Measuring Customers’ Intimacy: Evidence From Indonesian Service-Based Companies

Leadership is often regarded as the fuel to jump-start changes and improvement in organizations. At the same time, innovation is widely discussed as an important element in organizational development. In numerous theoretical discussions and stories of companies across the globe, successful organizational innovation depends on leadership. As the leadership pushes for innovation, the company’s internal branding is expected to improve. This is particularly true for transformation leadership, perhaps. Such an internal branding is expected to shape much stronger employee-based brand equity (EBBE). Likewise, the company’s innovation should enhance the customer intimacy by means of word of mouth. The relationships may not have been widely researched though the presence of technology has allowed increasing popularity in electronic communication and information sharing. Electronic word of mouth (eWOM), like testimonies, spreads insights and experiences for others. This affects customers’ reactions to products and services. Service-based companies may have relied on eWOM to keep the traffic-inflows while maintaining intimacy with customers. This study attempts to analyze the relationships among transformational leadership, product/service innovation, internal branding, eWOM, EBBE, and customer intimacy in Indonesian service-based companies, such as; hotels and restaurants. A structural equation modeling is incorporated to note the simultaneous relationships.