Employees Perspective on Internal Branding Mechanisms. Case Study of a Multinational Organization in Ghana

Abstract

This study examines how employees are supported to acquire requisite knowledge and skills and build brand supportive behaviors for corporate success. The study was conducted in a manufacturing setup of a multinational organization in Ghana. Being an exploratory study, a qualitative approach was adopted, and primary data was collected from twenty respondents via face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Purposive sampling was employed as it enabled diversity to be explored and targeted personnel to be contacted and interviewed. Manual coding was used in analyzing data collected. The study findings identified various mechanisms that an organization can employ to help employees build brand supportive behaviors, and to get employees empowered to deliver on the brand promise. The findings revealed that internal branding initiatives such as employees perceived knowledge and capability building activities, internal communication, leadership support, and the work environment, acted as critical mechanisms that contributed to employees’ empowerment and display of brand supportive behaviors. The study further notes that effective management and implementation of internal branding activities contributes greatly to employees’ empowerment, employees’ internalization of corporate values, and consequently employees’ delivery on the brand promise. The study results confirm the significance of internal branding initiatives to employees’ development and organizational growth and recommends that internal branding initiatives be promoted for sustained success. The research approach adopted however limits generalizability of the findings to other organizations. This study contributes to the scanty empirical literature on internal branding in Africa, and more importantly to the limited literature on internal branding in Ghana.