Internal branding : Within a Swedish non-profit organization

The aid sector has receive a lot of attention the recent years whereas the public has recognized the societal situation in developing countries. As many people has become more generous with their donations, an increasing number of non-profit organizations (NPO) has emerged which has created a competitive environment in the non-profit sector. As a result, many NPOs has started to adapt business-like qualities such as implementing a marketing strategy and building a brand. The purpose of this study was to explore how NPO manage their internal brand and if it is in accordance to for-profit literature; it will be explored from both the management perspective as well as from employees’ perspective. This dissertation is based on literature about internal branding in the for-profit sector. For the theoretical framework a postulated model describing the relationship between employees’ skills and knowledge, brand attitude, and brand performance was presented emerging from the theoretical framework. The findings indicate that the studied NPO, IM, is becoming more business-like concerning internal branding, though more in the managements than amongst the employees. Hence, a NPO specific modified theoretical framework is desired, depicting internal branding. Two surprising findings are the influence of external brand communication on employees’ brand attitude and brand performance, and that brand leadership emerged as a precursor to the other factors influencing employees’ skills and knowledge concerning the internal brand