Examining a possible relation between the perceptions of the internal employer branding process and the family brand reputation

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine a possible relation, in terms of fit or misfit, between the perceived internal employer brand via employer knowledge and the perceived family firm brand, via the family brand reputation, both by current employees via a single case study. This qualitative study was done in an Austrian multinational family firm in the B2B market. Following a template analysis, 3 semi-structured interviews with the involved actors in internal employer branding of this organisation and 4 internal documents regarding the employer branding of the organisation were analysed in order to determine the actual internal employer branding strategy of the organisation. Thereafter, 16 semi-structured interviews were conducted with current employees from different departments in order to analyse the perceived internal employer brand and the perceived family firm brand in terms of family brand reputation. The final template presented three main themes: the employer brand, internal employer branding and the family firm brand. Following the results, communication of the employer brand and leadership may influence the perception of the internal employer brand by current employees. Additionally, elements from the family firm brand seemed to be presented in the internal employer brand, hinting on an overlap between these two branding strategies.