Definition of Brand Reputation

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4. Definition of Brand Reputation

Halliday and Kuenzel 2010: in Pinson 2012: 3 outlines the notion of reputation as: the collective representation of multiple constituencies image of company, built up over time and based on companys identity programs, its performance and how constituencies have perceived its behavior. The unity of the community in view of the assessment form and behavior towards companies, which are arrayed in a long period of time, based on the programs and performance undertaken by the company. Other notions of reputation put forward by Bromley: 1993. Davies and Miles 1983 in Pinson 2012: 23 reputation are: Summary of the impressions or perceptions held by external stakeholders. Whole of the feeling and opinion submitted by stakeholders outside the company. The reputation of a brand can be accessed from the consumer opinions, hopes and beliefs, so a Brands Reputation is the consumer confidence that the brand is good and reliable. The reputation of a brand can be built through advertising and PR and of course the quality of the items added Afzal, 2011: 46. From above can be interpreted as meaning that the reputation of a company represented by the performance of which was created by the company which is reflected in the quality of the resulting products, as well as other performance are perceived by consumers. This means bring the better performance of the company improves the companys reputation 17 grew and vice versa, the ugly performance of the companys consumer increasingly negative perceptions which means reducing the companys reputation in the eyes of consumers. Brand reputation is often associated as the credibility of the companies that are perceived by consumers Herbig, 1993, Hyde, 2005 in Casalo, 2011: 201. Aside from the external side, the reputation of a brand can be seen from the internal side, where in his article, Pinson 2012: 25 reveals CEOs views reputation as an intangibles assets that provide a firm with greater confidence among stakeholders, better positioning in the marketplace and associated with superior performance compared to other brands in the same product category deChertnatony, 1999 Ceos looked at the reputation as an invisible treasure that give confidence to stakeholders, a better position on the market, and can provide better performance than other brands of the same product. Confirmed also mention by Dahlen, et. Al. 2009: 157 that brand reputation is an asset that will give the company an advantage, which will create goodwill from consumers based on experience from previous purchases. It is believed that the brand that has a good reputation will ease the process of purchase of the customer or consumer decision making in purchasing Chun: 2005. In the contacts associated with the on line shopping or e-commerce, Josang, et. Al., 2007 in Cassalo, 2011: 201 explains, reputation can be consequences of a collective measure of 18 truthworthiness based on referrals or rating from members in a community. The good reputation of the company in the eyes of consumers will give a positive impact to the companys performance as it allegedly by Chun 2005 a good brand reputation stimulates purchase by simplifying decision procedures for customers, a good brand reputation that will stimulate the purchasing easier, in other words a good reputation doesnt complicate the assessment of consumer products that it generates, because consumers feel confident would be quality of the product that results from companies that have a good reputation. Correspondingly Deephouse 2000 and Siltaoja in Ker Tah Hsu 2011 tells us that the executives viewed the companys reputation as an important source that directs the company to consider corporate competitive advantage Executive reputation as the critical intangible resources that leads to competitor advantage. The explanation above was added by Herbig and Milewicz 1995 cited Dahlen, et. Al. 2009: 157 a backward-looking asset with forward looking, the goodwill benefit consumers ascribe to a brand based on their previous encounters with it. Reputation is an invisible asset but provide a real advantage, because consumers who either provide an assessment based on what they see and feel. Brand reputation will Giving an advantage for a companys reputation, because the reputation is an indicator of competitive advantage 19 competitive advantage it means the good reputation of the company is a sign of the high competitive advantage possessed, and this will encourage positive assessment perceived value from consumers against firms. Worcester 2001 in Riadh 2011: 120 says that the companys image can be defined as the net result of the interaction of all experiences, impressions, beliefs, feelings and knowledge people have about the company, where the image can also be described as what the public views as a whole regarding the company. Related to the companys image, reputation of the company by Tsung-Chi 2007: 134 is how the customer views of service providers, the extent to which they are honest and paying attention to the customer. Added, that previous studies have shown that with the increasingly sharp competition at the moment, consumers can easily switch to a company that has a better image, though customers were satisfied with the service providers who are currently wearing. If the reputation associated with the other variables, so a lot of the literature are debating on how linking between service quality, satisfaction and image. Some says that the image is the antecedent of customer satisfaction, to be a moderator between service quality and satisfaction, but there are studies that indicate the opposite. Gronross 2001, is one of the person who said that image was created from service quality and customer satisfaction. What is relayed by the Gronross is supported by research conducted by Kang and James 20 2006, as well as research from Nguyen and LeBlanc 2005, on the service industry in South Korea. Even the research of Nguyen and LeBLanc has also been linked with the companys image among customer loyalty, customer loyalty was created from a good corporate image. The latest research from Kassim and Souiden 2010 indicates that a good image of the company will develop and maintain good relationships with customers, can even increase market share and sales. Not only the companys image but in Tsung-Chi 2007: 135 it is said that reputation also has connections in maintaining customer relationships with the service provider.

5. Definition of Consumer Perceive Value