Abstract
This research focuses on the multifaceted concept of corporate identity management in retail organisations with a particular focus on retail employee brand citizenship behaviours (BCB). For a retail organisation, brand reputation and customer’s brand perception are of great significance as they are regarded as main contributors towards organizational performance, customer retention and sustainability. The importance of employees within service organisations is regarded as disproportionate due to the extensive interaction between employee and customer. The objectives of this study seek to identify and explain the corporate influences on employee’s propensity to demonstrate citizenship behaviour and engage in extra role activities.Drawing on a scientific realism ontology, this research employed quantitative research by the use of cross sectional surveys and structural equation modeling for data analysis. Primary data was collected from 422 retail employees across the UK, working at different levels in the organisation. The constructs of corporate identity and internal brand management are well documented, however brand citizenship behaviour is regarded as relatively under-researched subject area. Following a series of pretests, Cronbach’s Alpha and exploratory factor analysis to purify the measures, confirmatory factor analysis was deployed to verify the measurement scales which are then incorporated in a full structural model to assess the influence of corporate identity constructs on the antecedents of employee brand citizenship behaviour. This study complements and extends the work of existing academics on the subject area.
The outcomes of the research identify the impact and influence of corporate identity on employee brand citizenship behaviours in a retail organisation by developing a conceptual framework model for the impact of the process. This research expands the current understanding in the corporate image formation debate and how it has a significant influence on its employee’s behaviours. The outcomes of the research make a theoretical contribution in two main areas: extending the existing theory by empirical testing, and by conceptualisation and operationalization of constructs. It also aims to make managerial implications for decision-makers in terms of what should shape their approaches to the management of their companies' corporate brands.
| Date of Award | Aug 2019 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Ioannis S. Pantelidis (Supervisor) |