Commitment Behavior Research Articles

Customer satisfaction, loyalty behaviors, and firm financial performance: what 40 years of research tells us

The authors synthesize research on the relationship of customer satisfaction with customer- and firm-level outcomes using a meta-analysis based on 535 correlations from 245 articles representing a combined sample size of 1,160,982. The results show a positive association of customer satisfaction with customer-level outcomes (retention, WOM, spending, and price) and firm-level outcomes (product-market, accounting, and financial-market performance). A moderator analysis shows the association varies due to many contextual factors and measurement characteristics. The results have important theoretical and managerial implications.

How do cultural factors affect loyalty behaviour in retailing? The central role of social proximity

PurposeRetail store loyalty is essential to the survival and success of a retailer. The intangible benefits provided by the social exchange in-store influence the way consumers consider their relationships with the retailer. However, its relationships with social proximity and cultural factors are not clear. Therefore, this article investigates the effects of specific cultural dimensions on loyalty behaviour, as well as the mediating role of social proximity on the relationship investigated.Design/methodology/approachThis research is based on an empirical investigation undertaken in Thailand with a sample of 636 respondents. Two retail chains were investigated (Big C and Tesco). Structural equation modelling was used to test the research model and a series of research hypotheses.FindingsThe results reveal that uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation have positive direct effects on loyalty, while collectivism does not. Furthermore, social proximity significantly mediates the effects of collectivism and long-term orientation on customer loyalty. These findings show that Thailand is a specific emerging market in which retail chains should adapt their loyalty programme accordingly.Practical implicationsThe cultural differences could be used for segmentation strategy for retailers to engage customers in a relationship with the hypermarket. Social proximity is an efficient lever to build loyalty in Thailand. In addition, retailers could utilise certainty and steadiness message as a way to build shopper loyalty.Originality/valueThis research underlines the social, human dimension that consumers seek, which is opposed to the online purchase. Specifically, this study highlights the mediating role of social proximity between the relationship of cultural variables and loyalty in the retail context. Additionally, this research displays the direct and positive effects of culture on retail loyalty. That is, this paper enhances how culture and shopper-retail staff interaction can be managed to achieve store loyalty.

Progression through time: Development of birdwatcher careers based on propensity score matching

Recreation specialization postulates that people progress through a career when engaging in a leisure activity. This has been studied by cross-sectional and few panel studies, but both methods have some shortcomings. Here, I studied German birdwatchers from the 16 federal states of Germany by employing the propensity score matching method. Data were collected using the online research tool SoSciSurvey between 14 February 2020 and 15 June 2020 include study population, sampling, data collection, and analysis in short. Three career stages of the same size were defined according to birdwatching experience in years. Then, respondents were matched according to age, gender, federal state, and educational level but differed in their leisure career stages by propensity score matching, thus birders of the same age, gender, educational level, and federal state were identified that differed in their birding experience in years. Stage 1 was birders with ≤10 years of birding, stage 2 with 11–34, and stage 3 with ≥35 years. This led to 177 pairs in the stage 1–2 comparison and 113 pairs in the group 2–2 comparison. The recreation specialization construct based on the dimensions behavior, skill, and commitment was applied. There was a highly significant effect concerning skill/knowledge and behavior between stage 1 and 2 (p < .001 for both). However, no differences were found concerning personal and behavioral commitment (p > .5). Skill/knowledge increased again between stage 2 and 3 (F = 4.554, df = 112, p = .035), no significant changes concerning the other three dimensions behavior, personal, and behavioral commitments were found (p > .2). The study provides evidence for a career development in leisure.

Mobile health community loyalty development process in China: an empirical study from information seeking perspective

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the process of developing loyalty in the Chinese mobile health community from the information seeking perspective.Design/methodology/approachA covariance-based structural equation model was developed to explore the mobile health community loyalty development process from information seeking perspective and tested with LISREL 9.30 for the 191 mobile health platform user samples.FindingsThe empirical results demonstrate that the information seeking perspective offers an interesting explanation for the mobile health community loyalty development process. All hypotheses in the proposed research model are supported except the relationship between privacy and trust. The two types of mobile health community loyalty—attitudal loyalty and behavioral loyalty are explained with 58 and 37% variance.Originality/valueThis paper has brought out the information seeking perspective in the loyalty formation process in mobile health community and identified several important constructs for this perspective for the loyalty formation process including information quality, communication with doctors and communication with patients.

The Environment Education Policy in Behavior Commitment of Stakeholders for the Environmental Sustainability

The Environment Education Policy in Behavior Commitment of Stakeholders for the Environmental Sustainability

Designing a branding model for academic libraries affiliated with the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology in Iran

PurposeThis study identifies factors affecting brand building for academic libraries affiliated with the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology (MSRT) in Iran.Design/methodology/approachThis research applied the grounded theory method based on the three open, axial and selective coding steps (Strauss and Corbin, 1998). The research tool was interviews conducted with 20 experts in librarianship, marketing and branding.FindingsLibrary building architecture, library information resources and services, librarians' branding, marketing activities and library management are the causal conditions affecting brand building. The national economic situation, the digital publishing situation in the country and different characteristics of the new library community are the intervening conditions affecting brand building. The role of other libraries in society in the scientific education of the new generation provides contextual conditions for brand building. The higher education system and the library parent organization play a part in the operative actions/interactions for brand building. The consequences of brand building are brand image development, brand excellence and brand behavioral loyalty for libraries. Library brand identity is also a core category in brand building.Originality/valueFacing steep challenges by emergent services, academic libraries are ill-prepared to meet the needs of the new information society solely with traditional services and functions. Academic libraries are required to rebrand themselves to be more successful at delivering a strong performance within a changing information environment by enhancing their brand image and establishing a more effective relationship with users.

Effects of brand community social responsibility: roles of collective self-esteem and altruism

The social responsibility of brands and consumers within brand communities is a new phenomenon that can have important implications for brands, communities, and consumers. However, previous research on the relationship between brand community social responsibility (BCSR) and brands/communities is still in its infancy and the effects of BCSR are unclear. Based on the theories of social responsibility, collective self-esteem, altruism, and brand relationship, this study explores the effect of BCSR on brand loyalty behavior (i.e., purchase and recommendation intentions) to a brand community. The empirical results of partial least squares modeling reveal that BCSR is a new way of forming brand community commitment that enhances brand loyalty behavior (purchase and recommendation intentions). Moreover, collective self-esteem partially mediates the relationship between BCSR and brand community commitment, and altruism moderates the relationship between BCSR and collective self-esteem. The findings enrich the literature on social responsibility and brand community and point out the managerial implications.

The Impact of Patient Experience on Loyalty in the Context of Medical-Aesthetic Health Services.

The purpose of this study was to determine the antecedents and consequences of patient experience in the context of medical-aesthetic health services. A quantitative study was conducted and data was collected through online surveys. Moreover, data were provided in the field via the administration of questionnaires to patients of medical clinics. The data were analyzed according to structural equation modeling procedures. The results showed that both the relational (communication and involvement) and functional (environment, tangibles, processes, outcomes, competence, monetary cost) dimensions of care have a direct and positive impact on customer experience (CE). This study shows the prevalence of the functional dimension when compared to the relational one, which more strongly influences a patient's CE. Moreover, CE positively impacts perceived quality, overall satisfaction, and loyalty behaviors.

Аdaptation of business practices to the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from micro and small enterprises

Goal: to determine how three business model adaptation (BMA) strategies (namely, product development, market development, and diversification) influence firm profitability through the mediating mechanisms of customer behavioral loyalty and acquisition during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology: the study is based on a telephone survey of 210 Russian micro and small enterprises conducted in the beginning of 2022. Structural equation modeling is used to test the relationships between three BMA strategies, customer behavioral loyalty, customer acquisition, and firm profitability. Findings: three BMA strategies positively influence customer acquisition but have no effects on customer behavioral loyalty. In turn, customer behavioral loyalty and acquisition unequally contribute to firm profitability. Diversification strategy is found to be the only strategy that positively influences firm profitability during the crisis. This effect is mediated neither by customer loyalty nor customer acquisition but is supposedly achieved through the strategic choice of higher-margin destination markets. Originality and contribution of the authors: the study contributes to the literature on crisis management by examining the effects of product development, market development, and diversification strategies on firm performance in the crisis environment characterized by shrinking demand and increasing turbulence. Unlike most existing studies, the current study goes beyond testing the overall effect of BMA on firm financial performance in times of crises and uncovers customer retention and acquisition mechanisms that mediate this effect, thus reuniting strategic management and marketing areas.

The Impact of Mobile Payment Application Design and Performance Attributes on Consumer Emotions and Continuance Intention

This study examines a chain of impact of a mobile payment user experience on consumers’ emotions and, consequently, on continuance intention. The examined factors influencing user experience include application design attributes (i.e., user interface attractiveness, privacy and security, and convenience) and application performance attributes (i.e., compatibility, ease of use, relative advantage, and service quality). The study is conducted in the context of a popular mobile payment application named Go-Pay in a developing country, Indonesia. Data are obtained via an online survey of 1,275 mobile payment users that are then analyzed using covariance based-structural equation modeling. The analysis shows that application design attributes, such as privacy and security as well as convenience, are factors that shape users’ negative emotions; conversely, the performance attributes of compatibility, relative advantage, and service quality affect users’ positive emotions. Both negative and positive emotions contribute to increasing continuance intention in using mobile payment services. In this regard, the positive emotion is the most significant factor influencing users to continue using mobile payment services. Research in the field of mobile payment has mostly assessed consumer acceptance of mobile payment technology, whereas research focusing on continuous intention to use mobile payment is still limited. Our findings provide a new perspective on the loyalty in using mobile payment by examining the part of the user experience represented by the design and performance of applications, which affect positive and negative emotions, and have also been shown to influence user loyalty behavior.

Structural Relationship of Sports Service Quality, Perceived Value, Satisfaction, and Behavioral Loyalty among Customers of Commercial Sport Centers in Hunan Province, China

PURPOSE The purpose of this study is to verify the fit of the behavioral loyalty (BL) model for customers in commercial sport centers in Hunan Province, China, and verify the relationship between sport service quality (SSQ), perceived value (PV), satisfaction (S) and BL. METHOD The research subject is the customers of the commercial sport centers in Hunan Province, China. A total of 995 questionnaires were collected and after deleting 28 incomplete or incorrect questionnaires, 967 questionnaires were retained for data analysis. We used CFA to validate the measurement model and SEM for hypothesis testing. RESULT First, SSQ influences customers’ PV and S but does not influence BL. That is to say, a high level of SSQ in a sport centers can improve customers’ PV and S. Second, PV influences BL and S, and S also affects BL. In other words, a high level of PV can improve S and BL. CONCLUSION The results of this research provide some effective suggestions for the sport industry of commercial sport centers, and provide a reference direction for the future sport industry research field.

Unethical use of information access and analytics in B2B service organisations: The dark side of behavioural loyalty

In business-to-business (B2B) service organisations, unethical practices frequently lead to an adverse impact on business. Therefore, B2B must adopt the ethical use of information access and analytics to deliver the best service quality as it positively influences behavioural loyalty. This study explores the unethical use of information access and analytics on B2B relationships to observe the dark side of service quality and behavioural loyalty. A novel conceptual model based on information access, analytics, service quality, customer perceived value and behavioural loyalty is proposed. A quantitative methodology is applied to raw data gathered from 307 respondents of B2B service firms. This study concludes that unethical use of access to privacy and secured information, and unethical use of analytics in sensitive inferences, risk assessment, model drift and eDiscovery results in unfavourable service quality. The unfavourable service quality leads to unfavourable behavioural loyalty. Therefore, acting ethically is essential for long-lasting relationships.

"Loyalty to organizations" or "loyalty to supervisors"? Research on differential leadership and employee loyalty behavior: A perspective of insiders and outsiders.

Loyalty has always been a hot topic in the field of organizational behavior, which is of great significance to the operation and management of organizations. Extant studies have found that leadership can have a great impact on loyalty. Differential leadership is a common and unique leadership style in Chinese organizations, but the research between differential leadership and loyalty is still lacking. Based on social exchange theory and social learning theory. This study discusses the relationship between differential leadership and loyalty. By using hierarchical regression analysis and bootstrap method. The results show that differential leadership has a positive effect on employees' organizational loyalty and supervisory loyalty, and the degree of "loyalty to organizations" is generally lower than "loyalty to supervisors"; under differential leadership style, the supervisory loyalty from insiders is much higher than that from outsiders, but the influence and difference of the two groups (insider and outsider) do not have a significant effect on organizational loyalty. The supervisor developmental feedback mediates the relationship between differential leadership and organizational & supervisory loyalty; power distance positively moderates the relationship between supervisor developmental feedback and organizational & supervisory loyalty, and the higher the perceived power distance of employees, the stronger the indirect effect of developmental feedback from supervisors. This study not only enriches the theory of differential leadership but also provides empirical support for understanding the differences in cognitive behavior between insiders and outsiders.

Determinants of loyalty programmes and their impact on store patronage

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to measure the impact of perceived benefits offered by loyalty programmes on store patronage behaviour and repeat purchase behaviour of customers. Another purpose of this study is to assess the impact of mediating and influencing factors on patronage behaviour and customer loyalty.Design/methodology/approachThe convenience sampling method was adopted for the sample selection. Structured questionnaire instruments were distributed to subscribers who are enrolled or subscribed to any loyalty programme and asked them to mark their opinions about subscriptions to a loyalty programme and the benefits or perceived values that customers get from the subscribed loyalty program. To determine respondent responses, closed-end questions and Likert scales were used. A SmartPLS statistical programme was used to analyse the coefficient and p-value of the perceived value of the loyalty programme and its relation with patronage behaviour.FindingsThe study finds a significant impact of various loyalty programme determinants on store patronage behaviour, supported by hypothesis testing. Researchers have used variable commitment to the test with satisfaction and trust and found it supportive. Another hypothesis tested for the impact of satisfaction on trust shows a significant relationship. They found a significant relationship between the perceived benefits of a loyalty programme and satisfaction with the store and trust. Another hypothesis tested for the impact of satisfaction on trust shows a similar relationship. The impact of commitment on loyalty behaviour (store patronage) was analysed and found to be significant.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, to date, this methodology has not been used to measure the influence of loyalty programme values on patronage behaviour in the present context. Based on the understanding that the measurement of the impact of perceived values of loyalty programmes on repeat purchase behaviour could be very useful in providing guidance for decision-making in consumer retention strategy, this paper contributes to the literature on the evaluation of store patronage behaviour with its influencing variables.

Effect of Consumer Experience Quality on Participant Engagement in Japanese Running Events

Abstract: This study examines the influences of core product quality, service quality, social network quality, and event satisfaction on participant engagement using the conceptual framework of consumer experience quality and customer engagement theory in sport. The study surveyed 452 runners after they finished the Ako City Marathon. We divided the core product quality into event characteristics and physical changes and service quality into event staff and service environments. Participant engagement included prosocial behavior, management cooperation, and behavioral loyalty. The results revealed that event characteristics in core product quality and service environment in service quality positively influenced event satisfaction. Additionally, social network quality positively influenced prosocial behavior, management cooperation, and behavioral loyalty. Finally, event characteristics and service environments had a significant indirect effect on behavioral loyalty through event satisfaction.

대학태권도선수의 경쟁불안과 번아웃 및 운동몰입의 관계

The purpose of this study was to verify the relationship among competitive state anxiety, burnout, and exercise commitment of collegiate Taekwondo athletes. For this, data were collected from 397 athletes (male=241, female=146) registered in Korea Taekwondo Association as an athlete. After data collection, descriptive statistics, correlation, and structural equation model were conducted to test the research model. The result of this study revealed as follows. First, cognitive anxiety had a positive effect on burnout, while self-confidence had a negative effect. Second, cognitive and somatic anxiety influence positively cognitive and behavioral commitment. Third, burnout had negative effect on cognitive and behavioral commitment. In conclusion, cognitive anxiety, the sub-factor of competitive state anxiety, increases burnout, contrastively self-confidence prevents burnout of collegiate Taekwondo athletes. Furthermore, competitive state anxiety and burnout were identified as factors that hinder collegiate Taekwondo athletes' sport commitment.

여성 건강운동 참여자의 자의식과 사회적 체형 불안의 관계 : 운동 전념의 조절효과 검증

The purpose of this study was to verify whether exercise commitment moderates the relationship between self-consciousness and social physique anxiety in women who ragularly participate in exercise. Also, the current study examined the group differences (body mass index and exercise volume) in self-consciousness, social physique anxiety, and exercise commitment. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 249 women with the measure of self-consciousness, social physique anxiety, and exercise commitment. A sample size of 244 was employed, and ANOVA & t-test for the group difference and multiple regression analysis for moderating effect were conducted. Results indicated that the high BMI group has a more social physique anxiety than the low BMI group, and the high exercise volume group has less social physique anxiety and more exercise commitment than the low exercise volume group. The findings also demonstrated that the positive association between self-consciousness and social physique anxiety was buffered by cognitive exercise commitment, but not by behavioral commitment. Thus, it suggests that women exercising need to shift their focus on other things (i.e., exercise itself) rather than on self-things such as body image in order to alleviate social physique anxiety caused by self-consciousness.

QUESTIONING ONLINE STORE CUSTOMER LOYALTY

This research aims to investigate whether the customers repurchase at their favorite online store after browsing several web online stores and evaluating the product to be purchased (online behavior). The research uses the Smart PLS Structural Equation Model (SEM) along with descriptive analysis to test a hypothesis. This study involves 21905 internet users who browsed the online store websites. Respondents were classified according to various factors such as their age, occupation, address, and visiting frequency to the online store. The questionnaire was designed based on a 5-point Likert model. Online behavior (free shipping evaluation, discount evaluation, and read testimonies) influences repurchase and online behavior affects loyalty. This research identified several types of loyalty behavior, including deciding to buy at their favorite web store, visiting their favorite web store even though they have browsed other web shops, and believing that their favorite website provides everything they need. Repurchase behavior affects loyalty. The repurchase behavior identified repeat purchases at the favorite online store and word-of-mouth recommendations. The researchers believe that both are very decisive factors in deciding to repurchase, even though other places have more attractive promotions. The combination of online and repurchase behaviors creates a 54% R2 value. This means that 54% of online and repurchase behaviors create loyalty.

Destination attributes, tourist loyalty behavior and administration towards rural tourism in Jiangxi Province, China

Destination attributes, tourist loyalty behavior and administration towards rural tourism in Jiangxi Province, China

Sharing brands on social media: The roles of behavioural commitment and modality in identity shift

AbstractPeople who publicly exhibit behaviours on social media adjust their sense of self accordingly, a process known as identity shift. This manuscript reports on two experiments that extend identity shift research, applying it to consumer engagement with media brands on social media. In the first study (N = 150), participants liked or shared brands' social media posts using their own Facebook accounts. We tested actual behavioural commitment against merely thinking about sharing or liking the post, to provide a rigorous test of identity shift theory. Contrary to expectations, results showed no significant differences between behaviour and thought. Findings did show that users were more cautious in sharing (vs. liking) posts and were more likely to be influenced by their own sharing if they were relatively infrequent social media sharers. The second study (N = 338) extended this design to include Twitter and account for the roles of social media users' personality traits, perceptions of different social media platforms, and user choice and autonomy. Results revealed that liking on Twitter or sharing on Facebook produced more positive brand attitudes. Contrary to expectations, extroverts and those who perceived their online performance as more public reported less positive attitudes after actually sharing.