Internal branding to influence employees’ brand promise delivery: a case study in Thailand Khanyapuss Punjaisri Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK, and Alan Wilson and Heiner Evanschitzky Department of Marketing, University of Strathclyde Business School, Glasgow, UK Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the internal branding process from the perspective of service providers in Thailand. It will reveal the key internal branding mechanisms and empirically assess the relationship between internal branding and employees’ brand attitudes and performance. Design/methodology/approach – A case study representing the Thai hotel industry is adopted with mixed methodologies. In-depth interviews are first carried out with 30 customer-interface employees in six major hotels in Thailand. On a census basis, a quantitative survey with 699 respondents from five major hotels in Thailand follows. Findings – Internal branding coordinating marketing with human resource management has a statistically significant impact on attitudinal and behavioural aspects of employees in their delivery of the brand promise. As employees’ brand commitment do not have a statistically significant relationship with employees’ brand performance, it is not regarded as a mediator in the link between internal branding and employees’ brand performance. Practical implications – A number of significant managerial implications are drawn from this study, for example using both internal communication and training to influence employees’ brand-supporting attitudes and behaviours. Still, it should be noted that the effect of internal branding on employee behaviours could be dependent on the extent to which it influences their brand attitudes. Originality/value – The paper provides valuable insights, from the key internal audience’s perspectives, into an internal branding process. It has empirically shown the relationship between internal branding and the behavioural outcome as well as the partial meditating effects of employees’ brand identification, commitment and loyalty. Keywords Brand identity, Brand loyalty, Thailand, Employee behaviour, Hotel and catering industry Paper type Case study 1. Introduction Previous research has demonstrated that brand equity is an important antecedent of loyalty and behaviour (Vogel et al., 2008) and hence, firms need to find ways to positively influence brand perceptions. A service organisation may endeavour to do so by creating a well-crafted brand identity, a well-defined brand positioning and a well-conceived brand personality, a strong brand needs to ensure the brand image resonates with management’s efforts. As service employees are often considered the embodiment of the service brand in the consumer’s eyes (Gro ¨nroos, 1994; Wangenheim et al., 2007), an organisation should attempt to align the attitudes and behaviours of The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1757-5818.htm Employees’ brand promise delivery 561 Journal of Service Management Vol. 20 No. 5, 2009 pp. 561-579 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1757-5818 DOI 10.1108/09564230910995143