Internal branding in sustainable procurement

Abstract

Sustainable supply chain is no longer a goal of few but a common target for companies of all sizes and industries. Companies executing global sourcing face a higher risk in sustainability issues. Hence, global sourcing can be seen as one of the most crucial functions and procurement employees as one of the most important actors when it comes to implementing a sustainable strategy. One of the ways to get employees align with a company's strategy is internal branding. Internal branding can be defined through the internal branding mechanisms and the outcomes desired and achieved with them.

Internal branding research has scarcely touched on the perspective of employees in roles which are involved in the supplier interface, rather than in the customer interface. More specifically, the influence of internal branding on non-visible procurement processes including supplier selection, supplier monitoring and supplier collaboration called for further research. This study aims to enhance the understanding of how internal branding can promote sustainability among the employees and therefore, affect the implementation of sustainability strategy in the procurement processes. The research was conducted as a single-case study on a company in the security technology industry.

The findings indicate that in the global sourcing processes, sustainability is internalized in various ways, but the challenges of sustainable procurement remain influencing the effectiveness and reliability of the activities, to which internal branding can be a response. The findings demonstrated that sustainability can be communicated, branded and internalized through different internal branding mechanisms, such as brand communication and brand-oriented leadership. Viewing the internal branding mechanisms more broadly was suggested by proposing tangible brand assets, such as brand colors and slogans, and semi-formal communication as internal branding mechanisms.

In general, this study contributes to the existing research on internal branding and its connection to sustainability by proposing a concept of internal sustainability branding. Internal sustainability branding was seen as influencing brand-understanding, sustainability awareness and sustainability brand advocacy. The heightened understanding, awareness and expertise was seen affecting employees’ capacity to act on recognized sustainability issues, to educate and train suppliers, and to communicate about the sustainability strategy, targets and requirements to suppliers.