*1.2. Employer Branding*

EB is not a new concept; back in 1996, Ambler and Barrow [14] (p. 8) described the employer brand as the 'functional, economical and psychological package given by a job matching the employer company'. Nevertheless, the concept has been growing to a more relevant role concerning talent managemen<sup>t</sup> [5]. The designers of the first EB model (see Figure 2), Backhaus and Tikoo [15] point out three vital assets to create the employer brand: organisational culture, organisational identity, and differentiating value proposition.

**Figure 2.** Backhaus and Tikoo framework (2004). Source: Backhaus and Tikoo (2004) [15].

With the conceptualisation of this model, the authors intend to make the comprehension of the dynamics associated with the concept easier, as well as the importance of the narrow relationship between marketing and human resources to the implementation of an EB process.

Since the expression 'war for talent' was created by Mckinsey—one of the most important human resources consulting companies in the world—in 1997, EB processes have assumed a central role in organisational strategy because organisations realised that they would have to fight this 'war' on the following years if they wanted to attract and retain the talents relevant to their sustainability. Although brands and branding are not a recent topic, organisations are now applying the concepts to new managemen<sup>t</sup> areas [16]. Branding, according to Kotler and Lee [17] (p. 215), is 'the identity developing process of an intended brand'. EB is the expression used to refer to the applicability of brand elements to human resources management. Sullivan [18] advocates that EB expresses the notion that designates a company as a good environment to execute functions.

It is of the utmost importance to clarify the concept and systematise its models due to the relevance the concept has been developing over the years, and because the introduction of EB within the organisation is becoming more and more a necessity and no longer an option. Therefore, one of the goals of the present systematic literature revision is the clarification of the concept and its dimensions.
