eThesis - School of Business electronic theses

Purpose of the study: This study aims to link the body of knowledge on employer branding with the concept of organizational identity. Given the power of potentially instructing and directing organizational members, employer branding is not only seen as a marketing tool but also as a tool for forming and expressing key values of an organization (Alvesson, 2009; Kärreman and Rylander, 2008:103). The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between an employee and an organization's brand and to investigate whether this relationship stimulates organizational identification of employees - whether employees live the brand (Ind, 2001). In addition, by exploring key characteristics of employer branding associated with organizational identity, this study aims to stimulate the interest of managers and marketing professionals for possible employer branding activities and practices which could facilitate higher employee identification with the organization.

Methodology: This study takes on the branding work framework which assumes that internally, employees seek to enact their hosting organization's brand in their own identities, activities and practices; while externally, public opinion, consumers' perception and other stakeholders influence employees' interpretations and views (Alvesson, 2009). This complex two-way process results in the creation of brand identity and brand image in employees' minds. Through in-depth interviews this study explores employees' views and experiences on the organizational brand identity and image.

Results: Results of this study demonstrate how organizational members constructed the organizational brand and how they adopted organization's brand in their own identities. They also show the influence of internal branding processes on the creation of employer branding which resulted in adoption of organizational values among current employees, but showed the lack of employee loyalty to the organization in the context of living the brand concept. Potential explanation for this phenomenon is that the strength of the organizational identification was low, which further led to the lack of extreme employee commitment and loyalty sufficient for the employees to live the brand (Ind, 2001).