Employer branding voor bedrijven met een negatief productimago

Abstract

The benefits of employer branding for the attraction and retention of personnel have been repeatedly confirmed in the HR literature. However, most studies focus on solely one perspective on employer branding as well as the ‘ideal’ situation: having a positive employer brand in combination with positive product image. This study aims to provide a holistic understanding of the role of employer branding within organizations that suffer from a generally negative product image. We conducted a case study within the tobacco industry that includes interviews on three perspectives on employer branding: the external (N=21), internal (N=8), and organizational perspective (N=3). The key findings are aligned with cognitive dissonance theory and the theory of reasoned action. The employer brand may help organizations that suffer from a negative product image to address cognitive dissonance of (potential) employees as well as the influence of social norms by actively promoting attractive employment attributes (e.g., high salary, job rotation, innovation). Alignment between the external and internal employer brand, boosting the organization’s credibility, could also be of help. Taking such approach, employer branding may allow to convince (potential) employees to become or remain employed at the organization – despite the generally negative image of their products.