- Log In/Sign Up
- P-ISSN1738-3110
- E-ISSN2093-7717
- SCOPUS, ESCI
ISSN : 1738-3110
A Study on Salesperson Brand Relationships, Customer Orientation, and Customer Store Loyalty
Abstract
Purpose - As the importance of salesperson attitudes and behaviors enhancing customer perception and loyalty have increased, many retail companies put emphasis on internal marketing activities. The issue also has captured the interest of academics, but most of the previous research tends to be limited to investigating antecedents of salesperson job satisfaction and commitment. Based on the consumer-brand relationship concepts, this study aims to examine the effects of the salesperson-brand relationships on customers' service evaluation and store loyalty. Research design, data, and methodology - In a structural equation model, it is hypothesized that salesperson brand identification influences salespersons' brand trust and affect, which are the two dimensions of consumer-brand relationships. Salespersons' brand trust and affect are expected to increase salespersons' customer orientation, which in turn influences customers' service evaluations and store loyalty. To test this hypotheses a set of data collected from department stores in Seoul is utilized. Results - First, it was found that salesperson brand identification is a significant antecedent to salespersons' brand trust and affects, the two dimensions of salesperson brand relationships. Second, salespersons' brand trust and affect were found to enhance salespersons' customer-oriented behaviors. Third, salespersons' customer orientation showed a significant effect on customers' service evaluation. When a salesperson makes more effort to provide useful information for fulfilling customer needs, customers evaluate the salesperson's service more positively. Finally, customers' service evaluation had a positive impact on customers' store loyalty. Conclusions - This study provides significant academic and practical implications. First, based on the theory of consumer-brand relationships, the concept of salesperson-brand relationships was introduced and found to be an effective motivator of salespersons' customer oriented attitudes and behaviors. Therefore, the two dimensions of brand relationships, brand trust and affect, should be considered as the critical factors both in developing theoretical research and improving long-term company performance. Also, internal marketing activities should focus on maximizing employees' brand identification. That is, retail companies need to put emphasis on sharing their brand values and personality with internal customers to strengthen the brand relationships with salespersons and to enhance customer responses.
- keywords
- Salesperson Brand Relationship, Customer Orientation, Store Loyalty
Reference
Ahearne, M., Rapp, A., Hugues, D. E., & Jindal, R. (2010). Managing sales force product perceptions and control systems in the success of new product introductions. Journal of Marketing Research, 47(4), 764-776.
Amabile, T. M., Hill, K. G., Hennessey, B. A., & Tighe, E. M. (1994). The work preference inventory: Assessing intrinsic and extrinsic motivational orientations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66(5), 950-967.
Babin, B. J., & Boles, J. S. (1996). The effects of perceived co-worker involvement and supervisor support on service provider role stress, performance and job satisfaction. Journal of Retailing, 72(1), 57-75.
Badrinarayanan, V., & Laverie, D. A. (2013). The role of manufacturers' salespeople in inducing brand advocacy by retail sales associates. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 21(1), 57-70.
Bagozzi, R. P., Yi, Y., & Phillips, L. W. (1991). Assessing construct validity in organizational research. Administrative Science Quarterly, 36(Sept.), 421-458.
Bardi, A., & Schwartz, S. H. (2003). Values and behavior: Strength and structure of relations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29(10), 1207-1220.
Becker, K., Lee, J., & Nobre, H. (2018). The concept of luxury brands and the relationship between consumer and luxury brands. Journal of Asian Finance, Economics, and Business, 5(3), 51-63.
Berger-Remy, F., & Michel, G. (2015). How brand gives employees meaning: Towards an extended view of brand equity. Recherche et Applications en Marketing, 30(2), 1-28.
Bergstrom, A., Blumental, D., & Crothers, S. (2002). Why internal branding matters: The case of Saab. Corporate Reputation Review, 5(2/3), 133-142.
Boles, J. S., Babin, B. J., Brashear, T. G., & Brooks, C. (2001). An examination of the relationships between retail work environments, salesperson selling orientation- customer orientation and job performance. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 9(3), 1-13.
Capaldo, A., & Giannoccaro, I. (2015). How does trust affect performance in the supply chain? The moderating role of interdependence. International Journal of Production Economics, 166(1), 36-49.
Chaudhuri, A., & Holbrook, M. B. (2002). Product-class effects on brand commitment and brand outcomes: The role of brand trust and brand affect. Brand Management, 10(1), 33-58.
Cooper, D., & Thatcher, S. (2010). Identification in organizations: The role of self-concept orientations and identification motives. Academy of Management Review, 35(4), 516-538.
Cronin Jr, J. J., Brady, M. K., & Hult, G. T. M. (2000). Assessing the effects of quality, value, and customer satisfaction on consumer behavioral intentions in service environments. Journal of Retailing, 76(2), 193-218.
Deshpandé, R., Farley, J. U., & Webster Jr, F. E. (1993). Corporate culture, customer orientation, and innovativeness in Japanese firms: A Quadrad analysis. Journal of Marketing, 57(1), 23-37.
Dick, A. S., & Basu, K. (1994). Customer loyalty: Toward an integrated conceptual framework. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 22(2), 99-113.
Fournier, S. (1998). Consumers and their brands: Developing relationship theory in consumer research. Journal of Consumer Research, 24(4), 343-353.
Fournier, S., & Alvarez, C. (2012). Brands as relationship partners: Warmth, competence, and in-between. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 22(2), 177-185.
Goff, B. G., Boles, J. S., Bellenger, D. N., & Stojack, C. (1997). The influence of salesperson selling behaviors on customer satisfaction with products. Journal of Retailing, 73(2), 171-183.
Kausel, E. E., & Slaughter, J. E. (2011). Narrow personality traits and organizational attraction: Evidence for the complementary hypothesis. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 114(1), 3-14.
Keller, K. L. (1993). Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity. Journal of Marketing, 57(1), 1-22.
King, C., & Grace, D. (2008). Building and measuring employee-based brand equity. European Journal of Marketing, 44(7/8), 938-971.
Kohli, A. K., & Jaworski, B. J. (1990). Market orientation: The construct, research propositions, and managerial implications. Journal of Marketing, 54(April), 1-18.
Lin, J. S. C., & Hsieh, C. C. (2011). Modeling service friendship and customer compliance in high-contact service relationships. Journal of Service Management, 22(5), 607-631.
Mael, F., & Ashforth, B. E. (1992). Alumni and their alma mater: A partial test of the reformulated model of organizational identification. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 13(2), 103-123.
Malär, L., Krohmer, H., Hoyer, W. D., & Nyffenegger, B. (2011). Emotional brand attachment and brand personality: The relative importance of the actual and the ideal self. Journal of Marketing, 75(4), 35-52.
Michel, G., Merk, M., & Eroglu, S. (2015). Salesperson–brand relationship: Main dimensions and impact within the context of private brand retailing. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 35(4), 314-333.
Miles, S. J., & Mangold, G. (2005). Positioning Southwest Airlines through employee branding. Business Horizons, 48(6), 535-545.
Mohamud, J. A. (2017). The interrelationship between service quality, electronic banking and customer satisfaction in the commercial banks in Uganda. East Asian Journal of Business Economics, 5(1), 27-32.
Morgan, R. M., & Hunt, S. D. (1994). The commitment- trust theory of relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing, 58(July), 20-38.
Ou, W. M., Shih, C. M., Chen, C. Y., & Tseng, C. W. (2012). Effects of ethical sales behaviour, expertise, corporate reputation, and performance on relationship quality and loyalty. The Service Industries Journal, 32(5), 773-787.
Pimentel, R. W., & Reynolds, K. E. (2004). A model for consumer devotion: Affective commitment with proactive sustaining behaviors. Academy of Marketing Science Review, 5(1), 1-45.
Prashar, S., Verma, P., Parsad, C., & Vijay, T. S. (2015). Defining store atmosphere in convenience stores: An analytical study of Delhi malls in India. Journal of Asian Finance, Economics, and Business, 2(3), 5-15.
Rindfleisch, A., & Moorman, C. (2003). Interfirm cooperation and customer orientation. Journal of Marketing Research, 40(4), 421-436.
Rio, A., Belen del, R. V., & Victor, I. (2001). The effect on brand associations on consumer response. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 18(5), 410-425.
Sirianni, N. J., Bitner, M. J., Brown, S. W., & Mandel, N. (2013). Branded service encounters: Strategically aligning employee behavior with the brand positioning. Journal of Marketing, 77(6), 108-123.
Spiro, R. L., & Weitz, B. A. (1990). Adaptive selling: Conceptualization, measurement, and nomological validity. Journal of Marketing Research, 27(1), 61-69.
Svensson, P. (2007). Producing marketing: Towards a social-phenomenology of marketing work. Marketing Theory, 7(3), 271-290.
Thakor, M. V., & Joshi, A. W. (2005). Motivating salesperson customer orientation: Insights from the job characteristics model. Journal of Business Research, 58(5), 584-592.
Verma, P., & Prashar, S. (2017). Moderating effect of color on store atmosphere. East Asian Journal of Business Management, 7(1), 13-23.
Webster Jr, F. E. (2000). Understanding the relationships among brands, consumers, and resellers. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 28(1), 17-23.
- Downloaded
- Viewed
- 0KCI Citations
- 0WOS Citations