Using branding to effect internal change at Spie Batignolles

This article examines the role of branding as a vector for internal communication and as a method of stimulating learning and change. Instead of focusing on the external impact of the brand, it uses an in-depth case study in the French construction industry to show how a commercial brand can foster the emergence of internal communities that stimulate information exchange, the sharing of best practices, and innovation. The members of these communities collectively developed their own tools, vocabulary, and management practices around the brand to make it their own—a process that influenced their personal identity as well as the firm's organizational identity. The results of this study suggest that a brand can encourage the transfer of knowledge drawn from localized experience within a firm.