Marketing culture, corporate image and business performance of insurance companies in Uganda

Abstract

In recent years the services industry has witnessed increased emphasis on the cultivation of a culture which fosters the effective implementation of marketing programmes. This interest emanates from the belief that sound marketing practices provide an important source of competitive advantage in the service sector which is characterized by high levels of interaction between firms and their customers. More so, both marketing academics and managers proclaim that a strong marketing culture leads to a strong corporate image and customer retention. All of which in turn yield higher market share, voluminous sales and profitability. In this study an attempt was made to investigate empirically the relationship between insurance firms' marketing culture, corporate image and business performance. Drawing from a theoretical foundation, an empirical survey was conducted on 610 respondents from 21 insurance companies as perper Krejcie & Morgan (1970) to gauge their awareness and attitudes towards these companies’ marketing culture. The findings indicated a strong positive relationship to all the variables. It is expected that the findings from this survey would constitute vital input for insurers in designing marketing strategies that would improve performance. This study adds value to the literature in the area of marketing culture and corporate image by empirically establishing a more comprehensive relationship between variables. Therefore service firms especially in the insurance sector must focus on individual marketing culture in the working environment especially in the business/firm situation if they are to shape individual behavior. Further, it will stimulate and boost patronage and perception of insurance services to the public. To conclude, implications of the findings for insurance managers and avenues for future research are presented.