Impact of corporate reputation and personality congruence on consumers' choice of bank.

This research paper investigates the relationship of two aspects, bank's corporate reputation and the personality congruence between the bank and consumer, on consumer's choice of bank. Three local banks, specifically DBS, OCBC and UOB, are used for the purpose of this study. This paper further delineates the important reputational attributes consumers look for in banks and the dominant corporate characteristics attached to each bank. Through the primary data of 150 respondents in Singapore, it was determined that both bank's corporate reputation and personality congruence between the bank and the consumer have positive influences on consumer's choice of bank. It was also discovered that DBS ranked No. 1 in terms of reputation albeit it did not achieve the highest score for any of the top three attributes of reputation that bank consumers most valued for. This paper serves as an eye-opener for our local banks as it highlights the gaps between the expectations and perceptions of Singapore’s consumers. At the same time, this paper suggests where each bank stands as compared to their rivals. With an increasing competition amongst banks, these findings are useful to banks in their efforts to achieve higher competitive advantage and customer satisfaction.BUSINES