Customer Repatronage Research Articles

Hotel’s customer empowerment, environmental corporate social responsibility, and online customer value co-creation to attain sustainable development goals (SDGs)

Purpose The hotel customers are conscious of the deteriorating environmental conditions and demand for online immersions. Hotels lack an exciting shift in customer behavior for augmented customer re-patronage intention (CRPI) especially in developing countries. This study aims to apply customer-dominant service logic (CDSL) to comprehend customers’ life-sphere contributing to some of the vital United Nations sustainable development goals (UN SDGs). In this essence, CDSL grasps the impact of customer empowerment (CE) and environmental corporate social responsibility (Env CSR) on customer re-patronage intention (C-RPI) with the mediating and moderating effects in Pakistan’s four- and five-star hotels. Design/methodology/approach A deductive approach is followed in which an online survey of 400 hotel customers was conducted using purposive and snowball sampling techniques to understand the practice of C-RPI and UN SDGs. Findings This study reveals that executing the UN SDGs in the hotel industry eventually boosts CE and Env CSR, further enhancing online customer value cocreation (O-CVCC) resulting in C-RPI. Both CE and Env CSR gain a complimentary/partial mediation by O-CVCC on C-RPI is also reported. Moreover, sensation seeking moderates the relationship between CE and O-CVCC. Yet, customer commitment does not moderate the relationship between O-CVCC and C-RPI. Originality/value This study highlights that C-RPI (i.e. SDG 11) enhances when Env CSR is taken care of (i.e. SDG 13), customers are empowered (i.e. SDG 5 and SDG 17) and cocreated online (i.e. SDG 9). To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first studies to empirically test the approaches in the hotel industry contributing to SDG 5, 9, 11, 13 and 17.

Re-patronage on chain stores: mediating and moderating role of customer engagement and experiential value

We contact the outside world through our five sense organs. This is the goal for business creating and maintaining attractive five senses for better servicescape service quality and sales. Perceived service quality is the level of consumers’ cognition of service quality in a specific situation. That is an important basis for consumers to make purchase and re-patronage decisions. With satisfaction, loyalty and commitment from customers, customer engagement can support customer re-patronage. Experiential value is a sublimation of service value, which is form a deep memory or leave a good impression on a service. Re-patronage intention is usually interpreted as the leading factor of re-purchasing power. Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. (CHT) is the largest integrated telecommunications service chain stores in Taiwan. This study aims to investigate the mediating effect of customer engagement and moderating role of experiential value into the research model to investigate the two moderated moderation effects for the CHT chain stores (n = 937). This study first found that mediating effect of customer engagement and moderating role of experiential value on the relationship between perceived service quality and five senses of servicescape can enhance re-patronage on CHT chain stores. Finally, theoretical and practical implications are presented.

Offline-to-online and online-to-offline (a reciprocal O2O model): re-patronage in an omni-channel

PurposeAn omni-channel is a retailing strategy that the behavior of companies adopts many retail channel types to combine and integrate cross-channel sales to meet the comprehensive needs of customers in shopping, entertainment and social networking both online and offline. This leads to several research questions of retailing omni-channel in this study. First, do channel brand trust (CBT) and store image (SI) affect re-patronage intentions through customer satisfaction (CS)? Second, regarding online rating (OR) and online involvement (OI), will CS be determined by consumer perception as well as the relevance of those attributes to the customer's re-patronage intentions? Third, do OR and OI have a role in exploring the moderating effect in the research model? Fourth, if there are positive effects from this relationship, it can generate a positive power return online. In addition, online-to-offline moves on a path for case firm omni-channel with customers' OR and OI with a reciprocal positive influence.Design/methodology/approachThis study aims to investigate the relationship between CBT, SI, CS and re-patronize intention in an omni-channel. By using structural equation models (SEMs), this study aims to investigate offline-to-online and online-to-offline re-patronizing in the Taiwan Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) omni-channel (N = 1,642). Two moderated mediation models are investigated in this study.FindingsThis study first found that CBT and CS use SI to influence re-patronize intention in the omni-channel. SI plays a mediating role in this process; OR and OI influence the relationships of CBT, CS and re-patronize intention with two moderating roles.Originality/valueThis study first found that there is a reciprocal way with two paths in an omni-channel, starting with offline-to-online, in terms of confirming the relationship of CBT, CS and re-patronize intention in an omni-channel. There are positive effects from this relationship, and it can generate a positive power return online. In addition, we found that online-to-offline moves on a path that has a stronger influence of re-patronize intention for omni-channel with customers' OR and OI.

Investigating Effects of Banks’ Website Quality on Customer Retention in Nigeria

The study investigated effect of website quality of banks on customer repatronage and determined the relationship between website quality and banks’ recommendation with a view to determine the correlation between banks’ website quality and retention of customers especially the small business owners in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was adopted for the study. Primary data used for the study were collected through the use of structured questionnaire and were analysed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square and Pearson Product Moment Correlation. Findings from the study showed that provisions of understandable information, easy to navigate, quick response, dependable services, paying special attention to online customers, completion of most transaction online, convenient of payment are the major website quality factors influencing customer repatronage and recommendation. The study concluded that a significant positive relationship exists between banks’ website quality and customer retention. Thus, increased website quality of banks led to increased customer retention. It recommended a continuous improvement on banks’ provision of precise information and online transaction with a view to remain competitive and profitable. Keywords: Website quality, Service quality, customer retention and Recommendation

How to Compensate After a Data Breach?

Data breach recovery is often likened to service failure recovery. Like service failure recovery, compensation is a major factor toward data breach recovery. However, compensation involves different types, which may have varying effects on data breach recovery. This study investigates the effect of compensation types on customer's repatronage intentions to organizations that have suffered a data breach. Three compensation types were identified in this study: monetary, service, and psychological compensation. The findings of this study indicate that only service and psychological compensation have a significant effect on customers' perceptions of being treated fairly by the organization following a data breach. Furthermore, service compensation impacts the trust a customer regains in the company. Monetary compensation did not play a statistically significant role in the data breach recovery process. In turn, both perceived fairness and regained trust influences customer repatronage intentions. This study contributes to the information privacy field by identifying the types of compensation that are impactful to re-engage individuals who suffered PII related data breach.

Revealing the factors of re-patronage intention: true behavioral insights in hotel customers

PurposeThe rapid shift in the emerging pedagogies of customer behavior has changed the business preferences in the hotel sector. This study prioritizes the hotel's main task to develop customer re-patronage intention. Keeping in line with these factors, this study investigates the impact of customer empowerment on re-patronage intentions through customer value co-creation in the hotel sector of Pakistan. Furthermore, the study examines the moderating impact of sensation-seeking on customers.Design/methodology/approachA total of 350 potential customers participated in the online survey using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Partial least square structural equation modeling was employed using Smart PLS-3 to test the projected hypotheses.FindingsThis study reveals that empowered customers improve their behavior and involvement in value co-creation, which, in turn, increases the prospects of re-patronage intention. Moreover, sensation-seeking moderates between consumer empowerment and customer value co-creation.Research limitations/implicationsCustomer-dominant logic and sense-making theory present interesting insights where customer empowerment and value co-creation have a positively significant impact on customer re-patronage intention. Findings also elaborate on a significant mediating role of customer value co-creation activities, which is an interesting call for hotel managers to add thought-sharing ecosystems. The suggested factors add long-lasting results in terms of revenues, performance and global GDP.Practical implicationsIt provides guidance for the hotel managers through novel factors that activate the customer to augment an intention to re-patron. Moreover, it provides a direction to add sensation-seeking strategies that strengthen the effects on customer empowerment and value co-creation.Originality/valueThis study has its uniqueness in introducing an environment in hotels where customers are empowered to further actively participate in value co-creation initiatives, along with sensation-seeking acting as a stimulus among them. These factors have greatly impacted the hotel's objectives (i.e. re-patronage intention).

Investigating the effectiveness of monetary vs. non-monetary compensation on customer repatronage intentions in double deviation

This article examines the effectiveness of monetary and non-monetary service recovery strategies on repatronage intentions in double deviation when the magnitude of service failure is perceived as intense by consumers. The results of this study suggest that the combination of monetary and psychological compensations has the strongest effect on the intentions of the repatron. Furthermore, the delayed payment and apology used alone do not have an impact on the likelihood that a customer will repurchase from a store repeatedly, while immediate payment and promises lead to a significant increase in reparation intentions and to the alleviation of negative customer emotions. Managerial implications and future research are provided.

The service triad: an empirical study of service robots, customers and frontline employees

PurposeRecent service studies suggest focusing on the service triad consisting of technology-customer-frontline employee (FLE). This study empirically investigates the role of service robots in this service triad, with the aim to understand the augmentation or substitution role of service robots in driving utilitarian and hedonic value and ultimately customer repatronage.Design/methodology/approachIn study 1, field data are collected from customers (n = 108) who interacted with a service robot and FLE in a fast casual dining restaurant. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to test hypotheses about the impact of service robots' anthropomorphism, social presence, value perceptions and augmentation opportunities in the service triad. In study 2, empirical data from a scenario-based experimental design (n = 361) complement the field study by further scrutinizing the interplay between the service robot and FLEs within the service triad.FindingsThe study provides three important contributions. First, the authors provide empirical evidence for the interplay between different actors in the “customer-FLE-technology” service triad resulting in customer repatronage. Second, the empirical findings advance the service management literature by unraveling the relationship between anthropomorphism and social presence and their effect on perceived value in the service triad. And third, the study identifies utilitarian value of service robots as a driver of customer repatronage in fast casual dining restaurants.Practical implicationsThe results help service managers, service robot engineers and designers, and policy makers to better understand the implications of anthropomorphism, and how the utilitarian value of service robots can offer the potential for augmentation or substitution roles in the service triad.Originality/valueBuilding on existing conceptual and laboratory studies on service robots, this is one of the first field studies on the service triad consisting of service robots – customers – frontline employees. The empirical study on service triads provides evidence for the potential of FLEs to augment service robots that exhibit lower levels of functional performance to achieve customer repatronage. FLEs can do this by demonstrating a high willingness to help and having excellent interactions with customers. This finding advocates the joint service delivery by FLE – service robot teams in situations where service robot technology is not fully optimized.

The Effect of Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction on the Re-Patronage Intention of Customers at PT Liga Technic

The manufacturing industry is one of the sectors that is very significant in boosting economic growth in Indonesia. PT Liga Technic imports industrial burners, spare parts and service. PT Liga Technic has carried out business operations since 1987. This research was carried out to support the internal development process of PT Liga Technic. The study was conducted on customers of PT Liga Technic to determine the effect of service quality on customer satisfaction, customer satisfaction on re-patronage intention, and service quality on re-patronage intention. The minimum sample size was 30 and 32 respondents were included (Roscoe in Sugiyono 2012:91). The criteria for the sample were customers who had bought products from PT Liga Technic at least two times within two years. Based on the analysis results with the Partial Least Square (PLS) method, service quality had a significant effect on customer satisfaction, customer satisfaction had a significant effect on customer re-patronage intention, and service quality had a significant effect on re-patronage intention of customers at PT Liga Technic.
 Keywords: customer service quality, customer satisfaction, re-patronage intentions

Perceived service recovery justice and customer re-patronage intentions: Sequential mediation

The aims of this time-lagged study are twofold, first to identify the effect of perceived justice (as a second-order construct) on recovery satisfaction and customer affection; secondly, to investi...

Healthcare branding: Insights from Africa into health service customers’ repeat patronage intentions

ABSTRACT The study explores the relationship between branding in healthcare, brand image and customer re-patronage intentions. A survey approach was employed to gather data from 318 outpatients in hospitals in the Accra Metropolis and the data was analysed using factor analysis and regression analysis. The results indicate that the four dimensions of healthcare branding – brand elements, tangibles, medical personnel quality and critical services – predict healthcare brand image and re-patronage intentions. However, brand elements did not predict customer re-patronage intentions; and a strong significant relationship emerged between healthcare brand image and re-patronage intention. The strategic implications of the results for managing branding in hospitals are discussed in the paper.

Employee satisfaction trajectories and their effect on customer satisfaction and repatronage intentions

Does improving employee happiness affect customer outcomes? The current study attempts to answer this question by examining the impact of employee satisfaction trajectories (i.e., systematic changes in employee satisfaction) on customer outcomes. After accounting for employees’ initial satisfaction levels, the analyses demonstrate the importance of employee satisfaction trajectories for customer satisfaction and repatronage intentions, as well as identify customer-employee contact as a necessary conduit for their effect. From a macro perspective, employee satisfaction trajectories strongly impact customer satisfaction for companies with significant employee–customer interaction, but not for companies without such interaction. From a micro perspective, employee satisfaction trajectories influence customer repatronage intentions for frequent customers, but not for infrequent customers. These effects are robust to controlling for previous customer evaluations and recent employee evaluations. Overall, these findings extend the dominant view of examining static, employee satisfaction levels and offer important implications for the management of the organizational frontline.

The impact of retailscape elements, customer mood and customer pleasure on customer re-patronage intentions

There is considerable signal from empirical studies that many factors influence consumer behaviors in service setting. The conceptual paper review retailscape elements as antecedents of customer pleasure and customer re-patronage with moderating of customer mood between retailscape elements and customer pleasure. The conceptual framework was developed after review of past literature. In this study different aspects of retailscape elements were discussed and its impact on customer pleasure and customer re-patronage intentions. Similar past literature in the same context are stressing the importance of retailscape elements and its influence on customer's pleasure and customer re-patronage intentions. The literature supports the moderating role of customer mood between retailscape elements and customer pleasure. Furthermore, retailscape elements plays an important role in influencing customer emotions which could either positively or negatively, determine customer intention to return to the service setting. Moreover, our conceptual paper specifically demonstrate customer mood could be a significant behavior predictor between the retailscape elements and customer pleasure. Meanwhile, customer pleasure could have a significant impact on the customer re-patronage intentions. Birtner (1992), Stimulus, Organism and Response (SOR) theory was used to underlie the conceptual framework. In addition, come implications of this conceptual model for theory and practice are discussed.

Impact of ‘Dining atmospherics’ and ‘Percived food-quality’ on customer re-patronage intention in fast-casual restaurants

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to build a conceptual model, to show how dimensions of quality – dining atmospherics and food quality influences customers’ perceived value, consumption emotions and re-patronage intentions in fast-casual restaurants. Design – This research examined the interrelationships among the constructs of dining atmospherics, food quality, perceived value, positive consumption emotions and re-patronage intentions. Methodology and Approach – Data were collected from three fast-casual restaurants of densely populated urban town of north India. A self-administered questionnaire was randomly distributed to customers in the restaurants to capture their perception, emotion and behavioural intention. The data collected was later analysed using the factor analysis and structural equation model (SEM) technique. Findings – A significant relationship was found between dining atmospherics and food quality perceptions. Also, food quality was found to influence customer perceived value. Dining atmospherics and food quality were found to affect customers’ consumption emotion. In addition, perceived value and consumption emotion were confirmed as strong determinant of customers' repatronage intentions. Further, the mediating role of food quality, perceived value, and consumption emotion were also confirmed in the study. Practical Implications – The study provides practical implications that support fast-causal restaurateurs in enhancing their customers’ revisits to dine. Originality of the research – This study provides new insight on the combined effects of quality dimensions (dining atmosphere and food quality) in inducing perceived value and consumption emotion, which in turn, affects customers’ re-patronage intentions in fast-casual restaurant settings.

The service smile chain: linking leader emotions to customer outcomes

ABSTRACTThis study examines the emotional mechanisms that link leadership and customer outcomes. Data were collected from 359 matched supervisor-subordinate-customer triads in a chain restaurant in China. Results show that leader positive emotions are transmitted to customers via service employee positive emotions, which then increase customer re-patronage intentions. However, although leader negative emotions are positively associated with employee negative emotions, employee negative emotions are not transmitted to customers. Moreover, employees’ negative affectivity (NA) moderates the relationship between leaders’ and employees’ negative emotions, such that the relationship is stronger among high NAs. The study extends prior literature by identifying a service smile chain that links leadership and customer outcomes and by investigating the moderating role of NA in such chains. Study findings highlight the important connection between intra-organizational emotional mechanisms and customer outcomes and point to the importance of an emotionally healthy workplace to better customer service.

Reminding customers to be loyal: does message framing matter?

PurposeMarketers may proactively give customers personalized notices regarding their progress toward certain rewards as a means to stimulate ongoing behaviors. This paper aims to investigate the effect on customer repatronage intention by framed messages concerning either goal-distance or consequences of an action and it also seeks to identify important variables moderating those responses.Design/methodology/approachFive between-subjects experiments examined how participants’ repatronage intentions, in response to the framing of goal-distance (Study 1a) and consequences of an action (Study 2a), varied as a function of their level of progress toward goal completion and also tested if the framing effects might be attenuated when relationship benefit was high rather than low (Studies 1b and 2b). They further adopted perceived reciprocity as an underlying mechanism for examining the interplay between these two kinds of framing in stimulating ongoing behavior (Study 3).FindingsAlthough messages which emphasized what individuals need to spend more to attain a reward (versus how short they are from earning a reward) or loss following inaction (versus gain following action) were likely to erode intention, such effects were confined to individuals with a moderate level of progress. This intention-eroding effect was further attenuated by attractive reward. The persuasive advantages of short-from-the-end framing of goal-distance over more-to-the-end counterparts were found to be diminished when paired with a loss-framed message concerning consequences of an action. Furthermore, the observed effects on intention were mediated by perceived reciprocity.Originality/valueThe studies add to the current understanding of how the way in which information is presented might enhance loyalty or fail to do so.

Influence of social capital on customer’s relationship satisfaction in the Pakistani banking industry

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of structural social capital, relational social capital and cognitive social on relationship satisfaction, and also to investigate how relationship satisfaction is associated with negative word-of-mouth and re-patronage intentions, in service recovery.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 478 Pakistani banking industry clients, who registered a complaint to their bank recently, answered the survey. Variance-based partial least squares structural equation modeling was employed for data analysis.FindingsResults demonstrate that all three facets of social capital have a significant positive impact on relationship satisfaction. However, relationship satisfaction enhances customer re-patronage intentions and restrains negative word-of-mouth intentions.Practical implicationsFindings are important for service firms, particularly for banks to adjust their service recovery strategies.Originality/valueThe paper verified the influence of structural social capital, cognitive social capital and relational social capital on relationship satisfaction and tested the influence of relationship satisfaction on negative word-of-mouth and re-patronage intentions.

Examining the Influence of Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction on Customer Repatronage at an Optical Dispensing Practice in South Africa

Examining the Influence of Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction on Customer Repatronage at an Optical Dispensing Practice in South Africa

Linking employee and customer misbehaviour: The moderating role of past misdemeanours

Traditionally, studies that examine the activities of misbehaving employees and customers have done so in a separate and unrelated manner. Drawing on research that explores deviance amplifications and deviant learning, the current study aims to address this identified gap in the literature and provide empirical evidence of the linkages between perceived employee deviance and the severity of customer misbehaviour. Utilising equity, power and differential association theories, a conceptual model is forwarded comprising four hypotheses between the constructs: perceived employee service deviance; customer repatronage intent; severity of customer misbehaviour; and past customer misbehaviour. Using survey responses from 380 consumers of bars, hotels and restaurants, the empirical results offer support for the forwarded research model. The results show that customers perceiving employee misbehaviour are profoundly affected. Such experiences erode their repatronage intentions and are linked (directly and indirectly) to the severity of dysfunctional customer behaviour performed. Consumers’ past experience of misbehaviour is also found to impact the hypothesised relationships. The paper concludes by considering the implications of the findings and outlining directions for future research.

The Service Smile Chain: The Emotional Contagion and Carryover Effects that Link Leader to Customer

This study examines the emotional contagion process in service encounters, in which service employee emotions are transmitted to customers and further influence customer re-patronage intention. We trace the starting point of this contagion process beyond the service encounter to leader emotions. Data were collected from a field survey of 359 supervisor- subordinate-customer triads in a chain restaurant in China. The results supported our hypothesis that positive emotions conveyed by the leader are transmitted to customers via service employee positive emotions, and further increases customer re-patronage intention. However, no such contagion effect was found for negative emotions. Specifically, although leader negative emotions appear to be contagious to employees, the contagion process is terminated in the service encounter when employees meet customers. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.