IMO and internal branding outcomes: an employee perspective in UK HE

This study extends our knowledge of internal branding in the context of employees in the higher education sector. Employing a quantitative methodology in UK universities, a conceptual model is presented and tested on 235 employees. Internal market orientation (IMO) is examined as a management tool to drive employees’ university brand commitment en route to brand supportive behavior. The results show that the effect of IMO on employees’ university brand commitment varies among employees of different demographic groups. A two-step cluster analysis is carried out to highlight the impact of demographic heterogeneity. The results show that universities with higher level of IMO perform better relating to their internal branding outcomes in terms of employee university brand commitment as well as brand supportive behavior. However significant differences are found for the effect of IMO on employees’ university brand commitment especially in the cluster of the ‘Mature Male Academics,' suggesting specific managerial attention. © 2016 Society for Research into Higher Education.