Internal Branding : Understanding Brand Values

Abstract: Purpose- The purpose of the study was to investigate how employees perceive and understand their company brand values. The aim was to show the importance of internal branding when communicating brand values in an organization to employees. Design/methodology/approach- The methodology used in this research was a quantitative survey study. Three warehouses were chosen for the study, in Älmhult, Helsingborg and Malmö. The sample was 129 employees and questionnaires were handed out to them. The data from the questionnaires were analyzed in the data program SPSS. Findings- Result from the study shows that the employees have a good understanding and share a mutual perception about the brand values. Although the employees have good knowledge the study shows that they are not committed on a personal level to the brand values. Since internal branding is about implementing the brand values with the employees the result shows that the internal branding is not as embedded as it should be in the organization. Research limitations and implications- Due to the timeframe given, the research was a cross- sectional study. A suggestion for future research is to do a longitudinal design in order to see changes over time. A theoretical implication is given to the two concepts of brand citizenship behavior and brand commitment since the results in this research are different from other studies. For the managerial implications, the commitment to the brand should be taken into consideration in the internal branding process. Originality/ value- The value that this study brings is to the internal branding process by showing the lack of brand commitment even though the knowledge about the brand values are high.