ROLE OF CORPORATE REPUTATION DIMENSIONS ON THE LOYALTY OF CUSTOMERS OF HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS IN PLATEAU STATE

Understanding customer loyalty in a competitive business environment like Nigeria is critical hence the need to establish relevant predictors to it. Several empirical studies confirm the role of corporate reputation (CR) on customer loyalty (CL) however, there is a limited literature on the contributions of the dimensions of CR on CL. This study hypothesized that a positive relationship exists between dimensions of CR (product/service, innovation, workplace, governance, citizenship, leadership, performance) and CL. A cross-sectional mixed method approach was adopted to achieve the objectives of the study, using a sample of customers (retailers and wholesalers) of selected manufacturing companies in Plateau State. A hierarchical regression through SPSS-version 22 was used to analyze the quantitative data. The qualitative data collected were analyzed using the content analysis technique with the aid of NVivo9 software. The results revealed that the relationship between some of the dimensions to CR such as product and services, workplace innovation, citizenship, and leadership on CL was supported, while two of the relationships governance, and performance associated insignificantly with CL. The study recommended that firms in Nigeria should devote time to developing their internal customers (employees) to enhance CL. The implication of these findings was discussed and directions for future research were provided.