Secondary data defines employee engagement as “a workplace approach designed to ensure that employees are committed to their organisation’s goals and values, motivated to contribute to organisational success and are able at the same time to enhance their own sense of well-being” (Guest, 2009). Corporate branding is defined as “the systematic planned management of behaviours, communication, and symbolism in order to attain a favourable and positive reputation with target audiences of an organisation” (Foster, Punjaisri&Cheng, 2010). This research paper has three research questions which examine the relationship between employee perception of a corporate brand and employee engagement; what impact strong corporate brands have on employee engagement and lastly examines demographical factors that may impact employee engagement.The study design was non-probability and convenience sampling was used. Statistical tools that were used in this study included t-test, correlation analysis, Cronbach’s alpha test and factor analysis. The data was collected from seven organisations namely: MTN, BMW, Absa, McDonalds, KFC, Eskom and Pep which are located within South Africa. The questionnaire was delivered to a 150 respondents across seven organisations.The research results indicate that corporate brand variables: brand awareness, brand loyalty, perceived brand quality, brand leadership, perceived brand value, brand personality, brand organisation and brand differentiation, have a positive influence on employee engagement.The findings from this research can contribute to the body of knowledge within the domain of improving employee engagement within organisations, which will result in increased profitability, reduced turnover, improved working environment and enhanced employee satisfaction. The primary audience for the study will be the academic community and more specifically individuals interested in marketing and general business and managerial practices. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Value co-creation enhances employers' branding through the engagement of organisations' corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and employees' behaviours, such as performance, loyalty and satisfaction. Although a growing body of research has explored the notion of value co-creation, the current understanding of the interrelationship between value co-creation and corporate social responsibility is underdeveloped. There is fierce academic debate surrounding the concept of value co-creation, calling for further theoretical and empirical work on this field. Furthermore, the concept of employer branding is still a nascent area in management and marketing scholarships and requires further conceptual nourishment. Although significant studies have covered the role of organisations and consumers in value co-creation resulting in employer branding, there has been little research to address the role of employees in value co-creation, dictating further assessment of their role in the process of value co-creation and participation in employer branding in a CSR context. Therefore, this thesis seeks to identify and analyse how, and to what extent, efforts to become socially responsible can co-create value for internal stakeholders and contribute to employer branding. As such, part of the theoretical foundation for this research is built on CSR. Subsequently, relevant conceptual avenues pertaining to the co-creation of value, corporate branding and employer branding are explored and analysed. An extensive literature review is undertaken to inform the robust development of an initially proposed conceptual framework of the main factors that impact upon this process. The proposed conceptual framework has set a broad guide for the researcher regarding the empirical fieldwork involved. The context for the research explores the notion of value co-creation within employer branding in the Omani hotel sector. To analyse value co-creation in depth, a qualitative interpretive multi-case study approach is adopted. The research also considers aspects of managerial philosophies and employees' perceptions regarding their organisations' current and future CSR activities, and how these activities impact value co-creation for stakeholders. The findings indicate that value co-creation has three major elements - it is dynamic and iterative, it requires dialogical interactions among various parties, and it leads to dualistic outcomes. The adoption of CSR increases the employees' satisfaction, whereas a lack of understanding of the CSR activities leads to the co-destruction of value, which in return affects the organisational turn-over in the long run. Therefore, creating awareness about the importance of the implementation of CSR is considered crucial, as it will benefit the organisation and improve the level of performance and loyalty of the internal stakeholders. The researcher proposes an original conceptual model on this tripartite nature of value co-creation and an analysis of how value co-creation can lead to the development of sustainable and socially responsible employer branding. An employee-oriented perspective towards value co-creation is introduced as an endeavour to enrich the area of research and address current conceptual deficiencies. The research also advances scholarship by critically assessing the role of employees as an independent but integral entity in the value co-creation process, establishing clear and robust links between CSR, value cocreation and employer branding.

Title: Branding the public sector Author: Rasmus Bergmark and David Backman Tutor: Magnus Fredriksson Purpose: The purpose of this thesis was to examine branding in the public sector. The frame extends to government agencies and authorities in the Swedish public sphere, and aims to identify ulterior motives for their work with branding. Method/Material: The material used in this thesis consists 102 graphic manuals for government agencies in the Swedish public sector. The examination was based on an inductive survey where we extracted prominent motives among the graphic manuals. Main results: The main results of this survey shows which ulterior motives are more prominent than others, why they are more prominent and correlations between different motives. Number of pages: 53 Course: Media and Communications studies C University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information sience, Uppsala university Period: Fall 2013 Keywords: Corporate branding, public sector, motives, market communication / Denna studies syfte är att undersöka vilka motiv som myndigheter anger vara skäl till att arbeta med profilering och vilka av dessa motiv som är de mest framträdande. Uppsatsen bygger på en övergripande frågeställning och tre stycken mer specificerade frågor som berör den övergripande frågan på en närmare nivå. Den övergripande frågan är: Varför vill man profilera sig som myndighet? Vidare är de tre andra frågorna som uppsatsen ämnar besvara dessa: Hur motiverar svenska myndigheter sitt arbete med profilering? Vilka motiv är vanligast förekommande? Hur beskrivs det att myndigheter arbetar med profilering?   Undersökningen baseras på en kvantitativ studie och genomfördes med hjälp av en innehållsanalys. Studien är utförd på samtliga tillgängliga profilmanualer för statliga förvaltningsmyndigheter i Sverige. Utifrån dessa har vi utformat ett eget ramverk med kategorier baserat på vad vi kunnat utläsa ur manualerna. Genom detta ramverk har vi kunnat ta fasta på vad och hur svenska myndigheter motiverar sitt arbete med profilering.   Undersökningens resultat visade vad som motiverar svenska myndigheter att bedriva arbete med profilering. Resultatet i underökningen visade i vilken utsträckning myndigheterna angav dessa motiv. Majoriteten angav tydlighet som motiv till att bedriva arbetet med profilering och detta motiv tycks även vara grundläggande för resterande faktorer i deras arbete. Vidare kan vi konstatera att det är viktigt att arbetet bedrivs konsekvent då majoriteten av svenska myndigheter angav detta som ett motiv.

In terms of effective branding, several recent trends have indicated the need for greater attention within the organisation than has traditionally been the case. With increased emphasis on corporate branding, the team responsible for managing a brand is becoming larger and more diverse and <i>all</i> staff, as the corporate brand's representatives, affect consumers' perceptions of the corporate brand. Furthermore, the shift in emphasis in the literature from the externally perceived brand image to the internally created brand identity entails actively creating how an organisation wishes to be perceived. To project a consistent corporate brand successfully to consumers, all staff need to have congruent perceptions about the brand's identity. The aim of this research was to identify internal factors influencing brand team members' and consumer-facing staffs perceptions of their brand's identity and the impact of these factors and perceptions on consumers' perceptions and brand performance. A conceptual model was developed and associated hypotheses formulated. Studies were conducted using postal questionnaires with three stakeholder groups in the financial services sector: (i) brand team members, (ii) consumer-facing staff and (iii) consumers. Although failing to identify correctly all of the intervening variables, support was found for sections of the conceptual model. The research confirmed that larger corporate brand teams increased the diversity of members' functional backgrounds. While brand teams composed of members with diverse functional backgrounds potentially have a wider range of knowledge and information available to them, diversity in brand team members' characteristics was found to impair the congruency of their brand perceptions. The importance of congruent brand perceptions among different stakeholder groups and the effect of congruent brand perceptions on brand performance were demonstrated. The results emphasised the need for improved internal brand communications and highlighted the influence of consumer-facing staff on consumers' brand perceptions.

Purpose: This project aims to create and develop an external podcast for IBM Sweden to strengthen the IBM Brand and be an attractive employer on the swedish market. Results: The result of this project is a podcast episode with the focus on careers within IBM, edited in Adobe Audition and published on IBM Box. The concept implements storytelling and the report covers the process from concept development to finished product.

<p><strong>Purpose:</strong> To investigate how automation companies within Mälardalen region are aware of the value of brand building in a business-to-business context. The primary interest in this chapter concerns the complexity of business-to-business buyer behaviour and the perceived value of brand related attributes from industrial suppliers perspective.</p><p><strong>Design/Methodology/Approach:</strong> Primary research material was gathered through a structured data collection in the form of direct-questioner consisting of pre-arranged fixed alternative questions. 257 mailings were distributed to top level management with marketing responsibility.</p><p><strong>Findings:</strong> The management of automation companies perceives both product-related and non-product related brand attributes important to communicate in business relations with their customers, highlighting personal capability and trust as key in brand communication.</p> / Automation Region

<p>Syfte och frågeställning: Syftet är att ta reda på hur globala företag – i detta fall</p><p>företaget Scania CV AB – genom sina officiella intern- och kundtidningar i olika</p><p>länder förmedlar företagets kärnvärden och därmed corporate brand.</p><p>Metod: Ett urval av tidningar ifrån företagets intern- och kundtidningar</p><p>analyseras utifrån ett semiotiskt samt kulturellt perspektiv. Både ett urval av</p><p>artiklar – både text och bild – och tidningarnas grafiska kommunikation</p><p>analyseras.</p><p>Slutsatser: Företagets kärnvärderingar är vagt formulerade och ger därmed stort</p><p>utrymme för tolkningar av dess innebörd. Därmed kan nästan allt som skrivs i</p><p>tidningarna sägas förmedla företagets corporate brand. Materialet visar dock på</p><p>vissa kulturella skillnader i tidningarnas framställningar, vilket leder till frågan om</p><p>företagets kärnvärderingar eventuellt behöver förtydligas för att möjliggöra ett</p><p>mer enhetligt budskap. Även den grafiska kommunikationen spretar till viss del</p><p>och i vissa artiklar saknas ett tydligt fokus på företaget och dess verksamhet.</p>

Purpose: To investigate how automation companies within Mälardalen region are aware of the value of brand building in a business-to-business context. The primary interest in this chapter concerns the complexity of business-to-business buyer behaviour and the perceived value of brand related attributes from industrial suppliers perspective. Design/Methodology/Approach: Primary research material was gathered through a structured data collection in the form of direct-questioner consisting of pre-arranged fixed alternative questions. 257 mailings were distributed to top level management with marketing responsibility. Findings: The management of automation companies perceives both product-related and non-product related brand attributes important to communicate in business relations with their customers, highlighting personal capability and trust as key in brand communication. / Automation Region

Syfte och frågeställning: Syftet är att ta reda på hur globala företag – i detta fall företaget Scania CV AB – genom sina officiella intern- och kundtidningar i olika länder förmedlar företagets kärnvärden och därmed corporate brand. Metod: Ett urval av tidningar ifrån företagets intern- och kundtidningar analyseras utifrån ett semiotiskt samt kulturellt perspektiv. Både ett urval av artiklar – både text och bild – och tidningarnas grafiska kommunikation analyseras. Slutsatser: Företagets kärnvärderingar är vagt formulerade och ger därmed stort utrymme för tolkningar av dess innebörd. Därmed kan nästan allt som skrivs i tidningarna sägas förmedla företagets corporate brand. Materialet visar dock på vissa kulturella skillnader i tidningarnas framställningar, vilket leder till frågan om företagets kärnvärderingar eventuellt behöver förtydligas för att möjliggöra ett mer enhetligt budskap. Även den grafiska kommunikationen spretar till viss del och i vissa artiklar saknas ett tydligt fokus på företaget och dess verksamhet.

This dissertation analyzes what a corporate brand is and what motivates it. Using qualitative methods the corporate brand of IBM is investigated from the viewpoint of many of its stakeholders. It is discovered that IBM’s corporate brand is outside the control of IBM, and is a social construction of IBM and its stakeholders. It is a special type of story – a saga – to which not only the company contributes to the storyline, but also its stakeholders. As such, the corporate brand is a dynamic process driven along by IBM’s attempt to be authentic. That is, as IBM shapes its identity in response to the expectations of its stakeholders, and tries to be true to its identity, it is constantly changing. From this process the corporate brand emerges and is propelled and motivated by the force of authenticity. These findings contribute to the marketing literature by providing a revised view of the corporate brand. Not only does this have theoretical implications, but it also significantly changes how managers deal with and try to manage their corporate brands as they now recognize that they are only one of the contributors to the ongoing saga. / Thesis (Ph.D, Management) -- Queen's University, 2012-06-20 14:10:19.316