ORCID
0000-0001-5262-5211
Keywords
Employer Branding, Hotel Employees
Abstract
This dissertation investigates employer branding from the perspective of hotel employees, focusing on how they interpret their work experiences relative to the expectations conveyed by the employer brand. Although employer branding is widely promoted as a strategy to attract, motivate, and align employees with a symbolic organizational identity that enhances engagement, commitment, and service-oriented behavior, limited research examines its actual effectiveness or the potential consequences when brand promises diverge from lived experience. Existing studies often assume that employer branding functions as intended; however, discrepancies between brand rhetoric and workplace reality may prompt employees to interpret their experiences through organizational trust or cynicism.
A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was employed to explore these dynamics. The quantitative phase, based on survey data from hotel employees (n = 526), examined how employer brand distinctiveness, consistency, and consensus relate to brand performance, work engagement, and turnover intention, with organizational trust and cynicism as mediating variables. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) revealed that distinctiveness and consistency significantly enhanced performance and engagement, whereas consensus was less influential. Distinctiveness also directly reduced turnover intentions, though not via trust or cynicism. Trust emerged as a key mediator sustaining performance, while cynicism partially mediated the relationship between inconsistency and turnover intention. Notably, trust exhibited a modest positive mediating effect between consensus and turnover, indicating a potential unintended outcome of strong employer branding.
The qualitative phase, comprising interviews with 21 hotel professionals, elaborated on these mechanisms by identifying critical touchpoints like onboarding and managerial recognition where employees assess the authenticity of the employer brand. Despite unmet expectations, many employees continued to perform in alignment with brand standards, revealing a previously overlooked dynamic in employer branding research. Overall, the findings challenge assumptions that strong employer brands inherently generate engagement and commitment, identifying boundary conditions for psychological contract and social exchange theories in the hospitality context.
Completion Date
2025
Semester
Fall
Committee Chair
Okumus, Fevzi
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
College
Rosen College of Hospitality Management
Department
Hospitality Services
Format
Release Date
12-15-2027
Document Type
Dissertation
Campus Location
Rosen College of Hospitality Management
Subjects
Employer branding; Hospitality industry--Research; Employee motivation--Research; Hospitality industry--Employees; Dissertations, Academic--Research
STARS Citation
Varga, Susan, "Rhetoric and Reality: Explaining the Employer Branding Process through Hospitality Employee Experience" (2025). Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024. 546.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd2024/546
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