Employer Branding

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Conceptualizing and researching employer branding

Kristin Backhaus and Surinder Tikoo

School of Business, State University of New York at New Paltz, New Paltz, New York, USA

Keywords Employers, Corporate branding, Career development, Organizational culture, Recruitment, Internal marketing Abstract Employer branding represents a firm’s efforts to promote, both within and outside the firm, a clear view of what makes it different and desirable as an employer. In recent years employer branding has gained popularity among practicing managers. Given this managerial interest, this article presents a framework to initiate the scholarly study of employer branding. Combining a resource-based view with brand equity theory, a framework is used to develop testable propositions. The article discusses the relationship between employer branding and organizational career management. Finally, it outlines research issues that need to be addressed to develop employer branding as a useful organizing framework for strategic human resource management.

Employer branding

501

Received February 2004 Revised May 2004 Accepted May 2004

Conceptualizing and researching employer branding Brands are among a firm’s most valuable assets and as a result brand management is a key activity in many firms. Although firms commonly focus their branding efforts toward developing product and corporate brands, branding can also be used in the area of human resource management. The application of branding principles to human resource management has been termed “employer branding.” Increasingly, firms are using employer branding to attract recruits and assure that current employees are engaged in the culture and the strategy of the firm. Employer branding is defined as “a targeted, long-term...