The influence of internal branding on stakeholder engagement in a South African university

Abstract

Internal branding and stakeholder engagement studies have predominantly been done in the United States of America, Asia, the United Kingdom and Australian contexts, done in service industries and with the employee as the main stakeholder of consideration. There has been a dearth of studies in the African or South African higher education context, focusing not just on employees (academic and non-academic), but on students (undergraduate and postgraduate) and alumni, to which this study pertains. Higher education institutions seem to grapple with the issue of low stakeholder brand engagement. The proposition of this research is that internal branding offers a plausible solution to the problem of low stakeholder brand engagement. Further, social identification, organisational identification and social exchange are thought to be, as per the literature, moderating factors that can impact positively on brand engagement. The research methodology was a qualitative study based on a single case (Wits University) with study respondents selected through a combination of purposive and random (convenience) sampling. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were the primary data collection method, with no secondary data sources used. A discussion document/interview guide was used during the audio recorded interviews which lasted, on average, between 30 and 60 minutes. Thirty respondents were interviewed (12 employees, 12 students and 6 alumni). Respondents were varied in terms of age, race, gender, tenure at the university or number of years as alumni. Firstly, the study established the absence of a solid or structured internal branding programme in existence at Wits University, but this exhibited no effect on role engagement or brand engagement through loyalty through a willingness to maintain ties with the institution by employees, students and alumni; as well as no effect on institutional commitment by employees only. However, the absence of the internal branding practices at the case site negatively impacted upon other brand engagement aspects to varying levels for all three stakeholder groups i.e. on the aspects of institutional commitment, financial commitment, time commitment and loyalty through wearing/displaying Wits-branded merchandise. Further, organisational identification was found to have a direct positive impact on brand engagement for all stakeholder groups, with social exchange aspects also impacting on brand engagement aspects. Social identity, though apparent through friends for undergraduate students and through department/school/faculty for employees and postgraduate students, did not seem to have a bearing on stakeholder brand engagement. There was no social identity for alumni. University management and administrators have their work cut out for them - the main challenge is to manage the multiple university stakeholders and instil in them a single overarching identity, notwithstanding their various perceptions based on their roles within, and relationship with, the university. Internal branding, though with apparently no impact on role engagement, is the recommended panacea to enable the management of multiple university stakeholders and through that, enable positive brand engagement and the brand supporting behaviours that accrue.