Building Strong Customer Relationships through Brand Orientation in Small Service Firms: An Empirical Investigation

Miloslava Chovancová (), Christian Nedu Osakwe () and Benson U. Ogbonna ()
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Miloslava Chovancová: Tomas Bata University in Zlin, Faculty of Management and Economics, Czech Republic
Christian Nedu Osakwe: Tomas Bata University in Zlin, Faculty of Management and Economics, Czech Republic
Benson U. Ogbonna: University of Port Harcourt, Department of Marketing, Nigeria

Croatian Economic Survey, 2015, vol. 17, issue 1, 111-138

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relationship between the adoption of a brand orientation strategy and customer relationship performance in a small service firm setting. More specifically, in addition to investigating the direct link between brand orientation and customer relationship performance, we further examine the moderating effects of entrepreneurial orientation and perceived competitive intensity on the empirical link between brand orientation and customer relationship performance. To test the hypothesized relationships in the conceptual framework, 105 usable structured questionnaires were collected from small service firms and the data were further analyzed using a hierarchical, moderated regression analysis. The results affirm the positive link between brand orientation and customer relationship performance. Moreover, entrepreneurial orientation is found to strengthen the brand orientation-customer relationship performance link. However, our results show that competitive intensity does not significantly moderate the brand orientation-customer relationship performance link. Nonetheless, it is highly suggestive that perceived competitive intensity is a direct predictor of customer relationship performance. In terms of the practical significance of the overall research model, the effect size is fairly large (Cohen’s f 2 = 0.33). The research implications and directions for future research are further highlighted in the penultimate section of the paper.

Keywords: brand orientation; customer relationship performance; entrepreneurial orientation; perceived competitive intensity; small service firm (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G20 L20 M13 M31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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