Everyday Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) plays a bigger role in companies’ work. People become more aware of how different organizations take care of their network. Certain consumer groups have expectations from companies’ CSR work, and they are willing to pay more for the brands of these firms compared to others. These facts have forced the companies to put more effort into their CSR work. On the other hand it has become an opportunity for corporations, which are forerunners in this area. CSR can be interpreted so that communities have expectations from the firms and the work the latter do for society’s good. Corporate Philanthropy (CP) is a part of CSR and a particular form of it. The reasons behind CP are not always apparent. Brand is the bridge between consumer and the product. One motive behind CP could be creating brand value and implementing particular products for consumers who appreciate the companies’ work for society’s good. Therefore we have formulated our research question as follows: What are the main reasons behind corporate philanthropy and how is it conducted in the firms? Our aim in this thesis is to emphasize CP as a part of CSR, to study how it is exercised in practice and to explore how firms’ philanthropic actions add value to their brands. We have limited our study to company perspective in order to get as accurate results as possible. To indentify the reasons to CP we have completed a qualitative study in the two Nordic countries: Finland and Sweden. The study has been done by semi-structured interviews for four companies, two in both countries. These companies are of two different sizes, large and small. Our study design is multiple-case study. Interpretivism and subjectivism constitute the philosophical basis for this research. The applied approach is deductive with inductive elements. In the theoretical framework we discuss CSR, philanthropy and branding in their different forms. We have linked these main theories together by relating older and recent theory to each other in a natural way. Earlier theories, which directly merge these two areas, do not considerably exist. Therefore we have had to make our own decisions to find the best path to reach our goal and find the main reasons behind CP. In the final part, analysis, we have related theoretical framework to empirical findings. We have linked different theories together and found if there is a connection between Corporate Philanthropy and creating brand value. We have also reflected on whether there are differences in the actions and aims for CP between the companies in these two Nordic countries.

In the business environment of today, competency-based organisations with a people- centric focus are at large becoming the norm and replacing task-based firms. This shift is driven by the benefits which the organisation can gain from leveraging the skills, attitudes, values and behaviours of its staff, through a competency-based approach (CBA). This approach can be described as a process where the attributes of the staff members, expressed as core competencies, are converted into capital stock of the firm. It is the success of this conversion that yields a competitive advantage for the firm, which past research has indicated lies at the core of the CBA. Similarly, another emerging trend for organisations of today is that of internal branding (IB). IB is a marketing approach where staff behaviour is aligned with the brand promise of the firm in order to enhance internal brand commitment (IBC) and ultimately staff performance. This concept has grown in relevance in an increasingly service centred economy, where the staff member is responsible for the delivery of the brand promise. Exploring the combined efforts of a CBA with that of IB has to date not yet been researched in detail. The basis of doing this is research is thus clear when evaluating the commonalities, as both approaches aim for alignment and leverage of staff attributes and behaviour ultimately resulting in IBC. The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of how a CBA, aided by IB as the operative factor, influence IBC. In order to fulfil this purpose, a qualitative study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with employees and managers at a service sector firm. The data collection was grounded in a conceptual model with a foundation in previous research, depicting IB as the operative factor through which core competencies impacted the attraction, selection and attrition, which are stages of the employee lifecycle. These interviews allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of our research phenomena and five underlying themes emerged. The themes were organisational context, competency-based approach, alignment and identification, development and participation and communities and communication. Our empirical findings indicated the interconnectedness and interdependence between these themes. The themes that emerged from our analysis formed the basis for our final conceptual model. This final model provided a visual depiction of the factors that are at play in the creation of IBC through a layered style approach. The findings of the study showed that for a CBA to be effective and successful, the IB components of communities and communication play an important part. Furthermore, the findings suggested that a CBA is a continuous process of influencing actions rather than a three-stage attraction, selection and attrition cycle. Our study highlighted the importance of alignment and integration of the organisation’s HR practices. Furthermore, our study demonstrated how CBA aided by IB can be entrenched in the organisation and influence IBC.

Companies today are faced with competitive markets where a large number of similar products and services are offered, which leads to companies with strong brands gaining competitive advantage, as brands facilitate consumers rational decision-making. Previous studies explore the importance of a well-established brand and how to build a strong brand identity through brand identity management (BIM). The studies explain that BIM builds the foundation for wellbeing in the workplace, which in turn is reflected to the customer. Previous studies are aimed at different industries and the purpose of this study is to analyze the importance of a strong brand identity in the fast food industry to contribute more knowledge in that specific industry. The study is deductive with a qualitative approach and thus a qualitative case study has been conducted of Bastard Burgers to answer the research questions, in order to analyze how a company in the fast food industry works with BIM to deliver the brand promise and what result this has on the employees. The results show that brand identity is a crucial factor for companies in today's fast food industry as well as the quality of the food and service. To have a strong brand identity, you need a brand with a personality that is evident through the visuals such as the restaurant's appearance, clothes and logos. The results of the study show that working with BIM strengthens employees' identification with the organization. This in turn results in the employees being more likely to spread positive word-of-mouth, being satisfied with their job and are willing to do the little extra in the workplace.

The role of brand has evolved to take on a broader application as a post-modern management concept and has attracted increasing attention in the 21st century as a key component for the development of competitive advantage. Far removed from its origins as an identity device, branding now transcends the pure marketing interpretation and is increasingly seen as a catalyst for corporate strategy and a tool for holistic reputation management and business performance. This thesis evaluates the extent to which brand is being adopted as a mechanism to align with corporate strategy, internal culture and supporting behaviours and external delivery or organisational performance: in essence, the concept of a brand-driven organisation that deploys brand as a core capability in pursuit of competitive advantage. This evaluation takes into account defined South African perspectives and examples in a case research approach. It seeks to evaluate how the brand alignment methodology can advance current theory and be applied as a management practice. The research argues that brand extends beyond the marketing function or the end-point of organisational systems and delivery. Rather, it suggests that brand becomes integrated as one of the primary elements of corporate strategy and seeks to embrace strategic organisational intent, internal culture and external manifestation of the business vision and results. The organisational architecture model is adapted to suit this research and offer a brand alignment framework that facilitates the effective and efficient implementation and realisation of strategic intent. This links brand alignment to resource-based theory and posits that it is considered as a core capability within the firm, enabling the attainment of competitive advantage. iv This thesis concludes that brand is not confined to an aspect of marketing, but should be deployed holistically in the organisation as a core capability and opportunity for competitive advantage. The research demonstrates an emerging body of thought and advances theory and practice in this area of business, both academically and in a professional management context, offering possibilities for continued further research in this field of management. / Business Management / D.B. L.

The role of brand has evolved to take on a broader application as a post-modern management concept and has attracted increasing attention in the 21st century as a key component for the development of competitive advantage. Far removed from its origins as an identity device, branding now transcends the pure marketing interpretation and is increasingly seen as a catalyst for corporate strategy and a tool for holistic reputation management and business performance. This thesis evaluates the extent to which brand is being adopted as a mechanism to align with corporate strategy, internal culture and supporting behaviours and external delivery or organisational performance: in essence, the concept of a brand-driven organisation that deploys brand as a core capability in pursuit of competitive advantage. This evaluation takes into account defined South African perspectives and examples in a case research approach. It seeks to evaluate how the brand alignment methodology can advance current theory and be applied as a management practice. The research argues that brand extends beyond the marketing function or the end-point of organisational systems and delivery. Rather, it suggests that brand becomes integrated as one of the primary elements of corporate strategy and seeks to embrace strategic organisational intent, internal culture and external manifestation of the business vision and results. The organisational architecture model is adapted to suit this research and offer a brand alignment framework that facilitates the effective and efficient implementation and realisation of strategic intent. This links brand alignment to resource-based theory and posits that it is considered as a core capability within the firm, enabling the attainment of competitive advantage. iv This thesis concludes that brand is not confined to an aspect of marketing, but should be deployed holistically in the organisation as a core capability and opportunity for competitive advantage. The research demonstrates an emerging body of thought and advances theory and practice in this area of business, both academically and in a professional management context, offering possibilities for continued further research in this field of management. / Business Management / D.B. L.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how a company with a single brand is perceived as uniform, as well as how they use internal brand building to reconcile various competing actors within one brand. Furthermore the aim is to examine how staff, through internal brand building processes, perceives and identifies themself with the values of the common brand. Method: A case study with method triangulation was conducted at Nordiska Kompaniet department store in Stockholm. Quantitative data through a questionnaire survey with employees combined with two observations. Qualitative data was given through an email interview with a responsible manager of digital channels and PR from NK AB. Theories: This study has used the following theories; Destination marketing, Corporate brand, internal branding, corporate identity, corporate culture, brand value, service brand values, brand citizenship behaviour. Conclusion: This case study of NK has shown that internal branding building in a department store is a comprehensive work, which all involved must have a unified perception and understanding of the brand, in order to successful unite under one brand. Internal brand building is done primarily to employees through various recurrent trainings and meetings, with the purpose to create behaviour consistent with the brand values. However, there is a lack of communication since staff did not correctly perceive and understand the actual brand values. This results in that staff identify with incorrect values, which means that they have a brand citizenship behaviour that is not consistent with the brand values. / Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur ett företag med ett gemensamt varumärke uppfattas som enhetligt, samt hur de använder intern varumärkesuppbyggnad för att förena olika konkurrerande aktörer under ett varumärke. Syftet är således att undersöka hur personalen med hjälp av intern varumärkesuppbyggnad, uppfattar och identifierar sig med det gemensamma varumärkets värden. Metod: En metodtriangulering genomfördes på Nordiska Kompaniet i Stockholm. Kvantitativ data gavs genom en enkätundersökning med anställda kombinerat med två observationer. Kvalitativa ansatsen var genom en e-post intervju med ansvarig chef för PR och digitala kanaler på NK AB. Teori: Studien har använt följande teorier; Destinationsmarknadsföring, företagsvarumärke, intern varumärkesuppbyggnad, företagsidentitet, företagskultur, varumärkesvärden, servicevarumärkets värden samt varumärkesorienterade beteende. Slutsats: Fallstudien på Nordiska Kompaniet har visat att intern varumärkesuppbyggnad i ett varuhus är ett omfattande arbete, där alla inblandade måste ha en enhetlig uppfattning och förståelse av varumärket, för att de framgångsrikt ska förenas under ett varumärke. Intern varumärkesuppbyggnad sker framförallt till anställda genom olika återkommande utbildningar och möten, för att således skapa ett beteende förenligt med varumärkets värden.  Däremot finns en brist i kommunikationen när personalen inte korrekt uppfattar och förstår varumärkets faktiska värden. Det leder till att personalen identifiera sig med felaktiga värden. Vilket gör att de uppvisar ett varumärkesorienterande beteende som inte är förenligt med varumärkets värden.