Internal brand co-creation: The experiential brand meaning cycle in higher education

Dean, Dianne; Arroyo-Gamez, Ramon E.; Pich, Christopher; Punjaisri, Khanyapuss

Abstract

Higher education (HE) institutions need to adapt to the global environment but the complex nature of HE highlights the role of marketing and the internal market in realizing the brand identity, creating a challenge for developing a shared brand meaning. This research explores how employees co-create brand meaning through their brand experiences and social interactions with management, colleagues and customers. Using a phenomenological approach, the findings highlight that brand meaning commences from historical, superficial brand interactions. Employees then develop brand meaning further through a series of brand interactions and social interactions. Bridging the internal branding and the co-creation literature, this study conceptualizes the evolving, co-created nature of employees’ brand meaning in the experiential brand meaning cycle. This study extends Iglesias and Bonet’s (2012) work and illustrates the function of employees as readers and authors of brand meaning, emphasising the crucial role of brand co-creation in guiding employees’ brand promise delivery.

Citation

Dean, D., Arroyo-Gamez, R. E., Pich, C., & Punjaisri, K. (2016). Internal brand co-creation: The experiential brand meaning cycle in higher education. Journal of business research, 69(8), 3041-3048. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.01.019

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 1, 2015
• Publication Date: Aug 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Dec 17, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 23, 2017
• Journal: Journal of business research
• Print ISSN: 0148-2963
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 69
• Issue: 8
• Pages: 3041-3048
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.01.019
• Keywords: Brand identity, Co-creation, Internal branding, Brand meaning, Higher education
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/382935
• Publisher URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296316000321
• Additional Information: Authors' accepted manuscript of article published in: Journal of business research, 2016, v.69, issue 8.
• Contract Date: Nov 23, 2017