@inproceedings{01H1TY0FT05BQDM9BW58HFJKF8,
  abstract     = {{Organizations worldwide are competing to acquire talent, as human capital is the main source of
competitive advantage (Pandita & Ray, 2018). Due to shortages in the labour market, acquiring
and retaining talent has not been evident. Researchers have proposed employer branding as an
efficient strategy to create a sustainable workforce (Alves et al., 2020). This strategy focuses on
building an employer image and transfer this image to stakeholders. Employees can play an
influential role in this process as they can resonate the employer image to employees and applicants,
and become ambassadors (Sengupta et al., 2015).
Despite the influential role of employee ambassadorship for the organization, this concept has
received limited attention in research, which is in sharp contrast with the organizational
environment. Employee ambassadorship programs are exponentially implemented (Andersson,
2019). However, their policy is not based on research and can hold negative implications for
organizations (Gill, 2018). Therefore, to encourage scientific insight in this research field, we aim to
create a common understanding of this concept and developing an employee ambassadorship scale.
Based on Hinkin (1995) and Podsakoff et al. (2012), we developed a five-phase methodology. First,
we conceptualized employee ambassadorship based on the tripartite model of Hilgard (1980). As
such, we constructed a five-dimension model of employee ambassadorship: Employer Brand
Knowledge, Employer Brand Relevance, Employer Brand Affective Connection, Employer Brand
Consistent Behavior, and Employer Brand Citizenship Behavior. Subsequently, we interviewed 6
actors related to employee ambassadorship and finetuned our theoretical model and definitions
based on these interviews. Once we finalized our model, we began to generate items from literature,
existing scales, and the interview input. Next, we represented them to the interviewees and ask
them to give their opinion.
Afterward, we assessed this model and items in the second phase. To assess the content validity of
the items, we conducted an item sorting exercise. To determine the factor structure, an EFA (N =
238) was conducted. Based on eigenvalues > 1 and parallel analysis, a 5-factor solution was
suggested. In the third phase, the CFA confirmed the 5-factor structure (N = 257). We also
investigated the tendency to respond “socially desirable”. Only the moralistic response scale
correlated higher than .20 and a good internal consistency was observed (α >.85; AVE > .55, CR
>.80). In the fourth and fifth phase, we will assess construct, nomological, and concurrent validity
by collecting a sample of 250 employees. We intend to have these results in December ‘22.
This study has scientific and practical implications. First, we contribute to the literature on employee
ambassadorship by providing a conceptualization of employee ambassadorship. Furthermore, a
validated measure of employee ambassadorship is constituted, drawing on five dimensions. This will
give researchers the opportunity to shed light on this highly relevant but under-researched topic
through future studies. Regarding the practical implications, organizations can take interventions to
encourage ambassadorship among their employees. By measuring the five dimensions of employee
ambassadorship, they can gain insights into how much knowledge, employees have regarding
employer brand or how willingly they want to behave like an employee ambassador. As such, HR
managers can analyse which of the five dimensions need attention and determine a plan of action.
Lastly, due to the scale, organizations will be more able to recognize employees who want to become
an ambassador, which ultimately assists in attracting and retaining talent.
When developing a scale, there are limitations. First, the employee ambassadorship scale has been
developed as a self-reported measure, however, by validating this scale with objective measures and
control for social desirability, we counter these effects. Secondly, the samples largely included well-
educated English-speaking participants, which raises a concern about the generalizability of the scale
beyond these occupations. Therefore, the next step could be to validate this scale in more diverse
samples and languages.
As there are shortages in the labour market and high turnover, organizations are urged to adopt
strategies to attract and retain employees. As a result, organizations are encouraging employees to
promote the employer image to stakeholders, which assists in attracting applicants and fosters
economic growth and success. However, organizations are not supporting their policy on research, as
employee ambassadorship is unexplored research field. By conducting this research, we aim to
change the way organizations work regarding employee ambassadorship, support practitioners in
creating an evidence-based policy for employee ambassadorship, and encourage researchers to
study this topic.
Keywords: Employer branding, Employee Ambassadorship, Scale Development}},
  author       = {{Rys, Marthe and Weijters, Bert and Schollaert, Eveline and Van Hoye, Greet}},
  booktitle    = {{EAWOP Congress : the future is now : the changing world of work, Book of abstracts}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  location     = {{Katowice, Poland}},
  pages        = {{958--959}},
  publisher    = {{European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP)}},
  title        = {{The conceptualization and development of the employee ambassadorship scale}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}