6-21-06

A Rose by Any Other Name
How much do you suppose workers in the service industry are affected by the name of the company they work for? Assume that two hotel chains, one named after Clem Budget and one named after Alvin Superior were the same in nearly every way: same payroll, same resources available, same labor pool. To what extent do you believe that the employees of these companies would "live up" to the name of the chain? Is a company name a self-fulfilling prophecy with regard to its service employees? Despite the fact that Budget and Superior pay the same and have comparable facilities, how much does company name alone affect the service aspect of these companies? I know there has been much research on the effect a company name has on the consumer, but what about its effect on its own employees? Surely someone has seen/done any research on this. Pretty basic concept. This is the type of issue I would like to connect to research I am doing over a concept examined recently by HBR: the living brand. More about the living brand and my research plans later.