Branding Process In Internal Branding

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Review of Literature
Punjaisri and Wilson (2011) present the internal branding process as involving employee identification with the brand, commitment and loyalty to it which together result in brand performance. Brand commitment refers to psychological processes that make employees exhibit brand citizenship behaviour. Brand commitment is influenced by brand-centred human resources management, brand communication and brand leadership. It is also affected by culture fit, structure fit, employee know-how and disposable resources (Burmann & Zeplin, 2005). Vallester and de Chernatony (2010) highlight the role of leadership during the internal branding process. They state that its success depends on the leaders’ ability to control cognitive, …show more content…

Brand citizenship behaviour refers to situations where employees have internalised the organisation’s values, promise and image to an extent that they live the brand. Employee engagement in behaviours consistent with the brand has however been found to be based on their understanding of the desired brand image (Gotsi & Wilson, 2001). Such understanding motivates employees to behave in a manner that conveys the image of the desired brand to consumers and business acquaintances (Henkel et al., 2007). Emphasising the role of knowledge in internal branding, Natarajan et al. (2016) consider internal branding process from the perspective of its influence on employee brand knowledge, commitment to the brand and employee branding. Employee brand knowledge is transmitted through internal communications and training which, according to Punjaisri and Wilson (2007) aim to influence not just employee brand knowledge but also attitudes and behaviours. When employees internalise the brand image to an extent that they exude it to others, employee branding occurs (Natarajan et al., 2016). This has been associated with enhanced performance, competitive advantage (Berry & Lampo, 2004) and customer satisfaction (Hur & Adler, …show more content…

According to the framework, managers and employees constitute an organisation’s resources that are the main components of the internal branding process. Constructive communication and training form part of the mechanisms and tools that can be used to achieve employee embracement and embodiment of the brand. The communication and training are influenced by the organisational context in terms of its culture and past both of which can also be viewed as part of organisational resources. Employee response to the communication and training is related to their desire or otherwise to identify with the organisation’s identity and brand image in line with Social Identity theory. Identifying with the brand is expected to invoke passion, commitment, and brand internalisation among employees which is reflected in behaviour consistent with the articulated

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