Personal branding and the literary field: explaining the rise of the “award-winning author”

Unveiling physicians’ personal branding strategies in online healthcare service platforms

UK police call in consultant

Personal Branding and Brand Loyalty, Social Network Users Brand Identification: Polish-French Model

“In A.I. we trust?” The effects of parasocial interaction and technopian versus luddite ideological views on chatbot-based customer relationship management in the emerging “feeling economy”

Purpose: This study explores the opportunities and risks of using artificial intelligence (AI) in building a CEO’s personal brand. Design/methodology/approach: The research was exploratory and based on twelve in-depth interviews (IDIs) with CEOs from various industries and company sizes in Poland, conducted between October 2024 and February 2025. Findings: The analysis indicates ambivalent CEO attitudes towards AI use in the process of building their personal brand. Specifically, these tools are perceived by CEOs as support in content creation, communication planning, and decision-making, but at the same time raise concerns about loss of authenticity, credibility, and image abuse (e.g., deepfakes). As authenticity remains a foundational element of a leader’s personal brand and a key factor in building trust with their audience, these tensions highlight the importance of taking an ethically grounded approach to integrating AI. Research limitations/implications: The main limitation is the small and non-representative sample. Future studies should include more CEOs from different industries and compare gender perspectives. Audience views on CEO authenticity also deserve further exploration. Practical implications: CEOs should stay personally involved in shaping their personal brand. Authenticity and credibility are essential for maintaining stakeholder trust. The research highlights the need for a cautious and intentional use of AI in personal branding. Organizations should establish clear guidelines to ensure transparency and reduce risks such as deepfakes or content homogenization. Social implications: The research draws attention to the role of CEOs as public figures shaping social trust. It highlights the societal value of authenticity and responsibility in leadership communication. The findings may inform norms and expectations around transparent and ethical self-presentation in business. Originality/value: This is one of the first studies to examine AI's role in CEO personal branding. It provides a comprehensive overview of emerging opportunities, risks, and paradoxes, emphasizing the ethical challenges and the need for intentional technology use to sustain trust and leadership influence in the age of generative AI.

Purpose: The main research problem was formulated in the form of a question: In what areas of business communication is kitsch dominant and what are the ways of building social sensitivity in order to eliminate or limit it? The purpose of this article is to discuss the category of kitsch in business communication, in areas such as personal branding and artificial intelligence (AI) advertising. It also aims to clarify the state of knowledge about kitsch in business, which is a vivid and widespread phenomenon, though perceptually subjective, and therefore eludes rigid definitional rules. Design/methodology/approach: Humanities research, essential in marketing, PR, HR, UX/UI, as well as project management and strategy development in creative industries, was conducted. Non-reactive methods were employed: desk research and descriptive analysis. Full-text databases, including EBSCO, ProQuest, ISI SSI Reuters/Thomson, were also used, along with the leading website scholar.google.com. Data were selected based on final results, inclusions, and exclusions. Findings: Kitsch is part of the phenomenon of modern consumerism. In business, it is primarily used for marketing purposes to appeal to the tastes of a wide audience. Examples include online activities utilizing artificial intelligence, such as personal branding and advertising campaigns. Research limitations/implications: This article is of a theoretical nature. New trends that fit into the phenomenon of digital kitsch and serve business communication, such as personal branding and advertising using artificial intelligence (AI), as well as trends in the use of artificial intelligence in this area, were identified. Practical implications: It was concluded that AI is not enough in business practice, but that a human factor will always be needed: supervisors, experts and connoisseurs who, with the sensitivity typical of homo sapiens, will manage advertising campaigns and ensure the proper personal branding of employees. Social implications: The article contributes to building social sensitivity to the negative features of kitsch, which lead to the trivialization of culture, undervaluation and creation of illusions, which is already visible in the new version of the forms of personal branding and advertising described in the article using artificial intelligence (AI), as well as in commercial products. Originality/value: The approach to the category of kitsch in business communication presented in the article organizes this area and identifies opportunities for better use of the potential of knowledge in this area in business practice. Keywords: kitsch, AI-powered advertising, personal branding, business communications. Category of the paper: research paper.

This paper explores the transformative relationship between personal branding and artificial intelligence (AI), positioning digital literacy as the foundation of this shift. It argues that personal branding remains essential in today’s digital era, enabling individuals to establish trust and cultivate distinct identities. The research examines how AI influences personal branding through customized content creation, interactive audience engagement, and data-driven strategies. Drawing on current scholarship, the paper demonstrates how digital literacy enhances online visibility while highlighting AI tools that strengthen messaging. The paper argues that leveraging AI to showcase digital competence in personal branding strengthens career readiness and accelerates professional growth. The study demonstrates that the practical and ethical application of AI in personal branding necessitates a strong foundation in digital literacy to achieve authenticity, credibility, and sustained professional success.

This paper explores the intersection of Personal Branding and Sustainable Human Resource Management (HRM), addressing the research gap regarding how individual branding efforts can support sustainability within organizations. As companies increasingly align their strategies with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the role of employees as active contributors to these goals becomes more prominent. Personal Branding, understood as the strategic self-presentation of professionals, appears as a potential enabler of sustainable organizational culture, green HRM practices, and responsible leadership. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study combines a systematic literature review with qualitative interviews involving 12 professionals from various industries who actively integrate sustainability into their personal branding. The findings reveal that when personal branding aligns with organizational values and sustainability goals, it enhances both individual credibility and organizational commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Digital platforms, especially social media, were identified as powerful tools for promoting sustainability-related identity and behavior, although challenges such as organizational resistance and limited resources still exist. The study outlines key characteristics of sustainable personal branding, including authenticity, ethical communication, and alignment with long-term environmental and social objectives. It also emphasizes the importance of digital literacy and lifelong learning in building personal brands that reflect sustainability values. By supporting employees in developing sustainability-oriented personal brands, organizations can strengthen their employer brand, boost employee engagement, and contribute more effectively to global sustainability goals. This research contributes to the evolving discourse on sustainable HRM by positioning Personal Branding as both an individual strategy and an organizational asset for promoting sustainability and long-term competitiveness.

This study aims to develop a strategic model for the impact of social media on the creation and development of personal sports branding among Olympic athletes. A mixed-methods research approach was employed, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The statistical population included 39 elite Olympic athletes from Mazandaran province, with 25 participants selected through purposive sampling for the qualitative phase and 155 participants selected through convenience sampling for the quantitative phase. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews and a structured questionnaire, analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including structural equation modeling. The qualitative data were examined using grounded theory analysis with open, axial, and selective coding. The results indicated that social media significantly influences the personal branding of Olympic athletes, with a strong correlation between social media engagement and brand development. Managing opportunities and threats in digital spaces plays a crucial role in brand sustainability, and effective social media use enhances fan interaction, marketability, and sponsorship potential. The findings also demonstrated that athletes with strong personal branding are more likely to achieve financial success through digital marketing strategies. Structural equation modeling confirmed that personal branding strategies positively impact the transition to global branding. The highest correlation was found between digital branding strategies and financial gains, suggesting that social media presence is essential for brand monetization. Social media serves as a powerful tool in developing and promoting personal sports branding, allowing Olympic athletes to enhance their visibility, engagement, and economic opportunities. Implementing strategic branding efforts, managing digital presence effectively, and utilizing professional marketing strategies can lead to greater success in both national and international markets. The findings emphasize the necessity of structured approaches to digital branding for sustainable athlete branding development.

The present study empirically measures the Airtel brand personality in India using Aaker’s brand personality measurement framework (1997). The study involved a questionnaire survey measuring five brand personality dimensions, namely, sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication and ruggedness. The data were collected from customers using Airtel services; telecom, broadband and DTH. To establish the best fitting measurement model, the first- and second-order confirmatory factor analyses were computed using AMOS. Results revealed that the items under ‘sophistication’ dimension such as feminine, good-looking, glamorous and smooth are not relevant with Airtel brand personality. Thus, the remaining four dimensions, namely, sincerity, excitement, competence and ruggedness were combined to form a higher order construct, namely, Brand Personality. These dimensions were found to be important in Indian context. These results are very useful for managers to understand the symbolic meaning associated with the commercial brands. The results can also be used to develop positioning strategies for Airtel brand, especially with ‘excitement’ and ‘competence’ dimensions.

The topics of logo design perceptions have been examined among academic scholars recently. However, elements of logo as one aspect of logo designs were rarely studied and required to be investigated. This research aimed to measure the effects of logo elements comprising type font, graphic form, and color toward brand personality perceptions, as well as to explore the relationship between business stakeholders and brand personality. In addition, logo design meaning and brand personality traits including sincerity, excitement, security, and up to date were evaluated toward logo elements. Two hundred and sixty-five samples were selected using convenience sampling from employees and residents of Thai property developers. The mix method approach was employed for the data collecting through interviewing and questionnaire survey and analyzed by Chi-square tests. The findings reveal that logo design transfers all-inclusive meaning to viewers, encompassing name, graphic, and color interpretation. Besides, there is a connection between logo elements and perception of brand personality, but in order to obtain one salient dimension of brand personality, exhibiting the whole logo was suggested rather than individual element of logo. Furthermore, brand personality was considered vital among market sharing property industry which personality of sincerity was chiefly perceived when stakeholders appreciate a logo of their real estate brands.

This research argues that the meaning embedded in consumption symbols, such as commercial brands, can serve to represent and institutionalize the values and beliefs of a culture. Relying on a combined emic-etic approach, the authors conducted 4 studies to examine how symbolic and expressive attributes associated with commercial brands are structured and how this structure varies across 3 cultures. Studies 1 and 2 revealed a set of "brand personality" dimensions common to both Japan and the United States (Sincerity, Excitement, Competence, and Sophistication), as well as culture-specific Japanese (Peacefulness) and American (Ruggedness) dimensions. Studied 3 and 4, which extended this set of findings to Spain, yielded brand personality dimensions common to both Spain and the United States (Sincerity, Excitement, and Sophistication), plus nonshared Spanish (Passion) and American (Competence and Ruggedness) dimensions. The meaning of these brand personality dimensions is discussed in the context of cross-cultural research on values and affect, globalization issues, and cultural frame shifting.

THE AIM OF THE PAPER This study aims to explore the measurement of Personal Brand Equity (PBE), conceptualized as the value derived from strategic self-presentation in professional contexts. Despite increasing academic interest in Personal Branding, a standardized measurement framework remains underdeveloped. Existing research primarily focuses on branding strategies rather than quantifying the tangible benefits. Building upon Gorbatov et al.'s (2020) three-dimensional model, this study refines the concept by introducing a distinction between self-PBE (sPBE) and external-PBE (ePBE), addressing a critical gap in the literature. METHODOLOGY Using a mixed-methods approach, integrating qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys construct a comprehensive measurement model. The findings help close the research gap by revealing how Personal Branding efforts can generate measurable equity that influences career progression, professional reputation, and business success. By delineating the self-perceived and external (other-perceived) dimensions of PBE, the study provides an understanding of how individuals can strategically cultivate and leverage their personal brands for professional growth. MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS In terms of results, the research offers both theoretical and practical contributions. Theoretically, it enhances the conceptual foundation of PBE by establishing a structured framework for measurement. Practically, it equips professionals and organizations with a validated tool to assess and optimize PBE. The proposed model has implications for various domains, including career management and corporate branding. RECOMMENDATIONS By bridging the gap between Personal Branding and quantifiable equity, this study underscores the strategic significance of PBE as an asset in contemporary business environments. It provides a novel perspective on the role of Personal Branding in career sustainability from both individual and organizational perspectives, positioning PBE as a crucial element of competitive advantage in today’s dynamic labor market.

Online Personal Branding: Processes, Challenges, and Implications

Purpose – The overall aim of the present study is to advance research by drawing from this body of work and applying the brand personality construct, which has so far been considered mostly in connection with commercial product brands, in the context of nation branding. More specifically, and also more importantly, the study aims to contribute to research both in nation branding, as well as, indirectly, in the broader domain of brand personality in general, by being one of the first to examine the relationship between individual personality (IP) and nation brand personality (NBP) traits. Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted via a Web-based questionnaire in Arabic language to Saudi citizens living in Saudi Arabia. The study object was defined as the brand personality of the USA. To make possible the comparison between respondents’ personality and the US brand personality, the Big Five factors typology was used as a proxy (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism). Findings – Results revealed a significant negative impact of the gaps between Saudi’s IP and the US brand personality (i.e. independent variables) upon their attitudes and intentions to behave toward the USA (dependent variables). Results also show that there are no moderating effects of previous visits paid to the USA and having relatives living there. Research limitations/implications – First, data were collected in only one country about perceptions of NBP traits of one other country. Thus, the results should not be generalized to other contexts until further research is done for a mix of both sample and target countries. This must include not only culturally dissimilar countries (as, in this case, Saudi views of the USA), but also countries that are classified as very close in their cultural distance index (i.e. view of the USA by Canadians or of Kuwaitis by Saudis). A second limitation is the proxy used to measure NBP. Future research may alternatively use an NBP scale developed explicitly for countries. Finally, the somewhat higher proportion of female respondents may be an issue to consider in future studies. In this study, the concern, if any, is largely ameliorated by the results, which showed virtually no significant differences between male and female average responses in relation to the Big Five (the only exception was observed with regards to conscientiousness, where males scored slightly lower than females). As was noted above, one may speculate as to potential reasons for the gender distribution in this study – but differences between samples and populations, not only in gender but in any sample characteristics, are quite common in research; therefore, any effort to achieve more balanced sample distributions will be well placed and received. Practical implications – These results should encourage nation brand marketers to closely consider the predominant personality of their target markets, as well as the perceived personality of their own countries (image) when developing international marketing strategies. Such strategic focus should start by deciding what messages to send to the target audience to create in their minds the intended country’s identity by using the appropriate personality traits in communication applications. As this paper has demonstrated, international audiences holding similar personality types, especially in agreeableness, extraversion and conscientiousness, would feel attracted to perform positively towards the country’s offerings (i.e. tourism, investment, job opportunities, immigration, etc.). Originality/value – In this first ever study to explore the relationship between an IP and NBP, a key finding is the confirmation of self-congruity theory.