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Competence and Benevolence of Contact Personnel in the Perceived Corporate Reputation: An Empirical Study in Financial Services

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Abstract

In the context of service management, contact personnel are considered as a crucial element that determines the success of the service delivery process. From the perspective of marketing relationship, the performance of contact personnel helps to attract target groups and define corporate reputation. The purpose of the present study is to assess, within the services industry, the main effect of two predominant characteristics of contact personnel, namely competence and benevolence, as well as their interactive effects on the perception of the reputation of service firms, particularly from the point of view of clients. With data collected from 445 customers in a financial service setting, the results of this study reveal that the perception of corporate reputation has a tendency to be higher when perceptions of both competence and benevolence are strongly favourable. The results suggest that benevolence intervenes as a moderator variable to enhance the impact of competence on corporate reputation. The implications of the study are discussed from both the research and managerial perspectives.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Moncton, Moncton, Canada

    Nha Nguyen

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  1. Nha Nguyen
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Appendix

Appendix

Measures of Competence, Benevolence and Corporate Reputation

Competence

COMP1:

Employees of my credit union are dependable and give judicious advices.

COMP2:

Employees of my credit union have the right expertize.

COMP3:

Employees of my credit union are honest.

COMP4:

Employees of my credit union assure a prompt service.

Benevolence

BENE1:

Employees of my credit union give the same attention to all clients regardless of their standing.

BENE2:

Employees of my credit union are more concerned about the client's well-being than the firm's financial performance.

BENE3:

Employees of my credit union assure the service delivery oriented to the client's needs rather than the firm's exigencies.

BENE4:

Employees of my credit union satisfy the client's expectations in order to maintain his/her loyalty.

BENE5:

Employees of my credit union resolve problems to assure the gain for both client and organization.

Corporate reputation

REPU1:

In general, I believe that my credit union always fulfills the promises that it makes to its customers.

REPU2:

My credit union has a good reputation.

REPU3:

I believe that the reputation of my credit union is better than other companies.

REPU4:

I believe that my credit union makes necessary efforts to protect the environment.

REPU5:

In general, I believe that my credit union is fair in its decisions and actions.

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Nguyen, N. Competence and Benevolence of Contact Personnel in the Perceived Corporate Reputation: An Empirical Study in Financial Services. Corp Reputation Rev 12, 345–356 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1057/crr.2009.25

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