A Conceptual Framework for E-Branding Strategies in the Non-Profit Sector

Journal of International Technology and Information Management Volume 13 Issue 3 Article 1 2004 A Conceptual Framework for E-Branding Strategies in the NonProfit Sector Horst Treiblmaier Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration Irene Pollach Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration Arne Floh Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/jitim Part of the Business Intelligence Commons, E-Commerce Commons, Management Information Systems Commons, Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods Commons, Operational Research Commons, and the Technology and Innovation Commons Recommended Citation Treiblmaier, Horst; Pollach, Irene; and Floh, Arne (2004) "A Conceptual Framework for E-Branding Strategies in the Non-Profit Sector," Journal of International Technology and Information Management: Vol. 13 : Iss. 3 , Article 1. Available at: https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/jitim/vol13/iss3/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by CSUSB ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of International Technology and Information Management by an authorized editor of CSUSB ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact . Conceptual Framework for E-Branding Journal of International Technology and Information Management A Conceptual Framework for E-Branding Strategies in the Non-Profit Sector Horst Treiblmaier Irene Pollach Arne Floh Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration Marcin Kotlowski Echonet.at, Vienna, Austria ABSTRACT E-branding provides non-profit organizations (NPOs) with new opportunities to communicate their missions, which is of paramount importance in a market segment that competes for donations and voluntary labor. Since successful e-branding is determined by both internal and external communication strategies, we developed a framework which explains the interdependency of these two factors in NPOs. Our findings are based on qualitative interview data and a website analysis of eleven Austrian NPOs. The NPOs' internal and external e-communication strategies are categorized into three successive levels each and combined in a two-dimensional grid, which shows how NPOs integrate their communication strategies. INTRODUCTION Despite the economic significance non-profit organizations (NPOs) have acquired in recent years, the implications of the Internet for NPO marketing seem to have received only little attention from both researchers and practitioners. Although NPO marketing has been the subject of academic research for more than 30 years, NPO branding has been studied for just about 10 years (cf. Hankinson, 2001). Recent research on branding in the nonprofit sector includes, for example, an assessment of the impact of brand orientation on non-profit performance (Hankinson, 2001; Hankinson, 2002) and the development of a non-profit brand orientation scale (Ewing and Napoli 2004). In particular, the small body of literature on e-branding for NPOs calls for an investigation into e-branding strategies for NPOs. Rusch (2002) rhetorically asks if investing in a brand can be seen as a frivolous activity for NPOs in view of their not-for-profit mission, but he concludes that a better understanding of NPO branding will lead to a more effective use of their donations, which eventually furthers the NPOs' causes. Although the peculiar organizational structure of NPOs fosters creativity and innovation, they often lack the motivation to exploit these opportunities commercially. Also, it seems that NPOs have not yet seized the opportunity to fully integrate the Internet into their business processes with a view to enhancing their core competencies, even though NPOs - particularly educational institutions - were actually the first organizations to use the Internet (Clay, 2002). Based on the assumption that well thought-out strategies for internal and external communication will help NPOs to build such e-brands, this paper begins with an outline of relevant aspects of both NPOs and e-communication. The main argument put forward in this paper is that successful e-branding for NPOs is determined by the alignment of intra-organizational and external communication capabilities. The conceptual framework for NPO e-branding we arrived at is based on qualitative interviews with NPOs from different sectors and an examination of their public Web sites. The paper concludes with hands-on recommendations for NPO communication strategies and suggestions for further research. NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Since NPOs vary widely in terms of structure and purpose, it is difficult to find a concise definition for them (cf. Goulet and Frank, 2002). Still, a number of characteristic features of NPOs can be discerned (Connors, 1993; Kotler, 1975). First and foremost, an NPO's raison d'être is to fulfill its mission rather than to generate a profit (Cyert, 1977). This specific mission of an NPO is typically laid down in its mission statement, which describes what the organizations stands for and what it seeks to achieve. Broadly speaking, their mission is to make a difference in society and in the lives of individuals (cf. Vazquez et al., 2002). Another characteristic element of NPOs is the voluntary involvement of workers. Although NPOs may well have gainfully employed workers as well, they could 143 H. Treiblmaier, I. Pollach, A. Floh & M. Kotlowski 2004 Volume 13, Number 3 not exist without volunteers who are committed to this mission and who pursue goals that are not primarily remunerative (Schindler-Rainman, 1988). Further, evaluating non-profit performance is not as straightforward as performance assessment of forprofit organizations. While the performance of for-profit organizations can be easily measured and compared by means of variables such as profit, revenues or earnings per share, these financials are not applicable to NPOs, as their performance is mission-driven rather than profit-driven (Smith et al., 1988). The performance evaluation of NPOs would require an assessment of the quality of the services they provide, which could then be juxtaposed to the cost of these services to determine the level of "mission directedness" (Drucker, 2001; Liao et al., 2001). The complexity of performance evaluation is further aggravated by the fact that NPOs perform two functions, as they both provide services to their customers and need to raise funds from their donors, thereby working two markets (Liao et al., 2001). In view of the increasing number of NPOs, there is mounting competition especially for donations, which are fundamental to the organization's survival and the fulfillment of its mission (Sargeant and Ewing, 2001). With resources becoming increasingly scarce, non-profits have begun to adopt a more business-like attitude, practicing so-called "social entrepreneurship", for example by partnering with for-profit organiz (...truncated)