Antecedents of customer loyalty in mobile phone service: a study from Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Mobile phone service has become an efficient and accessible communication medium in Sub-Saharan Africa. As market growth attracts more competition, improving customer loyalty becomes an important strategic advantage. In general, previous research has focused on customer loyalty as a single variable. This study addresses this gap in the literature by examining customer loyalty as two separate variables: behavioural and attitudinal loyalty. This study examines four antecedents of mobile phone behavioural and attitudinal loyalty in an emerging economy: reliability, assurance, value, and satisfaction. Data from 309 survey respondents in the Sub-Saharan Africa country of Ghana were analysed using PLS-SEM. The study finds strong direct relationships between reliability and value, and satisfaction and behavioural loyalty. The study contributes to the literature by finding: 1) that behavioural and attitudinal loyalty are two measurable variables; 2) that customers' value and satisfaction perceptions mediate the relationship between service provider quality and loyalty. These findings can help mobile phone service providers in building customer loyalty.