Conference Agenda

Objective: This study investigates the impact of brand management culture on employee behaviors. Method: Using a survey of 400 full-time employees in Korea, this study examines how and through what processes brand management culture affects employee behaviors. Results: The results demonstrate that brand management culture significantly impacts brand identification and perceived organizational performance. More importantly, the results reveal the mediating roles of brand identification and perceived organizational performance in the relationships between brand management culture and employee behaviors. Conclusion: This study provides theoretical and practical implications for internal branding management by illustrating that a culture centered on an organization's brand can positively influence employee behaviors, highlighting the importance of an organization’s internal branding activities.

Purpose: Because the European labor market is currently very tight, employees are in a strong power position, because they are difficult to replace. Perceived irreplaceability can potentially threaten employee loyalty and sportsmanship. However, there has been little to no prior research on the meaning of irreplaceability for employees. This study aims to investigate the employees’ awareness of their power position and the relationships between these beliefs and organizational loyalty, sportsmanship, and job crafting efforts. In addition, we explored whether organizational commitment and fear of unemployment can explain these relationships.

Method: We used an online survey with a convenience sample among Dutch employees to study the proposed relationships.

Findings: Employees are generally aware that they are hard to replace. However, contrary to our expectations, irreplaceability was related to more loyalty. This finding can be partly explained by job crafting: because of their increased -presumably successful- job crafting efforts, employees are likely to remain more loyal.

Originality: This study suggests that, rather than a threat to loyalty, perceived irreplaceability can motivate employees to seek opportunities for job crafting, which may increase their loyalty. Perceived irreplaceability may also trigger normative commitment, since leaving an organization in tough times is not considered the right thing to do.

Practical Implications: As such, to preserve employees in times of a tight labor market, it is not wise to deny your reliance on your employees, and their power position. By showing appreciation for employees’ unique qualities, and simultaneously providing autonomy, employers may successfully maintain their workforce.

Leading in a digital way has increasingly been used internationally, especially due to the Covid 19 pandemic. This has led to an increasing relevance of the issue of "digital leadership" and its communication. However, digital work not only creates opportunities for global networking, but also potential situations of conflict, e. g. due to the partial absence of some human communication mechanisms. Based on the VOPA+ model, which summarises the essential aspects of corporate design by a digital leader, and different conflict resolution models according to Harvard, Gordon and Berkel, a online survey among 300 managers and employees was conducted for this work in January 2023.

It showed that the interviewees consider the need for digitality in their work as very important, but also do see many communicative problems. In order to prevent conflict situations and to create an overall positive working climate in digital work, a high degree of transparency and openness is essential where professional communication can help a lot. Furthermore, the survey shows that both the managers and the surveyed employees without a management position prefer a management and communication style that is emotional and objective even in conflict situations. This also applies to the respondents that communicate to a greater extent online in work situations.

In the last part of the study, implications and recommendations for communicative action for managers in the digital work situation are pointed out and short concept of digital leadership communication is outlined.