Relationship Customer Loyalty Research Articles

The customer satisfaction‐customer loyalty relationship

PurposeThis study aims to examine the moderating effects of gender, income, age, customer involvement and length of the relationship on the customer satisfaction (CS)‐customer loyalty (CL) relationship in a contractual service context. CL is assessed using customer repurchase intention (RI) and repurchase behavior (RB).Design/methodology/approachUsing a postal mail survey, the authors measure the CS, RI involvement and socio‐demographic characteristics of customers who use a credit card. RB is measured by the number of transactions and the corresponding amount spent by clients, based on data provided by the company. The proposed hypotheses are tested using random sampling and hierarchical regressions.FindingsThe significant moderators are different depending on the CL measure used. When RI is utilized, the gender and age of the client have a positive effect on the CS‐CL relationship. However, when RB is assessed using the number of transactions made by the credit card's owner, the length of the relationship becomes the significant moderator.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited to a single firm, from one industry sector, but provides future researchers a multitude of replication opportunities.Practical implicationsDemographic and relational variables are important in explaining the CS‐CL relationship. Customer relationship strategies have positive results. RB is preferred to RI when evaluating and explaining CL.Originality/valueThe assessment of customer and relational characteristics as moderating variables in the CS‐CL relationship, and comparing different measures of CL in a contractual service adds value to this research.

Commitment, satisfaction, and customer loyalty: a theoretical explanation of the ‘satisfaction trap’

This paper examines the relationship between satisfaction and customer loyalty and the moderating effects of affective and calculative commitment. The results suggest that while customer loyalty increases monotonically with the enhancement of satisfaction, the marginal effect of satisfaction on customer loyalty actually decreases. Calculative commitment positively moderates the curvilinear relationship of satisfaction and customer loyalty, i.e. enhancing calculative commitment could intensify the relationship between satisfaction and customer loyalty. Affective commitment has no significant moderating effect on the relationship of satisfaction and customer loyalty, but it can directly enhance the customer loyalty. The research findings can help us to explain the phenomenon of the ‘satisfaction trap’.

Customer Loyalty in FMCG Sector of Pakistan

The purpose of this study is to find an empirical relationship of proposed variables and to find the impact of customer satisfaction, trust, and corporate reputation on customer loyalty. This study attempts to contribute to the knowledge how FMCG companies of Pakistan can retain their customers by making them loyal through satisfaction, trust, and corporate reputation. A theoretical framework is proposed to suggest links among variables. The sample size selected for research constitutes 200 respondents, and these respondents belong to the cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan. Multiple regression and correlation coefficient was used to examine hypothesized relationship. Regression analysis reveals that customer satisfaction, trust, and corporate reputation bring 79.0% change in customer loyalty. There is a strong positive yet significant relationship of trust and customer loyalty. Customer satisfaction & corporate image also posit a positive and significant impact on customer loyalty. The results indicate that FMCG companies in Pakistan should pay more attention toward the reputation of their company, satisfaction of their customers, and trust in order to build loyalty of customers. Generalizability and time constraint are the limitations of the study.

A study on exploring the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty in the fast food industry: With relationship inertia as a mediator

The impact of negative news on fast food industry customers is often short and weak. Therefore, this study suspects whether other important variables exist in fast food industry consumer behavior patterns to support this result. This study tries to combine variables that are related to fast food industry characteristics, such as consumption frequency, perceived price and convenience, to propose an integrated model of customer satisfaction and loyalty in the fast food industry, and apply relationship inertia as the mediator to discover the major factors that impact customer satisfaction and loyalty in the fast food industry. This study has collected 594 effective questionnaires and applied structural equation modeling (SEM) to verify the various path relations of the study model. The study result found that in addition to being positively impacted by customer satisfaction, customer loyalty will be impacted by customer relationship inertia more. In the relationship of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, customer relationship inertia plays a key mediator. In addition, perceived price has a negative impact on customer satisfaction and relationship inertia. Convenience will enhance customer satisfaction. Consumption frequency will enhance customer relationship inertia. Finally, this study expects to provide the study result to the fast food industry as a reference for enhancing the customer loyalty strategy. Key words: Customer satisfaction, relationship inertia, customer loyalty, convenience, perceived price.

Customer Satisfaction of Online Music Services in Taiwan

Many products selling on the Internet channel include music, which also sells in brick and mortar stores and in online stores, developed from digitalized music. This study attempts to explore which influence among the service quality, content quality, and the website service quality affects the paying customers’ satisfaction, and studies the relationship of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Further, the study probes the factors of customer relationship management. The research framework is based on the customer relationship management of digital content industry model. Results revealed that privacy, system availability, service provider’s reliability, perceived enjoyment, perceived ease of use, and fulfillment significantly affects consumers’ intentions to be paid-members of online music services.

The role of renqing in mediating customer relationship investment and relationship commitment in China

There is a growing research interest in guanxi marketing, which has been considered the Chinese version of relationship marketing. However, very little empirical research has investigated the implicit nature of renqing, the underlying mechanism that explains the cultivation and maintenance of guanxi. This study examines the role of renqing in mediating customer relationship investment and relationship commitment in the insurance industry. The authors surveyed 245 car insurance policyholders in China. The findings confirm the mediating role of renqing in such relationships and show that renqing explains a very high proportion of the variance in levels of customer relationship commitment. This result offers valuable insights and suggestions as to how to increase levels of customer relationship commitment in China.

Investigating the impact of service quality and customer satisfaction on customer loyalty in mobile telephony in Greece

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate crucial factors that lead to customer loyalty in the mobile telephony sector in Greece, namely service quality and customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the mediation effect of customer satisfaction on the service quality and customer loyalty relationship is also to be examined.Design/methodology/approachField research was conducted. The questionnaire was formed by a synthesis of existing constructs in relevant literature. The main research target sample consisted of residential non‐business mobile phone users in Greece. Reliability tests and statistical analyses were performed to both confirm scale validity and reliability and answer the research questions.FindingsCustomer service, pricing structure and billing system are the service quality dimensions that have the more significant positive influence on customer satisfaction, which in turn has a significant positive impact on customer loyalty. The mediation role of customer satisfaction on the service quality and customer loyalty relationship has also been confirmed.Research limitations/implicationsFor a more holistic investigation approach of customer loyalty, a future study could examine other antecedents such as trust, inertia and attractiveness of alternatives. Moreover, the investigation of the mediation role of switching costs on the link between satisfaction and loyalty could enhance the research model.Originality/valueIt is of great importance for mobile operators in a mature market such as that of Greece, to understand what the drivers of customer loyalty are. The present study produced useful findings, which can be utilized by mobile telephony provider managers, in their effort to develop and implement successful customer loyalty strategies.

Can perceived risks affect the relationship of switching costs and customer loyalty in e‐commerce?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to verify the relationship between switching costs and customer loyalty in e‐commerce.Design/methodology/approachThe study conducted an empirical research. A total of 425 online shopping customers were invited from northeastern USA as samples.FindingsThe findings show that switching costs positively influence customer loyalty. In addition, perceived risks will affect the relationship of switching costs and customer loyalty. For customers with low perceived risks, switching costs are also positively associated with customer loyalty. However, for customers with high perceived risks, the relationship of switching costs and customer loyalty is weak or negative.Research limitations/implicationsOne limitation is that mostly students were selected in the sample. The insights of this study can further validate the previous studies about the relationship of switching costs and customer loyalty, and suggest that perceived risks can be a moderating factor affecting this relationship.Practical implicationsThe study suggests that the practitioners should further understand the relationship among switching costs, perceived risks and customer loyalty for their customers.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the knowledge of perceived risks and how switching costs affect customer loyalty, particularly in e‐commerce.

Trust and relationship commitment between direct selling distributors and customers

With the trend and progress in technological development, relationship marketing is a popular and important marketing concept. Relationship marketing does not only provide different product lines to different types of customers, it also establishes stable long-term relationships with customers to obtain customer’s lifetime value. In the theory of relationship marketing, trust and commitment usually appear in a pair and are inseparable. If one of these variables is neglected, the relationship of both parties might only be a transition period agreement. This study referred to the key mediating variables (KMV) of Morgan and Hunt (1994) and established a trust-relationship commitment model between customers and direct distributors. This study adopts direct selling customers as subjects and collects 172 valid questionnaires. The Partial Least Squares (PLS) method is applied. Analytical results indicate that opportunistic behavior and shared values affect cognitive trust and emotional trust. Similarly, cognitive trust and emotional trust positively affect customer relationship commitment. Key words: Relationship commitment, trust, communication, opportunistic behavior.

Customer Loyalty and Approach of Service Providers: An Empirical Study of Mobile Airtime Service Industry in India

Services are always unique from a marketing perspective due to their intangible nature. Especially in the case of a service like mobile airtime service where there is no service encounter, attributes required for brand loyalty become more complex. This article tests the relationship of customer loyalty and the approach of service providers in India. It looks into the airtime service market in India and delves into customer psyche.

Switching factors of mobile customers in Korea

This paper investigates factors affecting the switching behavior of customers in the Korean mobile industry. It has been known that four factors such as customer satisfaction, switching cost, alternative attractiveness, and customer loyalty have influences on the switching behavior. An empirical study of mobile subscribers in Korea confirms that customer satisfaction significantly affects customer loyalty. It has found that switching cost directly affects customer loyalty, but does not play the moderating role in the customer satisfaction — customer loyalty relationship. However, alternative attractiveness has no impact on customer loyalty directly and no moderating role in the customer satisfaction — customer loyalty relationship.

The Effects of Customer Value on Loyalty and Profits in a Dynamic Competitive Market

Providing high value products and services to customers normally leads to customer loyalty and profits. In practice, the relationship of customer value, loyalty, and profits can be observed in the market. However, the dynamic interactive relationships which lead to customer loyalty and profits still remain ambiguous. In this paper, the Agent-Based Computational Economics (ACE) model is introduced to explore the formation of customer loyalty in the Taiwanese imported lumber market. Using agents with reinforced learning algorithms in trading simulations, the effects of customer value on loyalty and profit are incorporated and examined in this interactive dynamic model. As results, the positive correlations among variables of customer value, loyalty, and profits are observed. A controlled experiment shows that changing customer value leads to changes in customer loyalty and profits, but price is not the determinant factor for improving customer loyalty. The R 2 values of customer loyalty and profits elucidate that they are increasing as the time lapsed elongate. Providing high value of products and services is a better strategy for suppliers to attract potential loyal customers.

The relationship of governance mechanisms and customer loyalty in insurance industry: the difference of internet insurers and traditional insurers

Governance mechanisms could establish institutional interactions across customer relationship maintenance. This study aims to develop and empirically test a model exploring the long-term relationship of insurance company and customers. Data were collected online and via paper questionnaires from customers of the insurance industry in Taiwan. According to the results, four governance mechanisms (explicit contract, implicit contract, bonding, and trust) have significant positive impacts on customer loyalty. Gaining a steady and collaborative relationship with customers would need to apply governance mechanisms and personalised information technology. It would become a future standard of insurance services.

The Mediating Effect of Commitment on Customer Loyalty towards E-Brokerages: An Enhanced Investment Model

Promoting customer loyalty is a primary concern for e-brokers since customers in an online environment can easily switch from one service provider to another because of the ease in finding an alternative service. Most prior researches on customer loyalty emphasize the effect of satisfied service quality and switching barriers. However, how satisfaction and switching barriers influence customer loyalty has been less than conclusive. We explored the relationship of service quality, switching barriers and customer loyalty based on an enhanced investment model, which includes the concept of commitment in relationship marketing. Empirical results gathered from an online survey in online financial communities show that commitment is an essential mediator in cultivating customer loyalty. Service quality and switching barriers influence loyalty by different components of commitments – affective and continuance commitments, respectively. Moreover, affective commitment is found to be more important than continuance commitment. As a result, e-brokers should pay more attention to earning customers' commitment, so as to retain their business.

Are Variety-Seekers Bad Customers?

SUMMARY Variety-seeking behavior occurs if customers derive utility from a change of service providers. It has negative consequences for the firm's profits, because it functions as a moderating factor in the relationship of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Even by offering high service quality variety-seekers cannot be retained. Therefore variety-seekers are often seen as “bad” customers, because they are not loyal to the firm. This article will show variety-seeking behavior in a more positive light. Variety-seekers are satisfied customers and therefore they are likely to engage in positive word-of-mouth communication. Recommendations will help to attract new customers and thus increase profits.

Customer Loyalty to the Salesperson and the Store: Examining Relationship Customers in an Upscale Retail Context

Only recently has research interest in relationship marketing and customer loyalty converged in the retail context. Although this research shows that relationship customers maintain their primary loyalty to the salesperson, which then “spills over” and affects loyalty to the store, other research suggests that salesperson loyalty has direct effects on store-level outcomes, such as spending and word of mouth. However, this has not been comprehensively investigated, and relationship researchers have specifically called for research examining the effects of salesperson and store loyalty on store-level outcomes. Our research addresses this call, and shows that in an upscale retail context a relationship customer's loyalty to the salesperson is significantly related to store loyalty as well as the important store-level outcomes of share of purchases, word of mouth and competitive resistance.