The design of B2B customer references: A signaling theory perspective

D. Eric Boyd (), F. Javier Sese () and Sebastian Tillmanns ()
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D. Eric Boyd: University of Central Florida
F. Javier Sese: University of Zaragoza
Sebastian Tillmanns: ETH Zurich

Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2023, vol. 51, issue 3, No 8, 658-674

Abstract: Abstract Customer references represent a popular marketing strategy, in which customers of a particular supplier share their prior experiences with other potential buyers. The number of customers featured in a customer reference (i.e., reference breadth) and the richness of information it provides (i.e., reference depth), as design decisions, in turn might influence the financial impact of customer references. Drawing from signaling theory, the authors develop a conceptual framework to understand the impact of customer reference design and the moderating role of trade receivables, which represents a finance-based signal of quality often used in business-to-business markets. Two studies test the model, one focused on investors’ reactions to the design of customer references and another that addresses buyers’ reactions. The results affirm the importance of reference design factors for both investors and buyers and reveal important insights at the marketing–finance interface.

Keywords: Customer reference; Business-to-business marketing; Signaling theory; Firm value; Receivables (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1007/s11747-022-00902-6

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