Validation of the Customer-Based Corporate Reputation Scale in a Retail Context

Abstract

A positive corporate reputation held by customers is important for both financial and customer outcome variables. However, limited research has been undertaken to examine the relationship between corporate reputation and customer-related behaviours. This paper deals with a study in which the shortened customer-based corporate reputation (CBCR) scale of Walsh et al. (2009) was validated in a study of supermarket customers in a developing country. The findings support only two of the five dimensions of the Walsh et al. scale. These are customer orientation and competitiveness of the firm. None of the original reputation dimensions or items associated with good corporate citizenship, such as good employer and being socially and environmentally responsible, was part of the dimensions that remained after the statistical analyses. Both customer orientation and competitiveness of the firm are strongly associated with important outcome variables such as trust, loyalty, repatronage intention and overall reputation. The findings of this study reiterate the view that great care should be exercised when scales are considered for application in a context not similar to the one where the scale was developed.