Institutional Image and the Role of The Managers of a major Brazilian Financial Institution: Analysis of Perceptions of High Income Customers

Abstract

The economic system has undergone profound transformations due to recurrent technological advances that have repercussions on the organizations. Additionally, there is a demand coming from an affluent social class that, demands a customized service. It is therefore important to develop a corporate strategy that includes differentiated products and services and a focus on the agility and reliability of the business, in accordance to the market. This paper analyses the dynamic of the high income customers perceptions regarding to the services provided by an Brazilian financial institution taking into account its institutional image and the role played by its managers.  The selected model is based on a mixing of three constructs, namely the customer’s evaluation of institutional operating characteristics, the quality of interaction between customers and managers and the propensity to indicated new customers to the bank. The study approach is quantitative by means of a survey followed by a factorial analysis for the selection of the indicators of each of the aforementioned constructs. A multiple regression model was then estimated, having the institutional image and manager’s performance as predictors, using the OLS method and the ordinal logistic function. The results showed that the customers satisfaction and its propensity to indicate new customers to the bank is properly explained by two predictors as suggested by the model. Furthermore, it was identified a greater influence of the construct which depicts the managers performance. Such conclusions contain fundamental elements for the design of corporate strategies.