The influence of corporate brand perceptions on consumer satisfaction and loyalty via controlled and uncontrolled communications: a multiple mediation analysis

Abstract

Purpose Drawing on the stimulus–organism–response (S-O-R) model, the purpose of this study is to investigate mediating effects of controlled and uncontrolled communications of corporate brand perceptions on consumer satisfaction and loyalty. Design/methodology/approach Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses on a sample of 271 Australian automobile consumers. Findings The authors find that while consumer satisfaction is indirectly influenced by corporate-level attributes via controlled and uncontrolled communication, the authors did not find an indirect effect between consumer benefits on consumer satisfaction via controlled and uncontrolled communication. By contrast, the authors find highly significant indirect effects – via controlled and uncontrolled communication as well as consumer satisfaction – for the relationship between, on the one hand, corporate-level attributes and consumer benefits and consumer brand loyalty on the other. Uncontrolled communication was significantly associated with consumer loyalty, a relevant finding that indicates an importance of tracking media coverage and maintaining favorable relationships with the media. Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional method limits data collection to one point in time. Practical implications This study adds to a better understanding of how to leverage corporate brand through communications in ways that it positively resonates with consumers. A fine-grained analysis of corporate brand attributes and consumer-perceived benefits can aid managers in developing specific and more effective marketing strategies. Originality/value The overall thrust of this empirical study, which is to investigate how corporate brand perceptions influence short term (satisfaction) and long term (loyalty) via controlled and uncontrolled communications is original. This study comprehensively conceptualizes and operationalizes the corporate brand as a multidimensional construct consisting of corporate-level attributes and brand-level attributes such as perceived consumer benefits. To examine the hypothesized relationships between and among our constructs, the authors go beyond the commonly studied single mediator model and test a multiple mediator model instead.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, are we ready for Gen-Z in marketplace? A study of smart retailing technology in Malaysia

“…Sequential in nature, the S-O-R model explains how the stimuli cues from the external environment could fortify the internal state of individual and elicit their approach or avoidance behaviour (Arora, 1982;Eroglu et al, 2003). The prominent emergence of digitalization in the retail industry has further marked the extension of the S-O-R model into a different perspective to advance the understanding of consumers' reaction and their subsequent behaviour within different selling environment (Anisimova et al, 2019;Cheah et al, 2019;Liu et al, 2019).…”

“…This research adopted a non-probability sampling method in which the target respondent was Gen-Z consumers. Likewise to past research (Anisimova et al, 2019;Choi and Kim, 2016), a pre-test with five Gen-Z consumers and five marketing academics was conducted to increase the understanding and clarity of the questionnaire prior actual distribution to respondents. After the comments from the pre-test sample, slight modifications regarding wording and grammar structure were made to the questionnaire to improve the clarity of the scale items.…”

Assessing the role of product category involvement and relationship proneness in the satisfaction–loyalty link in retailing

“…The association between satisfaction and loyalty has gained increasing attention from marketing scholars (Lombart and Louis, 2012;Seiler et al, 2013;Anisimova et al, 2019;Lu et al, 2019). While customer satisfaction significantly influences loyalty (Orel and Kara, 2014;Casidy and Wymer, 2016;Meesala and Paul, 2018;Lai, 2019;Song et al, 2019), research has suggested that the consideration of potential mediating variables may better explain the nature of this relationship (Castañeda, 2011;Kumar et al, 2013;Schirmer et al, 2018).…”

Corporate social responsibility and customer retention: evidence from the telecommunication industry in Ghana

“…Nguyen (2006) defines corporate image as what comes to the minds of customers when they hear the name of a company. Corporate image can play a vital role in both attracting and retaining customers (see also Anisimova et al, 2019). Research undertaken by Kandampully and Hsin-Hui (2007) to investigate the direct and indirect impact of corporate image on customer loyalty in the hospitality industry confirmed that corporate image has a favorable influence on customer loyalty.…”