Linking employer branding and internal branding: establishing perceived employer brand image as an antecedent of favourable employee brand attitudes and behaviours

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to establish the symbolic facet of perceived employer brand image (PEBI) as an antecedent of favourable brand-related identification and employee behaviours, namely, corporate brand identification (CBI) and brand citizenship behaviours (BCB).

Design/methodology/approach

A standardized questionnaire was used. Data collection occurred at a maximum care hospital in Germany (N = 366). Structural equation modelling was used in the data analysis.

Findings

A direct link between PEBI and BCB was theoretically derived from social exchange theory and could be empirically confirmed. In addition to a direct relationship, a mediated relationship based on social identity theory was outlined. PEBI influences BCB via CBI. The mediated pathway accounts for 70 per cent of the variance.

Practical implications

Understanding the impact of symbolic job offerings on favourable brand-related employee attitudes and behaviours should lead practitioners to focus on increasing employees’ perceptions of the employer’s prestige and sincerity, for example, by strengthening employee target group-oriented communications about corporate social responsibility or increasing out-group salience when communicating organizational achievements.

Originality/value

This paper transfers the concept of organizational attractiveness, organizational identification and favourable employee behaviours to a corporate brand focus. It is the first integration of the symbolic dimension of the instrumental-symbolic framework in an internal branding context.

Citation

Hoppe, D. (2018), "Linking employer branding and internal branding: establishing perceived employer brand image as an antecedent of favourable employee brand attitudes and behaviours", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 27 No. 4, pp. 452-467. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-12-2016-1374