Employee Brand Building Behaviour: Scale Development & Validation in B2B Services Context

Abstract

Frontline service employees (FSEs) make or break a brand. Especially, in B2B services, their attitudes and behaviors are crucial in shaping valuable customer-related outcomes for a services firm/brand. Service firms are increasingly focusing on internal brand management to develop Brand Champions, who can live the brand and ensure its sustenance. However, the progress in this area has been marred due to infancy of research. In this paper, we address a major gap in this area pertaining to the conceptualization and measurement of behavior of Brand Champions, which is termed as Employee Brand Building Behavior (EBBB). In this study, we follow a five-step approach for developing and validating a scale of EBBB, using data from six samples of FSEs working in B2B services (N = 1886). First, using insights from literature and 25 in-depth interviews, we conceptualize EBBB and generate a pool of items. Second, we perform exploratory factor analysis for scale purification and examining the factor structure. Third, we check for the convergent and divergent validity of the EBBB dimensions, using confirmatory factor analysis. Fourth, we examine the scale for method effects. And finally, we test for the nomological validity of EBBB. This EBBB scale will be a great utility for practitioners and academicians, who wish to make contributions to the practice and theory of internal brand management.