Abstract
PurposeThe practice of frontline employees articulating their brand voice and posting work-related content on social media has emerged; however, employee brand equity (EBE) research has yet to be linked to employees’ social media activity. This paper aims to take a methods-based approach to better understand employees’ roles as influencers. As such, its objective is to operationalize and apply the three EBE dimensions – brand consistent behavior, brand endorsement and brand allegiance – using Instagram data.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative research uses a case study of employee influencers at SoulCycle, a leading North American fitness company and examines 100 Instagram images and 100 captions from these influential employees to assess the three EBE dimensions.FindingsBrand consistent behavior (what employees do) was the most important EBE dimension indicating that employees’ social media activities align with their employer’s values. Brand allegiance (what employees intend to do in the future) whereby employees self-identify with their employer on social media, followed. Brand endorsement (what employees say) was the least influential of the three EBE dimensions, which may indicate a higher level of perceived authenticity from a consumer perspective.Originality/valueThis research makes three contributions. First, it presents a novel measure of EBE using public Instagram data. Second, it represents a unique expansion and an evolution of King et al.’s (2012) model. Third, it considers employees’ work-related content on social media to understand employees’ role as influencers and their co-creation of EBE, which is currently an under-represented perspective in the internal branding literature.
Highlights
Marketing scholars and practitioners increasingly acknowledge the important role that employees play in brand value co-creation (Merrilees et al, 2017; Glanfield et al, 2018; Chou et al, 2018) and the internal branding process (Du Preez et al, 2017; Boukis and Christodoulides, 2020)
While frontline employee behavior and service delivery can be powerful tools in holistic branding strategy, corporate brands have traditionally focused on a consumer-targeted context (Brexendorf and Kernstock, 2007) whereby consumers’ in-role and extra-role behaviors contribute to the co-creation of brand value (Yi and Gong, 2013; Chou et al, 2018)
Brand consistent behavior measures what employees do, brand endorsement measures what employees say, and brand allegiance measures what employees intend to do in the future (King et al, 2012)
Summary
Marketing scholars and practitioners increasingly acknowledge the important role that employees play in brand value co-creation (Merrilees et al, 2017; Glanfield et al, 2018; Chou et al, 2018) and the internal branding process (Du Preez et al, 2017; Boukis and Christodoulides, 2020). In the eyes of the consumer, employees can embody and personify the corporate brand. This is especially true for service-based corporate brands, where employees interact directly with consumers and are responsible for delivering positive and authentic brand experiences. While frontline employee behavior and service delivery can be powerful tools in holistic branding strategy, corporate brands have traditionally focused on a consumer-targeted context (Brexendorf and Kernstock, 2007) whereby consumers’ in-role (i.e. participation) and extra-role (i.e. voluntary citizenship) behaviors contribute to the co-creation of brand value (Yi and Gong, 2013; Chou et al, 2018). Employee brand equity (EBE) is defined by King and Grace (2009) as “[. Employee brand equity (EBE) is defined by King and Grace (2009) as “[. . .] the differential effect that brand knowledge has on an employee’s
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