Internal branding: Exploring the literature to develop an integrated model

Changes in the purpose of the brand, the role of the customer, and the value creation process have led to a paradigm shift in brand management. Crucial to the shift is the increasing importance of the service component handled by employees. Corporate brands place heavy emphasis on front line employees in projecting a consistent image and corporate brand experience to all stakeholders. By not emphasizing internal branding, corporate brands are at a risk of projecting a conflicting image leading to mistrust in the brand. Therefore, frontline employees, specifically brand champions, appear as key players in providing brand experience in line with brand values. As such, the puzzle is how to align employee behavior with brand values in order to deliver the brand promise distinctly and consistently. A dearth of literature exists on internal branding, much of which takes a fragmented, and somewhat inconsistent approach. In order to further the field of internal branding, this paper combines the current literature to develop an integrated model of internal branding by taking into consideration the components of internal branding, and the resulting desired attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. In addition, the paper proposes a suitable definition of internal branding to facilitate the progress of future research in this field.