Exploring the Causal Structure Between Perceived Corporate Reputation and Consumer Satisfaction – an Experimental Investigation

Corporate reputation and consumer satisfaction can both be regarded as important drivers of a firm’s competitive advantage (Balmer and Greyser 2003; Fombrun 1996, Fornell 1992). Investigating the antecedents and consequences of these two constructs is of growing interest for academic research and marketing practice alike. Reputation has been shown to be a determinant in purchase decision making (Carmeli and Tishler 2005). Reputation serves as a quality signal that reduces uncertainty of consumers prior to a purchase decision. Building a favorable reputation is therefore deemed an effective way to gain market access and acceptance. After instigating a transaction with a new customer, achieving high rates of customer satisfaction becomes an important goal for firms as satisfaction is viewed as one of the major determinants of customer repurchase and word-of-mouth (Anderson and Sullivan 1993).