The role of internal marketing in building employee commitment to the employer brand in the Croatian IT industry

Interni marketing kao koncept nije nov te su mnogi autori pokušali definirati konkretne aktivnosti koje se mogu provesti u sklopu strategija internog marketinga na internom tržištu poduzeća. Koncept internog marketinga zanimljiv je jer utječe na kompetentnost internog tržišta te na njegovu sposobnost ispunjavanja obećanja marke organizacije eksternom tržištu. Osim što je uloga internog marketinga educirati zaposlenike i od njih učiniti konkurentnu prednost poduzeća, on služi i kao alat pri produbljivanju odnosa između zaposlenika i poslodavca. Uloga internog marketinga je, između ostalog osigurati usklađenost vrijednosti i ponašanja zaposlenika s markom i vrijednostima organizacije, što ne samo da pospješuje poslovne rezultate poduzeća, već nadodaje vrijednost marki poslodavca kroz povećanje privrženosti zaposlenika koji se mogu identificirati s markom. Izgrađivanje dubljih odnosa sa zaposlenicima i poticanje privrženosti marki poslodavca u cilju su poslodavcima u hrvatskom IT sektoru, s obzirom da je tržište rada IT industrije obilježeno visokom fluktuacijom radne snage, što dugoročno povećava troškove organizaciji. Cilj diplomskog rada je istražiti implementiranost i ulogu internog marketinga u izgradnji privrženosti zaposlenika marki poslodavca u hrvatskom IT sektoru kroz tri dimenzije: interna komunikacija, programi razvoja zaposlenika te interna marketinška istraživanja. U svrhu ispunjenja cilja, provedeno je opisno istraživanje putem anketnog upitnika na uzorku od 111 ispitanika. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju, da poslodavci u hrvatskoj IT industriji koriste aktivnosti internog marketinga te da je osjećaj privrženosti ispitanih zaposlenika na visokoj razini. Također se dobio uvid i u potencijalne prostore za napredak, tako da je istraženo da od navedene tri dimenzije internog marketinga, zaposlenici najmanje percipiraju interna marketinška istraživanja te da nisu spremni odustati od zanimljive radne okoline samo kako bi mogli raditi za poslodavca određene marke.As for internal marketing, many authors before have attempted to define specific actions that can be taken as part of internal marketing strategies on a company's internal market. The internal marketing concept is interesting because it affects the competencies of the internal market and its ability to deliver brand promises to the external market. Additionally to its role in educating employees and making them a competitive advantage of the company, internal marketing also serves as a tool for deepening the relationship between the employees and the employer. It also ensures that employee values and behaviors align with the brand and values of the organization, which not only furthers the business outcome but also adds value to the employer's brand as the commitment of employees who identify with the brand increases. Employers in the Croatian IT sector are focusing on establishing deeper relationships with employees and encouraging employees to become more committed to employer brands, as the IT industry has a very high turnover rate. In the long run, this increases organizational costs. The thesis aims to examine how internal marketing is implemented and how it is used to build employee commitment to employer brands in the Croatian IT sector through three dimensions: internal communication, education programs, and internal marketing research. To reach the objective, a descriptive survey of 111 respondents was conducted. The results demonstrate that Croatian IT employers use internal marketing activities and that the respondents feel committed to their organization's brand. As potential areas for improvement were addressed, it was also found out that out of the three pillars of internal marketing, employees perceive internal marketing research the least and that they do not want to give up an interesting work environment just to work for a specific employer brand