The link between offline brand attributes and corporate brand image in bookstores

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to look into the relationship between the physical aspect of a retail store, product‐related attributes, personal interaction with customers and perceived reliability and corporate brand image in an offline or bricks and mortar context. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on 511 interviews conducted in various bookstores and uses structural equation modelling as a statistical tool for concluding the above. Findings – The paper argues that physical aspect of a retail store, product‐related attributes and personal interaction with customers will have a significant and positive direct effect on the offline corporate brand image whilst there was no significant connection between reliability and corporate brand image. Research limitations/implications – The research has been conducted in one organisation, albeit a number of bookstores were scrutinized. Practical Implications – The paper's managerial contribution lies in its lessons for practitioners who want to understand what are the key drivers of corporate brand image in an offline context. It also provides a background for further studies which can extrapolate the current thinking into other sectors in order to validate or refute the results presented here. Originality/value – The paper scrutinizes the impact of: physical aspects; product related information; reliability; and personal interaction in the corporate brand image of a retail organisation.