Sweaty Betty - Relationship marketing: an analysis of Sweaty Betty's use of founder integrity to develop affective commitment and trustworthiness with its customers

Ryan, Karen Michelle (2018) Sweaty Betty - Relationship marketing: an analysis of Sweaty Betty's use of founder integrity to develop affective commitment and trustworthiness with its customers Bournemouth University

Record type: Monograph (Working Paper)

Abstract

The main focus of this paper is to explore an analysis of Sweaty Betty’s use of founder integrity in developing affective commitment with its customers and its effect on the antecedents: customer engagement, integrity/consistency, communication and shared values and subsequently developing affective commitment and trustworthinessleading to advocacy and loyalty.If integrity is defined as a set of values, beliefs and principles (ethics) then founder integrity could be defined using Yang et al.’s model (2014), to mean integrity, leadership and commitment. This focuses on the customers’ commitment and trust to a founder’s words, deeds and value perceptions and promote a positive influence, through which customers build trust and commitment with the brand Sweaty Betty.By examining affective commitment and the influence of founder integrity (where the founder has been central to the brands ethos and marketing since its conception in 1998), Leroy et al. (2011) outline ‘authentic leadership’ as driving affective commitment, leading to trust and identification in the leader.This paper looks at how Sweaty Betty can establish, develop and maintain its relationship with customers through a conceptual framework leading to the consequences of behavioural loyalty and advocacy intentions.Sweaty Betty’s relationship marketing through founder integrity has created a community of participatory and purchasing customers. The recommendations based on the conceptual framework advise how to increase and maintain the current level of success as a brand through founder integrity and increase affective commitment and trustworthiness through formalising social responsibility statements, increasing the resonance of key values with customers and negating any issues or cynicism that may arise through negative word of mouth towards the founder’s integrity.Key wordsAdvocacy intentions, affective commitment, behavioural loyalty, communication, customer engagement, founder integrity, shared values,trustworthiness.

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