Employer branding and organisational commitment In an R&D organisation

Abstract

The fast changing labour market has resulted in employers formulating strategies to attract and retain increasingly rare and skilled employees from an ever tighter labour market and to forge organisational commitment within them. This is especially true in R&D organisations where its intellectual base which is obtained from its human capital is the main driving force behind its output that is innovation. Understanding the relationship between employer branding and organisational commitment will become extremely important to R&D organisations wishing to seek a competitive advantage against its competitors in tight labour markets and conditions of career instability as it is today. One of the more current innovative strategy applied by organisations today is by becoming an “employer of choice,” a method of differentiation by employers and sending clear signals about the organisation as an employer. A key notion of the employer of choice framework is the notion of employer branding. Employer branding is postulated to address the issue of how to establish organisational commitment by existing employees within the organisation leading to higher performance and a decrease in turnover, all else being equal. Employer branding encompasses employer brand identity, internal employer brand image and external employer brand image. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between internal employer brand image and organisational commitment of employees working in a typical R&D organisations. The present study elucidated the various dimensions of internal employer brand image and developed a correlation relationship with that of organisational commitment.