The Roles of Brand Equity and Corporate Reputation in CRM: A Chinese Study

Abstract

This paper explores the roles of brand equity and corporate reputation in customer-relationship management (CRM) in the large transitional market of China. The study draws on various theoretical perspectives to develop a conceptual framework for the direct and indirect relationships between brand equity (and its antecedents), corporate reputation and CRM performance. Hypotheses were proposed and tested in the context of an empirical study of customers of financial institutions in China. The empirical findings confirm the validity of the framework and afford various insights into the dual roles of corporate reputation in the proposed relationships, and into the antecedents and role of brand equity.