Surprenant and Solomon, 1987; Solom

Surprenant and Solomon, 1987; Solomon et al., 1985; Parasuraman et al., 1985). Employees are critical to consumers’ perceptions of brand image (Berry, 2000; Bitner et al., 1990; Swartz and Brown, 1989). Furthermore, a customer’s attitude toward the outcome of the service and his/her ultimate satisfaction are highly dependent on the employee he/she interacts with (Hanna et al., 2004; Dean, 2004; Winsted, 2000; Kelley and Hoffman, 1997; Bitner et al., 1990; Swartz and Brown, 1989). In line with this notion, research in organisational behaviour arrives at the conclusion that different strategies require different and very specific employee behaviours (e.g. Hanna et al., 2004; Hartline and Jones, 1996).

Considering these findings, we hypothesise that a company can realise continuous brand success only if the brand promise which is communicated through mass media campaigns is lived up to by its employees. A brand experience that does not fit with mass media-based brand expectations may lead to customer dissatisfaction and possibly even to a refusal of the brand (Bendapudi and Bendapudi, 2005; Burmann and Zeplin, 2005; Hanna et al., 2004; Mitchell, 2002; Berry, 2000). In order to achieve consistent personal communication of brand values, high quality customer interaction in the form of generally accepted standards such as friendliness or competence is not sufficient. It is also necessary to promote complex employee behaviours communicating specific brand values (Burmann and Zeplin, 2005; Olson et al., 2005; Berry, 2000; Van Scotter and Motowidlo, 1996). A potential BMW customer, for example, may expect a friendly and competent, but also cultivated and dynamic, car seller, whereas a Mini customer may also anticipate a friendly and competent Mini agent who communicates different brand values such as independence and self-actualisation. Hence, although both BMW and Mini customers have equal expectations with regard to conventional service quality indicators (friendliness, competence, etc.) they may exhibit strongly different expectations considering the brand-oriented employee performance (cultivated and dynamic vs independent and self-actualising). Accordingly, we propose the construct behavioural branding as any type of verbal and non-verbal employee behaviour that directly or indirectly determines brand experience and brand value.



However, whereas a lot of research has been done on the antecedents of successful brand management within the context of mass media communication (e.g. Florack and Scarabis, 2006; Grace and O’Cass, 2004; Deighton et al., 1994) the effect of personal employee interaction on brand performance has been largely neglected. Moreover, the question of how to manage employees to act in a brand consistent way remains predominantly unanswered. Consequently, this paper aims to bridge this gap by assessing the importance of behavioural branding and identifying managerial approaches for its promotion.

To achieve this, we develop and test a structural model on the relevance of behavioural branding as well as its drivers. The effect of personal employee interaction on brand performance is investigated by conceptualising ”behavioural branding quality”, “functional employee performance” and “mass media brand congruency” as variables determining the brand’s contribution to company success. In addition, based on the theory of marketing control (Jaworski, 1988; Jaworski et al., 1993), the model conceptualises employee empowerment, management through formal communication and management through informal communication as antecedents of functional employee performance and behavioural branding quality. Finally, we study the effect of mass media brand congruency on behavioural branding quality in order to examine whether external brand activities affect the thinking and acting of employees (Wolfinbarger and Gilly, 2005, 1991; Gilly and Wolfinbarger, 1998). The paper is structured as follows: first, we present the conceptual foundation and derive our hypotheses. Next, the empirical results of our management survey are presented. This is followed by scientific and managerial implications that we have elaborated in focus groups with managers of nine leading companies (BMW Group, REWE Group, Zurich Financial Services, Swisscom Mobile AG, Deutsche Telekom AG, Holcim Group Support Ltd., UBS AG, ENBW AG, and Nestle´ AG). Finally, we discuss future research directions.

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

Surprenant dan Salomo, 1987; Salomo et al., 1985; Parasuraman et al., 1985). Karyawan sangat penting untuk konsumen persepsi citra merek (Berry, 2000; Bitner et al., 1990; Swartz dan Brown, 1989). Selain itu, pelanggan sikap terhadap hasil pelayanan dan kepuasan utama nya sangat tergantung pada karyawan ia berinteraksi dengan (Hanna et al., 2004; Dekan, 2004; Athol, 2000; Kelley dan Hoffman, 1997; Bitner et al., 1990; Swartz dan Brown, 1989). Sejalan dengan gagasan ini, penelitian perilaku organisasi tiba pada kesimpulan bahwa strategi yang berbeda membutuhkan perilaku karyawan yang berbeda dan sangat spesifik (misalnya Hanna et al., 2004; Hartline dan Jones, 1996).Mengingat Temuan ini, kami hypothesise bahwa sebuah perusahaan dapat menyadari terus-menerus merek sukses hanya jika janji merek yang disampaikan melalui media massa kampanye hidup sampai oleh seluruh karyawan. Pengalaman merek yang tidak sesuai dengan harapan merek berbasis media massa dapat menyebabkan ketidakpuasan pelanggan dan mungkin bahkan penolakan merek (Bendapudi dan Bendapudi, 2005; Burmann dan Zeplin, 2005; Hanna et al., 2004; Mitchell, 2002; Berry, 2000). Untuk mencapai konsisten komunikasi pribadi nilai merek, interaksi pelanggan berkualitas tinggi dalam bentuk umumnya diterima standar seperti keramahan atau kompetensi ini tidak cukup. Hal ini juga perlu untuk mempromosikan perilaku karyawan kompleks berkomunikasi nilai-nilai merek tertentu (Burmann dan Zeplin, 2005; Olson et al, 2005; Berry, 2000; Van Scotter dan Motowidlo, 1996). BMW pelanggan potensial, misalnya, mungkin mengharapkan ramah dan kompeten, tetapi juga dibudidayakan dan dinamis, mobil Penjual, sedangkan pelanggan Mini juga dapat mengantisipasi agen Mini kompeten dan ramah yang mengkomunikasikan nilai-nilai berbeda merek seperti kemerdekaan dan self-actualisation. Oleh karena itu, meskipun BMW dan Mini pelanggan memiliki harapan yang sama dengan indikator kualitas pelayanan konvensional (keramahan, kompetensi, dll) mereka memamerkan harapan yang sangat berbeda mengingat kinerja karyawan berorientasi merek (dibudidayakan dan dinamis vs independen dan self-actualising). Dengan demikian, kami mengusulkan membangun perilaku merek sebagai jenis perilaku verbal dan non-verbal karyawan yang secara langsung atau tidak langsung menentukan pengalaman merek dan nilai merek.However, whereas a lot of research has been done on the antecedents of successful brand management within the context of mass media communication (e.g. Florack and Scarabis, 2006; Grace and O’Cass, 2004; Deighton et al., 1994) the effect of personal employee interaction on brand performance has been largely neglected. Moreover, the question of how to manage employees to act in a brand consistent way remains predominantly unanswered. Consequently, this paper aims to bridge this gap by assessing the importance of behavioural branding and identifying managerial approaches for its promotion.To achieve this, we develop and test a structural model on the relevance of behavioural branding as well as its drivers. The effect of personal employee interaction on brand performance is investigated by conceptualising ”behavioural branding quality”, “functional employee performance” and “mass media brand congruency” as variables determining the brand’s contribution to company success. In addition, based on the theory of marketing control (Jaworski, 1988; Jaworski et al., 1993), the model conceptualises employee empowerment, management through formal communication and management through informal communication as antecedents of functional employee performance and behavioural branding quality. Finally, we study the effect of mass media brand congruency on behavioural branding quality in order to examine whether external brand activities affect the thinking and acting of employees (Wolfinbarger and Gilly, 2005, 1991; Gilly and Wolfinbarger, 1998). The paper is structured as follows: first, we present the conceptual foundation and derive our hypotheses. Next, the empirical results of our management survey are presented. This is followed by scientific and managerial implications that we have elaborated in focus groups with managers of nine leading companies (BMW Group, REWE Group, Zurich Financial Services, Swisscom Mobile AG, Deutsche Telekom AG, Holcim Group Support Ltd., UBS AG, ENBW AG, and Nestle´ AG). Finally, we discuss future research directions.