Does Being Reputable Drive Customer Equity? Evidence from E-Commerce

Reputation stems from overall assessments of an e-business’ standing, according to various stakeholders, and it affects key customer outcomes. Despite burgeoning literature on the correlates of the customer-based reputation of e-commerce companies (ECCR), scarce research examines how reputation affects monetary outcomes. To extend existing literature on ECCR outcomes, this study focuses on customer equity. Surveys of customers from various online shopping contexts reveal, across two studies, the relationship between ECCR and customer equity. The authors also investigate contingencies of this relationship, positing that trust has a mediating role and perceived risk takes a moderating role. This study thereby adds a richer understanding of the customer-related effects of corporate reputation and yields important managerial insights into the mechanisms through which an e-business’s reputation affects customer equity.