External Perception of Organisational Culture and Customer Based Corporate Reputation: The Mediating Role of Transparent Communication

Abstract

Companies that are able to take advantage of good reputation are likely to increase their economic performance by retaining large customer base. While studies have established a direct relationship between organisational culture and corporate reputation, scholars have argued that there is paucity of studies that examined external perception of organisational culture (POC) on customer based corporate reputation (CBCR). Similarly, studies have not examined the causal link through which POC influence CBCR. Hence, this present study was conducted to provide additional insight by examining the mediating role of transparent communication (TC) on the relationships between POC and CBCR. The data for this study was collected from 321customers of three major insurance companies (Custodians and Allied Insurance, Mutual Benefits, NEM Insurance PLC) in Nigeria. The study utilized PLS-SEM path modelling with the aid of SmartPLS 2.0 software to test the research hypotheses. The findings revealed that TC plays a competitive mediating role by changing the negative significant relationship between POC and CBCR to significant positive relationship. As such, a competitive mediation was established between POC and CBCR through TC. The study recommended the need for insurance companies to engage in aggressive communication strategy by focusing on transparent communication to foster better insurance awareness with a view to improving their reputation in the eyes of the Nigerian public.