Impact of employer branding on organization’s performance

An increasing number of organizations embark on employer branding although this practice is not theoretically supported. Our study explores the employer brand by employing branding that examines the interrelation between the elements and the branding process’ outcomes. Our study is based on the employer branding model having two major components: the employer brand (with interrelated internal and external images) and the efficiency outcomes originating from the application of the employer branding process. Our study combines quantitative and qualitative research methods. The data were obtained from the companies operating in the western province of Sri Lanka. Our findings reveal that organizations with an advanced employer branding strategy have greater productivity than those organizations who lack or have partially developed strategy. Our study compares organizations with different levels of implementation of the employer branding strategy. Special attention is paid to organizational communication and the incorporation of values into the external and internal employer brand.     

Linking employer branding orientation and firm performance: Testing a dual mediation route of recruitment efficiency and positive affective climate

Faced with competitive labor markets, firms increasingly use employer branding to build a qualified workforce and engage their employees. However, our understanding of the impact of employer branding orientation on firm performance and the theoretical firm-level mechanisms underlying this potential impact is very limited. To address this gap, we integrate brand marketing theory with human resource management (HRM) research to develop a model explicating how employer branding orientation is linked to firm performance through a dual route by enhancing both recruitment efficiency (i.e., external route: applicants) and positive affective climate (i.e., internal route: incumbent employees). The results of a multisource study (i.e., top management, human resource managers, employees) with 93 firms show employer branding orientation is positively related to firm performance through positive affective climate but not recruitment efficiency. Using a brand equity approach to HRM, our results advance the literature by demonstrating the generalizability of employer branding effects independent of concrete brand attributes and explaining the firm-level mediating mechanisms linking it to firm performance.     

All for one and one for all: Encouraging ecosystem citizenship behaviour to strengthen employer branding

This research investigates how employer branding can be strengthened by taking a business ecosystem approach that encourages and leverages indirect social exchanges, such as the behaviour of paying it forward. This work is founded on extant literature and exploratory interviews with individuals from firms seeking to strengthen their employer brand by interdependently operating in a business ecosystem. A model is developed that proposes how indirect social exchanges can occur in an ecosystem, and what types of outcomes it can lead to for the individuals, firms and the ecosystem as a whole. As far as can be ascertained, this is the first study that combines these perspectives. The work suggests that there is value for firms in taking an ecosystem-focused approach to employer branding. The findings highlight that indirect or generalized social exchanges can provide value for individual firms when they form a group of interdependent collaborators rather than simply being competitors. Further, this work adds to the literature related to employee and partner extra-role behaviour by proposing the perspective of an Ecosystem Citizenship Behaviour. Ecosystem Citizenship Behaviour is an extra-role behaviour that occurs in the business ecosystem and as such can be beneficial for joint employer branding initiatives of participating firms.     

Is there a bigger and better future for employer branding? Facing up to innovation,corporate reputations and wicked problems in SHRM

Employer branding is becoming an increasingly important topic for research and practice in multinational enterprises (MNEs) because it plays directly into their corporate reputation, talent management and employee engagement agendas. In this paper, we argue that the potential effects of employer branding have yet to be fully understood because current theory and practice have failed to connect this internal application of marketing and branding to the key reputational and innovation agendas of MNEs, both of which are at the heart of another strategic agenda – effective corporate governance. However, these agendas are characterised by ‘wicked problems’ in MNEs, which have their origins in competing logics in strategic human resource management (SHRM). These problems need to be articulated and understood before they can be addressed. This paper proceeds by (1) setting out a definition and model of employer branding and how it potentially articulates with corporate governance, innovation and organisational reputations, (2) discussing and analysing the ‘wicked problems’ resulting from the sometimes contradictory logics underpinning innovation and corporate reputations and SHRM in MNEs and (3) evaluating the potential of employer branding as a contribution to the third SHRM approach – HR strategy-in-action – as a way of resolving three particularly wicked problems in MNEs. We conclude with some ideas for research and practice on the future for employer branding.     

Gamifying employer branding: An integrating framework and research propositions for a new HRM approach in the digitized economy

The digital age calls for digital HRM approaches, as the “digitized” workforce confronts companies with changing requirements regarding their human resource practices. Most importantly, companies need to build strong employer brands to attract, motivate, and retain employees. One promising approach to employer branding in the digital age is to gamify companies' employer branding activities by means of serious games (i.e., digital games with an educational purpose). Both serious games and employer branding share the key characteristic of facilitating learning to create knowledge. Despite existing research on employer branding and serious games in separate streams, virtually no research addresses their relationship, albeit its strong relevance for researchers and practitioners alike. The authors discuss both domains and their relation, propose a conceptual framework building on a novel learning-based extension of the affective events theory, and derive directions for future research to advance the understanding of gamifying employer branding in the digitized economy.     

Place,Organization, Democracy: Three Strategies For Municipal Branding

Abstract

We develop a typology for analysing branding processes in municipalities: a place, organizational and democracy branding strategy. Our main contribution is to expand the view of municipalities as places, taking the debate on the branding of cities, regions and municipalities in a more nuanced direction. Our findings show that the place branding perspective is insufficient for understanding branding efforts; in fact, organizational branding is the most prevalent strategy. However, democracy branding is also strongly present. Using logistic regression, we conclude that the place branding debate should be nuanced by what we know about municipal size, identity and perceived media influence.     

Lucky names: Superstitious beliefs in Chinese corporate branding strategy for bank marketing

Of all the Chinese supernatural beliefs, name-giving, whether applied to a person or a product, is extremely important, and is often considered to be closely related to fate. To this respect, this study examined the relationship between branding practices and supernatural beliefs in Chinese corporate branding strategy for bank marketing. Analytical results demonstrated that in over 50% of cases, these brand names involved a lucky number of total strokes. Finally, we suggest that the lucky-stroke-number naming strategy can be used as a tool in Chinese brand naming. Especially marketers can achieve more effective corporate branding in the Chinese business world.     

Integrating job search behavior into the study of job seekers’ employer knowledge and organizational attraction

This paper reports on a study about the impact of job search behaviors and employer knowledge on organizational attraction during recruitment. A time-lagged study was conducted among job seekers from a Singaporean business school. Results indicated that preparatory job search (PJS) behaviors influenced organizational attraction through employer familiarity. PJS also moderated the effects of two-types of images – employer creativity and people focus – on organizational attraction. These findings imply that a recruitment strategy needs to consider PJS and the specific type of employer image when communicating employer-based information.     

企业外部雇主品牌吸引力因素的实证研究

本文首先采用因子分析法从潜在雇员的角度对企业外部雇主品牌吸引力因素进行了实证分析，得出工作价值、文化氛围、企业实力、管理制度、工作特性五个公因子；其次通过独立样本T检验和单因素方差检验，发现不同性别、年龄、婚姻状况、工作年限的求职者对外部雇主品牌吸引力因素的感知存在显著性差异，并对产生差异的原因进行了分析。     

组织吸引力理论及其在人力资源管理中的应用

本文在国内外现有关于最佳工作场所、雇主品牌等研究的基础上提出了组织吸引力的概念:组织(企业、工作场所)所具有的,吸引外部人才,保持并激励内部人才的综合能力,包括组织吸引力预期和组织吸引力感知两部分。组织吸引力的本质是企业满足员工各种需求的现实能力、可能性估计和期望的实现程度。文章进一步阐述了组织吸引力评价的相对性、动态性等特征,以及其影响员工行为的过程。通过对相关研究成果的综合,文章归纳出了组织吸引力七个层面的内容要素,阐述了组织吸引力理论在人力资源管理中的几个重要应用。     

COMPETITIVE GROUPS AS COGNITIVE COMMUNITIES: THE CASE OF SCOTTISH KNITWEAR MANUFACTURERS*

This article explores how the mental models of organizational strategists determine perceptions of competing organizations and responses to competitive conditions. We first outline a cognitive perspective for discussing competitive strategy, and then use this framework to analyse the particular case of the Scottish knitwear industry. We show how the structure of that industry both determines and is determined by managerial perceptions of the environment. We conclude by drawing out a few general implications of our framework for research and theory on competitive strategy.     

The effects of re‐branding large UK charities on staff knowledge,attitudes and behaviour

• Despite the costs of charity re‐branding, there is little research in the public domain of its effect on staff. This study addresses that gap in knowledge by evaluating the effects of re‐branding large UK charities on staff knowledge, attitudes and behaviour.
• A quantitative survey of 465 charity staff was carried out in 10 large UK charities. The study shows that knowledge has benefited most from re‐branding although unevenly across different levels of seniority. Length of service has no effect on levels of knowledge but level of support was positively correlated.
• The impact of re‐branding on attitudes proved positive with staff at all levels feeling more motivated, involved and valued as a consequence. However, the study also demonstrates that not all staff feel engaged with the re‐branding process for the organisation to capitalise fully on enhanced staff performance.
• Behaviour was less affected by re‐branding with the exception of a very positive impact on staff retention. The report discusses the practical implications for charity managers.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A brand new world for nonprofits

Brands provide a number of benefits that can make them a powerful tool for the nonprofit sector. Among other things, they make it possible for organisations to convey a consistent overall positioning while tailoring offerings for multiple publics. They also facilitate the development of trust between the nonprofit and its constituencies, provide insulation from competitive pressures and raise the organisation's profile. Brands are not appropriate for all nonprofit organisations, however, and the decision to adopt a branding strategy is one that requires careful consideration. This paper explores the pros and cons of nonprofit branding, and describes the balancing act that managers face when deciding whether and how to adopt abrand. Copyright © 1999 Henry Stewart Publications     

Industrial organization and the evolution of concepts for strategic planning: The new learning

This paper reviews the parallel development of the disciplines of corporate strategy and industrial organisation. Recent developments in industrial economics suggest that the two may be about to merge, or at least be capable of synergy. This potential advance has come about because of the movement of industrial organisation theories towards dynamics and away from static concepts such as the traditional structure: conduct: performance model. Simultaneously, corporate strategists, who have always been dynamically oriented, have long been in search of the more sophisticated theories industrial economists have in their tool kits.     

关于餐饮业品牌化发展与商场管理模式相结合的研究

随着社会的发展,各种产业走上专业化发展平台成为一种趋势,如何引领我国的餐饮走上规范、品牌的道路成为餐饮发展的核心,把品牌策略和商场管理模式相结合作为一条探索之路,带动和开启专利意识,打破餐饮界现有的发展混乱性与市场不均衡性,从而使我国餐饮文化品牌化,由此推动消费市场的高速、健康发展。     

The moderating effect of organizational change cynicism on middle manager strategy commitment

This paper focuses on middle managers as key actors in organizational strategizing. Through an empirical study we explore some of the barriers to effective implementation of strategic change initiatives. This research is motivated by the recognition that to understand strategizing in organizations we need to appreciate both when it is successful and when it is not, but that we still know little about the latter. To develop better insights into what lies behind the actions of strategists and to present implications for HR managers concerned about increasing the chance of successful change and reducing the prevalence of organizational change cynicism (OCC), we first explore antecedents to middle managers' strategy commitment. We examine perceptions of the workplace context, including procedural justice and senior management support for the strategy and middle managers' levels of strategy relevant knowledge, incorporating participation in decision-making and information available for implementation. We then investigate the moderated effect of OCC on middle managers' strategy commitment. Our study suggests that failure of a new strategy or strategic direction is due to the inability or resistance of individual employees to commit to a strategy and adopt the necessary behaviours to accomplish an organization's strategic objective.     

Managing Technological,Sociopolitical, and Institutional Change in the New Normal

A New Normal environment for business has emerged in the years after the 2008 financial crisis based on numerous changes in the world's economic, technological, demographic, and sociopolitical factors. This combination of changes has created a New Normal environment for firms with major implications for managers, strategists, and entrepreneurs alike. It has resulted in an environment with new challenges and opportunities that are considerably different from what firms had to contend with in the years previous. In this paper, we present the main changes that characterize the current New Normal business environment and highlight some key implications for strategy and management. Then, we present the nine articles in this special issue dealing with different dimensions of this new environment for firms. Subsequently, we outline some future research questions that could help to advance our knowledge of the New Normal environment and its implications for firms and management theories. In examining the New Normal, it is important to be reminded that the world is indeed round and even small actions on one side of the globe can have a major impact on organizations on the other side of the globe.     

Processes of non-identification: Business school brands and academic faculty

This paper examines the internal implications of branding within higher education, a specific context which is dominated by the co-existence of strong professional logics and identity structures. We focus on how and whether academic faculty identify with the branding practices undertaken by their respective institution. The paper proposes a communicative perspective on brand identification to understand how academic faculty relate to and make sense of the brand. The findings, from responses of 65 faculty members at five business schools, indicate widespread indifference and non-identification with brand messages. Specifically, we identify four types of disconnects between faculty members and branding practices of their respective schools, namely ambiguity, emptiness, misalignment, and irrelevance. The evidence of these disconnects, we argue, suggests that the faculty members refrain from relating the brand to their own identities. Although individuals relate to discourses around the brand, these are often not internalized and do not thereby impact on their individual identity. Rather than navigating between identity tensions, they eschew identification altogether. We contribute to research on how branding works inside contemporary organizations – including higher education - through questioning the role of identity in branding processes seen as the management of meaning.     

Grandiose branding: World-class aim and its organizational consequences

Branding has become a strategic tool for university management in competition for students, faculty, and funding. In this study, we explore university branding in its extreme form of grandiose branding and ask How can grandiose branding initiate a process that prompts ethically and morally questionable practices in organizations? Grandiose branding is characterized by an excessive use of superlatives that frame higher education institutions as “world-class universities.” Through a self- and autoethnographic single-case study conducted in a business school, our study shows that branding efforts that do not align with an organization’s actual quality and performance can lead to a counterproductive cycle of camouflaging top management’s failures and justifying ethically and morally questionable actions directed towards the institution’s primary stakeholders. The study contributes to the earlier literature on grandiosity in the context of higher education by taking a process perspective and explores the implications of grandiose branding from rhetoric through implementation.     

Inducements,contributions, and fulfillment in new employee psychological contracts

This longitudinal study of newly hired Chinese college graduates (N = 143) investigates the effects of contract fulfillment, employee reports of company inducements (organizational support and job rewards), and supervisory reports of individual contributions (job performance and extra‐role citizenship behavior) upon changes in the graduates' psychological contracts. Three survey waves were administered a year apart, starting with the recruits' job offer acceptance. Analyses revealed that employee fulfillment and perceived contributions predicted particular changes in employer psychological contract obligations, whereas employer fulfillment and perceived inducements predicted changes in employee obligations. The effects of inducements on employee obligation changes and contributions on employer obligation changes were mediated by their respective fulfillment measures. Changes in obligations were greater in the first year of employment than in the second. This study yields implications for managing newcomers and researching the initial phase of employment. ©2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.