ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the development of the internal branding concept and thus introduces the internal perspective of branding, in other words: branding inside out. Internal branding is a management concept that aims to implement the corporate brand cognitively, affectively and behaviourally in employees’ minds, hearts and behaviours. It enables employees to live the brand towards internal and external stakeholders, thus consistently delivering on the brand promises to all target groups. While practitioners initially drove the concept before academics began to advance the field, it has gained widespread acceptance in mainstream branding literature over the past 20 years. Recent literature reviews and special issues attempted to consolidate the fragmented body of knowledge with conceptual bases in various disciplines. This chapter structures internal branding literature, which has mainly investigated five elements: consequences, objectives, activities, moderators and antecedents. In addition to presenting directions for further research, it also identifies recent advancements in the domain that include the integration of co-creation, which has the potential to change the perspective of internal branding research and practice. Undoubtedly, the field will continue to grow in achieving its aim to help organisations leverage one of their most important resources for building strong corporate brands – their employees.
