Nigel M. de Bussy

Employment Branding in the Knowledge Economy

For most of its existence advertising has focused on attracting customers. More recently, enlightened organisations have recognised the need to expand their communications efforts to incorporate all stakeholders, not only end-users. The marketing literature has begun to address stakeholder theory, as well as advertisings indirect and internal audiences, but more as a secondary consideration or by-product of consumer marketing. However, the anticipated permanent shortage of skilled workers in the new economy creates unique challenges for knowledge-based organisations in particular, who will increasingly need to differentiate themselves in order to successfully attract talented employees. As a result, more and more firms may turn to advertising to create ‘employment brands’ and thereby offer an enticing vocational proposition that is compelling and differentiated. In response to this emerging trend, this article begins by introducing stakeholder theory into a marketing framework. We then classify existing approaches to employment branding by identifying three basic types of employment advertising strategies. In closing, managerial implications are discussed, an agenda for future research is proposed and conclusions are drawn.

Stakeholder theory and internal marketing communications: a framework for analysing the influence of new media

Effective two‐way communication is widely viewed as an essential component of successful internal marketing strategies, yet little research has so far been conducted on the relative merits of different communication media in an internal marketing context. Since the mid‐1990s Internet technologies have revolutionized internal communications in many organizations. However, the impact of these new forms of electronic media on internal marketing communication remains relatively unexamined. This paper draws on stakeholder and communication theories to provide a framework for understanding the dimensions of effective internal marketing communications and presents the results of an empirical study on the relationship between these dimensions and the use of new media in the workplace.

Stakeholder communication management on the Internet: An integrated matrix for the identification of opportunities

Until recently stakeholder communication has tended to be mostly unidirectional and simple. However, the advent of the Internet has brought unprecedented change. Stakeholder communication is no longer unidirectional, and as stakeholders increasingly communicate with each other this communication becomes infinitely more complex. Unfortunately many of the tools and models of PR were developed and refined in a pre‐Internet world. This paper introduces an integrated Internet stake‐holder communication matrix (I2SCM), and explains its use for the identification of issues that need to be managed with regard to the Internet and2 PR.

Perceived agency politics and conflicts of interest as potential barriers to IMC orientation

While the concept of integrated marketing communications (IMC) is widely acknowledged in the literature, research on potential barriers to its implementation is relatively scarce. In particular, the possible significance of interagency politics and conflicts of interest has received little empirical consideration. This is perhaps somewhat surprising given the generally acknowledged proposition that marketing budgeting is largely a political process. This paper describes an exploratory study of leading Australian public companies and investigates the relationships between perceived agency politics, conflicts of interest and IMC orientation. The findings suggest that the salient conflict of interest is between advertising and public relations firms. The limitations are discussed and directions for future research offered.

Stakeholders, politics and power: Towards an understanding of stakeholder identification and salience in government

Purpose – This paper seeks to explore the meaning of the stakeholder concept in politics, using theories drawn from the fields of management, political science and public relations. In particular, the theory of stakeholder identification and salience is to be used as a framework.Design/methodology/approach – This qualitative study involved in‐depth interviews with 23 politicians and political advisers in Western Australia and was conducted in the style of a grounded theory investigation.Findings – The results indicate that in politics, as in business, controversy and confusion continue to surround the stakeholder concept. Participants thought “stakeholder” should imply possession of a legitimate interest in an issue, but did not believe this was always the case. There is a gulf between how politicians think stakeholder status should be accorded in principle and what happens in reality. In practice, power seems to play a far greater role than legitimacy in determining stakeholder salience among political d...

Charitable Donations as Social Exchange or Agapic Action on the Internet: The Case of Hungersite.com

SUMMARY Donations to charity have long been of interest to marketing academics seeking to understand the relationships between nonprofit organizations and their customers. A key area of concern is that of motivation-why do individuals donate time, money and other resources to charities in general or to particular charities? While marketers in particular, and social scientists in general, have explained donation and gift giving in terms of the exchange paradigm, more recently consumer researchers have introduced the notion of agapic (or unselfish) behavior to explain some aspects of gift giving. Using the case of a successful charitable Internet site, Hungersite.com, this paper attempts to contrast the exchange and agapic paradigms of donation behavior, with the re sulting strategic implications this may have for charity marketing strategy.

The Internet, Role Overload and Convenience Consumption: Evidence from Australia

This exploratory study examines the relationship between role overload and the use of the Internet by working women. Results confound the intuitive hypothesis that this group of consumers should be embracing Internet shopping.

Distorted Representations of Ethnic Minorities in Consumer Advertising: Effects and Consequences

The diversity of ethnic minorities in many technologically advanced countries is increasing, and the actual number of people in each group is growing. However, marketers in different countries are responding at different paces to the cosmopolitan composition of their societies. By international standards, Australian advertisers have been slow to recognize the communication challenges and opportunities of a modem multicultural society. Representations of non Anglo-Saxon groups in Australian advertising are often based on distorted and inaccurate stereotypes. One possible repercussion of such distorted representations is that Australian audiences may form an inaccurate view of specific cultural groups. To test the effects of distorted representations of ethnicity on consumer attitudes, an experiment using pre and post-treatment questionnaires was conducted. Two television advertisements were selected, each featuring a specific ethnic group. Following the completion of a pre-test questionnaire to ascertain perceptions on that cultural minority, one advertisement was shown to each group. A post-treatment questionnaire was then administered. Results confirm that both advertisements had a significant and negative impact on attitudes towards the ethnic group in question.

Does CSR Branding Increase Organisational Identification? An Interdisciplinary Approach

Although the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has received much attention over several decades, a lack of adequate measures of the construct is apparent and its impact on corporate performance remains unclear (Waddock and Graves 1997; Margolis and Walsh 2003; de Bakker, Groenewegen, and den Hond 2005; Orlitzky, Schmidt, and Rynes 2003). While prior empirical research pays attention to the relationship of CSR and firm financial performance (e.g., Hull and Rothenberg 2008; McWilliams and Siegel 2000), this paper takes a different approach by investigating non-financial performance - specifically the degree to which managers identify with their organisations (organisational identification) (Ashforth and Mael 1989). Arguably one reason for the conflicting results obtained in prior empirical research is the lack of clarity surrounding the definition of CSR (Clarkson 1995). This study focuses on a particular aspect of CSR, namely CSR branding, defined as the extent to which organisations authentically embed CSR practices in their operations and incorporate CSR claims as a key component of their corporate brands. Organisational identity is central to the understanding of the CSR branding construct (Albert and Whetten 1985). This paper describes the development of a new CSR branding scale which is subsequently used to investigate the relationship between this aspect of CSR and organisational identification. The conceptualisation of CSR branding put forward in this study is based on an interdisciplinary approach drawing on theories from the fields of management, marketing, and social psychology.