Relationship Marketing Practices Research Articles

The impact of relationship marketing practices on companies’ market and financial performance in emerging markets

PurposeThe paper aims to reveal the impact of relationship marketing (RM) practices adopted by companies in emerging markets on their market and financial performance (FP) over a long-term, 13-year perspective.Design/methodology/approachThe research design combines primary empirical data from 229 Russian companies, based on the Contemporary Marketing Practices (CMP) survey, and objective FP data from official statistical databases for 2008–2020 to verify the impact of RM practices on market and FP in the long term.FindingsThe research underlines the significant impact of RM practices. It is important to notice that the effect of product development (PD) on marketing performance is mediated by competitor orientation. PD affects market and FP, whose roles vary with the return on assets (ROA).Research limitations/implicationsResearch design supplements the subjective survey data with the objective FP data on the ROA to avoid common method bias.Practical implicationsImplementation of RM practices by Russian companies can increase their effectiveness of performance in the long term.Originality/valueThis research shows the positive impact of RM practices on the FP of Russian firms over the past 13 years.

Mediating Role of Perceived Switching Costs between Relationship Marketing Practices and Customer Loyalty: Evidence from Banks

Relationship marketing together with perceived switching costs are seen as a distinguished strategic approach to customer loyalty. Relationship marketing practices enable the firms to comprehend and satisfy the customer needs, while the perceived switching costs raise the bar for rivals to grab the gullible customers and helps the firms to ensure the loyalty of low satisfied customers. In view of this, present study aims to investigate the impact of relationship marketing practices on customer loyalty with a mediating role of perceived switching costs. The study utilized 736 complete questionnaires collected from the bank customers, by using one-stage cluster sampling, to validate the measurement and structural models through partial least-square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Results revealed that there is significant positive effect of relationship marketing practices on customer loyalty. Furthermore, perceived switching costs have significant positive effect on customer loyalty. Bootstrapping approach to mediation analysis revealed that perceived switching costs, in unison, partially mediate the relationship between relationship marketing practices and customer loyalty. The study suggests that banks should invest more in relationship marketing practices to strengthen the perceived switching costs to keep the customers loyal to the organization.

Perception of Relationship Marketing in Commercial Bank: Empirical Evidence from Kathmandu Val

Network based relationship marketing in commercial bank continues to be crucial, where success or failure is directly related to staff. Only when quality of relationship is stable and engaged, customer satisfaction and customer engagement will be connected with discovering new solutions for existing and future markets to sell the banking product. Therefore, this study tries to understand perception of relationship marketing in commercial bank of Kathmandu Valley. The explanatory research design was used with the essence of network-based theory. The data was evaluated quantitatively by using descriptive and inferential analysis by using structured questionnaire method using KOBO toolbox. SEM was applied to analyze the relationship from sample of 204 responses in Kathmandu Valley. Findings reveal that banks are aware about the relationship marketing practices and depict that there is significant relationship between bonding, trust and communication to customer satisfaction. Therefore, banking workers feel that trust, bonding, communication, shared values and empathy are critical factors in relationship marketing.

A Bibliometric Analysis of Journal of Relationship Marketing (2002–2019)

Journal of Relationship Marketing (JRM) is a Journal of high repute. The journal invites high-quality publications that are original and peer-reviewed in relationship marketing (RM) theory and practice. JRM is an interdisciplinary and international journal. The research topics frequently appearing in the journal include the evolution of RM in the new economy and changing paradigms; theoretical and methodological issues in RM; internal communication, quality, trust, commitment, satisfaction, loyalty, and dissolution in RM; applications of RM in different domains and industries; international perspectives in RM; and RM strategies in services economy. The journal completed 20 years of publishing in 2021. The current paper analyzes the journal’s impact using bibliometric analysis from 2002 to 2019 on 289 publications. Network analysis is performed using VOSviewer software. The findings are reported in citations, coauthorship and bibliographic coupling, and other network analyses.

Investigation of Antecedents and Outcomes of Employee Based Brand Equity in Services Sector of Pakistan

There is twofold purpose of the research; one is to empirically test the employee based brand equity (EBBE) model by integrating the major practices which include internal brand management, internal relationship marketing and internal marketing practices. It provides great insight for organization how to manage employees effectively with consideration to internal brand building. Secondly this model presents more appropriate and comprehensive way to determine organizational benefits. The cross-sectional study design with development of survey questionnaire to collect the data. The data was collected from CSR department of Telecommunication companies. The results shows strong support for the model and all the hypothesis were in support except the partial mediation of one hypothesis. This means the validation of model used for this research. The study contains both theoretical and managerial implications which contribute towards its soundness. Theoretically this study provides a more comprehensive and integrated view of EBBE and its benefits. Along with this also enriches the literature in this area of marketing. This study models the maximum practices of EBBE under one umbrella. Looking towards its managerial implications it provides help the management to analyse and understand the factors that influence the employee. This also provides a wider picture of benefits that are result of successful implementation of this model. On the basis of this model the management can make decisions and take initiatives to the employee’s perception towards the branding and their positive impact in brand building. This research makes following important contributions; strengthen the EBBE literature; secondly provides more comprehensive view of EBBE; thirdly this analysis is made in services sector of developing country context; fourth incorporate the employee’s perceptions towards the brand building efforts and how organizations can deal with it.

Effect of relationship marketing on hospital loyalty: the mediating role of patient satisfaction

PurposeThis study aims to reveal the mediating role of patient satisfaction on the impact of relationship marketing on hospital loyalty.Design/methodology/approachThe scale questionnaires used in the study was the Relationship Marketing, Hospital Loyalty and the Patient Satisfaction Scale. The population of the study is made up of the patients who received in-hospital services in private hospitals operating in Kocaeli province. The field study was conducted between August 1 and October 31, 2019. After determining the sample size, the study was conducted on 401 patients in private hospitals primarily using the purposive sampling method. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and statistical package for the social sciences Process Macro were used to analyze the data.FindingsAccording to the findings of this study, patient satisfaction has an effect on hospital loyalty. Relationship marketing has an impact on hospital loyalty, and this effect is further enhanced by patient satisfaction. In other words, patient satisfaction has a mediating role in the impact of relationship marketing on hospital loyalty. Relationship marketing plays an important role in creating hospital loyalty and patient satisfaction. For this reason, it is recommended that health institutions adopt relationship marketing practices. Hospital loyalty and patient satisfaction will be ensured through relationship marketing. This will allow the health-care institution to continue to exist and to be more advantageous than other institutions.Originality/valueThe uniqueness of the paper lies not only in the only regression findings but also in the methodology used to capture the impact of the lagged effect of marketing relationships on hospital loyalty. Specifically, a regression model is based on both direct and indirect effects.

Customer loyalty in the kids café business: the role of relationship benefits

ABSTRACT This study explores the positive relationships between the three dimensions of relationship benefits (confidence benefits, social benefits, and special treatment benefits), attitudinal loyalty (consumer emotion and customer commitment), and behavioral intention in the Kids’ café segment. To test the proposed hypotheses, structural equation modeling was utilized based on data from a total of 263 customers visiting Kids cafés in South Korea. The current study demonstrated the role of relationship benefits as a key determinant of attitudinal loyalty (customer emotion, customer commitment) and behavioral loyalty in an emerging business paradigm of Kids’ café services. The results offer insight not only into how the salient constructs might impact behavioral loyalty but also provide practical guidelines for enhancing the effectiveness of relationship benefits thus helping facilitate behavioral loyalty in the strategic relationship marketing practices of Kids cafés.

Political Relationship Marketing: An Examination of Internal Relationship Management in Ghanaian Political Parties

In recent times political parties appear to be focusing narrowly on winning elections to the detriment of effective management of their intra-party relationships. The neglect of managing relationships is having a negative effect on parties, hence this study. The study looked at the practice of political relationship marketing in the two leading parties in Ghana, focusing on micro-interactions at the constituency level. Twenty-four party executives were drawn from eight constituencies for interview. Thematic analysis was carried out to identify relationship marketing practices in the parties. The findings demonstrate the presence of some political relationship marketing antecedents. A fully-fledged political relationship marketing practice is however absent.

Impact of Relationship Marketing on Customer Loyalty in Banking Sector of Pakistan

This study is a contribution towards marketing literature by analyzing the impact of Relationship Marketing (RM) on Customer Loyalty. Every business organization tries to attract and retain customers for a longer period of time. In recent years an intense competition in banking sector of Pakistan is witnessed as the industry has stretched and become very competitive, where retaining customers in long run become important for every bank. Relationship marketing emphasizes on the continuity of long term relationship with the patrons. Numerous marketing strategies have been employed by banking sector to increase customer base, reduce turn over and to spread positive word of mouth of product and services. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of relationship marketing practices such as (Trust, Commitment, Communication, Competence and Customer Satisfaction) on customer loyalty in Banking Sector of Pakistan. For this purpose, data is collected with the help of 150questionnaires across Pakistan. Statistical analysis is performed on the data using multiple regression analysis and reliability test. The results of the study show that all the five constructs of relationship marketing (mentioned above) have significant and positive relationship with customer loyalty. The factors are proved to be significant drivers of customer loyalty in banking sector of Pakistan. The study recommends that for retaining long-run customer loyalty, banks should consider relationship marketing as a core strategy. Hence, relationship marketing is important for banks to survive and excel in current intense competition.

Exploring social media affordance in relationship marketing practices in SMEs

Studies on social media use and effectiveness in large firms abound in the literature. However, social media usage for relationship marketing in small and medium enterprises is under-researched. This research examined how social media affordances influence SMEs' relationships with their customers. The Technology Affordance theory was utilized as the theoretical framework. Furthermore, a case study was used as the research design. The study's participants were SME owners/managers operating in Ghana. The thematic analysis technique was used to analyze data. The study identified three affordances of social media in the context of relationship marketing in SMEs: brand visibility, sharing, and relationship. These social media affordances result in customer acquisition. The findings and their implications have been discussed in the paper.

Influence of Electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) and Relationship Marketing on Brand Resonance: A Mediation Analysis

This study investigates how electronic work of mouth (eWOM) mediates the relationship between marketing relations and brand resonance. Based on the information obtained from 473 customers using an online questionnaire, this study analyses the relationship between eWOM, relationship marketing practices and the brand resonance of lifestyle products in an Indian context. The results from the multiple regression analysis indicate that the proposed hypotheses are valid, that relationship marketing significantly affects brand resonance, and that eWOM significantly mediates the relationship between the relationship marketing and brand resonance of branded apparel. The findings suggest that personalized attention and tangible rewards are effective relationship marketing strategies, and that these relationship-marketing practices—in association with eWOM—build up the strong brand resonance of branded apparel. The present study recommends that marketers should place emphasis on effective online and offline relationship marketing strategies, and should design appropriate eWOM strategies to enhance brand loyalty, brand attachment, brand community and brand engagement. Some of the managerial implications and the future scope of study based on the empirical findings are also highlighted in the present research work.

Promoting Customer Satisfaction: The Role of Relationship Marketing Practices and Relationship Value

In the current era of growing competition and changing customer expectations within the hotel industry, managers are compelled to devise strategies of promoting customer satisfaction in order to attain a competitive advantage. This study investigated the mediation effect of relationship value in the relationship between relationship marketing practices and customer satisfaction in the hotel industry of Uganda. A quantitative survey design was adopted to investigate the envisaged linkage between the study variables from a relational perspective. The results of the study establish that relationship value significantly mediates the relationship between relationship marketing practices and customer satisfaction. In terms study limitations, the study focused on hotel customers in all the four regions of Uganda. The study results provide a reason for hotels to devote more resources towards relationship marketing practices in a bid to propel relationship value, which resonates customer satisfaction. The results of the study support the idea that improved relationship marketing practices through relationship value generate a sustainable psychological satisfaction not only for customers but also high market share for the organization. The study recommends to hotel managers to regularly consider the drivers of relationship marketing practices, which build a long-term relationship and bonds with customers to yield relationship value. As evidenced in this study, it is of great importance to develop relationship-marketing practices that increase relationship value, an aspect that is vital in boosting customer satisfaction. This article is an original piece of work with both empirical and theoretical value. Empirically, this work is the first of its kind aimed at investigating the mediation effect of relationship value between relationship marketing and customer satisfaction within the hospitality setting. Theoretically, the study extends the adaptability of the social exchange theory by expounding relationship marketing in enhancing customer satisfaction.

The influence of perceived fan orientation on satisfaction, loyalty and sport consumption behaviors

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to develop and validate a scale to measure the perceived orientation of sport organizations toward their fans, and subsequently, to test its relationship with six outcomes based on data from the fanbases of three distinct sport teams.Design/methodology/approachUsing interviews and focus groups, important elements of fans' perceptions of their relationship with sport organizations are identified. After creating items based on the results of the interviews and focus groups, EFA, CFA and SEM procedures are used to create and test a multidimensional scale of perceived fan orientation.FindingsUsing EFA and CFA procedures, an 11-item, four-dimension scale of perceived fan orientation is validated, including components measuring (1) hosting events and campaigns for fans, (2) communicating information to fans, (3) interacting with fans when requests and problems arise and (4) providing preferential treatment to fans. The SEM results provide evidence of the impact of fan orientation on multiple measured outcomes for three professional football teams.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is limited to three professional football teams in Turkey. However, the development of the multidimensional perceived fan orientation (PERFANOR) scale provides sport organizations' management and personnel with information about the relationship fans desire.Practical implicationsSport managers, marketers and front-line staff are recommended to undertake activities to improve the relationship between the organization, team and its fans.Originality/valueThe principles and practices of relationship marketing and service quality often include discussions of the importance of “putting fans first,” however until now, no multidimensional scale existed in sport which measures the perceived fan orientation of a sport organization.

Relationship Marketing Practices in Community Pharmacies in Nigeria

The study identified the types of relationship marketing (RM) practices, determined the components of RM that fostered customer loyalty (CL) and evaluated the influence of the RM components on CL in community pharmacies. It was a cross-sectional survey of community pharmacies, pharmacists, non-pharmacist staff and customers. Random sampling was employed to select 40 community pharmacies, while purposive sampling was used to select four staff from each of the community pharmacies (160). Accidental sampling was used to select 510 customers of the pharmacies. Data were obtained with the questionnaire and analysed using appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics. Social RM practices yielded optimal results. The RM components that were determined were trust (TR), commitment (CMT), competence (CP), communication (CM), conflict handling (CH) and accessibility, which accounted for 55.4% of the total variance that occurred in CL. All the components of RM had positive but significant influence on CL with varying magnitudes. The study revealed that the types of RM practices in community pharmacies were the giving of loyalty gifts to customers, personalised telephone CMs, calling customers by name and special greeting codes. Also, special discounts and credits were offered to certain customers in order to build relationships. All the RM components positively influenced CL. Easy A to the pharmacies and pharmacists proved to be most influential in building loyalty followed by CM. The study concluded that RM practices in community pharmacies hold a lot of promise for community pharmacies to sustain their existing customers.

Connecting the vital link nodes to superior value creation in private health-care marketing in Ghana: a relationship marketing paradigm

PurposeThis study aims to explore the utility of relationship marketing (RM) practices in achieving customer loyalty (CL) via customer satisfaction (CS) as the mediator.Design/methodology/approachA convenience sampling of 592 customers of private hospitals was used to generate data. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyse data to generate findings.FindingsThe study establishes a direct positive association between RM practices and CL. The study also found that CS mediates the relationship between RM practices and CL.Practical implicationsThe study reinforces the role of RM as a significant driver of marketing performance in private hospitals.Originality/valueThe results are intended to guide policymakers of private hospitals to manage relationships to gain competitive advantage.

Relationship factors and firms' willingness-to-pay: A comparison of east-west settings

The aim of this study is to examine the underlying mechanism that explains the effects of supplier firms' sustained competitive advantage (SCA) on customer firms' willingness-to-pay a price premium (WTP) across Eastern and Western settings. Drawing upon the relationship marketing (RM) paradigm, we posit that SCA influences WTP via calculative commitment and relationship quality (RQ). A survey involving executives from Australian (n = 336) and Chinese (n = 360) firms was conducted to test the theoretical model. The findings reveal that the effect of SCA on WTP is mediated by RQ and calculative commitment among Chinese firms. Among Australian firms, however, the effect of SCA on WTP is mediated only by RQ and not calculative commitment. The study contributes to the literature by distinguishing the role of ‘rational’ (i.e., calculative commitment) and ‘emotional’ (i.e., affective commitment and RQ) relationship factors in influencing WTP, and by validating a multidimensional RQ model that is applicable to culturally diverse contexts. To marketing practitioners, this research helps to identify the conditions under which RM practices can be effective for B2B firms that operate across diverse cultures.

Relationship Marketing and Customer Retention in the Ghanaian Banking Industry

The Ghanaian banking industry has experienced a heightened level of competition in recent times due to the recent banking sector clean-up by the Bank of Ghana (BOG) which has resulted in a number of mergers, acquisitions and bank closures. As a result of this development, banks in Ghana have adopted relationship marketing (RM) as a strategy to attract new customers and for customer retention purposes. This research seeks to investigate the impact of relationship marketing (RM) on customer retention in the Ghanaian banking industry. It also examined the impact of relationship marketing (RM) on customer satisfaction as well as the impact of customer satisfaction on customer retention in the Ghanaian banking industry. A survey of customers from twenty banks was conducted using a questionnaire. The results revealed that relationship marketing account for a significant variation in the extent of customer retention in the Ghanaian banking industry. The study further revealed that customer satisfaction also accounts for the level of customer retention in the Ghanaian banking sector. The study also discovered that banks in Ghana are able to retain their customers even without employing non-financial benefits, which is considered as very essential in the implementation of RM practices. This indicates that banks in Ghana which employ non-financial benefits in addition to financial benefits could have a competitive urge over other competitors in the Ghanaian banking industry. As a consequence, there is a call on Ghanaian banks to implement effective relationship marketing strategies in order to ensure the retention of their customers. Furthermore, banks should employ strategies that will ensure that their customers are satisfied in order to guarantee higher level of retention of their customers Keywords: Relationship Marketing, Customer Retention, Banking, Ghana. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/12-29-01 Publication date: October 31 st 2020

Relationship Marketing Practices and Customer Loyalty: A Review with Reference to Banking Industry

Relationship marketing is seen as an effective weapon to retain the existing customers in order to reap the benefits of customer loyalty. With increase in competition, making customers loyal to firm is a challenging task particularly in banking sector where the products and services are homogenous and switching intentions among customers remain high. Researchers and practitioners are keen to understand the progression of research on the impact of relationship marketing practices on customer loyalty and financial performance. In view of the growing importance of relationship marketing and customer loyalty, present study attempts to review relationship marketing practices and customer loyalty and their linkages in the context of banking sector and to offer suggestions, on the basis of review of literature, to make bank customer relationships more effective and efficient.

The Importance and Benefits of Relationship Marketing Concept

The purpose of this study is to explain the concept and benefits of relationship marketing. The relationship marketing term that includes establishing short, medium and long-term ties-relationships with the customers, continuing and developing these relationships was first introduced by Berry in 1983. The concept of relationship marketing is a vital and important step in ensuring profit satisfaction and customer satisfaction in recent years, as well as achieving competitive advantage in the global market. Almost all of the big corporate enterprises in our country have turned to relationship marketing models and practices on issues such as ensuring customer satisfaction, determining customer expectations, product development, strengthening customer loyalty, product development and product differentiation.

A Study of the Determinants of Effective Relationship Marketing Practices on Organisational Growth in the Medium Sized Hotel Industry of Pakistan

The current study evaluates the determinants of effective relationship marketing (RM) practices on the organisational growth in the medium sized hotel industry of Pakistan. To attain the information about the topic, Hotel Days Inn has been selected. The current study has used the quantitative research design for obtaining the desired information. The developed survey questionnaire was distributed among the 273 customers of the Hotel Days Inn. In the study, a series of non-parametric tests like Chi-square, Descriptive analysis, and Spearman Rank Correlation was performed for quantitative findings. With the help of such statistical findings, it was observed that most of the research variables were taken into consideration due to their positive relationship with the organisational growth. That is, the Spearman correlation value for the customer satisfaction and organisational growth was calculated as 0.968 explaining the strong relation between the research variables. The developed research also displays different determinants for RM practices that has a direct influence on the organisational growth of the medium sized hotel industry of Pakistan. The acquired results of research also help the researcher in developing recommendations. These recommendations were based on the targeting practices of the hotels for attracting the customers and hiring of the trained and skilled staff that can positively influence the organisational growth and improve the RM practices.