Does customer sociability matter? Differences in e-quality, e-satisfaction, and e-loyalty between introvert and extravert online banking users

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between e-quality, e-satisfaction and e-loyalty and test how these relationships vary across different levels of customer sociability in the UAE banking industry. Design/methodology/approach – The relative importance of customer sociability in the relationships between e-quality, e-satisfaction and e-loyalty was examined. A self-administered questionnaire was developed, and data were collected from a final sample of 245 bank customers. The study’s conceptual model and four hypotheses were tested using AMOS18. Findings – E-quality influences e-satisfaction, which, in turn, affects customer e-loyalty. This study’s findings confirm that the relationships between e-quality, e-satisfaction and e-loyalty are stronger if the online banking user is an introvert (less social) rather than an extravert (very social). Practical implications – This study demonstrates how bank managers could use the sociability level of their customers to manage the relationships between e-quality, e-satisfaction and e-loyalty. Originality/value – The key contribution of this paper is that it demonstrates how the customer sociability level might affect the relationship between customers and online banking services.