Brand equity in the human resource market: Extending the value of brands beyond the consumer

Research has long recognized the value of brands in terms of their ability to provide financial benefits in the consumer market. Oddly, research has been silent on the manner in which brands may provide value to a firm in other types of markets. This research develops and tests a set of hypotheses that propose that brand names that are high in equity will increase subjects' perceptions of (a) internal and (b) external advancement opportunities, (c) the expected employee work ethic and ultimately (d) the salary required to accept a competing job offer. As can be seen in the model below, the roles of two individual traits, self-monitoring and job-related self-efficacy, are also tested.