LEARNING-ORIENTATION AND TRUSTWORTHINESS: TWO KEY COMPONENTS OF CORPORATE IMAGE IN THE ASIAN RETAIL CONTEXT
- LanguageENG
- URLhttp://db.koreascholar.com/Article/Detail/270973
p.788
Learning-orientation and trustworthiness are two important components of corporate image in Asian societies. This paper examines consumers’ perceived learning-orientation and trustworthiness of retailers in Hong Kong with a survey of 909 respondents. The results of a structural equation model show that learning orientation and trustworthiness are two distinctive attributes of a positive corporate image. Advertising creativity correlates positively with building a learning-oriented corporate image, while advertising believability correlates positively with building a trustworthy corporate image. The two perceived corporate images in turn positively associate with brand awareness and purchase intention respectively. Corporates which are perceived as learning-oriented recorded higher awareness, while consumers reported that they are more likely to patronize in companies which they found trustworthy. In summary, this research demonstrates the influence of advertising and promotion strategies (i.e. creativity vs. believability) on the perception of corporate’s image, and subsequently, on brand persuasiveness (i.e. brand awareness and purchase intention).This research has both theoretical contributions and managerial implications. It contributes to the existing corporate image literature by establishing the antecedents and consequences of building a learning-oriented and trustworthy corporate image. The research also provides practical implications to marketers. Specifically, the findings suggest that if a company aims to enhance consumers’ awareness about its branding, more attention should be put on developing creative advertising so as to build a learning-oriented corporate image. Alternatively, if a company aims to increase consumers’ purchase intention, more effort should be put on developing advertising with high believability so as to build a trustworthy corporate image.