Umeå University's logo

The increased interest of public organizations in using corporate branding principles creates a need to understand how to implement such principles effectively. Although previous research investigates challenges related to branding in this context, the findings provide contradictory evidence and opposing recommendations. The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic review of literature on branding in the public sector and to explore directions for future research. The results demonstrate that owing to the distinct differences between the private and public sectors, there is a need to adapt branding principles to meet the sector-specific challenges faced by public organizations. However, the extent of the required changes needs further research. This literature review presents a number of potential directions for future studies, which focus on diverse topics related to the internal and external aspects that are crucial to the successful branding of public organizations.

Branding in the public sector is emerging as an interesting area of research, as diverse organisations find themselves using branding principles to promote a consistent, clear brand. However, very little is known how public organisations could, or should, manage their brands. The purpose of this research, therefore, is to explore brand management processes in the public sector, and its implication for brand architecture, from an employee perspective. With a qualitative approach, the study argues that branding is important not only for the organisation, but also for individual departments. Further, unlike branding in the private sector, public organisations may be more concerned with supporting a positive perception and organisational attractiveness rather than a unique and differentiated brand. This may have implications for brand architecture. By allowing individual departments to manage their brand with support from organisational structures that provide alignment and focus, organisations can form a brand architecture that supports a strong organisational brand and employee brand commitment.

Challenged by demanding contextual conditions, public sector organizations struggle to succeed in internal branding. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of value congruence in internal communication and positive organizational practices on employees’ brand perceptions. The study examines the impact of PSM on these variables. The results of a survey demonstrate the importance of value congruence and positive organizational practices for facilitating employees’ brand identification, brand pride, and brand commitment. The findings show that PSM directly impacts employees’ opinions about value congruence and positive organizational practices, and indirectly influences their affective responses to the organizational brand.