With employer branding (EB), businesses aim to align their organizational norms with the norms of their current and prospective employees, and they explicitly communicate about the firm’s norms. Communication, however, carries different meanings depending on the context in which one operates. Also, the organizational norms may vary depending on the context, i.e., industry, different countries, and geographical context in which a firm operates. As such, the process of EB may be context-dependent, too. This study explores if and how EB is applied differently in different country and industry contexts. The analysis draws on a quantitative content analysis of 226 job vacancies targeted at highly educated graduates and professionals in IT, energy, and healthcare from the North of the Netherlands and comparable regions from Germany and Bulgaria. Our findings show that EB, as manifested in core values and distinctive characteristics, is not widely adopted in the vacancies we included in our analysis. When adopted, different values are emphasized depending on the context. General information and job-specific information are most frequent among all industries and countries. EB is a multidimensional concept with different dimensions used according to the context. The study’s main implication is that companies need to be mindful of the context in which an EB strategy is used. A one-size-fits-all approach in EB is likely not the most effective. This is particularly relevant for multinationals that adopt a worldwide organizational brand.
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This chapter examines current branding trends in significant Asian markets, namely Japan, South Korea, and India, with a special focus on one emerging branding nation, China. No generalizations towards the whole of Asia can be drawn from this research. However, research identified some aspects in the field of branding that have occurred in different Asian markets at different times. For example, the development of branding as a management strategy followed benefit-driven product management in both Japan and South Korea some decades ago. This development can now be witnessed in selected industries in China. Whether or not other Asian nations show similar developments (e.g. Indonesia) would be a topic for further investigation. Nevertheless, the following four Asian branding trends serve as the main outcomes of this research: extending the corporate brand into new fields of business, extending the corporate brand into diverse product categories, acquisition of Western brands by Asian investors and top-management support in brand building.
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Een lezing gehouden op de opleiding Creatieve Therapie over het woord Ludiek. De vraag was indertijd (1984) of deze opleiding zich met benamingen als muzisch ludisch diende te gaan afficheren. De auteur was van mening dat dit niet zo voor de hand lag. Het is tevens een aardige studie naar de etymologie (eigenlijk meer de sociogenese) van ludiek. En passent komen we te weten wat de toenmalige opleidingsvereisen waren: "Heerkens meldt voor het ludisch (genoemde) vak muziek, dat de leerlingen 75 liedjes goed moesten kunnen zingen en deze zowel met behulp van zelf vervaardigde instrumenten kunnen begeleiden, alsook kunnen meespelen met grammofoonplaatjes die harmonisch op die liedjes aansloten (bedenk wel, dit waren eindexameneisen."
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De culturele industrie staat onder druk. De subsidiënten en de sponsors trekken zich terug. De vraag is hoe Oerol zonder verlies aan identiteit nieuwe verdienmodellen kan introduceren op de volgende edities. Oerol trekt in 10 dagen 55.000 bezoekers waarvan er 25.000 het paspoort kopen waarmee toegang tot de koop van tickets mogelijk is. Dit aantal moet omhoog kunnen. Tevens veronderstellen wij dat de bezoeker niet bewust is van het risico die de particuliere organisatie van Oerol loopt bij iedere editie. In het rapport staat een analyse van de situatie waarbij de programmering- piramide alsmede de customer life-time value theorie wordt ingepast en aanbevelingen van verdienmodellen.
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The aim of this paper is to investigate the Chinese branding landscape. First, the strongest Chinese brands are analysed. This analysis offers explanations for typical Chinese brand strategy and establishes current trends in Chinese brand management practice from a corporate perspective. The research includes an empirical study on the motivations of Chinese consumers investigating their preferences of Chinese- over foreign brands. While the discipline of brand management has a relatively short tradition in Chinese boardrooms, the outcomes of Chinese consumer preferences towards their favorite brands are both revealing and unexpected. The paper will conclude with the formulation of four Chinese branding trends that are likely to shape the Chinese branding landscape in the future.
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Purpose – This paper aims to examine the extent to which the nation branding activities of export promotion organisations (EPOs), investment agencies (IAs), national tourism organisations (NTOs) and embassies follow the principle of coordination that characterises an integrated marketing communications approach. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative exploratory approach was taken, comprising face-to-face in-depth interviews with key informants from five Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) involved in the implementation of nation branding communications in terms of export promotion, tourism, investment attraction and public diplomacy. Findings – Seven key dimensions of interorganisational coordination in a nation branding context emerge from our results. These dimensions include sector, organisation domicile, mode, strategy formulation, nature, frequency and target audience. Research limitations/implications – The relatively small dataset as well as the restricted geographic scope of the study limits the generalisability of the findings; further research is required to ascertain whether the findings of this study also apply in other settings. Practical implications – Enhanced coordination needs to occur not only between the different governmental organisations engaged in nation branding strategy, but also between those organisations and their respective private sector stakeholders. Originality/value – This paper extends previous work on the need for countries to adopt a coordinated approach to their nation branding activities. The paper is original in its examination of actors’ perceptions of the optimal degree of coordination that should occur between a country's EPO, IA, NTO and embassies. The paper is also original in its reporting of findings from a region (ASEAN) that is under-researched relative to other areas, such as Europe and North America.
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Purpose – Co-branding is an often used marketing strategy within the theme park industry and it has existed in one form or another since the 1930s. Notwithstanding the growing interest for co-branding in the theme park industry academic research in a theme park context has not been found yet. Empirical research on co-branding is limited to a relatively few studies that have typically examined product concepts or fictitious products rather than real instances of co-branding. This article aims to present results of an experiment on the effects of co-branding from a real-life theme park perspective. Design/methodology/approach – The article is based on a classical field experiment in which the IBRA-method of measuring brand associations was used. The IBRA-method does not influence the brand associations like many other research techniques do (by giving certain cues). It is an unaided, unbiasing research technique. The objective of the study is to investigate whether the relationship between theme park Efteling and WWF, resulting in the co-branded attraction PandaVision, could have a negative effect on the strong brand associations of theme park Efteling. Findings – Through the field experiment an insight has been given into the possible effects a respondent's perceived brand fit within a co-branding situation can have on the average evaluation of core associations of one of the constituent brands. Even strong brands (Efteling is the strongest brand in The Netherlands) can be harmed by a wrong co-brand strategy. Results also showed that the brand fit manipulation has resulted in a more negative image of Efteling without affecting the evaluation of the co-branded attraction PandaVision. Only measuring whether guests like or dislike your attractions is thus not sufficient. Research limitations/implications – This research is presented as a preliminarily study and the results should be interpreted with caution. The sample size was limited to 70 respondents and the experimental design with only students may not necessarily represent the typical visitor to the Efteling. Because of the crude manipulation of the treatment it is unclear what precisely caused the established effect. Is the effect caused by the degree of elaboration (meaning, because the respondent is triggered to think deeply about the matter at hand) or by the substantive guidance? Supplementary research with several experimental groups is needed to answer this question. Practical implications – Theme parks should be aware of the dangers of co-branding. Pairing with a wrong partner can damage the brand; negative spillover effects, erosion, brand dilution and even negative bottom line effects for the participating brands are possible. If the results occur for strong brands, weaker brands should be even more aware of the dangers. Originality/value – This article presents the first application of the effects of co-branding in a specific theme park setting. It is also the first article to use the unbiased IBRA-method for measuring brand associations of a co-brand strategy. Negative effects of co-branding for strong brands in a real-life situation were never reported before.
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Purpose: Employer branding (EB) has become a powerful tool for organizations to attract employees. Recruitment communication ideally reveals the image that companies want to portray to potential employees to attract talents with the right skills and competences for the organization. This study explores the impact of EB on employer attractiveness by testing how pre-existing employee preferences interact with EB and how this interaction affects employer attractiveness. Design/methodology/approach: A quasi-experiment among 289 final-year students was used to test the relationships between EB, perceived employer image, person-organization (P-O) fit and employer attractiveness, and the potential moderating variables of pre-existing preferences, in this case operationalized as locational preferences. Students are randomly assigned to four vacancies: one with and one without EB cues in two different locations: Groningen and Amsterdam. The authors used standard scales for attractiveness, perceptions of an employer and person-organization fit. The authors test the relationships using a regression analysis. Findings: Results suggest that if respondents have previous predispositions, then their preference can be enhanced using an EB-targeted strategy. Based on these results, the authors can conclude that EB and related practices can be successful avenues for organizations in the war for talent, particularly if they reaffirm previous preferences of potential employees. Originality/value: The research is original in the way it provides empirical evidence on the relationship between EB and attractiveness, particularly when previous employee preferences exist. This is of value to employers using EB as a tool to influence employer attractiveness.
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This paper aims to show how current insights on place branding are used to organize “green” entrepreneurship in the Dutch Utrechtse Heuvelrug region. The role of place is explored in establishing a differentiated meaning for green entrepreneurship and providing an inspirational source for innovations, resulting in a green economic value proposition designed and communicated through branding. Design/methodology/approach: From the literature, different perspectives on the role and function of the place were derived, which lead to the choice of an identity-based entrepreneurial brand. To define the regional identity, qualitative and quantitative research were conducted. In addition, co-creation sessions were organized to further develop the brand. Findings: Taking place branding as the starting point, a framework has been developed, introducing the regional identity as an open space, linking locally based sub-brands to enhance power. To deliver economical and social value in an area with no leading business to sustainability and well-developed business skills, cluster development has been introduced as a way to create new economic activity and sustainable impact. Practical implications: The strategy of separating stakeholders and position them as locally based brands enables place planners and marketers to manage place brand complexity, which generally delays the process, often limiting place branding to “logos and slogans”. Originality/value: This paper provides a case study, which offers new perspectives on the issue of managing complexity, which is inevitable in organizing a place brand.
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