Internationalisation of Services Brands: The Role of Leadership During the Internal Brand Building Process

Abstract

Employees are a critically important constituent of the service brand and being ultimately responsible for delivering its promise. As such they need a shared understanding of their service brand's values, along with strong commitment and identification, to encourage brand supporting behaviour. This internal brand building process becomes more challenging as services brands expand internationally, employing staff from different global zones. From research findings about the role of leadership, we argue that the success of internal brand building depends on the ability to leverage cognitive, affective, and communicative differences amongst culturally-diverse employees. For this, two behavioural competencies are crucial: a) defining a clear brand vision, and b) facilitating verbal and non-verbal social interaction patterns (showing commitment, trusting employees, and living brand values). This helps build passion, commitment and organisational identification amongst employees, ultimately responsible for successful services brands.