Examining customers’ experience with the Nigerian Bank Verification Number (BVN) policy from the perspective of a dual-lens theory

Abstract

PurposeAlthough customer experience has been widely researched, its effects on behavior toward a government policy are still unclear. Drawing on two theories with some similar and opposing perspectives, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of three components of customer experience (i.e. utilitarian experience, hedonic experience and relational experience) and customers’ intention on behavior within the context of the BVN policy implemented by the Nigerian apex bank.Design/methodology/approachData emerged from one of the most populous districts in south-eastern Nigeria. Participants were recruited by mall-intercept. Out of the 283 participants approached, 246 participated but only 82.9 percent were valid for analysis. After subjecting data to statistical screening to confirm its suitability for parametric statistical analysis and examining data for the potential effects of common method variance as well as sample representativeness, a partial least squares structural equation modelling technique and the Preacher and Hayes bootstrapping procedures were utilized to test the hypothesized relationships.FindingsBased on data obtained from Nigerian bank customers, the paper demonstrated that the customer loyalty arising from the implementation of a government policy is determined more by hedonic experience, followed by relational experience and very much less by utilitarian experience. Findings also indicate that the relationship between the components of customer experience and customer loyalty is complementarily mediated by intention to open new account(s).Research limitations/implicationsThough the theoretical grounding of the paper strongly supports the study design, the authors strongly recommend that future research should examine customer experience-customer behavior models in situations of policy implementation with longitudinal design. Additionally, since intention to open new account(s) is a complementary mediator of the links between the components of customer experience and customer loyalty, there is need for future researchers to integrate other mediators into the conceptual framework that the authors examined in this paper.Practical implicationsThis paper cautions that whilst the research findings play out effectively in situations where the benefits of the introduced policy and the consumers’ belief in the good intent of the policy are congruent and customers are susceptible to the manipulations of the social class leading to absence of volitional control; firms should not be deceived into relying too heavily on this kind of loyalty because it is situational and consequently promiscuous. Nevertheless, deploying more resources to seamlessly meet the needs of customers in such situations is counter-productive for service organizations.Social implicationsBased on the findings, it has come to the fore that consumers will be at the receiving end of a government policy poorly implemented by service organizations. When such policies are rolled out therefore, governments should enforce operational modalities that will forestall potential negative experiences that consumers could possibly encounter.Originality/valueBy examining the effects of three components of customer experience and intention to open new account(s) on customer loyalty within the context of BVN implementation in an emerging banking sector, the authors contribute to the broad stream of literature that focuses on the effect of customer experience on company bottom-line. The strength of this contribution is based on the premise that this paper draw on the similarities and opposing orientations of two theories to uncover these effects. The authors show that the effects of the three components of customer experience on customer loyalty is different from the results of previous research because of the unique perspective adopted in this paper.