Employee Branding in Private Universities of Bangladesh: A Qualitative Exploration of Faculty Members Perspectives
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Abstract
Employee Branding (EB) represents an innovative promotional strategy that leverages the active engagement of employees to enhance the branding of an organization or its products. Given the centrality of human capital in the development of the service sector, private universities can adopt EB strategies to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. This study investigates the current state of EB practices in selected private universities of Bangladesh with a specific focus on Employee Value Proposition (EVP) and marketing initiatives. The findings reveal significant gaps in EVP among the sampled universities, which undermine the effective implementation of EB. Additionally, the marketing dimension of EB is observed to be minimally integrated into existing practices. The study recommends implementing targeted EVP tools to foster greater engagement among faculty members and non-academic staff in private universities. Furthermore, it proposes specific marketing strategies to enhance the institutional brand through employee advocacy. Notably, the research suggests that developing a robust framework for branding employees themselves could be an innovative extension of EB practices. However, the generalization of EB practices within the cultural and operational context of private universities in a developing country like Bangladesh presents considerable challenges, particularly in the area of EVP. This study highlights a need for further exploration and provides actionable insights for policymakers and researchers to institutionalize EB as a strategic tool in the governance and management of private universities of Bangladesh.
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