Perceived Organizational Listening Effectiveness: A Comparison of Consumer Intelligence Provider and Consumer Intelligence User Assessments

This paper describes research focusing on how an organizational member’s role in the process—specifically, whether s/he is a consumer intelligence provider or a consumer intelligence user—may impact his/her assessment of organizational listening practices and effectiveness. After reviewing literature in three relevant areas of research, the paper describes a study in which five hypotheses are tested, each of which predicts differences between provider and user assessments. Results indicate that provider and user assessments are comparable regarding (a) creating a climate for listening to consumers and (b) capturing consumer feedback. However, user assessments of effectiveness at analysis, dissemination, and utilization consumer intelligence are significantly less favorable than those from providers. Implications for theory-building and knowledge development, implications for practitioners, and directions for future research, are discussed.