The Influence of Internal Employer Branding and Leadership Styles in Increasing Employee Engagement: The Mediating Effect on Employee Experience
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Apr 30, 2025
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Abstract
The hospitality industry, particularly 5-star hotels at the pinnacle of this sector, heavily relies on exceptional service quality standards to uphold the brand reputation, customer satisfaction, and overall Customer Experience (CX). Achieving these high standards largely depends on Employee Engagement (EE), as well as employee satisfaction and retention, given that employees serve as the hotel's frontline brand ambassadors. However, the industry—including the 5-star Hotel X in Bali—faces a higher employee turnover rate than other sectors. One of the ways that Hotel X fosters employee engagement (EE) is by implementing internal employer branding (IEB) initiatives. This study aims to measure the effect of Internal Employer Branding (IEB) and Leadership Style (LS) —a key factor influencing employee turnover—on Employee Engagement (EE), with Employee Experience (EX) acting as a mediating variable. The research employs Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis using a saturated sample of 252 respondents. Hypothesis testing results indicated that 4 out of 5 direct effect hypotheses positively affect their latent variables, and 1 of 2 specific indirect effect (mediation) hypotheses directly impact Employee Engagement (EE). The findings suggest that Employee Experience (EX) substantially mediates internal employer branding (IEB) and Employee Engagement (EE). However, Leadership Style (LS) proved to be more effective in directly enhancing Employee Engagement (EE) than through Employee Experience (EX).
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References
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Widyana, S. F., Yuniarsih, T., & Ahman, E. (2021, September). Employer branding strategy to increase employee engagement. In 5th Global Conference on Business, Management and Entrepreneurship (GCBME 2020) (pp. 614-617). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/aebmr.k.210831.118
Widyaningrum, L. R., & Amalia, L. (2023). The impact of transformational leadership, organizational culture, and employee engagement on employee performance at Indonesia’s flight school. Jurnal Multidisiplin Madani (MUDIMA), 3(4).
Zhao, H., Liu, W., Li, J., & Yu, X. (2019). Leader–member exchange, organizational identification, and knowledge hiding: The moderating role of relative leader–member exchange. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40(7), 834-848.
Alzaid, D., & Dukhaykh, S. (2023). Employer branding and employee retention in the banking sector in Saudi Arabia: Mediating effect of relational psychological contracts. Sustainability, 15(7), 6115. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15076115
Badan Pusat Statistik. (2024). Banyaknya hotel bintang menurut kelas di Provinsi Bali tahun 2022 dan tahun 2023. Bali: Badan Pusat Statistik Provinsi Bali.
Bhasin, M., Mushtaq, R., & Gupta, R. (2019). Internal employer branding and employee engagement: A study of the hospitality sector. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 38, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2019.01.002
Blevins, E. R. (2022, March). Proposed study of job satisfaction of HBCU engineering faculty based on Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory. In 2002 GSW.
Budihardjo, F., & Cokki, C. (2023). Peran kepercayaan dan sikap sebagai mediator antara edukasi dan niat penggunaan hypno-slimming. Jurnal Muara Ilmu Ekonomi dan Bisnis, 7(1), 239-254. https://doi.org/10.24912/jmieb.v7i1.23663
Chen, L., Liu, J., Qiu, W., & Han, M. (2023). The impact of paternalistic leadership styles on employee engagement in the pharmaceutical distribution industry: The mediating role of psychological capital. Journal of Chinese Human Resource Management, 14(2), 3-22.
Dechawatanapaisal, D. (2019). Internal branding and employees’ brand outcomes: Do generational differences and organizational tenure matter? Industrial and Commercial Training, 51(4), 209-227. https://doi.org/10.1108/ICT-10-2018-0089
Drūteikienė, G., Savicke, J., & Skarupskienė, D. (2023). The impact of employer brand on the relationship between psychological empowerment and employee engagement. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 21(1), 193-203. https://doi.org/10.21511/ppm.21(1).2023.17
Fontana, M., Lyman, S., Islam, W., & MacLean, C. (2019). When stars do not align: Overall hospital quality star ratings and the volume-outcome association. JBJS Open Access, 4(1), e0044. https://doi.org/10.2106/JBJS.OA.18.00044
Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review, 31(1), 2–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203
Han, X., Chen, S., & Chen, B. (2022). From employee engagement to customer engagement: A multilevel dual-path model of engagement spillover effects in service ecosystems. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 64, 102815.
Hidayati, T., Ilmi, Z., & Kasuma, J. (2022). How authentic leadership promotes job performance? The mediating role of organizational climate. International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning, 17(5), 1431-1440.
Jamal, M., Masood, A., Hasbullah, N. A., Rahim, N., & Ramadhanty, Y. F. (2023). The influence of marketing, pricing, and promotion on Gen Z’s purchase behaviour of halal cosmetics in Indonesia. The Journal of Muamalat and Islamic Finance Research, 20(1), 112-124.
Kaur, P., Malhotra, K., & Sharma, S. (2020). Employer branding and organisational citizenship behaviour: The mediating role of job satisfaction. Asia-Pacific Journal of Management Research and Innovation, 16(2), 122-131. https://doi.org/10.1177/2319510X20931716
Khan, M., Ismail, F., Hussain, A., & Al‐Ghazali, B. (2020). The interplay of leadership styles, innovative work behavior, organizational culture, and organizational citizenship behavior. Sage Open, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019898264
Kucherov, D. (2023). Are they really better? Employer branding in companies from the employer ranking. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 32(9), 1870-1886. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-07-2023-3827
Nguyen, H., & Nguyen, L. (2022). Employer attractiveness, employee engagement, and employee performance. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 72(10), 2859-2881. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-04-2021-0232
Panneerselvam, S., & Balaraman, K. (2022). Employee experience: the new employee value proposition. Strategic HR Review, 21(6), 201-207.
Papageorge, M., Resio, B., Monsalve, A., Canavan, M., Pathak, R., Mase, V., … & Boffa, D. (2020). Navigating by stars: Using CMS star ratings to choose hospitals for complex cancer surgery. JNCI Cancer Spectrum, 4(5). https://doi.org/10.1093/jncics/pkaa059
Patil, M. (2024). HR strategies for enhancing employee engagement and organizational performance: A marketing perspective. EATP. https://doi.org/10.53555/kuey.v30i5.4218
Rai, A. and Nandy, B. (2021). Employer brand to leverage employees’ intention to stay through sequential mediation model: evidence from indian power sector. International Journal of Energy Sector Management, 15(3), 551-565. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijesm-10-2019-0024
Raj, A. (2020). Impact of internal branding on employee engagement: An empirical study conducted among medical staff’s brand-supporting behavior in Indian hospitals. Indian Journal of Public Health Research & Development, 11(3), 942–947. https://doi.org/10.37506/ijphrd.v11i3.1493
Silva, A., & Dias, H. (2022). The relationship between employer branding, corporate reputation, and intention to apply to a job offer. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 31(8), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-01-2022-3129
Sitorus, H. M., & Vania, C. (2022). Niat adopsi teknologi online grocery shopping: Eksistensi technology acceptance model. Jurnal Rekayasa Sistem Industri, 11(1), 93-100. https://doi.org/10.26593/jrsi.v11i1.5204
Staniec, I., & Kalińska-Kula, M. (2021). Internal employer branding as a way to improve employee engagement. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 19(3), 33.
Sun, L., & Bunchapattanasakda, C. (2019). Employee engagement: A literature review. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 9(1), 63. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijhrs.v9i1.14167
Widyana, S. F., Yuniarsih, T., & Ahman, E. (2021, September). Employer branding strategy to increase employee engagement. In 5th Global Conference on Business, Management and Entrepreneurship (GCBME 2020) (pp. 614-617). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/aebmr.k.210831.118
Widyaningrum, L. R., & Amalia, L. (2023). The impact of transformational leadership, organizational culture, and employee engagement on employee performance at Indonesia’s flight school. Jurnal Multidisiplin Madani (MUDIMA), 3(4).
Zhao, H., Liu, W., Li, J., & Yu, X. (2019). Leader–member exchange, organizational identification, and knowledge hiding: The moderating role of relative leader–member exchange. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40(7), 834-848.