Service differentiation: A self-image congruency perspective on brand building in the labor market

摘要

Purpose - Service-dominant logic of marketing claims that employees' knowledge and skills are thernfirm's only sustainable advantage. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the importance of brandingrnin attracting the right employees.rnDesign/methodology/approach - This paper employs the image congruency hypothesis andrnsocial norms from consumer behavior. To test the hypotheses empirically, it uses a scenario-basedrnsurvey of respondents recruited from job-seeking graduate students.rnFindings - Based on data sampled and analyzed, it finds that both image congruency betweenrnprospective employee and preferred employer and social norm weigh in when job seekers decide on thernpreferred employer.rnResearch limitations/implications - The paper tests the model only on first-time job seekers.rnThis group may have greater desire to find a job than employed job seekers do. However, it believesrnthat image congruency and social norm will impact the latter group's attitudes regarding employer.rnPractical implications - For managers who need to differentiate their market offering the findingsrnilluminate the importance of branding and brand building not only in the consumer market but also inrnthe labor market. It is all about attracting the right customers and moreover, the right employees tornserve them.rnOriginality/value - To the knowledge, this is the first study in the field of employer branding thatrnuses the image congruency hypothesis to study branding in the labor market, thereby linkingrnbranding to organizational behavior.