Converting internal brand knowledge into employee performance
| Date | 19 July 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-10-2018-2068 |
| Published date | 19 July 2019 |
| Pages | 273-287 |
| Author | Liem Viet Ngo,Nguyen Phong Nguyen,Kim Thien Huynh,Gary Gregory,Pham Hung Cuong |
Converting internal brand knowledge into
employee performance
Liem Viet Ngo
School of Marketing, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Nguyen Phong Nguyen
Department of Accounting, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Kim Thien Huynh
Department of Marketing, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
Gary Gregory
School of Marketing, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, and
Pham Hung Cuong
Foreign Trade University, Hanoi, Vietnam
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 in tegration 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.
Keywords Internal branding, Employer branding, Employee performance, Internal marketing, Brand identification
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Turning service employees into brand champions has become
crucial in building a strong brand, especially in high-contact
services such as financial, legal, and higher education (Dean et al.,
2016;Morhart et al.,2009;Löhndorf and Diamantopoulos,
2014;Sujchaphong et al.,2015;Devasagayam et al.,2010;
Papasolomou and Vrontis, 2006;Foster et al., 2010;Garas et al.,
2018). Service employees often serve as the living brand,
responsible for delivering on brand promises and shaping the way
the customer perceives a service brand (Bendapudi and
Bendapudi, 2005). Internal brand knowledge (IBK) is
fundamental to achieving this outcome.
To date, understanding intervening mechanisms of the
knowledge-performance nexus has generated increased
attention from marketing scholarsaspart of the broader area of
internal branding (Xiong et al.,2013;Piehler et al., 2016;
Piehler et al., 2018;Piehler, 2018). Mediation research in
internal branding has covered a wide range of divergent and
fragmented mediators as depicted in Table I. They include
brand commitment (Biedenbach and Manzhynski, 2016;
Thecurrentissueandfulltextarchiveofthisjournalisavailableon
Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/1061-0421.htm
Journal of Product & Brand Management
29/3 (2020) 273–287
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]
[DOI 10.1108/JPBM-10-2018-2068]
Received 19 October2018
Revised 18 March 2019
14 June 2019
Accepted 14 June 2019
273
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