Employer Brand and Business Performance: The Role of Intellectual Capital

Abstract

Intangible assets play a vital role in the hotel industry, in general, and can also ensure the sustainability of a business during a crisis. The aim of the paper is to identify the impact of employer brand on the business performance of hotel companies, including the mediating effect of intellectual capital as an element of intangible assets. The research was conducted among managers who are employed in 92 hotels, and who evaluated the dimensions of the employer brand, business performance (organisational performance and market performance), and intellectual capital. The research hypotheses were tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The research model has supported the full mediating effect of intellectual capital between most of the employer brand dimensions and business performance. Results confirm the contribution of the employer brand to the business performance, with the support of intellectual capital and indicate the necessity of mutual use of intellectual capital and employer brand as key assets in a crisis.