employee 'buy-in' due to enhancing their understanding (cognitive) and commitment (emotion) to a brand. Therefore, to begin our investigation, we start by identifying the internal branding mechanisms. ...
With corporate social responsibility (CSR) becoming increasingly important, this research forms a nexus for strategic CSR and internal brand knowledge through the conceptual development and empirical validation of a model. The research methodology is based on an online survey administered via a temporal data collection approach (i.e. two-wave). The findings substantiate that internal branding constructs that characterise the employees internal CSR experienced. The internal CSR experience is also shaped by individual factors, such as employee awareness of CSR, perception of the sincerity of the CSR brand and subjective knowledge of CSR. The findings demonstrate the precedential effect of the internal branding constructs on employee performance outcomes (CSR involvement, organisational attachment and organisational citizenship behaviours). The integrity of the model is substantiated by partial least squares (PLS) testing. The study provides scholars and practitioners with empirical evidence of CSR as an internal branding tool to improve brand alignment and employee performance.
... Multi-directional communication takes place in internal branding process in order to align internal and external messages. When all employees understand brand values clearly, they tend to be intellectually and emotionally engaged with the brand (Thomson et al., 1999). At this point, creating a message structure and an effective internal communication are critical. ...
... While consumer brand equity literature is rooted in the cognitive psychology theory of associative networks, EBE literature is rooted in internal branding. Research has shown internal branding impacts employee satisfaction, which, in turn, impacts customer satisfaction (Thomson et al., 1999). Mikic Little and Dean (2006) also link employee commitment to brand performance, as well as financial and reputational benefits. ...
Purpose
The practice of frontline employees articulating their brand voice and posting work-related content on social media has emerged; however, employee brand equity (EBE) research has yet to be linked to employees’ social media activity. This paper aims to take a methods-based approach to better understand employees’ roles as influencers. As such, its objective is to operationalize and apply the three EBE dimensions – brand consistent behavior, brand endorsement and brand allegiance – using Instagram data.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative research uses a case study of employee influencers at SoulCycle, a leading North American fitness company and examines 100 Instagram images and 100 captions from these influential employees to assess the three EBE dimensions.
Findings
Brand consistent behavior (what employees do) was the most important EBE dimension indicating that employees’ social media activities align with their employer’s values. Brand allegiance (what employees intend to do in the future) whereby employees self-identify with their employer on social media, followed. Brand endorsement (what employees say) was the least influential of the three EBE dimensions, which may indicate a higher level of perceived authenticity from a consumer perspective.
Originality/value
This research makes three contributions. First, it presents a novel measure of EBE using public Instagram data. Second, it represents a unique expansion and an evolution of King et al. ’s (2012) model. Third, it considers employees’ work-related content on social media to understand employees’ role as influencers and their co-creation of EBE, which is currently an under-represented perspective in the internal branding literature.
... İşletme kültürünün yansıtılmasında lider davranışları önemli olup müşteriyle karşı karşıya gelen çalışanların davranışlarında liderlik yönetimi başarı için kilit rol üstlenmektedir. Liderlerin davranışları ve çalışanlarla iletişimi hem çalışanların markaya ve işletmeye bağlılıklarını arttıracak hem de onlardan istenilen davranışların ortaya çıkmasını sağlayacaktır (Gökdemir, 2017 Khan, 1999). İçsel iletişim uygulamaları sayesinde çalışan davranışlarının marka değeriyle uyumlu olması sağlanabilecektir (Argenti, 1996). ...
ÖZET
İşletmelerin rakiplerine karşı önemli bir rekabet üstünlüğü elde etmesinde markalaşma faaliyetlerinde gösterilen başarının etkisi büyüktür. Müşterilerinin gözünde iyi bir marka imajına sahip olmak ise ilk olarak markanın işletme içerisinde benimsenmesiyle başlamaktadır. Ayrıca iyi bir marka imajına sahip olmanın tatmin olmuş müşterilerle ilgili olduğu, tatmin olmuş müşterilerin de tatmin olmuş çalışanlar tarafından oluşturulabileceği günümüzde bilinen bir gerçektir. Bunu başarmak için işletmelerin çalışanlarına yönelerek onları bir müşteri gibi değerlendirip yaklaşması daha doğru olacaktır. Bu doğrultuda özellikle hizmet sektöründe faaliyet gösteren işletmeler de pazarlama ve insan kaynaklarına dayalı farklı yaklaşım ve uygulamalardan yararlanmaya başlamışlardır. Söz konusu yaklaşım ve uygulamalar arasında ise içsel pazarlama ile içsel markalaşma da gösterilebilmektedir. Bu çalışmada içsel markalaşma faaliyetleri üzerinde içsel pazarlamanın etkili olabileceğinden hareketle bu etkinin tespit edilerek ortaya konulması amaçlanmaktadır.
Çalışmanın teorik kısmında içsel pazarlama ile içsel markalaşma kavramlarının tanımı, kapsamı, amacı, yararları ve birbirleriyle ilişkileri işlenmiştir. Çalışmanın uygulama kısmı Kütahya’nın Tavşanlı İlçesindeki orta ölçekli lokanta, restoran ve yemek şirketleri üzerinde gerçekleştirilmiştir. Veri analizinde ilk olarak değişkenlere faktör analizi ve güvenilirlik analizi uygulanmıştır. Faktör analizi sonucunda içsel pazarlama ölçeği “destekleme”, “geliştirme”, “eğitim” ve “ödüllendirme” olmak üzere dört boyuta ayrılmıştır. İçsel markalaşma ölçeği ise “içsel iletişim ve insan kaynakları katılımı” ile “eğitim ve geliştirme” olarak iki boyuta ayrılmıştır. İçsel pazarlamanın içsel markalaşma üzerindeki etkisini test etmek amacıyla da çoklu doğrusal regresyon analizi uygulanmıştır. Regresyon analizi sonucunda içsel pazarlamanın destekleme, geliştirme ve eğitim boyutlarının içsel markalaşma boyutlarından hem içsel iletişim ve insan kaynakları katılımı hem de eğitim ve geliştirme boyutları üzerinde anlamlı bir etkisi olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Ancak içsel pazarlamanın ödüllendirme boyutunun ise içsel markalaşma boyutları üzerinde anlamlı bir etkisinin olmadığı görülmüştür. Sonuç olarak içsel markalaşma uygulamalarında başarılı olmak isteyen hizmet işletmelerine çalışanlarıyla iletişim kurması, onlara işletme vizyonunu iletmesi, onların bir süreç dahilinde eğitilmesi, yetiştirilmesi, hazırlanması, ödüllendirmesi ve onların farklı ihtiyaçlarını karşılayabilecek esneklikte bir yapıya sahip olması önerilebilir.
Anahtar kelimeler: Çalışan, İç Müşteri, İçsel Pazarlama, İçsel Markalaşma
... Employees committed to a company display a higher self-appreciation and appreciation of their work, and as a consequence, the satisfaction and motivation to perform their work increases [45]. Due to the need for employees to emotionally internalize brand values in order to deliver the brand promise [46], it is hypothesized that: Hypothesis 1 (H1). Brand identity positively impacts FLE brand commitment. ...
Firm–employee relationships are a prerequisite for customer–firm relationships and, consequently, to organizational success. The development of such relationships can be particularly challenging for retailers because of the complexity of the service component inherent to the environment in which they usually operate. For this reason, organizations need to align employee behaviors with the corporate brand promise so that they can perform a more active role as brand ambassadors. This issue becomes even more complex for organizations with a presence in foreign markets. This study focuses on how the adoption of in-role branding behavior by front-line employees (FLEs) can be influenced by the level of commitment FLEs display towards the corporate brand and how commitment is consequently influenced by corporate brand identity and corporate brand identity FLES’ perception of their role within the organization. The object of the study was the employees of Falabella, a multinational retailer based in Chile with a strong presence in the Colombian market. Results obtained demonstrate that brand commitment positively and significantly impacts FLE brand-oriented behavior in the retail context examined. More specifically, brand identity and role clarity positively impact brand commitment, leading to a positive impact on FLE brand behavior and job satisfaction. The results of this study offer valuable insight for scholars and practitioners regarding employee brand behavior’s engendering process within a retail environment in an emerging market.
... This was demonstrated with employees who were cleaners those who found value in their work viewed themselves as critical components in healing the patients There is also the buy-in benchmark which uses internal communications to get "buy-in" or commitment to the organization or company from employees. Thomson, Chernatony, Arganbright, and Khan (1999) discussed that there are two components to receive buy-in which is through intellectual and emotional buy-in. The intellectual is greater staff understanding, and the emotional is more concerned with feelings. ...
The purpose of this study was to identify the internal communication preferences of employees. The study consisted of surveying and interviewing employees at four mid-sized companies. Out of the 178 responses to the questionnaire and 12 interviews, the results indicated that employees expect frequent, open, honest, and transparent communication and want strategic direction. They want to know how their work contributes to their organization (why behind a task), and if they
understand that, it will positively impact and enhance motivation, satisfaction, and performance. These preferences were the same across generations (Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials), between managers and employees, and gender. Some statistical differences were found in communications preferences with blue-collar and white-collar employees. Another statistical difference indicates that Baby Boomers are more satisfied with their jobs than Millennials. In addition to understanding the content of what employees prefer, channel preference is also discussed in this study. This study found that employees have many differences in communication medium desires. The findings suggest that organizations should have a multifaceted approach to be inclusive of the various medium preferences. For managers, it would be recommended to understand the needs of their staff.
... Internal brand communications include all types of brand-related internal communications comprising internal mass communication tools (e.g., magazines, brand books, brochures, emails, newsletters, and intranet) and more personal and interactive tools (e.g., workshops, seminars, events, and supervisors). Internal brand communications help achieve building brand understanding Thomson et al., 1999), brand identifcation (Punjaisri & Wilson, 2011), brand commitment , and brand-related behaviour (Baker et al., 2014;. When TUI, as one of the world's leading travel and tourism companies, implemented a new brand identity in its German business unit, it used mass communication tools, such as online newsletters, the staf magazine and the intranet, as well as an interactive workshop program consisting of 140 workshops to successfully build brand understanding and commitment among more than 1,500 employees in Germany. ...
This chapter presents the development of the internal branding concept and thus introduces the internal perspective of branding, in other words: branding inside out. Internal branding is a management concept that aims to implement the corporate brand cognitively, affectively and behaviourally in employees’ minds, hearts and behaviours. It enables employees to live the brand towards internal and external stakeholders, thus consistently delivering on the brand promises to all target groups. While practitioners initially drove the concept before academics began to advance the field, it has gained widespread acceptance in mainstream branding literature over the past 20 years. Recent literature reviews and special issues attempted to consolidate the fragmented body of knowledge with conceptual bases in various disciplines. This chapter structures internal branding literature, which has mainly investigated five elements: consequences, objectives, activities, moderators and antecedents. In addition to presenting directions for further research, it also identifies recent advancements in the domain that include the integration of co-creation, which has the potential to change the perspective of internal branding research and practice. Undoubtedly, the field will continue to grow in achieving its aim to help organisations leverage one of their most important resources for building strong corporate brands – their employees.
... Knowledge of employee brand is the sense of how to make employees acquire organizational knowledge to help them carry out their roles and responsibilities in accordance with the brand promise (King & Grace, 2008). In general, training and internal communication are the key sources of how to make employees understand their work and their organization (Ellickson, 2002;King & Grace, 2008;Punjaisri et al., 2009;Thomson et al., 1999). The most relevant information and training received by employees, the competition more than they are in the achievement of objectives of general organization (Buckley & Caple, 1995). ...
The paper explored the antecedents of employee internal branding and employee supporting behavior. There is limited research on internal branding in emerging markets especially in the banking sector in South Africa. The results indicate that internal branding through employee brand identification, brand commitments and brand awareness positively results in employee supporting behavior. The implications indicate that internal branding strategies should be a coordinated effort of human resources and marketing departments to develop employees who understand the importance of brand supporting behavior which influences bank loyalty by employees and brand loyalty by customers.
Im dritten Kapitel steht die operative Umsetzung des Markenmanagements gegenüber den internen und externen Zielgruppen der Marke im Vordergrund. Das operative interne Markenmanagement befasst sich mit der Vermittlung der Markenidentität an die internen Zielgruppen der Marke, um bei allen Mitarbeitern die notwendige gemeinsame Basis für die Einlösung und „Ablieferung“ des Markennutzenversprechens an allen Brand Touch Points zu schaffen. Darüber hinaus richtet sich das operative externe Markenmanagement an die externen Zielgruppen der Marke. Es hat die Aufgabe, die relevanten Brand Touch Points, an denen Nachfrager mit der Marke in Kontakt kommen, zu identifizieren und das Markennutzenversprechen an allen Brand Touch Points adäquat zu vermitteln.
Unternehmensinterne Koordination erfordert die Zusammenarbeit über organisationale Silos hinweg. Der Beitrag untersucht Ansätze des Schnittstellenmanagements zwischen Vertrieb und Marketing. Im Spannungsfeld von Effizienz und Effektivität werden ausgewählte herkömmliche Ansätze dargestellt, bevor ein Ansatz für ein Schnittstellenmanagement auf der Basis interaktiver Markenführung entwickelt wird.
В статье авторы рассматривают теоретические аспекты концепций бренда работодателя и событийного маркетинга и возможности практического применения последнего для формирования такого бренда. Основной объект обсуждения — корпоративные мероприятия. Кроме того, в статье затрагиваются аспекты планирования программы корпоративных мероприятий, способствующие не только формированию бренда работодателя, но и продвижению его на рынке и во внешнем информационном поле.
Employer branding has fascinated human resources (HR) managers and establishments over the last two decades. This is attributed to its practical business implications and being a strong predictor of many favourable organizational outcomes. Due to the fierce business rivalry and market saturation in recent times, businesses are increasingly looking to engage their workforce in order to induce employer commitment among them. Employer brand is one factor that can help organizations keep their employees involved in the job. Employee engagement is critical for service brands, such as the banking industry, for delivering better customer service and maintaining a motivated workforce. An engaged workforce is also more committed towards the organization, which also leads to many desirable business outcomes. This study targeted 485 employees from two banks (one a public sector bank and the other a private bank), which resulted in 409 functional responses. The work objective was to examine the influence of employer brand on employee engagement, which may lead to organizational commitment. This article also examined the mediating role of employee engagement with respect to the five dimensions of employer brand and organizational commitment. The regression analysis using structural equation modelling (SEM) revealed that all five dimensions of employer brand influence employee engagement. Employee engagement also shares a positive and significant association with organizational commitment. Moreover, the mediation analysis also revealed that employee engagement partially mediates the relationship between employee engagement and organizational commitment. These study findings have important implications for business managers, HR managers and academicians.
Increasing number of banks and financial institutions in Iran reflects the need to have a sustainable competitive advantage in the banking industry. Such an advantage which is not simply imitated by others, makes the differentiation and more importantly reinforce intangible assets of organizations. Banks as one of the most important ramification of service organizations, should emphasize on how to deliver instead of what to deliver. The aim of this study is to investigate factors affecting on employee brand commitment and its impacts on employee based brand equity in Maskan Bank. The population of study was selected through Convenience sampling method, including 233 front office of Maskan Bank in Tehran. To test the hypotheses, structural equation model through Amos 22 were used. Findings reveal the relationship between employer brand and its competitors, employer brand as experienced by employees, customer brand as perceived by employees, employees’ brand knowledge and Employee brand commitment. Also the relationship between employee brand commitment and employee-based brand equity was supported. Finally some managerial practical implications are presented in the context of banking industry.
Lack of funds and difficult to access to formal loans from banks are problems faced by Vietnamese enterprises in general and Hanoi enterprises in particular. There have been many domestic and international studies on accessing to bank credit capital. While the research works focused on the analysis from a corporate perspective, no specific corporate disclosure has been made in Hanoi, in the context of the Covid pandemic. This study aims to identify the important factors affecting access to bank credit capital in Hanoi, through interviews with 200 customers, and to use a quantitative study method (linear regression). The results showed that there were five factors affecting access to bank credit capital in Hanoi: (1) Economic background, (2) Secured Assets (3) Business Plan, (4) Productivity and (5) the relationship between companies with banks.
Internal brand Management is a highly researched field with leadership,effective internal and external brand communication and brand-centered human resource management as its proven antecedents (Chang, Chiang, & Han, 2012), and brand commitment, brand knowledge and brand citizenship behaviours as its key consequences (Burmann & Zeplin, 2005; Löhndorf & Diamantopoulos, 2014). The scant research literature pertaining to the role of internal brand communities in the above equation is highly dispersed (P. R. Devasagayam, Buff, Aurand, Judson, & Judson, 2010). In that direction, the study reviews the literature on internal brand management, brand community dynamics and social identity theory and proposes a conceptual model to show the way employee participation in intra-organisational brand communities impacts their brand commitment. This conceptual model gives an innovative yet organic route of building strong corporate brands within the organisations.
Purpose
This paper aims to explore member readiness for change in manufacturing industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors interviewed 14 upper management professionals in Northeast US state companies. Inductive analysis and creative synthesis were used for identifying important patterns, themes and relationships pertaining to external and internal factors influencing employee attitudes related to change processes.
Findings
The findings suggest relationship between process change and member readiness for change. Leadership and communication channels play a significant role in determining how members adapt and respond to organizational process changes. Companies can achieve desirable outcomes when members trust organizational leadership and perceive management as fair and transparent.
Originality/value
Currently, there is little known about the relationship between process change and member readiness for change in manufacturing industry. The study advances the theoretical literature and provides practical information for manufacturing professionals.
Charities are increasingly adopting commercial branding strategies to capture consumer hearts and minds for competitive gain, with little attention on the internal organisational battle for hearts and minds within a not-for-profit context. This paper explores the internal brand of a charity that currently operates 227 charity shops on the island of Ireland, using Hankinson’s 2004 framework that focuses on functional, symbolic, behavioural and experiential components. An exploratory case study was developed based on a survey of organisational members (n = 138), interviews with six regional shop managers, observation in retail stores and supplemented by organisation documentation. Findings indicate a clarity of perception on mission, purpose and core values for the charity, but more ambiguity around perception of the charity shop brand and identified issues relating to communication of policies and procedures, managerial practice and the workplace environment. The study also reveals a gap between the charity’s organisational identity and the brand identity for the charity store network, a clarity in the perception of core values that does not underwrite the store brand and resistance to the implementation of commercial practice within a volunteer-led charity. Trust may be the key in the internal battle for hearts and minds within the charity and may be crucial for the charity to realise its’ potential and successfully meet its’ mission for maximum societal gain.
The existing literature on internal branding has often adopted a managerial-based approach and seldom considered employees’ perceptions. Therefore, there is a need to understand the perspective of frontline and non-managerial employees. In this context, the current study investigates the impact of internal brand management on brand commitment, brand citizenship behavior, and sustainable competitive advantage for the hotel industry. A survey-based quantitative data was gathered from 390 non-managerial frontline staff working in 3-, 4-, and 5-star hotels of Pakistan. The results revealed that internal brand management positively impacts brand commitment, brand citizenship behavior, and sustainable competitive advantage. Besides, brand commitment has a positive impact on brand citizenship behavior and sustainable competitive advantage. Moreover, brand citizenship behavior has a positive impact on sustainable competitive advantage. In addition, the mediating roles of brand commitment and brand citizenship behavior exist between internal brand management and sustainable competitive advantage. The research implications, together with research limitations, have also been discussed.
Considering the importance of the role of staff in transferring the organization's brand contracts to customers, especially in service organizations, this study aimed at examining the internal branding effects on brand performance by explaining the role of brand identity, commitment and loyalty. The research population was consisted of Laleh and Parsian Esteghlal International Hotels staff and in the first quarter of 1396. Random sampling method and Cochran formula were used for obtaining the sample size, and library and field methods were employed for data gathering. This study is a descriptive- correlation applied research which its data was collected by standard questionnaire that were used for validity and reliability, structural validity and Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling was used for the questionnaire’s date analyzing. The study results show that internal branding has a positive relationship on the staff attitudinal and behavioral aspects and also delivering the brand promises with them. Since the employees’ commitment to brand is significantly related to the employee performance, it was confirmed as a mediator of the internal branding and employees brand performance relationship (employee performance in order to fulfill the brand promises to customers). In addition, according to the results of this study, brand engagement is the driver of brand identity, and brand commitment is a platform for employee brand loyalty.
To sustain the brand outside it is the need of the hour that it should exist in the hearts and mind of employees especially in
the Education Sector, considering the competitive environment provided by the mushrooming of various Institutes. In this
competitive world Institutes cannot exclude themselves from generating their own brand and meeting the expectation of all
the stake holders generated by the Institute by making certain promises.
The objective of this research is to examine the concept and effects of HR factors in internal branding of MBA Institute,
involving survey to collect data for the development of measurement scales. The study also focuses on the way and means
of Instilling the Brand, Internal Communication, Brand Facilitation and Evaluation, forming an opinion on Brand Values
for establishing the Brand Commitment, Delivery and Brand Loyalty.
Key words: Internal Branding, Employee Branding, Role of HR, HR Factors, MBA Institutes
Knowing relevant information about students entering the higher education (HE) system is becoming increasingly important, thus enabling higher education institutions (HEIs) to design effective studentcentred
support programmes. Therefore, HEIs should ascertain all relevant information about their students before the commencement of the academic year. Doing so means that institutions have a head start in understanding the types of support that will be required for different students throughout the year. This article describes the design, implementation and application of a student biographical questionnaire (BQ) online platform at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), as well as some of the lessons learned in this regard. The BQ online platform was fully implemented for the first time in January 2016 during the student registration process and has now become an integral part of the university student registration process. Once data collection and analysis is done, a BQ report is compiled and presented to various high-level decision-making structures of the university. The Faculty Student Advisers are the most
critical users of the BQ data, as they utilise the data to inform and improve the various student
support interventions that each faculty is providing. The planning process for BQ data collection
includes questionnaire review; updates on the BQ online platform; testing of the BQ online platform;
stakeholder meetings and BQ training of involved stakeholders. Some of the lessons learned when
implementing this online platform include buy‑in and support from University Management;
understanding of the BQ online platform by those dealing directly with students during the registration
process; and continuous review and improvements of the BQ online platform. The BQ online platform
has proven to be a valuable tool in providing Wits with a head start in understanding the needs of the
students and the support they might require to succeed in their first year of study.
Within the context of the airline industry, this study offers an integrated approach measuring the effects of internal brand communication, brand-centered training, transformational leadership, brand ideology, and internal brand communities on job satisfaction and work outcomes. It further explores the role of job satisfaction as a mediator between internal branding and work outcomes. Following an analysis of 485 responses, we find that leadership, ideology, and communities positively influence job satisfaction, which in turn affects intention-to-stay, team performance, and brand commitment. Job satisfaction is also found to mediate the relationships between internal branding (i.e., transformational leadership, brand ideology, and internal brand communities) and work outcomes. These findings highlight that appropriate branding strategies can enhance airline development through employee satisfaction.
Behavioral branding is an integral part of contemporary business strategy. It aims to align external brand promise with employees’ brand building. Two-way branding strategy reinforces the brand and increases customer satisfaction because people are the ones who convey the message regardless of their hierarchical level or job description. The purpose of this chapter is to provide conceptual discussion on the major issues of behavioral branding, to summarize the existing models so far developed in various conceptual and empirical studies, and to present the two-way branding strategy construct. It reviews the critical success factors of behavioral branding, and based on the arguments from the existing body of knowledge, presents strategy, internal communication, leadership, and the organizational culture as the most important and effective ones. Finally, the influence of behavioral branding strategy on the marketing and financial performance of the company is discussed.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to collect data that allows researchers to capture both affective and cognitive buy-in influenced by both product and product strategy targets.
Design/methodology/approach
Analysis of 13 salesperson interviews followed the cluster and axial coding of grounded theory interview protocol.
Findings
This study finds two types of buy-in that are uniquely contingent on the target, and for which are influenced by both cognitive and affective states of being. Additionally, it finds that either affective or cognitive states of being can both drive and inhibit salesperson buy-in of either target. While the targets of buy-in appear to be mutually exclusive, the cognitive nature of disconfirming evidence appears to directly inhibit both targets of buy-in while also resulting in negative affect.
Research limitations/implications
Further study that uncovers the causal role of an affective state inhibiting buy-in after the introduction of disconfirming evidence is warranted.
Practical implications
Managerial training and messaging approaches for achieving the two buy-in targets will likely differ or focus on only one type for efficient training.
Originality/value
This study is the first to examine the simultaneous effects of the two underlying states of cognition and affect on buy-in development. It is found that the two states can influence each other to stunt buy-in. The present study contributes to sales behavior literature by allowing the possibility of a sequence of states that stunt buy-in, positioning simultaneous examination is vital to the conceptualization of buy-in.
Internal branding is considered as a top priority for hospitality organizations to gain a competitive advantage. This study aims to investigate the effect of self-leadership on internal branding outcomes, as well as the mediation effect of role identity on this relationship. A self-administered survey was used to collect data from employees at five-star hotels in Sanya, China, and structure equation modeling was used to examine the hypothesized model. The results show that brand knowledge and brand commitment positively affect brand citizenship behavior. Self-leadership has a positive effect on brand knowledge, brand commitment, and brand citizenship behavior. Role identity mediates the effects on self-leadership on brand knowledge and brand commitment. Management implications and limitations are discussed.
Brand Building in the service sector requires inside-outside approach wherein it is necessary to first instill the brand in heart and mind of the employee so that they can deliver the brand outside as they are a facilitator to fulfill the needs and expectation of customers. This study focused on study the impact of Internal Brand Building process in instilling the brand and getting brand commitment among Employees of Management Institutes of Vidarbha Region. Primary Data was collected from 549 respondents, which included 183 non-teaching staff and 366 teaching staff. Place of research was Vidarbha region under Maharashtra State and the sample frame was the employees of MBA Institutes. Questionnaire was developed by extracting the variables through the literature review. Hypothesis formulated was tested with independent sample t test and Multi-regression Model.
In a globalized world, universities are forming partnerships to solve today's water‐related challenges, such as increasing water scarcity and diminished water quality. Over the past 20 years, international university‐led water research partnerships have been growing in number, including between the U.S. and countries in the Global South. While there are several examples of guidelines and best practices for executing collaborations, none focus on this type of partnership. Additionally, many international collaborations are formed between universities that have little previous experience in developing these types of partnerships. Often, critiques of partnerships happen after initiation and point to structural barriers and best practices for future collaborations, but few offer practical guidance on overcoming obstacles early on, amid an imperfect partnership. In this paper, we created a flexible collaboration framework which can be used as an evaluative tool. To model this, we conducted an internal evaluation of the Sustainable Water Management team of the Arequipa Nexus Institute, a collaboration designed to build research capacity at the Universidad Nacional de San Agustín to address local issues related to agriculture, natural resource management, and environmental change. Results highlighted project strengths and weaknesses and offered strategies to address challenges that many collaborations face. This strategy identification can serve as a guideline for improving the implementation of new or existing international university‐led water research partnerships and help partners as they confront challenges at every stage of the partnership. The evaluation shows the effectiveness of using a collaboration framework as an assessment tool for international university‐led water research partnerships.
This paper investigated the effect of staff satisfaction on brand image of a bank, and it also focus on employee's perception on varied factors of staff satisfaction viz. bank's recruitment policy, knowledge level of colleagues and seniors, incorporation of their ideas and their viewpoints in decision making by the top management and reward system. Research Methodology used is exploratory and descriptive. For accomplishing research objectives, questionnaire technique has been administered to 50 IDBI bank employees (managerial staff) from Jaipur region (Rajasthan). Our statistical analysis states firstly, that there is an effect of staff satisfaction on brand image of IDBI bank and secondly, that employees of IDBI Bank states that the brand has a scope of improvement in the factors associated with staff satisfaction. It can be thus concluded, that that there are certain action points for the organization to take under consideration for framing its employee branding strategies. Since, employees are the mirror image of the brand, brands need to motivate employees to communicate brand image as intended. Idea of employee branding is still in its nascent stage for Indian banks, our research will further contribute towards development of this concept and its implementation.
Purpose
Situated between the literature on internal branding and user-generated content, this study aims to demonstrate the effect of employee-generated content (EGC) on consumers’ purchase intentions and positive word of mouth (WOM).
Design/methodology/approach
The conceptual model was empirically tested using structural equation modeling based on a sample of 442 participants.
Findings
The findings support a sequential mediation model in which employee-created social media content impacts perceptions of brand citizenship behavior (BCB) and perceptions of expertise, which in turn increases purchase intention and WOM.
Practical implications
Based on the findings, this research suggests that employee ambassador programs can work to attract employees with an interest in brand-related social media content creation. Facilitating EGC through support, empowerment and reinforcement rather than traditional control mechanisms is recommended.
Originality/value
This research introduces the concept of EGC and employee content creators while extending the literature on perceived BCB by empirically demonstrating its relationship with perceived expertise and positive consumer behavior outcomes.
This paper tests the application of brand management techniques to human resource management (HR). The context is set by defining the ‘Employer Brand’ concept and reviewing current HR concerns. Pilot qualitative research is reported with top executives of 27 UK companies, who were asked to reflect on their HR practices and the relevance of branding. This exploratory research indicates that marketing can indeed be applied to the employment situation. Bringing these functionally separate roles closer together would bring mutual benefit and lead to comparable performance measures, eg, trust and commitment. Strong corporate equity with the brand's customers can improve the return on HR, while at the same time improved HR can improve the return on brand equity from external customers. Formal, larger scale research would be required to substantiate the reciprocal benefits from a closer alignment of HR and marketing practices.
Several theories of relationship marketing propose that customers vary in their relationships with a firm on a continuum from transactional to highly relational bonds. Few empirical studies have segmented the customer base of an organization into low and high relational groups to assess how evaluations vary for these groups. Using structural equation analysis, the authors analyze the relationships of satisfaction, trust, and commitment to component satisfaction attitudes and future intentions for the customers of a New York off-Broadway repertory theater company. For the low relational customers (individual ticket buyers and occasional subscribers), overall satisfaction is the primary mediating construct between the component attitudes and future intentions. For the high relational customers (consistent subscribers), trust and commitment, rather than satisfaction, are the mediators between component attitudes and future intentions.
Relationship marketing-establishing, developing, and maintaining successful relational exchanges-constitutes a major shift in marketing theory and practice. After conceptualizing relationship marketing and discussing its ten forms, the authors (1) theorize that successful relationship marketing requires relationship commitment and trust, (2) model relationship commitment and trust as key mediating variables, (3) test this key mediating variable model using data from automobile tire retailers, and (4) compare their model with a rival that does not allow relationship commitment and trust to function as mediating variables. Given the favorable test results for the key mediating variable model, suggestions for further explicating and testing it are offered.
Building on previous work suggesting that trust is critical in facilitating exchange relationships, the authors describe a comprehensive theory of trust in market research relationships. This theory focuses on the factors that determine users' trust in their researchers, including individual, interpersonal, organizational, interorganizational/interdepartmental, and project factors. The theory is tested in a sample of 779 users. Results indicate that the interpersonal factors are the most predictive of trust. Among these factors, perceived researcher integrity, willingness to reduce research uncertainty, confidentiality, expertise, tactfulness, sincerity, congeniality, and timeliness are most strongly associated with trust. Among the remaining factors, the formalization of the user's organization, the culture of the researcher's department or organization, the research organization's or department's power, and the extent to which the research is customized also affect trust. These findings generally do not change across different types of dyadic relationships.
Although the relationship metaphor dominates contemporary marketing thought and practice, surprisingly little empirical work has been conducted on relational phenomena in the consumer products domain, particularly at the level of the brand. In this article, the author: (1) argues for the validity of the relationship proposition in the consumer-brand context, including a debate as to the legiti- macy of the brand as an active relationship partner and empirical support for the phenomenological significance of consumer-brand bonds; (2) provides a framework for characterizing and better understanding the types of relationships consumers form with brands; and (3) inducts from the data the concept of brand relationship quality, a diagnostic tool for conceptualizing and evaluating relation- ship strength. Three in-depth case studies inform this agenda, their interpretation guided by an integrative review of the literature on person-to-person relationships. Insights offered through application of inducted concepts to two relevant research domains—brand loyalty and brand personality—are advanced in closing. The exercise is intended to urge fellow researchers to refine, test, and augment the working hypotheses suggested herein and to progress toward these goals with confidence in the validity of the relationship premise at the level of consumers' lived experiences with their brands.
Marketing theory and practice have focused persistently on exchange between buyers and sellers. Unfortunately, most of the research and too many of the marketing strategies treat buyer-seller exchanges as discrete events, not as ongoing relationships. The authors describe a framework for developing buyer-seller relationships that affords a vantage point for formulating marketing strategy and for stimulating new research directions.
Several theories of relationship marketing propose that customers vary in their relationships with a firm on a continuum from transactional to highly relational bonds. Few empirical studies have segmented the customer base of an organization into low and high relational groups to assess how evaluations vary for these groups. Using structural equation analysis, the authors analyze the relationships of satisfaction, trust, and commitment to component satisfaction attitudes and future intentions for the customers of a New York off-Broadway repertory theater company. For the low relational customers (individual ticket buyers and occasional subscribers), overall satisfaction is the primary mediating construct between the component attitudes and future intentions. For the high relational customers (consistent subscribers), trust and commitment, rather than satisfaction, are the mediators between component attitudes and future intentions.
The authors propose a communication-based model of relationship marketing and discuss how communication (rather than persuasion) is the foundation of the “new” customer-focused marketing efforts. The authors trace recent parallel shifts in communication and marketing theory and show the intersections between communication and marketing. Although communication always has been a critical element in marketing, the authors show how the increase in interactivity makes communication an even more valuable element of marketing by identifying those many points that link the two disciplines. Using the three key points at which the two disciplines intersect—messages, stakeholders, and interactivity—the authors develop a communication-based model of marketing. They demonstrate how interactive communication at three levels—corporate, marketing, and marketing communication—leads to the brand relationships that drive brand value.
It is no longer news that over the past five years, Sears, Roebuck and Company has radically changed the way it does business and dramatically improved its financial results. But the Sears transformation was more than a change in marketing strategy. It was also a change in the logic and culture of the business. Led by CEO Arthur Martinet, a group of more than 100 top-level Sears executives spent three years rebuilding the company around its customers. In rethinking what Sears was and what it wanted to become, these managers developed a business model of the company - the employee-customer-profit model - and an accompanying measurement system that tracks success from management behavior through employee attitudes to customer satisfaction and financial performance. The basic elements of the model are not difficult to grasp. In retailing, there is a chain of cause and effect running from employees' behavior to customers' behavior to profits, and it is not hard to see that behavior depends primarily on attitude. Still, implementing the model is not easy. One problem is measuring such soft data as customer and employee "satisfaction." Not surprisingly, many companies do not have a realistic grasp of what their customers and employees actually think and do. By means of an ongoing process of data collection, analysis, modeling, and experimentation, Sears does. Moreover, the work of creating the model and the measures has made such demands on managers that it has changed the way they think and behave. And now that cultural change is spreading throughout the company.
It is argued that the common language of marketing hides the diversity of meaning associated with elements of the marketing mix, as well as the disciplines of advertising and research. Although some traditional aspects of culture may explain why these differences exist, another more dynamic factor seems to be at work. It is suggested that analysis based on market maturity may help to explain some of the problems encountered across national and sector boundaries. A continuum of consumerism is proposed, an evolving development of the dialogue between marketers and consumers. It is a market's position along the continuum, which determines how marketing terms will be interpreted.
Brands are powerful assets which are best resourced by appreciating their characteristics. They are often viewed as an input process by marketers, rather than taking heed of consumers and considered as an output process. An eight stage brand evolutionary model is presented, moving from an input to an output perspective. It is argued that the assets underpinning these different brand types can be compressed into functional and representational dimensions, enabling brands to be categorized on a two dimensional matrix. Empirical consumer research into these two dimensions is presented, focusing on toothpaste and high interest savings accounts brands. Positioning maps are developed and implications for brand management considered.
New organization forms, including strategic partnerships and networks, are replacing simple market-based transactions and traditional bureaucratic hierarchical organizations. The historical marketing management function, based on the microeconomic maximization paradigm, must be critically examined for its relevance to marketing theory and practice in the 1990s. A new conception of marketing will focus on managing strategic partnerships and positioning the firm between vendors and customers in the value chain with the aim of delivering superior value to customers. Customer relationships will be seen as the key strategic resource of the business.
Emotions are mental states of readiness that arise from appraisals of events or one’s own thoughts. In this article, the authors
discuss the differentiation of emotions from affect, moods, and attitudes, and outline an appraisal theory of emotions. Next,
various measurement issues are considered. This is followed by an analysis of the role of arousal in emotions. Emotions as
markers, mediators, and moderators of consumer responses are then analyzed. The authors turn next to the influence of emotions
on cognitive processes, which is followed by a study of the implications of emotions for volitions, goal-directed behavior,
and decisions to help. Emotions and customer satisfaction are briefly explored, too. The article closes with a number of questions
for future research.
Part 1 Relationship marketing: developing a relationship strategy quality as a competitive strategy monitoring service quality performance the transition to quality leadership managing relationship marketing. Part 2 Case studies on quality leadership: just another Cambridge hi-tech company? the shift to "customer orientation" in retail banking involving senior managers in the quality improvement process at Johnson Matthey achieving real culture change at Ilford from "crisis" to quality leadership at Rank Xerox.
(Publisher-supplied data) The classic text is Psychometric Theory. Like the previous edition, this text is designed as a comprehensive text in measurement for researchers and for use in graduate courses in psychology, education and areas of business such as management and marketing. It is intended to consider the broad measurement problems that arise in these areas and is written for a reader who needs only a basic background in statistics to comprehend the material. It also combines classical procedures that explain variance with modern inferential procedures.
The best papers from the Eleventh Annual Colloquium in Relationship Marketing held in Cheltenham, United Kingdom in 2003.
Marketers appear comfortable with the assertion that marketing should play the lead role in charting the strategic direction of a business. The logic behind this assertion is straightforward. Strategic planning is about keeping the business in step with the anticipated environment, and marketing has traditionally served as the boundary function between the firm and its customer, channel, and competitor environment. It follows that marketing should have the most to say about the match of the competencies of the business with the opportunities to exploit and threats to avoid. However, other business functions and academic disciplines don't share this assumption and have been actively eroding the influence of marketing in the strategy dialogue. The diminution of the strategic role of marketing began in the early eighties (Day and Wensley 1983). There are few signs that this slide will be reversed in the foreseeable future. The reasons are grounded in the fit of the issues, trends, and fashions in the strategic arena with the distinctive competencies of marketers. When the fit is close, then marketing gains influence by contributing superior insights. As the fit loosens or other disciplines and functions have competencies more attuned to the emerging issues, then marketing loses ground. The judgment that the strategic role of marketing is declining--albeit from a high starting point--is both controversial and arguable since there is little or no empirical evidence directly relevant to the issue. Our approach will be to first offer some evidence of the present state of affairs. Next, we will review the major forces and trends that are shaping the contemporary strategy dialogue within leading multi-divisional firms in highly contested global markets. Some of these issues are supportive of a strong role for marketing, while others work against that role. Then, we will match these issues with the distinctive strategic competencies of marketing. This reveals a sizable gap between the
Although widely used in practice, integrated marketing communications (IMC) remains poorly defined and has met with mixed success. The present article reviews various definitions of IMC and suggests that each of these definitions is consistent with a more general paradigmatic view of integrated communications. Four misleading assumptions implicit in the development of IMC programs that may reduce the effectiveness of such programs are identified. Use of a “market back” process for the design of coordinated marketing programs as a means for increasing the probability of the success of IMC programs is suggested. This approach and the assumptions implicit in IMC suggest the need for a very different approach to the management of marketing communications.
Marketing theory and practice have focused persistently on exchange between buyers and sellers. Unfortunately, most of the research and too many of the marketing strategies treat buyer-seller exchanges as discrete events, not as ongoing relationships. The authors describe a framework for developing buyer-seller relationships that affords a vantage point for formulating marketing strategy and for stimulating new research directions.
The authors propose a communication-based model of relationship marketing and discuss how communication (rather than persuasion) is the foundation of the "new" customer-focused marketing efforts. The authors trace recent parallel shifts in communication and marketing theory and show the intersections between communication and marketing. Although communication always has been a critical element in marketing, the authors show how the increase in interactivity makes communication an even more valuable element of marketing by identifying those many points that link the two disciplines. Using the three key points at which the two disciplines intersect - messages, stakeholders, and interactivity - the authors develop a communication-based model of marketing. They demonstrate how interactive communication at three levels - corporate, marketing, and marketing communication - leads to the brand relationships that drive brand value.
Classical models of brand management pay insufficient attention to staff as brand builders, placing more emphasis on external issues such as image. This paper explores the significant contribution from employees and considers the need to align their values and behaviours with the brand's desired values. It clarifies the importance of culture in brand building and discusses how an adaptive, strategically appropriate culture, consistently apparent throughout an organisation is likely to be associated with healthy brand performance. A model is proposed, suggesting that stronger brands result from a homogeneous brand identity, with congruent identity components. It argues that reputation is a more appropriate external assessment of a brand than image. By auditing the gaps between brand identity and brand reputation, managers can identify strategies to minimize incongruency and develop more powerful brands. It is concluded that brand reality is an important aspect of branding.
Strategic market planning -- Industrial marketing -- Research for marketing decisions -- Global marketing management -- Marketing management -- Strategic marketing for nonprofit organizations -- Principles of marketing -- Services marketing -- Marketing research and knowledge development -- The strategy and tactics of pricing -- Kleppner's advertising procedure -- Marketing channels -- Legal aspects of marketing strategy -- Design and marketing of new products
Breaking Out of the Employee Communication Time Warp. Marlow, The Marketing & Communication Agency Ltd
- Arganbright Lorrie
- Kevin Thomson
- Richard Varey
Arganbright Lorrie, Thomson, Kevin and Varey, Richard (1996). Breaking Out of
the Employee Communication Time Warp. Marlow, The Marketing &
Communication Agency Ltd.
Customer Bonding: Pathway to Lasting Customer Loyalty
- Richard Cross
- Janet Smith
Cross, Richard and Smith, Janet (1995). Customer Bonding: Pathway to Lasting
Customer Loyalty. NTC Business Books, Lincolnwood, IL.
Corporate Reputations -Strategies for Developing the Corporate Brand. Lx)ndon
- Grahame R Dowling
Dowling, Grahame R (1994). Corporate Reputations -Strategies for Developing
the Corporate Brand. Lx)ndon, Kogan Page.
Loyalty-Based Managemenf, The Loyalty Effect Boston
- Frederick F Reichheld
Reichheld, Frederick F. (1994). "Loyalty-Based Managemenf, The Loyalty Effect
Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Trofitable Relationships Come from the Inside Out
- Kevin Thomson
Thomson, Kevin (1998). Trofitable Relationships Come from the Inside Out",
Market Leader (Autumn) pp. 58-61.
People Management Organisational Culture and Company Perfonnance
- Malcolm C Patterson
- West Michael
- A Lawthom
- Rebecca Nickell
Patterson, Malcolm C, West Michael A, Lawthom, Rebecca and Nickell, Stephen
(1997). "People Management Organisational Culture and Company
Perfonnance", Institute of Work Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield
and the Centre for Economic Perfonnance, London School of Economics.
Happy Workers, High Retums
- Grant Linda
Grant Linda (1998). "Happy Workers, High Retums", Fortune, 12 January, pp. 81
Brands from the Standards Setters' Perspective
- Terry Harding
Harding, Terry (1997). "Brands from the Standards Setters' Perspective". In:
Brand Valuation, Perrier, Raymond (ed.). London, Premier Books.
Creating a Fonnat for Living Brands
- Charlotte Goddard
Goddard, Charlotte (1999). "Creating a Fonnat for Living Brands", Marketing, 8
The Customer-Driven Company The Quality of Working Life: 1997 Survey of Managers' Changing Experiences. London, The Institute of Management Watson Wyatt (1997) Annual Studies Zaheer, Akbar, McEvily, Bill and Pen-one
- Richard C Whiteley
- Les Reading
Whiteley, Richard C. (1991). The Customer-Driven Company. Addison-Wesley,
Reading, MA
Won-all, Les and Cooper, Cary L. (1997). The Quality of Working Life: 1997
Survey of Managers' Changing Experiences. London, The Institute of
Management
Watson Wyatt (1997) Annual Studies
Zaheer, Akbar, McEvily, Bill and Pen-one, Vincenzo (1998). "Does Taist Matter?
Exploring the Effects of Interorganizational and Interpersonal Tmst on
Performance", Organization Science. 9, 2, (March-April), pp. 141-159.
The Buy-in Benchmark The Marketing & Communication Agency Ltd and Market & Opinion Research Intemational
- Arganbright Lorrie
- Kevin Thomson
Arganbright Lorrie and Thomson, Kevin (1998). The Buy-in Benchmark.
London, The Marketing & Communication Agency Ltd and Market & Opinion
Research Intemational.
Liberating t/ie Corporate Soul: Building a Visionary Organisation
- Barrett Richard
Barrett Richard (1998). Liberating t/ie Corporate Soul: Building a Visionary
Organisation. Oxford. Butterworth-Heinemann.
Integrated Marketing Communications and Relationship Marketing: Complementary Metaphors for the Twenty-First Centur
- George M Zinkhan
- Charles S Madden
- Rick Watson
- Stewart David
Zinkhan, George M., Madden, Charles S., Watson, Rick and Stewart David
(1996). "Integrated Marketing Communications and Relationship Marketing:
Complementary Metaphors for the Twenty-First Centur/. In: (Eds) Parvatiyar,
Atul and Sheth, Jagdesh. Emory University Center for Relationship. Atlanta,
pp. 182-184.
How to Keep Your Staff on Message
- Sharon Greaves
Greaves, Sharon (1999). "How to Keep Your Staff on Message", Marketing, 1 July,
pp. 27-28.
Perspectives: The MORI hwrmative database
Market & Opinion Research Intemational (1997). Perspectives: The MORI
hwrmative database. London, MORI.
Strategic Marketing Management
- Jean-Jacques Lambin
Lambin, Jean-Jacques (1996). Strategic Marketing Management, London,
McGraw Hill.
Emotional Capital Oxford
- Kevin Thomson
Thomson, Kevin (1998). Emotional Capital Oxford, Capital Publishing.