Branding: A new performance discourse for HR?

In this paper we explore the potential for HR professionals to draw on the branding literature as a new performance discourse, which increasingly is believed by organizations such as the UK-based Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) to be a key area of interest for their members. We believe that such an interest is more than a passing fad because of three important trends: the importance of corporate and global branding, the development of the services-based economy in all advanced economies, and the growing importance of intangible assets and intellectual capital as sources of strategic advantage. In making our case, firstly, we outline some of the emerging evidence on the branding-HR relationship. Secondly, we bring together diverse sources of literature from marketing, communications, organizational studies and HRM to produce a model of the links between branding and HR and set out some propositions that may serve as a future research agenda and guide to practice, and illustrate these with some case study research. In doing so, our overall aim is to help HR specialists make a stronger claim for inclusion in the brand management process and, by extension, into the core of strategic decision-making in many organizations. © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.