This study explores how service firms incorporate CSR activities within the internal brand building process. It was found that CSR does influence and is implemented in every stage of our theoretical framework of the internal brand building process. The study was based on interviews conducted on managers and employees of service firms in the Netherlands and in Sweden.  CSR is an evolving concept, increasingly becoming important in affecting the consumption decisions of service firm’s customers. Service firms are now resorting to incorporating CSR in their internal brand building to appeal to consumers. Consumers who are trying to minimize the inherent risk in buying an intangible product typical of a service product are now shifting their focus from the firm’s product to the firm itself.  The purpose of this study was to explore if and how CSR influences the internal brand building processes of service firms. We did not seek to generalize the findings. We carried out eight interviews where the respondents were able to broadly shared their thoughts and opinions. The research questions we sought to answer were: In what way does CSR influence the internal brand building process in service firms? And, how do service firms implement CSR in their internal brand building process?  It was found that the service firms do define CSR as a responsibility for their Employees, Community, Environment, Clients/Customers as well as Ethical Responsibility. We also found out that CSR influences the internal brand building in service firms through their employees, brand audit, brand identity, brand positioning and brand communication, which we then included in our empirical developed model of the internal brand building processes in service firms. CSR is implemented in service firm’s employees’ management through employee education, training, recruitment and motivation. CSR is implemented in a service firm’s brand audit through a flat/hierarchical organizational structure, multicultural organization, ethics, sustainability, transparency and honesty. CSR is implemented in a service firm’s brand identity through quality assurance, creativity/innovation and compliance. CSR is implemented in a service firm’s brand positioning through partnership, accessibility, quality, trust. CSR is implemented in a service firm's brand communication through intranet, meetings, publications and teams.  Future researchers are recommended to study service firms that are equally divided based on their size, age and wealth to get a deeper understanding. More employees could also be studied since employees might have different viewpoints and since it is found that employees are the most important asset for service firms.

Inledning - Idrottens ideella föreningar är en av de viktigaste samhällsnyttorna i Sverige. Dessa är beroende av ideell arbetskraft, kraft som har en nedåtgående trend. Tidigare forskningar påvisar att ett välarbetat internt varumärkesbyggande har en positiv effekt på tillfredsställelsen hos arbetstagare i den privata- och offentliga sektorn. Denna studie ämnar undersöka hur ideella idrottsföreningar arbetar med faktorer inom internt varumärkesbyggande idag och hur de skulle kunna arbeta för att tillfredsställa sin ideella arbetskraft och således motverka den nedåtgående trenden. Syfte - Syftet med studien är att skapa förståelse om hur ideella idrottsföreningar arbetar med faktorer inom internt varumärkesbyggande för att tillfredsställa ideella krafter. Inom den privata- och offentliga sektorn är internt varumärkesbyggande ett viktigt verktyg och vi vill studera hur detta kan anpassas i ideella idrottsföreningar. Teoretisk referensram - Den teoretiska referensramen hanterar tre viktiga faktorer som förebygger ett starkt internt varumärkesbyggande inom den privata och offentliga sektorn. Den vetenskapliga litteraturen visade att dessa tre är kommunikation, motivation och värderingar. Ytterligare beskrivs vad ett lyckat internt varumärkesbyggande kan generera och vad ett svagt sådant orsakar. Metod - Studien byggdes på en kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer för att insamla primärdata. Från dessa fann vi fördelar att genomföra en deduktiv ansats med en tematisk analys. Studiens empiri samlades in av totalt fem respondenter från olika ideella idrottsföreningar med ett övergripande ansvar i föreningens ideella verksamhet. För att samla in sekundär data, genomfördes en litteraturgenomgång av totalt 154 vetenskapliga artiklar, där vi slutligen använde 23 för den teoretiska referensramen. Resultat - I studien kom vi fram till att ideella idrottsföreningar kan utgå ifrån och tillämpa samma faktorer för det interna varumärkesbyggandet som den privata och offentliga sektorn. Genom analys av studiens empiri och teori kom vi fram till en ny konceptuelicerad modell som ideella idrottsföreningar kan utgå ifrån för att förstärka arbetet kring internt varumärkesbyggande och därmed öka sannolikheten för den ideella kraften att stanna kvar i föreningen. Modellen beskriver fyra faktorer som skapar ett starkt internt varumärkesbyggande; kommunikation, motivation, belöningar och värderingar, samt fyra faktorer som man bör bearbeta för att tillfredsställa den ideella kraften; tvåvägskommunikation, autonom motivation, strategi och lojalitet. Bidrag - Studien bidrar till en teoretisk redogörelse för hur ideella idrottsföreningar bör arbeta med internt varumärkesbyggande, samt skapat en praktisk rekommendation om hur man kan utnyttja studiens konceptualicerade modell för att behålla kvar de ideella krafterna i ideella idrottsföreningarna. / Introduction - The non-profit sport clubs are one of the most important societal benefits in Sweden. These sports clubs are depending on volunteer workers, which is a phenomenon with a downward trend. Previous research show that well developed internal branding has a positive effect on the satisfaction of workers in the private and the public sectors. This study intends to examine how non-profit sport clubs work with factors within internal brand building strategies today, how they could work to satisfy their volunteer workers and thus counteract the declining trend. Purpose - The purpose of the study is to create an understanding on how nonprofit sport clubs work with factors in internal brand building to satisfy their volunteer workers. Internal brand building is an important tool in private and public sectors, and we aim to study how this can be applied in non-profit sportclubs. Theoretical frame of references - The theoretical frame of references manages three important factors that prevent a strong internal brand building in private and public sectors. The scientific literature proves that communication, motivation and values are those three above-mentioned factors. It is further described what a successful internal brand building can generate and what a weak one causes. Methodology - The study is based on a qualitative method with semi-structured interviews to collect the primary data. From the data, we found advantages to implement a deductive approach with a thematic analysis. The study’s empirical data was collected by a total of five respondents from various non-profit sportclubs with an overall responsibility in the organizational non-profit activities. To collect the study’s secondary data, we made a literature review on a total of 154 scientific articles, from where we finally used 23 for the theoretical frame. Results - In this study, we concluded that non-profit sport clubs can be based on and applied to the same factors for internal brand building as in the private and public sectors. Through an analysis of the study's empirical data and theory, we found a new conceptualized model that non-profit sport clubs can use to strengthen the work around internal brand building and there by increase the probability of the non-profit worker to remain in the organization. The model describes four factors that creates a strong internal brand building; communication, motivation, rewards and values, as well as four factors that should be worked on to satisfy the non-profit force; two-way communication, autonomous motivation, strategy and loyalty. Contribution - The study contributes to a theoretical account of how non-profit sport clubs should work with internal brand building and create a practical recommendation on how to use the study's conceptualized model to retain the non-profit workers in the non-profit sport clubs.