Employer Branding and Corporate Reputation Management in Global Companies: Theory and Practice

We synthesise literature from HRM, marketing, organisational theory and communications to develop a normative framework for employer branding work in multinational enterprises (MNEs). In so doing, we hope to make a contribution to theory and the research-practice gap in this growing area of interest in HRM. Firstly, we develop a context, content and process framework of employer branding by linking it to signalling theory and incorporating new ideas from the organizational identity and employee engagement literatures. Secondly, we use a case study of Volvo Cars to illustrate certain features of our framework. The case shows how this global company is developing a sophisticated approach to employer branding and talent management by drawing on subtle story-telling through social media.