Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to present the first known empirically-tested model of Employee Based Brand Equity (EBBE). In doing so, it seeks to provide insight into how organisations can not only effectively manage the internal brand building-process but also, more importantly, appreciate the subsequent employee effects and organisational benefits. Design/methodology/approach -Data were collected via an online survey of 371 employees who work in service organisations, sourced from a market research database list. Findings -Strong support was found for nine out of the ten hypothesised relationships, thus providing strong validation for the proposed model. Research limitations/implications -The employment of surveys can present data collection problems stemming from such things as lack of willingness to participate on behalf of the respondent, loss of validity when using structured questionnaires, and inherent challenges of wording questions properly. However, in acknowledging these limitations, actions, such as the utilisation of a national database of "opt in" survey participants coupled with the good reliability results and the methodical four-stage survey design process undertaken, it is suggested that every effort was made to negate the limitations. Practical implications -Knowledge is gained from empirically validating a model of EBBE: it further enriches the application of traditional brand management techniques; provides a framework for brand communication training; increases organisational understanding of how to engender positive employee actions; and increases the accountability of such an internal investment by identifying measurable organisational benefits that accrue as a result of such efforts. Originality/value -The paper makes three important contributions: expanding the existing brand equity literature to incorporate a third yet equally relevant perspective, that being the employee; the adoption of a multi-disciplined approach to addressing a marketing issue and, in doing so, extending beyond the connectionist cognitive psychology view of brand equity to incorporate a contextual/organisation cultural element; and reflecting the perceptions of employees, who are currently under-represented in the internal brand management literature.

The impact of the service experience on consumers' feelings, satisfaction and service brand attitudes are of vital importance to service marketers. In an attempt to understand how consumers evaluate service performances this study seeks to explore the dimensions of the service brand that influence consumers at time of service consumption. In addition, the study also examines post-consumption evaluations. A study of 254 bank consumers revealed that the core service, employee service and servicescape make a significant contribution to the service consumption experience. Furthermore, the service experience was found to significantly effect feelings, satisfaction and brand attitudes.

Despite academics and practitioners alike promoting the positive outcomes of employees being aware of the organization's brand in the context of their work environment, there appears to be no evidence thus far to understand the impact of such brand building efforts from an employee perspective. This article promotes that there is, in fact, a third perspective of brand equity, that being Employee Based Brand Equity (EBBE). In particular, a framework of EBBE dimensions is developed herein, thus representing a significant contribution to the marketing literature and holding strong relevance for service organizations around the globe. The benefits derived from such a framework and, thereby, delivering value to the organization are manifested in brand citizenship behaviors, employee satisfaction and intention to stay with the organization, as well as positive employee word of mouth. This article sets the scene for future research within this important, but neglected, research domain.

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Purpose -This study seeks to examine the effects of three communication avenues, namely controlled communication (e.g. advertising/promotions), uncontrolled communications (word-of-mouth (WOM)/publicity), and brand name, on consumer service brand evaluation. Design/methodology/approach -This study employed a quantitative methodology and data were gathered from consumers intercepted in a shopping mall via a self-completed survey. Findings -The results show that controlled communications and brand name have a significant effect on customer satisfaction, brand attitudes and brand reuse intentions. WOM was shown to have a significant influence only on brand reuse intentions. In addition, comparisons made across different retail service types (e.g. stores and banks) showed differences in relationships between the examined variables.Research limitations/implications -The brand stimuli used in the survey instrument limit the findings to retail stores and banks and, thus, may not be applicable in all service situations. On this basis, it is recommended that future research should further explore the key constructs of this study in other service settings. Practical implications -The findings suggest that controlled communications and brand name are pivotal in establishing consumer expectations, thus influencing satisfaction and brand attitudes. Therefore, these types of advertising should be utilised to communicate realistic service experiences, while brand names should reinforce consumer confidence, trust and safety in usage. Positive WOM advocating proven reliability and consistency of the brand should be encouraged and rewarded to encourage new usage and reusage behaviour. Originality/value -The value of this paper lies in the comparison of different brand communications with different consumer responses to the brand not previously examined. The results therefore suggest ways in which marketers can maximise the benefits of their communications.

Using Critical Incident Technique, data are collected from 166 respondents who related incidents involving embarrassment experienced over a total of 44 different service environments. In applying a functional analysis, a number of embarrassment antecedents in the form of sources (e.g., customer, service provider, others present) and stimuli (e.g., criticism, awkward acts, image appropriateness, forgetfulness/lack of knowledge/error, environment/surroundings, and violations of privacy) are identified. Embarrassment was found to be manifested by emotional, physiological, and behavioral reactions, and its long-term consequences include both positive and negative behavioral intentions and word-of-mouth communications. The Functional Analysis of Consumer Embarrassment provides an informative framework to enhance our understanding of affective reactions in service encounters and provides a solid foundation for future research.

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