Brand Reputation and Service Quality in the Italian Energy Market: A Business-to-Business Perspective

The selection of natural gas suppliers represents a key choice for business-to-business (B2B) customers, as energy costs is a major cost driver for them. In particular due to the recent liberalization processes which have characterized the natural gas EU markets, customers are now able to select among a significant number of suppliers. Despite the relevance of this issue, only few studies have analyzed the drivers through which natural gas suppliers can differentiate themselves from competitors. The purpose of this paper is to enrich available knowledge on this issue. Based on the well-established distinction between functional and emotional drivers of buyer’s attitudinal loyalty, this paper models brand reputation and technical service quality as antecedents of B2B customers’ attitudinal loyalty toward an Italian energy supplier. The results highlight that both antecedents are significant, but technical service quality prevails over brand reputation. These findings are discussed and implications for energy suppliers are drawn.