Browsing by Author "Maxwell, Rachael"

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    Modelling and managing the impact of employer branding: a social identity approach
    (2006-08) Maxwell, Rachael; Knox, Simon
    Employers throughout the developed world are facing a fierce ‘war for talent’ that may soon eclipse the traditional competition for customers.1 Employer branding has been widely recognized as a valuable strategic weapon in this ‘war for talent,’2 but we still do not fully understand what it is or how it works.3 This review seeks to address both questions by developing a model of the ‘employer branding value chain’. The model proposed in this paper is based on a systematic review of the literature in two subject areas, employer branding and organizational identification. Employer branding is a relatively new field of study that applies the theory of consumer branding to the practice of HR management.4 The principles are well-established, as are the objectives, but little research has yet been conducted to establish the causal relationships between them. Organizational identification, on the other hand, is a relatively well-researched field that describes the psychological attachment of an individual to an organization. The most popular theory of organizational identification is based on Ashforth and Mael’s (1989) ‘social identity approach,’ and this is the theory covered in the review. The proposed model also incorporates the notion of person-organization fit as described by Herriot (2002, 2004) However his ‘social process’ approach to recruitment is based on the same three theories as those used by Ashforth and Mael (1989), and is therefore treated as an extension of the literature on organizational identification. By integrating insights from both areas, this review seeks to both explain and predict employee behaviour. The resulting model brings the extant theory and research to bear on a critical business issue, providing a practical guide for managers. I conclude the review with a discussion of limitations and areas for further study.
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    What makes an organisation's corporate identity attractive to its employees? A social identity perspective
    (Cranfield University, 2010-10) Maxwell, Rachael; Knox, Simon
    Corporate Identity provides the foundation for an organisation’s Corporate Brand, and managers need to understand how they can align the behaviour of their employees with that identity. In this thesis I argue that employees will align their behaviour with the identity of their organisation when they perceive that identity to be attractive and unique. This argument is supported by theory and research in the areas of Employer Branding and the Social Identity Approach to Organisational Identification. However, little is known about what makes an organisation’s Corporate Identity attractive to its employees. The objective of my research was to address this gap by conducting a comparative case study of six organisations. The identity of each organisation was found to be comprised of five dimensions: Organisation, Employment, Product or Service, Reputation, and Stakeholder Relationships. The attributes that employees considered most attractive were different in each organisation, but when all six cases were considered at once, they encompassed all five dimensions. These results suggest that current conceptualizations of the Employer Brand, which focus solely on employment, may be overly restrictive. They also indicate that the strategy of becoming an Employer of Choice, though widely considered a ‘business imperative’, is unlikely to have the desired effect on employee behaviour; this strategy is based on the assumption that organisations should conform to an ‘ideal blueprint of employment’, but the results clearly indicate that this blueprint does not exist. In order to align the behaviour of their employees with the identity of their organisation, managers should seek to understand the unique identity of their own organisation and to determine what makes that identity attractive to their employees. This may be achieved in an efficient and cost-effective manner by following the methodology outlined in this thesis.