Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to analyse the corporate image of financial institutions and its impact on consumer behaviour. More specifically, it aims to focus on the differences between customers and non-customers of banking institutions. Design/methodology/approach -Data were collected through five questionnaires involving five major Spanish commercial banks. The questionnaires were answered by 450 individuals and SEM methodology was used to test the hypotheses of the study. Findings -Corporate image of commercial banks includes dimensions related to the services offered, accessibility, corporate social responsibility, global impression, location and personnel. Two alternative models were validated for customers and non-customers to explain how corporate associations influence intention to use the bank's services. For the case of current customers, satisfaction is a key mediating variable.Research limitations/implications -The study is focused on national commercial banks and corporate image of individuals. Different stakeholders like employees can hold a different corporate image. Moreover, the paper only considers intention to use as a dependant variable. Practical implications -The effect of corporate associations on purchase intentions depends on the specific type of associations and may be mediated through satisfaction. Results thus indicate that firms have to use different marketing strategies when considering the individuals' previous experience. Originality/value -The paper extends previous research by showing the specific effect of corporate associations on intention to use the bank's services. It proposes two alternative models for explaining responses of both customers and non-customers.

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If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -In the banking sector, the importance of consumer's perceptions for business success has been underestimated. For this reason, the present work aims to focus on the corporate brand image construct, analysing how the associations of financial brands are generated and the way such associations influence consumer behaviour. Design/methodology/approach -A model is proposed that shows which are the main antecedents and consequences of corporate image of financial institutions. This model was validated through structural equation modelling. Data were collected by means of personal questionnaires addressed to 450 respondents. Findings -Results indicate that consumer perceptions depend on brand familiarity, non-firm communications and, to a lesser extent, on advertising. The resulting image will be an antecedent of the global attitude to the firm and, directly and indirectly, of the intention to use the branded service.Research limitations/implications -This study has been aimed at consumers in a specific region of Spain. Moreover, it only analyses well-known institutions and the most important variables. For this reason, it would be interesting to broaden the analysis to cover different contexts. Practical implications -Both corporate image and familiarity can be developed by applying thoughtful communication strategies that neutralize the effect of negative non-firm information. Companies that develop a powerful corporate image should be more appealing to customers. Originality/value -This study validates a comprehensive model that explains both the antecedents and consequences of corporate image of banks. It also proposes an up-to-date corporate image scale and considers the effects of firm versus non-firm communications.

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to shed light on the determinants of consumers' evaluations and purchase intentions of gift promotions. Factors analysed relate to the promoted product, the gift, the relationship between the product and the gift, and consumer traits and perceptions.Design/methodology/approachA 2 (product type: utilitarian vs hedonic) × 2 (gift type: utilitarian vs hedonic) × 2 (brand type: high equity vs medium equity) between‐subjects factorial design was undertaken. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses on a sample of 247 respondents in the UK.FindingsGift attractiveness is the most important driver of consumers' overall evaluation of gift promotions, followed by the attitude toward the promoted brand, the perceived fit between the promoted product and the gift, the hedonic nature of the gift, plus value expression and entertainment benefits perceived by consumers. Results also reveal that deal proneness is positively associated with the hedonic benefits of value expression benefit and entertainment benefit. Finally, the overall evaluation of gift promotions with both brand attitudes and deal proneness positively influences consumers' purchase intentions.Research limitations/implicationsTo generalise these findings, future research should use a wider sample.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study provide guidelines for marketers designing their gift promotional strategies.Originality/valueThe increased popularity of gift promotions necessitates a better understanding of the factors influencing consumers' evaluations. This study addresses the lack of research in this area by simultaneously investigating the effect of different key factors.

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