Engaging Internal Stakeholders: Revitalizing Community Organizations Through Rebranding

Abstract

Community organizations are increasingly adopting corporate rebranding to enhance brand equity. However, existing branding and rebranding studies indicate community organizations often fail to reach their full potential because of (1) a fuzzy brand vision that does not fully utilize their very powerful values, and (2) an incomplete buy-in to the brand from internal stakeholders. The paper develops a conceptual framework of corporate rebranding for community organizations. The framework depicts organizational commitment as the pivotal construct. Internal branding activities associated with rebranding positively influence organizational commitment, directly and indirectly. Strong commitment empowers staff to live the brand consistently, influencing brand equity. This paper argues that using organizational commitment and applying social identity theory allows a greater understanding of internal branding processes.