Customer satisfaction, Confucian dynamism, and long‐term oriented marketing relationship: A threefold empirical analysis

Abstract

AbstractFirms and their customers enter into a relationship for mutual satisfaction. However, there is much more to learn about long‐term oriented marketing relationship dynamics in Asia that lead to customer satisfaction. The goal of this study is to examine the direct and indirect effects of relational dynamics on customer satisfaction in the Asian context. Specifically, the study proposes that long‐term oriented relationship variables such as fairness, empathy, and trust have significant direct impact on customer satisfaction, and indirectly through overall relationship quality. Three studies were conducted in three service sectors viz. banking, healthcare, and hospitality with data collected from two regions of Malaysia, the Peninsular region and the Borneo region. A total of 1945 usable responses were received across the three sectors and analyzed: banking (653), healthcare (666), and hospitality (626). The model was compared among the three sectors. The results show that long‐term oriented marketing relationship variables predict a significant amount of variance in customer satisfaction across the three service sectors. However, the predictive powers differ from industry to industry, wherein 72% unique variance was predicted in the banking sector, 66% in healthcare, and 68% in hospitality. Relationship quality fully mediates some of the relationships in some sectors and partially mediates in others. Since Malaysia is dubbed a potpourri of Asian cultures, there is a potential for generalizability of the research findings across other Asian contexts. Theoretical, contextual, and managerial implications of the findings are discussed.