Increasing customer satisfaction in the new venture context

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to test the effects of cognitive legitimacy and the assets of newness in the new venture context. The authors wish to provide evidence related to how best to market and manage some of the assets and liabilities of newness. Design/methodology/approach - 236 customers of three recently opened retailing businesses were surveyed to investigate the relationships among organizational energy, organizational flexibility, cognitive legitimacy, and customer satisfaction. A mediation model including all four variables is developed and tested in the paper. Findings - Evidence is presented suggesting cognitive legitimacy plays a significant mediating role in both the positive relationship between organizational energy and customer satisfaction, and the positive relationship between organizational flexibility and customer satisfaction. Research limitations/implications - The paper offers thoughts regarding the theoretical implications of the study, as well as future research opportunities related to future marketing and entrepreneurship studies. Practical implications - Entrepreneurs are informed how to further market and manage the characteristics that mark their new ventures. Originality/value - The study is the first to link the assets of newness, cognitive legitimacy, and customer satisfaction. Given the importance of customer perceptions in the new venture context, the manuscript offers insight into how to possibly increase customer satisfaction by managing the perceptions of customers related to newness.