Internal branding: structural equation model analysis on brand attitudes, citizenship and performance relationship

Today a country's economic strength is measured by the brand and brand value they have. Also, brands indicate the wealth levels of countries. Hence, the way to be a big country with a great economy requires to have big brands. From a business perspective, brand is an important element that increases profitability, grows businesses, gives competitive advantage and credibility. Although many businesses and researchers have a customer-focused perspective on the process of branding, it is revealed that the most important factor is employees who ensure branding especially in service businesses. Indeed, just a customer-focused approach is not enough for a successful branding. There is also a need for an internal branding approach that allows employees to acknowledge brand, feel a sense of commitment, and display attitudes and behaviors that conform to brand values. It is necessary to establish cooperation between marketing, management and human resources departments in the realization of internal branding activities. Internal branding enables the brand to become known within the organization using internal marketing and branding techniques. This study aims to examine internal branding studies of companies operating in the logistics sector and to investigate the effects of internal branding on brand attitudes, brand citizenship and brand performance. In this direction, the obtained data were analyzed using SPSS 18.0 and AMOS 16.0 programs. According to the results of the structural equation modeling, internal branding practices have affected the brand attitude of employees, brand citizenship and brand performance.