Becoming a Part of Something Bigger: A Study on Employer Branding and Identity in the Swedish Armed Forces
(2026) BUSN49 20261Department of Business Administration
- Abstract
- Title: Becoming a Part of Something Bigger - A Study on Employer Branding and Identity in the Swedish Armed Forces
Course: BUSN49, Master Thesis
Authors: Klara Andersson & Julia Hesslevik
Supervisor: Stefan Sveningsson
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how the Swedish Armed Forces constructs and communicates its employer brand, and how employees interpret and experience it in practice. The study seeks to contribute to a deepened understanding of employer branding as an interpretative process.
Methodology: The study adopts a qualitative approach grounded in social constructionism and the interpretivist tradition, with symbolic interactionism as the specific theoretical perspective applied in the analysis. An... (More) - Title: Becoming a Part of Something Bigger - A Study on Employer Branding and Identity in the Swedish Armed Forces
Course: BUSN49, Master Thesis
Authors: Klara Andersson & Julia Hesslevik
Supervisor: Stefan Sveningsson
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how the Swedish Armed Forces constructs and communicates its employer brand, and how employees interpret and experience it in practice. The study seeks to contribute to a deepened understanding of employer branding as an interpretative process.
Methodology: The study adopts a qualitative approach grounded in social constructionism and the interpretivist tradition, with symbolic interactionism as the specific theoretical perspective applied in the analysis. An abductive research approach allowed iterative movement between empirical material and theory. Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees in roles relevant for studying employer branding within the Swedish Armed Forces.
Theoretical Framing: The theoretical framework draws on literature concerning employer branding, identity across individual, group and organizational levels, and motivation.
Contributions: This study contributes to the understanding of how employer branding is constructed, communicated and perceived by the employees. It explains how symbolic values operate as strategic and motivational mechanisms. Furthermore, it extends Gabriel and Lang’s consumer theory to show how the employer brand of the Swedish Armed Forces is selectively consumed, actively reinterpreted and reshaped.
Key Words: Employer Branding, Identity, Organizational Identity, Motivation, Symbolic Values, Public Sector, Organizational Identification, Armed Forces (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9242209
- author
- Hesslevik, Julia LU and Andersson, Klara LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- BUSN49 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Employer Branding, Identity, Organizational Identity, Motivation, Symbolic Values, Public Sector, Organizational Identification, Armed Forces
- language
- English
- id
- 9242209
- date added to LUP
- 2026-08-04 13:27:55
- date last changed
- 2026-08-04 13:27:55
@misc{9242209,
abstract = {{Title: Becoming a Part of Something Bigger - A Study on Employer Branding and Identity in the Swedish Armed Forces
Course: BUSN49, Master Thesis
Authors: Klara Andersson & Julia Hesslevik
Supervisor: Stefan Sveningsson
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how the Swedish Armed Forces constructs and communicates its employer brand, and how employees interpret and experience it in practice. The study seeks to contribute to a deepened understanding of employer branding as an interpretative process.
Methodology: The study adopts a qualitative approach grounded in social constructionism and the interpretivist tradition, with symbolic interactionism as the specific theoretical perspective applied in the analysis. An abductive research approach allowed iterative movement between empirical material and theory. Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees in roles relevant for studying employer branding within the Swedish Armed Forces.
Theoretical Framing: The theoretical framework draws on literature concerning employer branding, identity across individual, group and organizational levels, and motivation.
Contributions: This study contributes to the understanding of how employer branding is constructed, communicated and perceived by the employees. It explains how symbolic values operate as strategic and motivational mechanisms. Furthermore, it extends Gabriel and Lang’s consumer theory to show how the employer brand of the Swedish Armed Forces is selectively consumed, actively reinterpreted and reshaped.
Key Words: Employer Branding, Identity, Organizational Identity, Motivation, Symbolic Values, Public Sector, Organizational Identification, Armed Forces}},
author = {{Hesslevik, Julia and Andersson, Klara}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Becoming a Part of Something Bigger: A Study on Employer Branding and Identity in the Swedish Armed Forces}},
year = {{2026}},
}