Employer Branding: A Brand Equity‐based Literature Review and Research Agenda

Over the past two decades, scholarly interest in employer branding has strongly increased. Simultaneously, however, employer branding research has developed into a fragmented field with heterogeneous interpretations of the employer branding concept and its scope, which has impeded further theoretical and empirical advancement. To strengthen the foundation for future work, this paper takes a brand equity perspective to review the extant literature and create an integrative model of employer branding. Using an analytical approach, the authors identify 187 articles, which they integrate along different employer brand dimensions and branding strategies: (i) conceptual; (ii) employer knowledge dimensions; (iii) employer branding activities and strategies. On the basis of this review, the authors develop an employer branding value chain model and derive future research avenues as well as practical implications.     

Designing brands and managing organizational politics: A qualitative case study of employer brand creation

This study explores intra-organizational processes and structures within the creation of an employer brand. Drawing on a practice perspective that analytically differentiates between practitioners, praxis, and practices, we present a qualitative case study of an employer branding project in a large industrial company. Our theorized account of the case demonstrates the managerial complexities and dynamics of employer brand creation. Based on a detailed content analysis, we identify three distinct sets of activities of employer brand creation: (1) defining and demarcating employer branding, (2) developing and maintaining cooperation within employer brand creation, and (3) confirming and contesting management ideas and structures beyond employer branding. Our study contributes to employer branding research by highlighting how employer brand creation is entangled within strategic, functional design of an employer brand and managing organizational power relations and differing interests. Furthermore, this study particularly emphasizes the emerging character of employer branding and the impact of an established social infrastructure within employer brand creation.     

Employer brand building for start-ups: which job attributes do employees value most?

Although attracting talented personnel is one of the biggest challenges for start-ups, little is known about how nascent ventures can successfully build an employer brand. This study investigates which distinctive job attributes start-ups can use for their employer branding. We identify the unique job attributes distinguishing entrepreneurial firms from large firms and calibrate the relative value of these job attributes from the potential employees’ perspective. Using conjoint analysis we demonstrate that a communal team climate and the early assignment of responsibilities are a start-up’s most attractive job attributes for prospective applicants. We contribute to the entrepreneurial marketing literature by bringing forward the concept of entrepreneurial employer branding, by examining entrepreneurial firms’ unique and attractive job attributes, and by discussing how start-ups can make use of these attributes in their recruiting and employer branding activities.     

Attracting talent through diversity at the top: The impact of TMT diversity and firms' efforts to promote diversity on employer attractiveness

At a time where firms encounter a “race for talent”, it is crucial for many MNCs to present themselves as attractive employers. Failing to position themselves in the international labor market can reduce firms' ability to acquire valuable international human capital, thereby generating disadvantageous organizational effects. Against this backdrop, drawing on signaling theory and employer branding literature, our paper aims to shed light on the association between nationality diversity in the executive suite and MNCs' employer attractiveness. Our lines of argument build on the notion that top management team composition can affect MNCs' efforts to promote diversity among their employees. This focus on diversity, in turn, can affect MNCs' employer attractiveness. Examining firms from various European countries, we find that top management team nationality diversity is positively associated with firms' employer attractiveness for foreign job seekers. We also show that a firm's efforts to promote diversity mediate the relationship between TMT nationality diversity and employer attractiveness. We therefore advance the academic debate on diversity as an employer branding tool and a means to enhance employer attractiveness. In practical terms, we also provide valuable insights for firms wishing to transform into (more) diverse entities.     

Coaching als Instrument der Personalentwicklung in einem Handwerksbetrieb

The authors present a case study of a coaching process in an enterprise of handicraft. In human resource management, coaching supports communication in the workplace and thus enhances workplace satisfaction. Moreover, coaching has been proven to positively reinforce employer branding (corporate culture, work quality, job satisfaction, ??psychological contracts??, etc.) and increases the general attractiveness of the employer: ??We offer staff development and coaching, we take our employees and management staff seriously.??     

Organizational Identity and Employer Image: Towards a Unifying Framework*

This study aims to bridge two research streams that have evolved relatively apart from each other, namely the research streams on organizational identity and on employer branding (employer image). In particular, we posit that it is crucial to examine which factors company outsiders (applicants) as well as company insiders (employees) associate with a given employer. To this end, this study uses the instrumental–symbolic framework to study factors relating to both employer image and organizational identity of the Belgian Army. Two samples are used: a sample of 258 Army applicants and a sample of 179 military employees. Results show that both instrumental and symbolic perceived image dimensions predict applicants' attraction to the Army. Conversely, symbolic perceived identity dimensions best predict employees' identification with the Army. Results further show that employees also attach importance to outsiders' assessment of the organization (construed external image). Theoretical and practical implications for managing organizational identity and image are discussed.     

边界跨越对IT外包绩效影响的实证分析

 IT外包组织边界跨越活动的作用日益凸显,而与之相对的是相应研究却不多。在先前的研究中我们发现这一现象确实存在于中国IT外包企业中,因此,本研究通过特别的研究设计,对边界跨越做进一步实证分析。2010年在西安、北京、上海三地的20家IT外包企业进行问卷调查,对回收到的292份有效问卷运用SPSS17.0和AMOS17.0进行统计分析。本研究证实:边界跨越具有很大的灵活性,可以直接或间接影响IT外包绩效;知识共享具有很强的中介作用,边界跨越及与之相关的技术创新和关系规范都通过知识共享的中介作用影响IT外包绩效;边界跨越、关系规范和知识共享对IT外包绩效影响力较强,而技术创新的影响较弱。     

Top employer awards: A double-edged sword?

Organizations often use top employer awards to confirm their quality as employers via an independent third party. At first, the advantages of using awards seem apparent, such as giving the organization an edge in recruitment by increasing the organizational attractiveness for jobseekers. Possible disadvantages accompanying the use of awards have received little attention. We argue that awards can cause potential applicants to pay less attention to information provided in recruitment materials that allow them to assess their organizational fit. Therefore, we investigated the influence of awards on the relationship between person–organization fit and attraction to organization as well as application decision. We include the corporate brand awareness (unknown vs. well-known) as a boundary condition. The results of our experiment show that, while awards increase organizational attractiveness, they also reduce the effect of person–organization fit on organizational attractiveness in the case of well-known organizations. Moreover, we found that awards indirectly affect application decision in the same way. Hence, successful self-selection based on fit is disturbed in this situation. Consequently, the quality of the applicant pool is reduced, resulting in a disadvantage for the well-known recruiting organization. Contrary to expectations, unknown organizations do not appear to be affected by this downside and instead benefit from awards. Our study contributes to the literature in recruiting by focusing on how awards change the impact of other information, while also highlighting potential disadvantages of employer awards.     

上市公司创新型人才评价研究

创新型人才是上市公司最为稀缺的人力资本和核心竞争力的集中体现,创新型人才的评价直接影响其潜能、效能的发挥。本文在创新型人才研究文献综述的基础上,以安徽省上市公司为例,通过问卷调查和因子分析,构建创新型人才评价的指标体系,对上市公司创新型人才评价进行实证研究。研究结果表明:创新型人才的知识、能力、素质、创新成果与个人绩效呈现显著正相关。本文提出:要进一步完善创新型人才选用培养机制、评价机制和激励机制等政策建议,使上市公司创新型人才的评价更具科学性、系统性和可操作性,促进上市公司健康快速发展。     

首席信息官评估信息服务价值的行为与决策研究

本文是针对企业在IT投资决策过程中评估信息服务价值的理论和实证研究。首先通过发放问卷,调研了中国信息技术密集型企业IT投资的决策环境和首席信息官(Chief Information Officer,简称CIO)的风险态度。其次,在调研结论的基础上,利用贝叶斯决策理论,建立CIO评估外部信息服务价值的数学模型。实证调研表明,在IT投资决策过程中,大部分CIO属于风险中性。针对风险中性的决策者,本文分析了购买信息服务所规避损失或者增加收益的期望值,并与信息服务的费用进行比较,以帮助CIO做出是否购买信息服务和是否进行IT投资的决策。在应用案例中,对一家大型电子商务企业进行了实地调研,并对访谈资料和文档数据进行分析。应用案例的分析结果表明:本文的研究结论适用于中国信息技术密集型企业,能够提供相关决策的依据。     

Assessing the efficiency of HRD practices in knowledge-intensive firms

The article presents the results of a comparative study of human resource development (HRD) in two groups of knowledge-intensive firms: those working in the information technology (IT) field and in advertising/public relations (PR) field. One hundred Russian medium-sized enterprises participated in the study. The questionnaire was developed on the basis of the European quality standard ‘Investors in People’. The study findings suggested that the differences in HR practices aimed at personnel development between two groups of companies were statistically significant. Thus, in the advertising/PR companies, HRD practices were used more actively and effectively, with particular emphasis on providing timely feedback and involving employees in the decision-making process. In IT companies, formal assessment tools were used more often, while in advertising/PR companies, more informal and individualized approaches were more prevalent.     

中国制造业IT投资的绩效与行业特征调节效应

以中国制造业上市公司为研究样本,对信息技术投资与企业绩效之间的关系进行比较分析,并阐释行业特征变量在其中所起的调节作用.实证分析结果表明,信息技术投资有利于提高企业绩效,行业集中度、行业资本密集度和行业增长率均对信息技术与企业绩效之间的关系有明显的调节作用.本研究结论在一定程度上拓展了信息技术投资与企业绩效之间关系的研究内容,对中国制造业的信息化建设有一定的战略启示.     

To be or not to be corporate heritage oriented? A study of managers’ corporate heritage mindsets

Corporate heritage is a research topic in branding with managerial relevance to achieve competitive advantages. Research has mainly focussed on companies with a formal corporate heritage orientation, neglecting other companies. In this study, a novel framework has been developed for analysing managers' corporate heritage mindsets as a precondition for a corporate heritage orientation in a non-heritage-oriented company. Individual managers’ corporate image heritage depicts how managers perceive their company over time, hence revealing their corporate heritage mindset. This article proposes that two managerial mindset dimensions matter – corporate heritage recognition and stance. This abductive study combines theory and empirical findings from an industrial company with a long history, but no corporate heritage orientation. The proposed framework offers companies with a history a way to analyse whether corporate heritage could be recognised and employed. This article contributes to corporate heritage research by broadening the applicability of corporate heritage issues.     

IT人员业务能力与技术能力的互补性对企业竞争优势的影响

以资源基础观为理论指导,研究IT人员的技术能力与业务能力以及二者的协同效应对企业竞争优势的影响。在已有研究成果的基础上,构建了企业IT人员能力及其互补性与企业经营绩效关联的概念模型,通过对国内300家大中型企业的问卷调查和统计检验,验证企业IT人员的技术能力和业务能力与企业绩效都有着显著的正相关关系,而且这2种能力之间也存在较强的互补性。研究结论显示,技术能力是IT部门人员区别于其他部门的根本,业务能力使IT人员能够更好地理解企业业务,进而充分发挥IT系统的战略作用,产生的协同效应能够进一步提升企业的经营绩效。     

An Exploratory Analysis of the Value of the Skills of IT Personnel: Their Relationship to IS Infrastructure and Competitive Advantage

Determining and assessing the requisite skills of information technology (IT) personnel have become critical as the value of IT has risen in modern organizations. In addition to technical skills traditionally expected of IT personnel, softer skills like managerial, business, and interpersonal skills have been increasingly cited in previous studies as mandatory for these employees. This paper uses a typology of IT personnel skills—technology management skills, business functional skills, interpersonal skills, and technical skills—and investigates their relationships to two information systems (IS) success variables, IS infrastructure flexibility and the competitive advantage provided by IS. The study investigates these relationships using the perceptions of chief information officers (CIOs) from mostly Fortune 2000 companies. The contributions of this study are: IT personnel skills do affect IS success, technical skills are viewed as the most important skill set in affecting IS infrastructure flexibility and competitive advantage, and modularity is viewed as more valuable to competitive advantage than integration. Several explanations are offered for the lack of positive relationships between the softer IT personnel skills and the dimensions of IS success used in this study.     

独立董事制度,真的有效吗?——基于上市公司行业数据的实证研究

本文运用随机前沿分析模型(SFA)分析了中国独立董事制度对企业效率的影响效应,发现当前的独立董事制度对企业效率的提高作用并不明显;研究结果表明必须完善独立董事的选拨制度和激励制度,吸引具有良好教育水平和丰富的相关工作经验、有良好声誉和国际视野的人士作为独立董事加入董事会,同时提高独立董事津贴,才能充分发挥独立董事的作用,促进企业效率的提高。     

IT服务企业中文化对知识共享与创新行为关系的影响

在全球一体化进程加速、IT服务企业员工文化价值取向趋于多元化的背景下,有必要了解员工文化观念对企业的影响。本文研究员工的集体主义观念和权力距离观念对IT服务企业中知识共享与创新行为之间关系的影响。在北京、西安的具有不同文化特色的IT服务企业进行问卷调查,收集了484份问卷,运用SPSS及SmartPLS进行数据分析。研究结果表明:员工的集体主义观念增强时,知识共享对创新行为的影响会增加;权力距离增大时,知识共享对创新行为的影响会减弱。对实践的启示是:管理者应培养、提高员工的集体主义文化价值观;根据公司的企业文化特色,区分对待员工权力距离对知识共享与创新行为之间关系的影响作用。     

Impact of Information Technology Integration and Lean/Just‐In‐Time Practices on Lead‐Time Performance*

Managers seeking to improve lead‐time performance are challenged by how to balance resources and investments between process improvement achieved through lean/just‐in‐time (JIT) practices and information technology (IT) deployment. However, extant literature provides little guidance on this question. Motivated by both practical importance and lack of academic research, this article examines empirically the relationships among interfirm IT integration, intrafirm IT integration, lean/JIT practices, and lead‐time performance using data from IndustryWeek's Census of Manufacturers ( IndustryWeek, 2006 ). The results provide several new insights on the relationship between IT integration and lean/JIT practices. First, the study confirms that implementing lean/JIT practices significantly reduces lead time. Second, lean/JIT practices mediate the influence of IT integration on lead‐time performance. This suggests that process improvements that result from lean/JIT practices are important contributors to the success of IT integration. Even companies that have experienced success in reducing lead time through lean/JIT practices may benefit from IT integration practices such as those embodied in enterprise resource planning systems. The findings provide managers with empirical evidence and a theoretical framework on the balance between lean/JIT and IT for effecting improvement in lead‐time performance, thus offering practical guidance on this important question. Future research is needed to extend the lean/JIT practices in this study to supply chain practices and explore the relationship between supply chain practices and IT integration.     

Can Management Accounting Be Helpful for Young and Small Companies? Systematic Review of a Paradox

While management accounting (MA) implies potential benefits for large established companies, its usefulness for young and small companies is less clear. This review analyzes and partially resolves the paradox and provides a structured overview of present knowledge. A systematic literature search yielded 67 empirical papers in 25 journals. Drawing on the results of a two‐step coding process, this study proposes 20 novel second‐level constructs expressing the types of MA, their antecedents and their consequences in young and small companies. The main results show that, in discussing MA, the literature refers mainly to business planning, accounting‐based management control activities and financial accounting. Most studies find MA to be helpful for young and small companies because it provides tools to overcome difficulties arising from company growth and reduces information asymmetry with external partners. Overall, however, the empirical literature on this topic is highly concentrated, offers theoretical construct definitions of poor quality, and lacks a clear statement of what MA really does in young and small companies. Therefore, future research and theory development are warranted.