Does salesperson-brand personality congruence impact perceived service quality of the salesperson? A study of small retailers in emerging markets

Purpose Based on the theoretical lenses of social identity theory (SIT), this research study analyses the dyadic relationship of congruence between salesperson and brand personality. By exploring the salesperson-brand personality congruence, this study proposes to measure the impact of this congruence on the retailer’s perception of salesperson’s perceived service quality performance (SalesPerf). Design/methodology/approach The study is structured around collecting data from small retailers through an offline survey. In this study, linear associations between the various elements of the theoretical model are determined using covariance-based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM). Findings The analysis of results suggest that a retailer's perception of the salesperson's brand personality congruence positively influences the salesperson's perceived service quality. However, the retailer's satisfaction with the brand does not moderate the relationship between the retailer's perception of the salesperson's brand personality congruence and the salesperson's perceived service quality. Originality/value This research fills the void in contemporary research by adopting a novel strategy to examine the perception of retailers toward the dyadic relationship between salesperson-brand congruence (SBPC) and salesperson's perceived service quality (PSQ). The study further enriches the existing literature by measuring the moderating role of retailer's satisfaction with the brand (SAT) on the retailer's perception of the salesperson's brand congruence (SBPC) and salesperson's perceived service quality (PSQ).