39 research outputs found
Building better employer brands through employee social media competence and online social capital
Despite the significant and increasing influence of social media on employees' work lives, there is limited focus on employees' social media competencies from an employer branding or internal marketing perspective. Building on social identity and social exchange theories, this paper links employees' social media competence to an increase in online brand citizenship behaviour and reduction in feelings of psychological contract violation towards their employer's brand. We also examine the distinct mediatory effects of two forms of online social capital—bonding mediates the influence of employee social media competence on online brand citizenship and feelings of psychological contract violation, whilst Bridging only mediates the effect of social media competence on feelings of psychological contract violation. In doing so, we contribute to extant literature in two ways: (1) Address the need for research on social media in relation to employer branding; and (2) highlight the importance of building employee‐to‐employee and employee‐to‐employer relationships by virtual means in the context of employer branding. Therefore, this paper responds to calls for research that advances more responsible approaches to employer branding and internal marketing; that is, approaches that take into account employee competencies (emphasise need for skill development) as well as wellbeing (emphasise need for support)
The rise of inconspicuous consumption
Ever since Veblen and Simmel, luxury has been synonymous with conspicuous consumption. In this conceptual paper we demonstrate the rise of inconspicuous consumption via a wide-ranging synthesis of the literature. We attribute this rise to the signalling ability of traditional luxury goods being diluted, a preference for not standing out as ostentatious during times of economic hardship, and an increased desire for sophistication and subtlety in design in order to further distinguish oneself for a narrow group of peers. We decouple the constructs of luxury and conspicuousness, which allows us to reconceptualise the signalling quality of brands and the construct of luxury. This also has implications for understanding consumer behaviour practices such as counterfeiting and suggests that consumption trends in emerging markets may take a different path from the past
The Core Value Compass: visually evaluating the goodness of brands that do good
yesBrands that do good for the society as well as for
themselves are motivated by the core values they espouse,
which necessitates a better understanding of what qualities a
true core value must possess. The inherent tension within
brands that do good, between commercial interests to
increase competitiveness, and societal interests that are
closely linked to the brand’s authenticity, has largely been
overlooked. Hence, we develop and demonstrate a relatively
easy-to-apply visual tool for evaluating core values based on
a set of ‘goodness’ criteria derived from extant theory. The
Core Value Compass adopts a paradox-based, evolutionary
perspective by incorporating the inherent tensions within
true core values, and classifying them according to their
temporal orientation. Thus, we contribute towards a better
understanding of underlying tensions of core values and
provide a practical tool that paves the way for improved, and
indeed ethical, corporate branding strategies. Furthermore,
we demonstrate the Compass’ application using the case of a
public sector brand, which is a quintessential brand that does
good. Therefore, we also contribute to the nascent theoretical
discourse on public sector branding. This paper therefore
adds to the notable attempts to bridge the gap between theory
and practice in core values-based corporate branding