It’s all relative: how customer-perceived competitive advantage influences referral intentions

Martin Mende (), Scott Thompson () and Christian Coenen ()

Marketing Letters, 2015, vol. 26, issue 4, 678 pages

Abstract: Better understanding the mechanisms that influence customer intentions to spread positive word-of-mouth (WOM) is crucial to both marketing scholars and managers. This multimethod research contributes to marketing knowledge by revealing how a firm’s customer-perceived competitive advantage (CPCA) influences positive WOM intentions. Analyses of (1) cross-sectional survey data on bank customers in Germany and (2) experimental data on customers of car insurance companies in the USA reveal two crucial insights. First, CPCA influences WOM intentions in both industries, over and above numerous established antecedents of customer loyalty (e.g., satisfaction, trust, and perceived value). Second, this research demonstrates a robust and pervasive CPCA-by-satisfaction interaction effect, such that the influence of CPCA on WOM intentions increases as customer satisfaction decreases. The results show that customer-perceived competitive advantage plays an important role in shaping WOM intentions, especially among less-satisfied customers. Theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Keywords: Word-of-mouth intentions; Competitive advantage; Relationship marketing; Customer loyalty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11002-014-9318-x

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