The moderating effect of culture on the interactions of internal brand management practices and its outcomes

Abstract

As the management of the firm’s workforce constitutes a strategically important source of its success, both scholars and practitioners are paying increasing attention to the recent field of internal brand management. Up to now, no study has focused on the moderation effects of culture and employee characteristics on the relationship between the three internal brand management practices (brand-oriented human resource management, brand communication, and brand-oriented leadership) and their two outcomes (brand commitment and brand citizenship behavior). To fill the scientific gap, collectivistic Portugal is compared to individualistic Germany by analyzing the data of 319 employees, which has been collected via an online survey. The analysis finds (1) an effect of all three practices on brand commitment while (2) only brand communication and brand commitment affect brand citizenship behavior. Additionally, (3) culture moderates the relationship between brand-oriented leadership and brand commitment whereas (4) educational background functions as a moderator of brandoriented human resource management and brand citizenship behavior. Due to the study’s focus on two-way interactions effects, future research needs to examine the impact of multiple moderators. Moreover, the generalizability of the findings is questionable since the broad spectrum of employees’ industries may have incorporated third variables and the sample mainly consisted of Germans. The findings emphasize the benefits of internal brand management and help managers to implement effective tools to increase their employees’ emotional bond with the brand and to enhance brand-strengthening behavior in a cross-cultural context.

Date of Award	8 Mar 2018
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Rita Coelho do Vale (Supervisor)