Dynamics of Online Relationship Marketing: Relationship Quality and Customer Loyalty in Iranian banks.
| Autor | Garepasha, Akram |
1 Introduction
The rise of internet commerce in the 1990s and its ever-increasing growth have been accompanied by tremendous developments in business environments, compelling firms to fight for survival in the highly competitive environment by entering electronic markets and adapting to the new conditions (Elliot, 2007). In addition, despite the rapid development of internet commerce and the need for businesses to enter the electronic market, a growing number of customers state that they are dissatisfied with their online shopping experiences. However, further research is required to gain a deeper perception of the factors affecting customers' evaluations regarding their online shopping behavior, which subsequently have a bearing on their loyalty (Luo, Ba, & Zhang, 2012).
The banking industry is no exception to this evolution as the internet has revolutionized industries throughout the world (Hussien & Aziz, 2013).
Although e-banking, in contrast to traditional banking, enables customers to undertake a wide range of banking activities at any time and place at a low cost (Amin, 2016), the elimination of the role of humans in providing electronic services presents a challenge in gaining customer loyalty (Amin, 2016; Brun, Rajaobelina, & Ricard, 2014). The staff of a service company can help their enterprise by establishing a close and intimate relationship with customers. In electronic services, customer relationships are established via electronic devices, and online relationship quality can play a central role in customer loyalty (Fong, 2015, Ozen, 2015; Rafiq, Fulford, & Xiaoming, 2013; Shin, Chunga, Ohb, & Leec, 2013; Wang, Law, Guillet, & Hung, 2015).
Relationship quality is deemed to be a general evaluation of a relationship's power and its responsiveness to the needs and expectations of both parties based on successful encounters and events (Smith, 1998). Relationship quality is a multi-dimensional construct composed of several factors that reflect the general nature of the relationship between companies and customers. Despite the lack of a consensus on the dimensions and elements of quality, there is general agreement that satisfaction, trust, and commitment are key elements of relationship quality (Brun et al., 2014; Hennig-Thurau, Gwinner, & Gremler, 2002; Palmatier, Dant, Grewal, & Evans, 2006; Smith, 1998; Wang, Liang, & Wu., 2006). Also, according to Brun et al. (2014), commitment, trust, and satisfaction are constituent elements of relationship quality in the online context.
The current line of research has looked at the relationship between customer relationship quality and customer loyalty, especially in the physical setting (Bilgihan & Bujisic, 2014; Caceres & Paparoidami, 2007; Fang, Shao, & Wen 2016; Hennig-Thurau et al., 2002; Kim, Lee, & Yoo, 2006; Musa, 2009; Naoui & Zaiem, 2010; Nusair, Bilgihan, Okumus and Cobanoglu, 2013; Palmatier et al., 2006; Papassapa & Miller; 2007; Ribbink, van Riel, Liljander, & Streukens, 2004; Yu & Tung, 2013). In the online setting, a number of researchers have focused on the link between the quality of the online relationship and customer loyalty (Ozen, 2015; Rafiq et al., 2013; Wang et al., 2015). However, as far as the authors are aware, this is the first article to examine the impact of online relationship quality on customer loyalty over the lifecycle of the relationship.
Most of the previous studies have examined the association between relationship quality and loyalty in a static state. However, according to the theory of dynamic relationship marketing, relationships have a similar lifecycle to products, and as time goes by, the relationship between a firm and its customers changes and enters a new level. At each level of this relationship, different relational constructs are needed to maintain the association (Zhang, Watson IV, Palmatier, & Dant, 2016a). This reveals that relationships are dynamic and firms therefore need to make different efforts at each stage of the relationship lifecycle to maintain their relationship and gain more customer value in the form of loyalty. Thus, academics and business managers need to conduct more empirical research in order to shed further light on the various impacts of relationship quality on customer loyalty during the relationship lifecycle in both online and offline contexts.
The present study, which is based on the relationship dynamics theory (Palmatier et al., 2013), proposes that the association between online relationship quality and customer loyalty varies at different stages of the relationship lifecycle (exploration, buildup, maturity, and decline).
This paper contributes to relationship marketing literature in the following ways. First, it suggests that online relationship quality is a driver of customer loyalty. Second, it implies that the influence of online relationship quality on customer loyalty may vary depending on the different stages of the relationship lifecycle. Third, it provides a real-life analysis of the proposed framework in e-banking services, suggesting that the direction and strength of the link between online relationship quality and customer loyalty change at different stages of the relationship lifecycle.
2 theoretical Background
2.1 Relationship quality
Relationship quality can be defined as a multi-dimensional construct related to a customer's general assessment of his/her relationship with a service provider at a specific time based on all previous interactions with that provider (Keating, Alpert, Kriz, & Quazi, 2011). Despite the lack of a consensus regarding the components and dimensions of relationship quality in the literature, a shared line can be identified between various conceptualizations, in that different researchers have proposed satisfaction, commitment, and trust as the key components of relationship quality in the traditional context (Brun et al., 2014; De Wulf, Odekerkenschroder, & Iacobucci, 2001; Hennig-Thurau et al., 2002; Palmatier et al., 2006; Rafiq et al., 2013; Vesel & Zabkar, 2010). Similarly, relationship quality in the online environment has three dimensions, online trust, online satisfaction, and online commitment, which indicate the overall power of the quality of the relationship between online vendors and their customers. In brief, according to the literature, trust, commitment, and satisfaction are among the most important aspects of traditional relationship marketing. Several studies have shown the importance of these three dimensions in online business environments (Brun et al., 2014; Fang et al., 2016).
Previous studies have presented convincing evidence regarding the link between relationship quality, as a higher-level construct consisting of trust, satisfaction, and commitment, and loyalty, as well as the link between each dimension of relationship quality and loyalty (Bilgihan & Bujisic, 2014; Caceres & Paparoidamis, 2007; Fang et al., 2016; Hennig- Thurau et al., 2002; Kim et al., 2006; Musa, 2009; Nusair et al., 2013; Naoui & Zaiem, 2010; Papassapa & Miller, 2007; Palmatier et al., 2006; Yu & Tung, 2013;).
In the online context, a number of authors have stressed a conceptualization of relationship quality with independent dimensions, considering it to be made up of components of trust, commitment, and satisfaction (Arcand, Promtep, Brun, & Rajaobelina, 2017; Brun et al., 2014; Chung & Shin, 2010; Walsh, Hennig-Thurau, Sassenberg, & Bornemann, 2010). Thus, in the present study, we have conceptualized online relationship quality using three key dimensions of trust, satisfaction, and commitment as related but independent constructs.
2.1.1 Online trust
Given the increasing importance of e-commerce, trust in the digital world has received increasing attention from marketing experts and academia (Beldad, Jong, & Steehouder, 2010). Specifically, online trust is defined as the interplay of positive beliefs or expectations concerning the competency, integrity, and benevolence of a company in an online setting (McKnight et al., 2002).
Many researchers posit that trust is one of the main factors that determine consumers' initial and sustained use of e-banking services (Lichtenstein & Williamson, 2006; Rexha, Kingshott, & Shang, 2003; Suh & Han, 2002). However, negative features of online transactions such as a lack of control, risky decision making, a lack of physical contact with online companies, and an absence of tangible capabilities in online exchanges cannot be overlooked (Shin et al., 2013). therefore, in the context of relationship quality, trust represents one of the prerequisites for success in e-commerce. That is, trust triggers new transactions, while its absence creates a barrier against new transactions. Also, trust is one of the determinants of the online environment as it helps to maintain customers and develop long-term relationships with them (Sahney, Ghosh, & Shrivastava, 2013). Moreover, it is also an important factor in determining customers' intentions to make online purchases and remain loyal to e-commerce (Pengnate & Sarathy, 2017).2.1.2 Online commitment
According to Berry and Parasurman (1991), relationships are created based on mutual commitment. Morgan and Hunt (1994) view commitment as being at the heart of successful long-term relationships. Given that commitment is a basic variable in measuring the future of seller-purchaser relationships, most studies on relationship marketing have treated it as an important dimension of relationship quality (Brun et al., 2014; Cambra-Fierro, Melero-Polo, & Javier 2018; De Wulf et al, 2001; De Wulf et al., 2003; Hennig-Thurau et al., 2002; Palmatier, 2006; Roberts, Varki, & Brodie 2003; See Dorsch, 1998; Wang et al., 2006). Berry and Parasurman (1991) define commitment as a vital part of a successful relationship that can foster loyalty. In general, studies on relationship marketing tend to treat commitment in terms of emotional commitment. Such commitment is usually...
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