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The purpose of this paper is to examine customer, management, and contact personnel perceptions of consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) and its dimensions utilizing a services branding triangle framework in the banking industry.

Data were collected from customers, managers, and contact personnel of three types of banks in Turkey – state, private, and foreign.

The study finds significant external branding gaps between the perceptions of managers and customers and interactive branding gaps between the perceptions of contact personnel and customers, but no internal branding gaps between the perceptions of managers and contact personnel with respect to CBBE dimensions.

The sample was limited to Turkish adult citizens of a single major metropolitan area in Turkey and bank personnel in three cities.

The services branding triangle framework used in this study allows service brand managers to understand not only the differences in the perceptions of brand equity dimensions of bank customers, managers, and contact personnel, but also provides an opportunity to identify the external, internal, and interactive branding gaps of each of the brand equity dimensions. The findings provide an empirical test for the three promises theory and identifying potential branding gaps resulting from differences between consumer, management, and contact personnel perceptions of CBBE and its dimensions. The paper discusses the implications of the findings in developing a strong services brand and brand equity.

This study aims to investigate how price and other service brand attributes (such as website attractiveness, efficiency, privacy, fulfilment) determine e‐brand promise/reputation and the e‐loyalty of shoppers in an online setting.

Using the convenience sampling method, a survey research was carried out during a two‐day airline exhibition among experienced respondents who had purchased online tickets in the past. To identify what determines online brand reputation and its effect on e‐loyalty, structural equation modelling using the two‐step approach was performed.

Fulfilment and competitive price offers have the most significant impact on e‐loyalty, with a full mediation impact (via online brand reputation), whilst website attractiveness has a partial impact. These simultaneously confirm the role of e‐brand reputation as a mediator construct and its antecedents and its relationship with e‐loyalty.

The mediation impact further increases the strength of brand reputation as a construct when modelling consumer responses in an online setting. In particular, the full indirect impact (price and fulfilment) was able to explain how online brand reputation was formed and brand promise can be achieved.

The practical contribution of the study and its managerial implications can be seen in the context of defining strategy and positioning. By confirming that different brand enactments are found in different settings (for example, price, fulfilment, site's attractiveness), this study offers some insights into a company's site strategic brand positioning and differentiation. For example, appropriate enactments, such as price, fulfilment and the attractiveness of the site, could be addressed when designing and enhancing online brand reputation and e‐loyalty. Sample size limitation and generalisation is limited to within the internet airline setting.

While existing research mainly focuses on the effect of service quality and image attributes of e‐loyalty, the current research focuses on other aspects of brand differentiation – e‐brand reputation and the important influencing elements, such as price and website attractiveness – which hitherto have often been ignored in an online setting. In other words, this study highlights the most important attributes that will help to “meet” the online service brand promise through e‐brand reputation.

The purpose of this paper is to link the notions of brand community, loyalty and promise as a reminder to marketers of the importance to brands of keeping their commercial promises to brand community members.

The paper reports on a questionnaire survey (n=500) of members of a sport brand community as part of an investigation into the relationship between brand community and brand loyalty.

Brand loyalty was predicted by age, frequency of attendance, motivations for joining the brand community and the degree to which expectations built by the brand promise are met.

In common with many inquiries in the area of brand community, this is a single case study. It is primarily a cross-sectional study, with a minor longitudinal element.

Branding practitioners and consultants with responsibility for brand community management issues need to balance the consumer-to-consumer dimensions of community with a careful understanding and operationalisation of the brand promise.

This is the first paper to integrate the constructs of brand community and brand loyalty with that of brand promise.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 purpose of this paper is to understand the internal branding process from the perspective of service providers in Thailand. It will reveal the key internal branding mechanisms and empirically assess the relationship between internal branding and employees' brand attitudes and performance.

A case study representing the Thai hotel industry is adopted with mixed methodologies. In‐depth interviews are first carried out with 30 customer‐interface employees in six major hotels in Thailand. On a census basis, a quantitative survey with 699 respondents from five major hotels in Thailand follows.

Internal branding coordinating marketing with human resource management has a statistically significant impact on attitudinal and behavioural aspects of employees in their delivery of the brand promise. As employees' brand commitment do not have a statistically significant relationship with employees' brand performance, it is not regarded as a mediator in the link between internal branding and employees' brand performance.

A number of significant managerial implications are drawn from this study, for example using both internal communication and training to influence employees' brand‐supporting attitudes and behaviours. Still, it should be noted that the effect of internal branding on employee behaviours could be dependent on the extent to which it influences their brand attitudes.

The paper provides valuable insights, from the key internal audience's perspectives, into an internal branding process. It has empirically shown the relationship between internal branding and the behavioural outcome as well as the partial meditating effects of employees' brand identification, commitment and loyalty.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the internal branding process from the employees' perspective; it will empirically assess the relationship between internal branding and employees' delivery of the brand promise as well as the relationships among their brand identification, brand commitment and brand loyalty.

On a census basis, a quantitative survey is carried out with 699 customer‐interface employees from five major hotels.

Internal branding is found to have a positive impact on attitudinal and behavioural aspects of employees in their delivery of the brand promise. As employees' brand commitment does not have a statistically significant relationship with employees' brand performance, it is not regarded as a mediator in the link between internal branding and employees' brand performance. Furthermore, the study shows that brand identification is a driver of brand commitment, which precedes brand loyalty of employees.

A number of significant managerial implications are drawn from this study, for example using both internal communication and training to influence employees' brand‐supporting attitudes and behaviours. Still, it should be noted that the effect of internal branding on the behaviours could be dependent on the extent to which it could effectively influence their brand attitudes.

The results provide valuable insights from the key internal audience's perspectives into an internal branding process to ensure the delivery of the brand promise. It empirically shows the relationship between internal branding and the behavioural outcome as well as the meditational effects of employees' brand identification, commitment and loyalty.

This study aims to explore how the adoption of internal market orientation (IMO) can enhance front-line employee brand enactment within an interpersonal service setting. Insights from equity theory and the person – environment paradigm are drawn upon to develop a theoretical model describing the impact of IMO on employee – organization fit, employee – supervisor fit and employee – job fit and the consequences of IMO on employee brand knowledge and brand identification. Second, the role of various types of fit and brand knowledge/identification for front-line employee brand enactment is confirmed.

This study draws from service employees in a high-contact customer setting.

Results uncover two mechanisms for successful internal branding: increasing employee fit with the service environment and enhancing employee brand knowledge.

The study contributes to practice in that the findings outline a realistic understanding of how managerial actions facilitate employees’ alignment with the firm’s brand promise within the realm of the broader organizational context in which service delivery takes place.

The present study contributes in the extant literature as it enables a more holistic view of the drivers of brand-congruent behaviors among front-line employees. Moreover, it has a significant contribution for future researchers as it lays the ground to further examine how employees’ perceptions of internal marketing strategies shape their fit levels with different aspects of their working environment which also affect the internal branding efforts of service organizations.

The purpose of this study is to propose and develop an antecedent model from star hotel employee viewpoint and a consequence model for star hotel customers’ evaluation of the brand equity development process.

In terms of the study setting, structural equation modelling was conducted. Study 1 used the views of 323 star hotels’ employees on the mutual relationships among employee-based brand equity, and Study 2 used 516 star hotels’ customer perspectives concerning the mutual relationships among customer-based brand equity.

In the antecedent model of Study 1 from an employee viewpoint, service quality is a foundational attribute of the indirect influences of brand equity development through brand promise, values and message. A moderating role of brand identity is also found. In the consequence model of Study 2 from the perspective of customers’ evaluation, mutual relationships of brand equity are identified, and social interactions are established that enhance the positive relationships among the different critical attributes of brand equity.

Although numerous hotel branding studies have identified the consequences of hotels for employees, few have simultaneously considered employees and customer feedback in terms of star hotel branding. This research considers the bidirectional effects of such a comprehensive perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of brand contract in B2B from two perspectives: the theological and pragmatic.

A review of the branding literature challenges the dominant notion of the brand covenant as a firm driven, unilateral promise, referred to as a theological contract. The study adds to this the pragmatic perspective of a social contract, as deployed by the social sciences and IMP literatures. A tentative framework of a dialectical contract is developed through drawing on three cases of Chinese suppliers for the focal firm, IKEA.

First, both types of contract are identified in the firm’s practices. Second, the specific goals and roles of managers and suppliers in each contract are defined. The theological contract is used by managers to strengthen suppliers’ beliefs in the company’s vision and mission, while the pragmatic one is employed by both parties for the implementation of the brand’s norms and brand equity. Third, a new framework for and the definition of a dual, dialectical brand contract in B2B are developed.

Managers are advised to mediate between the theological pledge of their brand and its pragmatic implementation.

The paper challenges the dominant theological discourse in extant branding literature and puts forward a dialectical approach as a new proposition.