Converting internal brand knowledge into employee performance

Abstract

Purpose Internal branding efforts are essential in improving employee performance in services marketing. Drawing on reformulation of attitude theory, this paper aims to contribute to the internal branding literature by positing that while internal brand knowledge (IBK) is essential for transforming brand vision into brand reality, it is not brand knowledge per se but its integration with other brand- and customer-related aspects that drive superior employee performance. In particular, this paper develops a cognitive-affective-behaviour model of internal branding proposing that IBK results in higher levels of employee brand identification (EBI); this sense of identification then motivates employees to engage in both employee-related and brand- and customer-focussed behaviours (i.e. brand citizenship behaviour [BCB] and customer-oriented behaviour [COB]), which in turn foster employee performance. Design/methodology/approach The hypotheses were empirically tested using a sample of 697 from services industry in Vietnam. Findings The findings indicate a sequential mediation model in that employee brand knowledge affects employee performance (both objective and subjective measures) through EBI, BCB and COB. Employee brand knowledge results in higher levels of EBI; this sense of identification then motivates employees to engage in employee-related brand and customer-focussed behaviours (BCB and COB), which in turn foster employee performance. Practical implications Firms should understand that IBK may not directly result in high levels of service performance, and instead should embrace the culture of self-driven positive brand-connection attitudes that motivate employees to engage in BCB and COB that are consistent with their sense of self. Originality/value This study makes a unique contribution to the internal branding literature by unravelling a pathway that integrates employees’ self-related psychological mechanism (EBI) and employee-related brand and customer-focussed behaviours (BCB and COB) through which employee brand knowledge is converted into employee performance.

How Does Service Climate Influence Hotel Employees’ Brand Citizenship Behavior? A Social Exchange and Social Identity Perspective

“…Our model of the direct and indirect influence of service climate explains 63% of BCB's variance, providing evidence that it is a most effective means to enhance employee BCB. Although other approaches such as internal branding practices (Baker et al, 2014;Chang et al, 2012;Ngo et al, 2019;Nguyen et al, 2019) may provide additional explanation on the variance of BCB, our findings indicate that the integration of both social exchange and social identity are crucial to explain this variance. We further found that the influence of service climate on hotel employee BCB is likely to vary according to employees' power distance orientation.…”

Effects of sponsorship quality and quantity on employee brand behavior

“…Internal marketing literature demonstrates the effect of internal branding practices on employee brand knowledge, brand identification, brand understanding, as well as their commitment and brand-supporting behavior (e.g., Morhart et al 2009 ; Löhndorf and Diamantopoulos 2014 ; Ngo et al 2020 ; Piehler 2018 ; Piehler et al 2016 ). A key role in this aspect relates to knowledge dissemination to transfer brand meaning and to deliver the brand promise.…”

“…A key role in this aspect relates to knowledge dissemination to transfer brand meaning and to deliver the brand promise. Internal brand knowledge is defined as “cognitive activity upon which employees understand, remember, make decisions, and perform based on the information they have received” (Ngo et al 2020 , p. 275). Further, brand knowledge contributes to one’s brand understanding―that is, employees’ comprehension of brand-related information (Piehler 2018 ; Piehler et al 2016 ).…”

“…One can argue that employees are well informed about their organization’s logo. Future research may use a different scale with more items (e.g., Ngo et al 2020 ) to measure employees’ brand understanding or brand knowledge. In addition, future research may include brand recall in order to study the effects of learning and remembering of a sponsorship stimulus over time.…”

“…Specifically, this study unpacks the influence of different types of sponsorship (sports, cultural, and ecological) on the commitment and behavior of the internal audience. Second, we also contribute to the growing field of mediation research in internal branding (Ngo et al 2020 ) by investigating the mechanism underlying sponsoring effects on employee brand behavior. From a managerial perspective, our research provides the potential for practitioners to manage SLIM activities.…”