Modeling customer advocacy: a PLS path modeling approach

Abstract

This paper aims to model customer advocacy (CA) and provide empirical evidence for the fact that if a service company advocates for the best interests of its customers, they will reciprocate with stronger loyalty and advocacy for the company. The paper adopted partial least square (PLS) path modeling to test the hypotheses (sample size 575). The results support Urban's (2004) CA paradigm. The paper also finds support for the effect of CA by company on customers’ trust in the service company, and further trust had a positive impact on customer advocacy for the company. Service companies can build customer's trust by adopting the CA strategy in establishing mutual dialog with the customers and providing quality services. If the customers are satisfied and hold a positive attitude toward the service provider, they will advocate the service provider among their peers. The paper adds to the existing literature by modeling the CA paradigm of Urban (2004) and establishing its relationships with customer satisfaction (CS), two dimensions of customer loyalty (i.e. behavioral and attitudinal), customers’ perceived value and trust. This study also contributes to the literature by successful extension of the CS index studies in the context of the emerging economies.