Industry image: Its impact on the brand image of potential employees
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CHRISTOPH BURMANN is the holder of the chair for innovative brand management (LiM®) at the University of Bremen, Hochschulring 4, Bremen D-28 359, Germany.
KATHARINA SCHAEFER is a doctoral student at LiM.
PHILIP MALONEY is a doctoral student at LiM.
Abstract Marketing science has so far devoted very limited attention to the determination of corporate brand images through industry images. Our research, therefore, addresses the question whether industry images determine corporate images and if so, which variables moderate the effect. To accomplish this, a conceptual framework is developed and evaluated in a quantitative, empirical research design. The results demonstrate that corporate brand image is indeed determined by the industry image, and that this determination is moderated by involvement and knowledge about the specific corporation.
Journal of Brand Management (2008) 15, 157–176. doi:10.1057/palgrave.bm.2550112; published online 7 September 2007
INDUSTRY IMAGE IN THE CONTEXT OF CORPORATE BRANDING
Christoph Burmann University of Bremen Hochschulring 4 Bremen D - 28 359, Germany Tel.: + 49 421/218 7554 Fax: + 49 421/218 8646 E-mail: [email protected]
The importance of industry images has recently increased, particularly in capital markets, where its influence is evident. During the boom-time of the new economy, for example, there was an enormous global interest to invest in the emerging internet industry, with hardly anyone taking the trouble to familiarise themselves with the respective companies. Interestingly, the phenomenon of being guided by industry image was not restricted to private investors. Institutional investors also seem to have based their decisions in many cases and to a large extent on industry images.This can serve as an explanation for several effects on the capital market, such as price-earning multiples that are
attributed to industry classification or IPOs which are postponed on account of current problems with the industry image.1 It seems reasonable to assume that the industry image does not only have an impact on the perceptions of potential investors but also on other relevant stakeholders of corporate brand management. Based on this assumption, this paper draws attention to the question whether the industry in which a company operates can have a positive effect on the companies’ attractiveness as an employer. A prerequisite to analyse this question is a thorough understanding of the influence of industry images on corporate brand images. In the current state the literature is lacking empirically proven answers with regard to the nature of this relationship. The aim of this
© 2008 PALGRAVE MACMILLAN LTD 1350-23IX $30.00 BRAND MANAGEMENT VOL. 15, NO. 3, 157–176 JANUARY 2008
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BURMANN, SCHAEFER AND MALONEY
paper is thus two-fold: Firstly, to add to the understanding of the influence of industry images on corporate brand image and secondly, to investigate the impact of industry image on the brand attractiveness for potential employees. Of c
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