ارتباطات برند سلف و برجستگی برند به عنوان محرک های ضمیمه ی برند کارمند Brand-self connections and brand prominence as drivers of employee brand attachment

The importance of employee brand attachment Whereas research in the consumer domain suggests that powerful equity-building benefits can accrue to brands when brand attachment is strong, we know less about whether employees develop brand-self connections to the brands they work for (either the corporate brand as a whole or a specific brand within the organization with which they are affiliated). If they do, we know little about the relevant meanings that underlie such connections. Understanding these issues is important for several reasons. First, to the extent that employees feel a strong connection between the brand and the self and think about the brand often, they should be more likely to create, embody, and build on the brand’s meaning in the marketplace. Employees are paid and often are expected to deliver on behalf of the brand and ‘live’ the brand (Drucker 2002; Mumby 2016). They are hired and trained to act in line with brand values, and they are further expected to embody the brand and elevate its value through their behaviors. Embodying the brand is important because employees’ actions can influence customers’ perceptions about the brand (Ahearne et al. 2005; Homburg et al. 2009). Indeed, customers and other external stakeholders often regard the brand’s employees as synonymous with the brand (Allison et al. 2016; Folkes and Patrick 2003; Gilly and Wolfinbarger 1998; Merz et al. 2009; Sirianni et al. 2013). However, employees’ enthusiasm for the brand, and their commitment to embodying the brand and its values can vary greatly (Baker et al. 2014; Hurrell and Scholarios 2014). Indeed, it is not uncommon to hear news stories of employees whose non-customer centric behavior has greatly diminished the brand’s value (Bettencourt et al. 2005; Matuson 2016). For these reasons, research supports the importance of providing front-line employees with brand specific information about the brand (particularly information that enhances their identification with the brand and their internalization of its values) so that they can act toward customers in brand-image consistent ways (Baker et al. 2014; Merlo et al. 2014; Punjaisri and Wilson 2011). Indeed, some companies like Alibaba, Lush Cosmetics, Palantir, and Zappos appear to have created employee brand champions who consistently deliver on the brand’s promise. Employees who feel strong and prominent brand-self connections may be instrumental to maintaining and strengthening the brand’s meaning to external stakeholders (Land and Taylor 2010). Employees’ attachment may make them passionate experts who share the latest brand information with others (Bell et al. 2017), while their position as an employee of the organization should create the impression that the brand information they share is credible and factually accurate. Moreover, employees who are themselves most connected with the brand may be best able to authentically and passionately communicate (implicitly and explicitly) not just the brand’s meaning, but their own brand enthusiasm (Baker et al. 2014).