From Attraction to Retention: Digitally Enabled Employer Branding in the Italian Retail Sector

This study aims to explore how employer branding (EB), enhanced through digital technologies, can improve recruitment effectiveness, reduce turnover, and enhance employee experience (EX) in the retail sector, with a focus on the Italian company Giunti al Punto S.P.A. Adopting a two-phase mixed qualitative approach, the research includes a scoping review of literature on EB, EX, and Human Resource Management (HRM), a netnographic analysis of employee-generated content on Glassdoor, and interviews with candidates and employees. Anchored in Backhaus and Tikoo’s (2004) EB framework and recent advances in digital employer branding, the study seeks to identify HRM practices and future-oriented strategies for talent attraction and retention. The findings will reveal the role of EB not only in attracting talent but also in EX, providing evidence-based recommendations for HR practitioners in retail and contributing to the understanding of the intersection of EB, EX, and HRM in the Italian context.