Experiment about corporate reputation, consumer stereotypes and trust, 2019

This study was conducted as a part of the international research project "Navigating Brand Preference through Consumers Stereotypes", aiming to examine how three types of consumer stereotypes related to brands (country of origin stereotype, brand buyer stereotype, and brand stereotype) affect consumer purchasing behavior. Stereotypes are defined according to the stereotype content model as the perceptions of warmth in the competence of an object (country, buyers or brands). This experiment focuses on consumer stereotypes pertaining to corporate brands to answer the question of how the dimensions of the corporate reputation (Customer orientation; Good employer; Social and environmental responsibility; Product and service quality, and Reliable and financially strong company) influence the perception of warmth and competence. In addition, the aim of the study is to determine, whether warmth and competence perceptions act as mediators of the effects of corporate reputation dimensions on consumer trust toward corporate brands. For the purpose of testing the conceptual model, an experiment was prepared in which we manipulated the information in the description of a fictitious telecommunications company. Information manipulation was related to the dimensions of corporate reputation. Control group was not given any specific information about corporate reputation dimensions, while other five treatment groups were provided with positive information on particular dimension of corporate reputation. Therefore, this was a single-factor, six groups between subjects design.