Determinants of Mobile Commerce Customer Loyalty in Malaysia

Abstract

Asia's emerging markets are poised for explosive digital growth. With the rapid adoption of the Internet and the familiarisation of consumers with mobile devices, the mobile commerce market is set to become one of the most promising and lucrative growth markets. In Malaysia, although the mobile commerce market is relatively at its infancy stage, the mobile internet penetration is expected to grow rapidly in years to come. Numerous mobile commerce adoption studies have been investigated. However, little attention has been paid on what factors could be utilised to retain mobile commerce customers, which could in turn improve business performance. Therefore, this paper aims to bridge the gap by investigating the factors that affect mobile commerce customer loyalty in Malaysia by incorporating e-service quality models and relationship quality theories in the context of mobile commerce. Specifically, the objective of this study is to examine the relationships between e-service quality dimensions of efficiency, system availability, fulfilment and privacy, and relationship quality dimensions of satisfaction, trust and commitment with customer loyalty in mobile commerce services. Online survey method was used for data collection. Out of the 300 questionnaires distributed, 214 were completed and returned, yielding a response rate of 71.3 percent. Data were subsequently analysed using the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) method. The research findings contributed significantly in filling up the knowledge gap regarding the determinants of customer loyalty in mobile commerce services. The study may assist mobile commerce service providers, marketers and managers in their decision making as well as improving their profitability, products and services.