Investigating the effect of individual factors within the organization on the special value of the internal brand of the organization, a case study of National Bank of Khorasan Razavi Province

Dissertation for Master Degree (M.A)

Industrial Management: Finance

Abstract

The importance of brand equity and branding has been emphasized in many scientific researches. Branding is done on both internal and external levels. External branding is related to the external customers of organizations, and internal branding, which has been noticed with the emergence of the concept of internal marketing in recent decades, emphasizes employees as customers within the organization. In this research, the issue of investigating the effect of individual factors within the organization on the special value of the internal brand of the case study organization of National Bank of Khorasan Razavi Province has been discussed. The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between individual factors within the organization with the special value of the brand. In this research, descriptive and inferential statistics have been used. The statistical population is the managers, deputies and supervisors of the National Bank of Khorasan Razavi province, which has a sample size of 163 people. The research data was collected by the researcher in person through a questionnaire. Excel and spss software were used to analyze the obtained information. After analyzing the data, all the proposed hypotheses were confirmed. The results of the research show that individual factors within the organization have an effect on the internal brand equity of the case study organization of the National Bank of Khorasan Razavi Province.

Keyword: brand equity. Internal brand, brand desire, internal brand knowledge

Chapter 1

Research overview

1 Introduction

Today, having a strong brand is one of the priorities of many organizations. Therefore, researchers in this field have always examined it from different aspects. Branding can be done internally and externally. The branding approach outside the organization is a topic that has been the focus of countless researchers and targets customers. Therefore, it chooses methods for this work that are directly related to the customer, on the other hand, employees are very effective factors in the formation of the brand of organizations in the minds of customers and consumers of goods and services. In this case, internal branding was expressed in order to promote the brand within the organization, i.e. the employees. (Ahmad [1] and his colleagues, 2003) Internal branding is a new theory in human resources literature that borrows marketing terminology to create a way for organizations to identify the values ??of employees and the company, emphasize more on the appropriate values, and communicate with them throughout the workplace in order to increase the attitude and behavior of employees. 2006; Panjaisri and Wilson 2008) Just as external branding facilitates the customer decision-making process through advertising and strong brand engagement, companies have found that promoting the brand message internally is equally valuable. Internal branding was expressed in order to create a brand within the organization, that is, the same employees. Recent studies have proven this. (Hadizadeh Moghadam et al., 2013)

The undeniable role of employees has caused the human power to build a brand to become the focus of many scientific researches in the last few years (Hadizadeh Moghadam, 2014). The importance of internal branding in service organizations, especially in banks, where employees are a manifestation of their mission, vision, and brand identity, is becoming more important day by day. On the other hand, due to the emergence of private banks alongside state banks and the increase in competition between them, finding solutions to create a long-term relationship with customers and identifying and strengthening important and value-creating activities from the customer's point of view has increased. This competition has highlighted the importance of attracting and retaining existing customers. Creating a suitable image for a brand is considered as a strategic tool to create loyalty among customers. (Azizi, 2013)

Usually, in the banking system of Iran, a marketing policy and plan is formulated and communicated to the branches every year. In the annual marketing policy, to achieve goals such as: market share, customer satisfaction, etc. It is mentioned. Despite the beauty of these goals, unfortunately, the employees working at the branch level are either not properly informed about these goals and plans and their importance, or if they are informed, they lack sufficient motivation to implement those goals. One of the ways to fill this gap is to use internal branding strategy in the bank. The importance of brand and branding has been emphasized in many scientific researches.Branding is done on both internal and external levels.  External branding is related to external customers and represents the effort to create a lasting image of the business in the minds of audiences outside the organization. In internal branding, which has been noticed with the emergence of the concept of internal marketing in recent decades, the emphasis is on improving the perception and behavior of employees as customers within the organization of the organization's brand. In internal branding, it is believed that the first customers of an organization are its employees, and strengthening the brand from the perspective of external customers first requires strengthening the position of the brand within the organization and in the eyes of the employees. (Azizi, 2010)

Cutler (2006) stated that services require three types of external, internal and mutual (relational) marketing. External marketing involves preparing, pricing, distributing and promoting customer service. Cross-marketing describes the skills of employees in serving customers and deals more with the behavior of employees with customers. Internal marketing considers the training and motivation of employees in providing services. (Syed Javadin et al., 2017). Kotler emphasizes that internal marketing should be done before external marketing, because until the brand of the organization is defined and established for the employees who are the internal customers, it will not be possible to strengthen the brand from the perspective of external customers. Service quality is a key differentiating factor between competitors. For this reason, high-quality employees are vital. (Wallick, Cernatoni and Bill, 2012) 1-2 Statement of the Problem Internal branding is a new theory in the human resources literature that borrows marketing terms to create a way for organizations to identify employee and company values, emphasize appropriate values, and communicate them throughout the workplace in order to increase employee attitudes and behaviors. 2006; Panjaisri and Wilson 2008) Just as external branding facilitates the customer decision-making process through advertising and strong brand engagement, companies have found that promoting the brand message internally is equally valuable. Internal branding was expressed in order to create a brand within the organization, that is, the same employees. Recent studies have proven this. (Hadizadeh Moghadam et al., 2013)

The undeniable role of employees has caused the human power to build a brand to become the focus of many scientific researches in the last few years (Hadizadeh Moghadam, 2014). The importance of internal branding in service organizations, especially in banks, where employees are a manifestation of their mission, vision, and brand identity, is becoming more important day by day. On the other hand, due to the emergence of private banks alongside state banks and the increase in competition between them, finding solutions to create a long-term relationship with customers and identifying and strengthening important and value-creating activities from the customer's point of view has increased. This competition has highlighted the importance of attracting and retaining existing customers. Creating a suitable image for a brand is considered as a strategic tool to create loyalty among customers. (Azizi, 2013)

Usually, in the banking system of Iran, a marketing policy and plan is formulated and communicated to the branches every year. In the annual marketing policy, to achieve goals such as: market share, customer satisfaction, etc. It is mentioned. Despite the beauty of these goals, unfortunately, the employees working at the branch level are either not properly informed about these goals and plans and their importance, or if they are informed, they lack sufficient motivation to implement those goals. One of the ways to fill this gap is to use internal branding strategy in the bank. The importance of brand and branding has been emphasized in many scientific researches. Branding is done on both internal and external levels.  External branding is related to external customers and represents the effort to create a lasting image of the business in the minds of audiences outside the organization. In internal branding, which has been noticed with the emergence of the concept of internal marketing in recent decades, the emphasis is on improving the perception and behavior of employees as customers within the organization of the organization's brand. In internal branding, it is believed that the first customers of an organization are its employees, and strengthening the brand from the perspective of external customers first requires strengthening the position of the brand within the organization and in the eyes of the employees.