The moderating effect of consumer knowledge on corporate image using the mall-based skin care clinic industry within Metro Manila

• Main Author: Torrijos, Ma. Theresa Q.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2010
• Subjects: Corporate image; Consumer behavior; Consumer education; Beauty shops; Skin > Care and hygiene; Marketing
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/3871; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etd_masteral/article/10709/viewcontent/CDTG004750_P.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

The rising number of skin care clinics outside the hospital has been a booming business phenomenon for over a decade. This sector has invested so much in their image of looking professional and credible to their market. However, with the new developments of publicly splashed mishaps on cosmetic surgery, more and more certified dermatological societies are pursuing the issues of ethical marketing and consumer education. Thus, the concept of this paper is realized. The aim of this study is to discover how consumers use their knowledge to control the effect corporate image in their service/performance expectations, satisfaction and loyalty using the mall-based skin care clinics industry. The respondents of this study are skin care clinic customers who will be asked through ambush interviews in different parts of Metro Manila. The model proposed in this paper is that the strength of the influence of corporate image to the disconfirmation of expectations, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty will be intensified or lessened by the intervening variable which is the different levels of consumer knowledge. The tests that will be performed for this research will be comparing proportions, odds and odds ratio, concordant and discordant pairs and Kendal tau-b. The findings have given the following results: 1)That in terms of disconfirmation of expectation, customers with high knowledge are less influenced by corporate image 2)That in terms of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, customers with high knowledge are more influenced by corporate image 3)Lastly, that low knowledge consumer appears to be more resistant to the influence of corporate image than high knowledge consumers. After gathering those results, this researcher gave recommendations to the skin care clinic owners, dermatological societies and the marketing practitioners, professors and students. This study emphasized the importance of corporate image to the skin care industry. That loyalty does not equate to resiliency in negative corporate image. Moreover, the more knowledgeable the consumer becomes all the more they become mindful of what they are being associated with. Dermatological societies do have a sensible issue to fight for such as increasing consumer education and promoting ethical marketing. To others, this study forms as a good support that corporate image does provide a company the competitive edge not just to the new customers but most especially to the experienced and knowledgeable ones. Additionally, that consumer behavior is so complex that each decision making is hardly predictable.