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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.

The purpose of this paper is to build a comprehensive conceptual framework of internal branding, to demarcate this field from employer branding and to develop an updated definition of internal branding that incorporates the findings of the literature review and emerging views in branding.

This research conducts a systematic review of the internal branding and employer branding literature following previously established procedures.

The major findings of this research are that internal branding comprises five key components within a supportive corporate culture, namely, brand ideologies, brand leadership, brand-centred human resource management (HRM), internal brand communication and internal brand communities; and that internal branding is related yet distinct from employer branding in its discipline, focus, components, outcomes and the role of the brand. The paper concludes with a comprehensive definition of internal branding derived from the conceptual framework and recent trends in branding, in addition to directed suggestions for future research in the field.

This research highlights areas for future research within internal branding, including the need for further research on internal brand communities and how brands can “internally brand” brand partners.

The research highlights the company-wide and brand partner-wide effort required in internal branding, in addition to the necessity of a supportive corporate culture.

This is the first review of internal branding and employer branding that aims to differentiate between the constructs and build a conceptual framework of internal branding, by drawing from the fields of HRM, marketing, branding and general management.

Taking an evidence from social exchange theory, this research examines the mediating role of affective commitment in the correlation between internal branding, employee engagement and job satisfaction. The moderating role of work environment on the link between internal branding and affective commitment is also studied in this research.

The data were collected by using well-structured research measures from 215 employees working in the BPO sector of India (Punjab and Chandigarh). The hypotheses were developed, and the conceptual model was validated by applying structural equation modeling. The data were analyzed by using two statistical packages, namely SPSS and AMOS.

The findings suggest that internal branding has a significant positive relationship with employee engagement, job satisfaction and affective commitment. The mediating effect of affective commitment on the relationship between internal branding and employee engagement was full, whereas on the relationship between internal branding and job satisfaction, it was partial. Work environment also moderated the relationship of internal branding with affective commitment.

The current study offers significant lessons to management thinkers, human resource (HR), organizational branding and marketing manager. However, BPO sector should be aware about the critical role played by internal branding to enhance affective commitment, employee engagement and job satisfaction of the employees. The role of affective commitment is also taken into account to study the effect of internal branding on employee engagement and employee's job satisfaction. For itself, internal branding cannot be considered as in isolation and is doubtful to be efficacious if the work environment is not encouraging to an employee as well as to the brand values.

This study offers significant lessons to management thinkers, HR, organizational branding and marketing manager. However, BPO sector should be aware about the critical role played by internal branding to enhance employee engagement, job satisfaction and affective commitment of the employees. An important role of affective commitment is also taken into account to study the effect of internal branding on employee engagement and employee's job satisfaction. For itself, internal branding cannot be considered as in isolation and is doubtful to be efficacious if employees are not provided an encouraging work environment.

Existing researches on internal branding are theoretical in nature and overlook the empirical impact of internal branding on employee engagement, job satisfaction and affective commitment from the BPO employees' perspective. The study also offers an empirical examination of potential mediator and moderator for internal branding.

The implementation of marketing concepts to the public sector is still a relatively new topic for researchers and practitioners. Moreover, although branding has become more prominent in the public sector, its role with employees is under explored. Following a review of internal branding and marketing literature in the private sector, the purpose of this study is enrich and contribute to the internal branding concept and the literature by expanding its insightful knowledge beyond that of the Western school of thought to the UAE government sector.

The paper is based on a quantitative survey conducted among 304 public sector employees. These were measured on a five-point Likert scale. To test the model and the hypothesized relationships among the constructs of the model, structural equation modeling was used.

The strength of the relationship between the constructs indicates that features of the suggested internal branding model are crucial to achieving both employee and customer satisfaction in the public sector.

This study provides new theoretical grounds for studying internal branding in the public sector. It also supplies public sector organizations with a number of operative factors that may be essential if they are to provide enhanced satisfaction to public needs. It further contributes to the existing body of knowledge by expanding its knowledge beyond the Western school of thoughts as the study is about a non-Western government culture. Finally, it is probably the first to provide an integrative perspective of internal branding constructs in the public sector.

Many articles and books have been written about building, measuring and managing brand equity – primarily from the perspective of the marketing function. However, the management of the “internal touchpoints” necessary to deliver on the brand promise has received less attention. The paper aims to study these.

A two‐wave e‐mail survey was administered to business seminar participants. Multi‐item measures and a six‐point Likert scale were developed and analyzed to better understand the perceived involvement of human resource (HR) in internal branding efforts and the relationship between HR involvement and the incorporation of the brand message into work activities and attitude toward the brand.

In spite of well‐documented internal branding initiatives, there appears to be room for improvement among HR departments in terms of successfully delivering the corporate branding message. However, there does appear to be a strong personal attitude toward the brand among US professionals, and a strong relationship exists between HR involvement in internal branding and the incorporation of the brand into work activities.

Employees seem to have a more positive attitude toward the brand and are more likely to incorporate this image into their work activities when there is some degree of HR involvement in the internal branding process.

The successful promotion of the internal branding doctrine may be as dependent on HR initiatives as on those developed in the marketing department. By involving HR in internal branding projects, firms can better use internal communications to give employees a deeper understanding of the brand and the role that they play in enhancing the brand promise.

The corporate branding concept places an emphasis on employees' attitudes and behaviours. This has given rise to internal branding and employer branding, which argue for a closer alignment between the employees' values and those of the corporate brand. However, few studies have attempted to provide a platform by which the two concepts could be synergised to achieve a strong, consistent corporate brand. This paper therefore seeks to explore and demonstrate how the three concepts of branding are interrelated through a new framework.

Three bodies of literature (corporate branding, internal branding, and employer branding) were selected for review and examination in terms of their implications for the proposed framework that conceptualises the relationships between the three areas.

The review of the literature highlights the importance of employer branding and internal branding, and its potential to support the corporate brand‐building initiatives, whilst maintaining their distinctiveness in the literature. It also sheds light in terms of the inter‐relationships among the three concepts of branding.

The analysis of the literature reveals a degree of synergy and integration between employer branding and internal branding. It also facilitates a comprehensive understanding of the implications of the two concepts for branding and integrated corporate brand management.

This paper seeks to propose and test the appropriateness of a brand community within an internal branding framework.

Using the multidimensional constructs of brand community and the strengths of internal branding strategies, this study explores the theoretical underpinnings of combining the two constructs.

Intraorganizational brand communities are presented as a viable strategic possibility for targeting internal branding participants. Results lend strong support to the need for and efficacy of internal brand communities, and provide an opportunity to examine the strategic synergies of pursuing such a strategy for internal as well as external audiences.

The study was delimited to domestic participants. Additional studies are recommended to further test the constructs of brand community membership in an internal brand community.

External branding initiatives and communications can be used internally, among employees, to build positive brand associations and brand affinity. Further, implementing an internal brand community can lead to increases in the emotional buy‐in of employees and ultimately could help companies increase the proportion of “champion” employees.

The study integrates the research streams of brand community and internal branding and studies the viability of conducting internal branding within a brand community framework.

In the past 25 years, employer and internal branding have grown significantly. Prior reviews tended to focus on either one of these domains. This study aims to map the intellectual structure of research on both employer branding and internal branding, thereby identifying impactful authors and journals, current and evolving themes and avenues for future research.

Using VOSviewer and Biblioshiny software packages, a bibliometric analysis of 739 articles was conducted using various methods such as citation analysis, bibliographic coupling, cluster analysis, keyword analysis and three-field plot. The Scopus results were further validated using 297 articles produced by the Web of Science data set. It ensured the robustness of the results and generalizability of the findings across bibliometric data sets.

The findings first report the impactful articles, authors and institutions of employer and internal branding research, along with popular keywords used in this area. Next, the analysis reveals four major clusters and seven subthemes (i.e. employer brand and job seekers, employer brand and employees, employer brand and international human resource management (HRM), third-party employer branding, internal branding – conceptualization/review, internal branding – antecedents and consequences, internal brand management). Early research focused more on “corporate brandings,” whereas current research deals more with “employer branding: antecedents and consequences,” “employer branding conceptualization/review,” and “internal branding” and its subthemes. The employer and internal branding clusters have evolved largely independent from each other. This study offers future research directions and practical implications per cluster.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first comprehensive bibliometric analysis of both employer and internal branding research.

This study seeks to focus on front‐line service employees and their views of internal branding and the extent to which personal and job‐specific factors impact on the success of internal branding in the reinforcement of brand identification and brand loyalty among service employees.

The research, based on a multiple case study representing the hotel industry in Thailand, involved the completion of 30 in‐depth qualitative interviews with customer‐interface employees followed by a quantitative survey with 680 customer‐interface employees located in five major hotels.

Corporate service brands need to coordinate internal branding activity to enhance their employees' identification with, commitment to, and loyalty to, the brand. The relationships between the concepts of identification, commitment and loyalty of employees are determined. Personal variables such as age, education, and length of service as well as situational factors regarding their work environment are found to have moderating effects on the effectiveness of the internal branding process.

The paper highlights the importance of internal branding on employees' brand identification, commitment and loyalty. However, management should also be aware that the impact of internal branding would not be constant across all employees within an organisation. Personal variables such as age, educational background, and length of service with the brand should also be taken into account. The impact of internal branding on an employee's attitudes and behaviour are heightened when employees are satisfied with their workplace. As such, internal branding cannot be looked at in isolation and is unlikely to be successful if the work environment is not conducive to the employees and the brand values.

Much of the work on internal branding is conceptual and based on small‐scale studies undertaken with management or consultants. This paper provides empirical evidence from the front‐line service employees' perspective on the relationships between internal branding and brand identification, brand commitment, brand loyalty and brand performance. It also provides an empirical investigation of potential moderators for internal branding.

Branding has become a permanent source of competitive advantage for any leading business. Predominantly, it is execution inside the organization for employees. The purpose of this paper is to measure the influence of internal branding (IB) on customers-based brand equity (CBBE) and the mediating effect of organizational loyalty (OL) between two retail store chains of an under developing country (e.g. Pakistan).

This paper draws on primary data. Data were collected from frontline officers and customers of selected retail stores. Descriptive analysis, mediation analysis and independent sample t-test data analysis techniques were applied through smart PLS and SPSS.

The results of the study revealed that IB influences OL and CBBE. The outcomes showed the mediation effect of OL on the relationship between IB and CBBE partially. Furthermore, results of this papers also disclosed a difference in the levels of IB and OL in both organizations. But, there was no difference in the level of brand equity among customers of both retail stores.

The retail store sector is growing at fast pace with new innovations in all dimensions of the sector. These results could help the retail industry with empirical pieces of evidence to implement IB in their organizations to make the strong relationship between store and customer through efficient and well-trained frontline officers.

The study’s noteworthy contribution to the industry and academic world is the empirical support for the relationship between IB and CBBE. This study has explored the IB in the service sector (i.e. the retail store) from the non-western and under developing context.