Dra. Ceridwyn King
Universidad: Temple University

"Standing out from the Crowd: Considering the internal perspective in the evolution of brand management research"

Abstract:
The evolution of brand management research can be mapped against the growing appreciation that concepts such as brand awareness, brand associations, brand differentiation, and brand loyalty drive significant benefits and meaning for organizations, consumers, and society at large. In its transition from a form of identification (name, term, symbol, design, or a combination of these), the brand has become more than its visual realities (McDonald et al., 2001). A review of diverse marketing literature reveals that, while most commonly conceived as a “cognitive construal in the mind of the consumer” (p. 24), the term “brand” is an organizational chameleon (Heding et al., 2009). From one perspective the brand is an organizational asset that the organization manipulates to facilitate transactions (e.g., Borden, 1964), while from another perspective it is a cultural artifact embedded in the fabric of society (e.g., Holt, 2004). Research on brand management has gained considerable momentum, particularly since the 1980s, resulting in a deep and broad evolution of the concept.
Most of this momentum has focused on two key stakeholders – the organization and the consumer. However, more recently, employees have been identified as another important stakeholder, reflected in the emerging internal brand management (IBM) literature. Driven largely from a service organization mindset, whereby brand success is predicated on service brand delivery, IBM is considered a foundational element upon which all other brand management decisions emanate. Being concerned with the analysis of the brand in the mind of the employee on the basis of cognitive psychology, IBM or employee branding is not to be confused with term “employer brand,” coined by Ambler and Barrow (1996) and adopted by others, which seeks to create an employer-of-choice brand. Rather, IBM research considers the process by which employees understand the brand that is communicated to customers and what that understanding means to the employees as well as reflects the employees’ response to such comprehension. To illustrate the legitimacy of this emerging line of enquiry, a study conducted in mainland China will be presented. The seminar will conclude with suggestions for additional lines of enquiry to continue to evolve brand management research in both an academic and practitioner thought-leading way..