University of Twente Student Theses
Corporate reputation in the digital age : a systematic comparison of antecedents and consequences for multi-channel retailers and pure-players
Lohmann, Maximilian (2016) Corporate reputation in the digital age : a systematic comparison of antecedents and consequences for multi-channel retailers and pure-players.
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| Abstract: | Corporate reputation, as one of the most important immaterial company assets, has been found to be a driver of tangible, business related outcomes in traditional (offline) commerce contexts. The increased use of electronic commerce channels raises questions to whether corporate reputation plays a similar or even greater role in the e-commerce context. Especially pure-players that lack an offline base of corporate associations must understand the factors that define their reputation, as well as the consequences a favorable or unfavorable reputation has on business-related outcomes. Based on an assessment of the specific factors that separate the e-commerce context from the traditional commerce context, this study aims at exploring the differences in the formation of a reputation, as well as the consequences of a favorable or unfavorable reputation. For this purpose, Walsh and Beatty’s CBR-scale is employed to measure both online and offline customers’ impressions (n=612) of two large fashion retailers in Germany. In advance to the exploration of context effects, the relatively novel measurement instrument is enhanced by responding to individual criticism and applying attitude theory to the construct. Results confirm that corporate reputation must be understood as consisting of affective and cognitive components. Subsequently, multi-group structural equation modeling identifies differences between the online and offline environment. Results indicate that ecommerce customers leverage other associations to form reputations. Likewise, business outcomes such as trust and the intention to recommend are differently related to corporate associations. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 05 communication studies |
| Programme: | Communication Studies MSc (60713) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/70243 |
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