Knowledge Domains and Research Frontiers in Employer Branding: A Bibliometric Investigation

The overriding aim of this study is to explore the patterns of thematic evolution, research gap, and the intellectual structure of employer branding using bibliometric techniques. The study utilises journal articles indexed in the Scopus database. The study employs publication metadata and analyses it using keyword co-occurrence and network analysis to determine the dominant themes in the employer branding literature and the various knowledge clusters. The results show that employer branding has emerged as a significant, central cross-field concept for integrating human resource management, marketing, organisational behaviour, and strategic management. However, it further illustrates persistent theoretical fragmentation and excessive focus on the recruitment and attraction outcomes. The four main thematic clusters are: employer branding and organisational attractiveness; HRM and talent management; employee-centric outcomes and organisational profile; and digital platforms and co-creation of the employer brand. The research also shows a plethora of underdeveloped areas in sustainability, employee experience, ethics, and contextual diversity. This study shows that there is a need for multi-level theoretical integration and longitudinal, contextual research. The rediscovery of employer branding as a dynamic, multi-level, and holistically relevant concept in the study of sustainable and meaningful employment relationships is the value-add to the current literature on the human resource management employer branding phenomenon.