the alignment of internal and external branding

361 Pages·2013·3.6 MB·English

THE ALIGNMENT OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL BRANDING
IN A LEADER GROUP
by
VINESSA NAIDOO
Thesis
submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
DOCTOR IN PHILOSOPHIAE
in
LEADERSHIP IN PERFORMANCE AND CHANGE
in the
FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT
at the
UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG

Promoters:
Prof. Willem Schurink
Prof. Jos Coetzee

April 2013
Declaration

I hereby certify that the dissertation submitted by me in fulfillment of the degree
Doctorate in Philosophiae (Leadership in Performance and Change) at the
Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management (IPPM), University of
Johannesburg is my independent work and has not been submitted by me for a
degree at another faculty or university.

Vinessa Naidoo

Date: 30 April 2013

THE ALIGNMENT OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL BRANDING IN A LEADER GROUP i
Affidavit

AFFIDAVIT: MASTER'S AND DOCTORAL STUDENTS
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
This serves to confirm that I, Vinessa Naidoo,
Student number (cid:16)(cid:16)(cid:16)(cid:16)(cid:16)(cid:16)(cid:16)(cid:16)(cid:16)enrolled for the D. Phil. (Leadership in Performance
and Change), Qualification D. Phil. (LPC), at the Department of Industrial
Psychology and People Management, Faculty of Management,
Herewith declare that my academic work adheres to the the Plagiarism Policy of the
University of Johannesburg with which I am familiar. I declare that the work
presented in the D. Phil. (LPC)(thesis) is authentic and original unless clearly
indicated otherwise, and in such instances full reference to the source is
acknowledged. I do not pretend to receive any credit for such acknowledged
quotations, and that there is no copyright infringement in my work. I declare that no
unethical research practices were used or material gained through dishonesty. I
understand that plagiarism is a serious offence and that should I contravene the
Plagiarism Policy notwithstanding signing this affidavit, I may be found guilty of a
serious criminal offence (perjury) that would, among other consequences, compel
the University of Johannesburg (UJ) to inform all other tertiary institutions of the
offence and to issue a corresponding certificate of reprehensible academic conduct
to whomever requests such a certificate from the institution.

Signed at _____________________on this the _____________day of
_______________ 20___.
Signature__________________________________

Print name _________________________________
THE ALIGNMENT OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL BRANDING IN A LEADER GROUP ii
AFFIDAVIT
COMMISSIONER OF OATHS

Signed at _____________________on this the _____________day of
_______________ 20___.

Signature__________________________________

Print name _________________________________

STAMP OF COMMISSIONER OF OATHS

Affidavit certified by a Commissioner of Oaths
This affidavit conforms to the requirements of the JUSTICES OF THE PEACE AND
COMMISSIONERS OF OATHS ACT (16 OF 1963) and the applicable Regulations
published in the GG GNR 1258 of 21 July 1972, GN 903 of 10 July 1998 and
GN 109 of 2 February 2001 as amended.
THE ALIGNMENT OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL BRANDING IN A LEADER GROUP III
PREAM BLE

Dedications,

Acknowledgements

And Abstract
Dedications

This thesis is dedicated to
GOD ALMIGHTY.
Father, without Your strength and favour
this dream would never have become a reality.
It is also dedicated to my mother, Ms Saro Naik,

and
to my husband, Roger, and our lovely daughters, Andrea and Jadene.

I love you all very much!
THE ALIGNMENT OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL BRANDING IN A LEADER GROUP V
Acknowledgements

I acknowledge and thank God Almighty for His love and blessings bestowed upon
me so undeservingly. I have been blessed with a loving family and friends and
supporting colleagues.
I also express my sincere appreciation to the following institutions and people who
supported me in completing this study:
o My husband, Roger, who lovingly supported me in order for me to make this
dream come true. This journey was long and ardous, and every time I felt at
my worst, my other half, Roger, felt my pain as well. Thank you Roger for
standing by me and being such an awesome person! I love you!
o My mother, whom I thank God Almighty for, who left her present
responsibilities to take over mine at my home, so that I could finally write this
thesis.
o My daughters, Andrea and Jadene, who, through their commitment to their
own studies at university and school respectively, inspired me to persist
towards my own goal. My two beautiful daughters, you have given me
immense words of encouragement when I felt so down and out. Thank you
my girls. I love you!
o My current employer, the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), for
granting me the financial resources and time to conduct this study.
o The research company where all the research activities were undertaken, but
whose identity I respectfully keep confidential. I offer my special appreciation
for your open doors, friendliness and total support.
o The research participants who shared their experiences and their views of
their worlds with me.
o Prof. Theo Veldsman, Head of the Department of Industrial Psychology and
People Management (IPPM), who gave me a second chance to realise this
dream. Thank you, Prof. Veldsman!

THE ALIGNMENT OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL BRANDING IN A LEADER GROUP VI
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
o My promoter, Prof. Willem Schurink, whom I consider as the kingpin in this
project. You opened up the world of qualitative research for me; you showed
me understanding and support when I needed it most. Your dedication and
inspiration gave me the strength and courage to go on when I did not feel like
going on. You spent many hours ensuring that I almost attained perfection in
my thoughts and the final thesis. Thank you, Prof! I am eternally grateful to
you.
o Prof. Jos Coetzee, my co-supervisor, for his knowledge and support,
especially regarding theoretical perspective in this study. Also, for your
consistent words of encouragement and wonderful sense of humour. You
made me smile at times when I felt that I could never smile again! Thank you
Prof for all your help!
o My statistics specialist, Dr Victor Andoseh, for his invaluable time, patience
and support. There were many hours that we sat together and tirelessly
worked through huge amounts of data. Thank you Dr Victor for the fabulous
results!
o My editor, Ina Stahmer, who so tirelessly edited and proofread this lengthy
thesis. There were many times I could not articulate my ideas, which Ina did
so beautifully. Thank you Ina for your patience to help me reach this
wonderful end product.
o My layout artist, Santie Moll, who assisted me to draw all the intricate
diagrams in this thesis, and assisted with the entire layout to make this
document look so neat and professional. Thank you Santie.
o My colleagues at work, for their words of encouragement, individual
contributions and mentorship in this study.
o All my colleagues and friends at the TUT, especially the Business School and
library, who offered their assistance and support to me.
o All the staff at the IPPM at the University of Johannesburg, whose support,
friendliness and professionalism will always be etched in my memory. Many
THE ALIGNMENT OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL BRANDING IN A LEADER GROUP vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
thanks also to Mr. Norman Phokanoka of the University of Johannesburg's
library for his help with my references.
o I would like to especially thank Mrs. Fozia Kasoojee of the IPPM who has
given me so much support and motivation. I sincerely appreciated your words
of wisdom when I needed it most.
o My deepest gratitude to Prof. Wilfred Ukpere for his help with my first
published article, which paved the way for producing my thesis.
o I would like to thank my friend, Shireen Archary, who sat the entire night
before this final document was due, to ensure proper final quality control was
done.
o A special thank you to Mr. Arnold Herman, from the TUT Printing Division,
whose patience and perfection will always be remembered, especially in the
final printing and binding of this thesis.
o All my friends and family for their loving support and words of encouragement
during this time. I appreciate and love you all!

THE ALIGNMENT OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL BRANDING IN A LEADER GROUP viii
Abstract

Many employees do not associate with their company's brand, because there is a
gap between what they experience and perceive and what their company conveys
about the brand. The external brand suffers as a result. Company leaders who fail to
recognise the importance of internal branding and the need to align internal branding
with external branding are primarily responsible for this.
An initial literature review of the phenomenon led to the question of how the concrete
experiences and views of managers of an organisation with regard to branding can
be explored so as to develop a model of the alignment of internal and external
branding. The question was answered by means of a study of managers of a South
African organisation.
The objectives were to use qualitative research to capture and unravel the
experiences and views of the managers, to study the work of prominent scholars in
the relevant study field in order to infer theoretical constructs and demarcate
research findings that are relevant to understanding the managers' experiences and
viewpoints, and finally to develop a model of branding that integrates the everyday
experiences and viewpoints of the managers with the scholarly concepts.
I opted for the modernistic qualitative approach, presented my research philosophy
(ontology and epistemology) and key scientific beliefs (my position as to the use of
literature and theory, and research ethics), and described the key decisions I took
during the research process.
The study was conducted in a leading South African motor retail company, which
operates countrywide in more than 100 wholly-owned dealerships. Ten leaders of
the company were interviewed, mainly during unstructured interviews, and detailed
data were obtained. These data were complemented with observations, field notes,
unsolicited essays and company documents. I used a computer-assisted qualitative
data analysis software (CAQDAS) program, namely Nvivo 9, to assist me in sorting
the comprehensive data set.

THE ALIGNMENT OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL BRANDING IN A LEADER GROUP ix