Relationships of Brand Orientation with Internal Branding Factors: An Employee Perspective in a B2B Manufacturing Context

Abstract

This study examines the employee perceptions of the firm’s brand orientation and internal branding efforts, and the benefits (outcome factors) of internal branding to determine to what extent employees understand and internalize these concepts that result in brand performance. The benefits/outcome factors of internal branding drawn from the literature include brand commitment, brand citizenship behavior, brand allegiance, and employee recognition/reward. The study is one of the pioneer studies conducted in the manufacturing setting to examine brand orientation and internal branding from the employees’ perspective. The final survey was administered online through a link included in an email invitation distributed to 600 employees in a big size manufacturing B2B firm and internally resulting in 220 complete surveys. The results indicate that all internal branding factors are positively and significantly correlated and that the internal branding determinants as benefits that significantly predict brand performance, brand orientation, and internal branding. Some of the demographics also influence employee perceptions of internal branding factors. Possible future research and managerial implications are discussed.