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Article
Publication date: 20 September 2011

The role of other customer effect in corporate marketing: Its impact on corporate image and consumer‐company identification

Elif Karaosmanoğlu, Ayşe Banu Elmadağ Baş and Jingyun (Kay) Zhang

By drawing on theories of social identity, attraction, social comparison and consumer identification, this research seeks to examine how consumers' perceptions of other…

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Abstract

Purpose

By drawing on theories of social identity, attraction, social comparison and consumer identification, this research seeks to examine how consumers' perceptions of other customers of an organisation (the other customer effect) may have an influence on corporate image and consumer‐company identification. This study aims to test a model integrating these constructs in two contexts, i.e. products and services. It also seeks to investigate the attitudinal and behavioural consequences of a favourable corporate image in order to provide more insights to the argument that a corporate marketing approach helps to enhance marketing performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey of a convenience sample of 383 adult consumers is conducted. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) is employed in order to test the proposed model. An alternative model is examined both in products and in services contexts.

Findings

The results indicate that perceptions about other customers influence customers' affective and behavioural reactions towards a company for both products and services. This finding suggests that corporate‐level marketing activities aiming to increase interaction among consumers lead to favourable corporate image and higher consumer‐company identification and hence desirable marketing outcomes. Furthermore, results show that for services the other customer effect is more prominent than for product offerings.

Originality/value

This study extends the concept of other customer effect to the context of corporate image and consumer‐company identification studies. It provides evidence that shifting towards corporate‐level marketing gives organisations another avenue for gaining a distinct position in the minds of consumers. Furthermore, by addressing both service and product contexts, it shows that other customer effect may exist beyond services studies.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 45 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/03090561111151835
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

  • Corporate marketing
  • Corporate branding
  • Corporate image
  • Consumer‐company identification
  • The other customer effect

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Article
Publication date: 7 October 2019

Striving for legitimacy through CSR: an exploration of employees responses in controversial industry sector

Mobin Fatma, Imran Khan and Zillur Rahman

Based on the social identification theory, this study aims to understand employees’ reactions to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in oil companies. This study finds…

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Abstract

Purpose

Based on the social identification theory, this study aims to understand employees’ reactions to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in oil companies. This study finds that employees’ perceived CSR is positively related to the employee organizational identification in controversial sector companies.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors chose to analyze five oil companies in India. These companies are large in size and revenue and provide a valid context for the present study. A survey of 316 employees had been carried out in the year 2015 at the headquarters of these companies located in India.

Findings

The finding shows that organization CSR activities enhance employees’ organizational identification, which in turn leads to employee commitment to their organization. Furthermore, the finding highlights the relationship between perceived CSR and organizational identification, which is mediated by perceived external prestige and perceived organizational support.

Research limitations/implications

The limitation of this study is the cross-sectional research design. The variables under investigation were measured only at one specific point of time. Another restriction of the study is that the data had been collected from the self-reported questionnaire. The results were dependent on how employees perceive and interpret how outside world assesses or views their organization.

Originality/value

This study provides a first step of empirical evidence suggesting that CSR engagement is important and can help in building the relation with stakeholders even in controversial industry.

Details

Social Responsibility Journal, vol. 15 no. 7
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-07-2017-0116
ISSN: 1747-1117

Keywords

  • Corporate social responsibility
  • Organizational identification
  • Perceived external prestige
  • Perceived Organizational support

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Article
Publication date: 29 March 2013

The role of affiliation, attractiveness and personal connection in consumer‐company identification

Longinos Marín and Salvador Ruiz de Maya

The purpose of this paper is to examine how consumers' personality (i.e. motivation for affiliation) and their perceptions about the company (i.e. identity attractiveness…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how consumers' personality (i.e. motivation for affiliation) and their perceptions about the company (i.e. identity attractiveness) and the relation they maintain with the company's employees (i.e. personal connection with salesperson) influence their identification with the company. The research also considers the moderating effects of identity salience and salesperson identification with the company. In addition, the study proposes that salesperson identification may further enhance the positive influence of the consumer‐salesperson connection on the consumer's identification with the company.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to test the hypothesized model, this study uses a sample of customers from a financial institution with different levels of business involvement with the company. With a questionnaire formed with measures taken from previous literature, structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed model.

Findings

The results showed that all three determinants – i.e. identity attractiveness, need for affiliation, and personal connection – have direct and positive effects on consumer identification with the company. Moreover, the moderating effect of identity salience was also confirmed for the impacts of both identity attractiveness and need for affiliation on consumer identification, as well as the moderating effect of salesperson identification for the impact of personal connection between the customer and the salesperson on consumer identification.

Practical implications

This research offers important insights for marketing managers. Specifically, companies need to be aware of and to deliver a consistent and attractive identity of both their salespeople and their company. Moreover, marketing communications that attempt to connect a product or brand to a social identity should consider the extent to which target consumers value that social identity, and what aspects can be leveraged to increase perceptions of relevance associated with that identity. Therefore, all communication activities should provide cues about how the company or its products are related to an identity that is relevant to the consumer.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the literature on social identity and organizational identification as it examines the consumer‐company relationship in a consumer context. The main contributions are three. First, it highlights the importance of the non‐product aspects of a company in terms of building a consumer‐company bond. Second, it shows that consumers are more likely to adopt social identities (i.e. to identify with particular social groups) when they consider the company's identity to be personally relevant. And third, it demonstrates the impact of the salesperson identification with the company on his/her performance, a relationship that sales literature has not considered yet.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 47 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/03090561311297526
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

  • Consumer company identification
  • Relationship marketing
  • Social identification
  • Marketing
  • Consumers

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Article
Publication date: 20 September 2011

Corporate marketing in the stock market: The impact of company identification on individuals' investment behaviour

Jaakko Aspara and Henrikki Tikkanen

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the corporate marketing literature by examining how an individual's identification with a company influences their…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the corporate marketing literature by examining how an individual's identification with a company influences their willingness to invest in the company's shares.

Design/methodology/approach

A set of hypotheses was developed, based on theory, and survey data were obtained from 440 individuals in order to test the hypotheses. The data pertained to the individuals' recent decisions to invest in particular companies' shares, and to the degree of their identification with the companies' identities. The analysis method was PLS path modelling.

Findings

First, an individual's identification with a company was found to have a positive effect on their determination to invest in the company's shares rather than in other companies' shares that have approximately similar expected financial returns/risks. Second, company identification was found to elicit preparedness to invest in the company's shares with lower financial returns expected from the shares than from other shares. Both influences were partly mediated by the individual's willingness to give support to a company with which they identify.

Research limitations/implications

The study pertains to company identification of individual investors; institutional (and professional) investors are beyond the scope of the paper. Also, the sample focuses on investors in a single country (Finland), and the data may involve some self‐reporting and retrospection biases.

Practical implications

Considering corporate marketing in the stock markets, individuals who identify with the company are identified as worthwhile targets when the company seeks to attract new investors.

Originality/value

The paper provides theoretical grounding for and empirical evidence of the positive influence of company identification on individuals' willingness to invest in companies' shares. It is a novel finding for corporate marketing literature that individuals express their identification with a corporate brand also through investing in its shares.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 45 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/03090561111151844
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

  • Company identification
  • Organisational identification
  • Investment behaviour
  • Individual investors
  • Corporate marketing
  • Corporate identity
  • Corporate branding
  • Finland

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Article
Publication date: 3 December 2019

Customer in-role and extra-role behaviours in a retail setting: The differential roles of customer-company identification and overall satisfaction

Marcel Paulssen, Johanna Brunneder and Angela Sommerfeld

Prior research does not provide a clear picture of how managers can effectively manage customer in-role and extra-role behaviours in a retail setting. This study aims to…

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Abstract

Purpose

Prior research does not provide a clear picture of how managers can effectively manage customer in-role and extra-role behaviours in a retail setting. This study aims to test the differential impact of the two main customer relationship predictor paths – identity-based and satisfaction-based paths – on customer in-role and extra-role behaviours.

Design/methodology/approach

A random sample of 500 customers from the flagship store of an up-market, international department store chain participated in a written survey. Purchase spending data for each customer was obtained from the retailer’s loyalty card database.

Findings

The two studied predictor paths possess a differential impact on customer extra-role behaviours. Civic virtue and co-creation behaviours are exclusively driven by the identity-based path, whereas sportsmanship is driven solely by the satisfaction-based path. Moreover, the identity-based path impacts purchase behaviour only when symbolic purchase motivation is high. Overall satisfaction has no impact on purchase behaviour.

Research limitations/implications

In some retailing contexts, extra-role behaviours such as co-creation or civic virtue might simply be irrelevant (e.g. discount chains).

Practical implications

Managers, who have the intention to stimulate customers to give constructive feedback on products or services, or to involve them in co-creation activities, are well advised to also invest in identity-based path activities.

Originality/value

This study is the first to empirically test the effects of customer identification and overall customer satisfaction on the various dimensions of customer in-role and extra-role behaviours. Customer extra-role behaviours should not be conceptualised as one global construct but should comprise distinct dimensions of discretionary behaviours that have different antecedents.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 53 no. 12
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-06-2017-0417
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

  • Co-creation
  • Customer-company identification
  • Customer citizenship behaviours
  • Customer extra-role behaviours
  • Symbolic purchase motivation

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Article
Publication date: 8 January 2018

Customer-company identification transfer across service alliances

Jeremy S. Wolter, V. Myles Landers, Simon Brach and J. Joseph Cronin

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether customer-company identification (CCI) can transfer from one organization to the next within the context of service alliances.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether customer-company identification (CCI) can transfer from one organization to the next within the context of service alliances.

Design/methodology/approach

A between-subjects experiment using a fictitious alliance and a field study focused on a real alliance tests identification transfer at the time of a service alliance announcement and while the service alliance is in operation.

Findings

Identification transfer is enabled by an exclusive service alliance but not an inclusive one. For identification transfer to be maintained, customers must perceive the companies as a coherent group (i.e. high entitativity) and have close physical proximity to the alliance.

Originality/value

By drawing heavily on self-categorization theory for the proposed effects, the current research provides a new theoretical framework to the service and brand alliance literature that contrasts with the attitude-based theories commonly used. Furthermore, the current research explores how company-company relationships influence CCI whereas most research has focused on characteristics of the customer-company relationship. These two differences suggest service alliances provide more value to the companies and customers than currently realized.

Details

Journal of Service Management, vol. 29 no. 1
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-05-2017-0115
ISSN: 1757-5818

Keywords

  • Customer-company identification
  • Identification transfer
  • Service alliance

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Article
Publication date: 31 December 2007

The empirical study of CRM: Consumer‐company identification and purchase intention in the direct selling industry

Wann‐Yih Wu and Cheng‐Hung Tsai

The purpose of this paper is to address the research issue of how companies manage their consumers' identification to compete effectively in intensely competitive market…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address the research issue of how companies manage their consumers' identification to compete effectively in intensely competitive market places. Drawing on theories of social identity and organizational identification, this study proposes that favorable consumer purchase intentions often result from the consumer‐company identification (C‐C identification) which depends on several identity judgments like identity prestige and identity attractiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

A research model and 13 hypotheses are derived in this study. LISREL models are employed to identify the validity of the entire model and data are collected from ten direct selling companies.

Findings

The results of empirical analysis show that identity judgments positively affect C‐C identification and the degree of C‐C identification positively influences consumer purchase intentions. The moderating effects of identity trustworthiness and embeddedness have mild influences on the relationship between identification and purchase intentions.

Practical implications

This study confirms that encouraging identification has not only been identified as a good employee retention strategy in organization management but also a good customer retention strategy in marketing management.

Originality/value

This study intends to go one step further to empirically test the viability of the C‐C identification model that is lack of empirical supported.

Details

International Journal of Commerce and Management, vol. 17 no. 3
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/10569210710833617
ISSN: 1056-9219

Keywords

  • Customer relations
  • Consumer behaviour
  • Corporate identity
  • Direct selling
  • Taiwan

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Article
Publication date: 11 April 2020

Corporate social responsibility toward stakeholders and customer loyalty: investigating the roles of trust and customer identification with the company

Niki Glaveli

This study aims to uncover the underlying multiple intervening mechanisms between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and customer loyalty. Social identity and social…

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to uncover the underlying multiple intervening mechanisms between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and customer loyalty. Social identity and social exchange theories offer the ground for prediction that the primary outcomes of CSR initiatives are customer–company (C–C) identification and customer trust, which in turn affect customer loyalty. Also, the differential effect of CSR behaviors toward specific stakeholder groups on customer attitudes and behaviors are examined.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 333 customers of telecommunication companies in Greece. Structural equation modeling was used to test the postulated relationships.

Findings

The findings demonstrate that both C–C identification and customer trust intervene in the relationship between customer perceptions of CSR and customer loyalty; however, the identification mechanism is stronger than the trust mechanism in building customer loyalty while C–C identification seems to drive customer trust. Moreover, out of the three CSR components (customers, employees, and society/environment) that were considered as relevant to customers and were investigated, customer-centric activities were found to be the stronger predictor of both C–C identification and customer trust. Also, CSR toward society/environment was found to positively influence C–C identification.

Practical implications

The findings of this research can assist practitioners in effectively conceptualizing CSR image from a customers’ point of view and designing their company’s CSR and communication strategies to boost positive customer responses and strong long-term relationships.

Originality/value

The current study provides further insights into the complex relationship between CSR and customer responses and the impact that different CSR activities may have on customers.

Details

Social Responsibility Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-07-2019-0257
ISSN: 1747-1117

Keywords

  • Customer attitudes
  • Corporate social responsibility
  • Customer loyalty
  • Telecommunication industry
  • Customer trust
  • Customer–company identification

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Article
Publication date: 8 February 2013

Brand communities: loyal to the community or the brand?

Gianluca Marzocchi, Gabriele Morandin and Massimo Bergami

The purpose of this paper is to investigate empirically the relative emphasis accorded by members of a brand community to identification with that community and…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate empirically the relative emphasis accorded by members of a brand community to identification with that community and identification with the brand‐owner, and thereby close a gap in the literature to date.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a review of the literature relating to identification, loyalty, and potentially mediating brand‐related constructs, a cross‐sectional questionnaire‐based survey was carried out at a brandfest organised by a major European motorcycle manufacturer. Data collected from 256 respondents were analysed by structural equation modelling, testing seven hypothesised causal links.

Findings

Brand loyalty is primarily influenced by identification with the brand community, through the mediating role of brand affect.

Research limitations/implications

The findings require confirmation in other settings and industry sectors before they can be generalised with confidence, but point to several fruitful research directions.

Practical implications

Brand strategists have new evidence to guide allocation of effort and resources to the effective cultivation and maintenance of brand loyalty.

Originality/value

The study makes an original contribution, in a real‐world setting, to the understanding of how members of a brand community relate to the brand, and of how their brand loyalty is activated.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 47 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/03090561311285475
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

  • Brand communities
  • Brand loyalty
  • Social identification
  • Motorcycles
  • Europe
  • Customer behaviour
  • Brand management

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Article
Publication date: 4 July 2016

The stakeholder management theory of CSR: A multidimensional approach in understanding customer identification and satisfaction

Andrea Pérez and Ignacio Rodríguez del Bosque

Based on the principles of the stakeholder management theory, the purpose of this paper is to explore customers’ multidimensional perceptions of both banking companies and…

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Abstract

Purpose

Based on the principles of the stakeholder management theory, the purpose of this paper is to explore customers’ multidimensional perceptions of both banking companies and the corporate social responsibility (CSR) orientations of these companies. The paper also explores how these multidimensional perceptions affect customer identification and satisfaction towards banking companies.

Design/methodology/approach

A structural equation model is tested using information collected from 1,124 banking service customers.

Findings

The findings demonstrate that customers’ perceptions of customer-related CSR and broad legal and ethical issues have significant positive impact on both customer identification and satisfaction with banking companies. Perceptions of shareholder-related CSR also significantly boost customer satisfaction. In contrast, perceptions of employee- and community-related CSR do not have a profound effect on customer identification or satisfaction. These findings also confirm the importance of customer identification with the company as a key mediator in their satisfaction responses to the multidimensional perceptions of the companies’ CSR orientations.

Originality/value

The contribution of the paper is based on the exploration of a multidimensional approach, relying on the principles of the stakeholder management theory to study customer responses and perceptions of the CSR orientations of banking companies. Previous scholars have reported mixed findings while exploring customer responses to their perceptions of companies’ CSR orientations. However, they frequently considered customer CSR perceptions either as one-dimensional or a reflective second-order construct, thus ignoring the possibility of multidimensional CSR perceptions having multiple effects on customer responses such as identification and satisfaction.

Details

International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 34 no. 5
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBM-04-2015-0052
ISSN: 0265-2323

Keywords

  • Perceptions
  • Identification
  • Customers
  • Satisfaction
  • Corporate social responsibility perceptions

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