The mediating role of relational benefit between service quality and customer loyalty in airline industry

Service quality, in essence, seeks to measure firm performance along transactional dimensions, whereas relational benefits measure the intangible aspects of relationships, over and above the core elements of the service. Thus, the interaction between the consumer and service provider is ongoing (relational) rather than one-off (transactional). The purpose of this study aims to identify the role of relational benefits between service quality and loyalty. In order to achieve the objective of this paper, a quantitative analysis through a personal survey of passengers was performed. Four hundred and fifty questionnaires were distributed and 403 useable samples were obtained with 89% response rate. The results of this study found that service quality has positive impacts on relational benefit and customer loyalty in the airline industry. Additionally, relational benefit influences customer loyalty directly. Furthermore, service quality would also affect customer's loyalty through customer relational benefits.

[1]  M. Kenward,et al.  An Introduction to the Bootstrap , 2007 .

[2]  A. Parasuraman,et al.  The impact of technology on the quality-value-loyalty chain: A research agenda , 2000 .

[3]  Junfeng Zhang,et al.  Electronic Service Quality and Routes to Site Commitment: The Case of an Online Film Ticketing Service , 2010 .

[4]  Graham K. Rand,et al.  Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences , 1983 .

[5]  R. Morgan,et al.  Relationship Marketing and Marketing Strategy: The Evolution of Relationship Marketing Strategy Within the Organization , 2000 .

[6]  Wen-Hsien Tsai,et al.  A gap analysis model for improving airport service quality , 2011 .

[7]  Sajeev Varki,et al.  Measuring the quality of relationships in consumer services: an empirical study , 2003 .

[8]  Dwayne D. Gremler,et al.  Understanding Relationship Marketing Outcomes , 2002 .

[9]  J. Nunnally.  Psychometric Theory (2nd ed), New York: McGraw-Hill. , 1978 .

[10]  Fareena Sultan,et al.  International service variants: airline passenger expectations and perceptions of service quality , 2000 .

[11]  Yu-Ching Chiao,et al.  Understanding the Antecedents to Customer Loyalty by Applying Structural Equation Modeling , 2007 .

[12]  Chi-Shiun Lai,et al.  The Effects of Service Quality on Customer Relational Benefits in Travel Website , 2007, PICMET '07 - 2007 Portland International Conference on Management of Engineering & Technology.

[13]  Wenchang Fang,et al.  Relative impacts from product quality, service quality, and experience quality on customer perceived value and intention to shop for the coffee shop market , 2009 .

[14]  Po-Tsang Chen,et al.  The effect of relational benefits on perceived value in relation to customer loyalty: An empirical study in the Australian coffee outlets industry , 2010 .

[15]  C. Cassel,et al.  Modelling customer satisfaction and loyalty on aggregate levels: Experience from the ECSI pilot study , 2001 .

[16]  Rolph E. Anderson,et al.  Customer loyalty in e-commerce: an exploration of its antecedents and consequences , 2002 .

[17]  T. O'Brien,et al.  Service Quality and Customer Loyalty in the Commercial Airline Industry , 1993 .

[18]  Karl G. Jöreskog,et al.  Lisrel 8: User's Reference Guide , 1997 .

[19]  E A Morash,et al.  TOWARD MANAGEMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SERVICE QUALITY , 1994 .

[20]  A. Parasuraman,et al.  The Behavioral Consequences of Service Quality , 1996 .

[21]  Ivana Adamson,et al.  Relationship marketing: customer commitment and trust as a strategy for the smaller Hong Kong corporate banking sector , 2003 .

[22]  J. J. Cronin,et al.  Assessing the effects of quality, value, and customer satisfaction on consumer behavioral intentions in service environments , 2000 .

[23]  Ming-Chun Tsai,et al.  A transformation function corresponding to IPA and gap analysis , 2009 .

[24]  A. Graefe,et al.  Service Quality, Satisfaction, and Behavioral Intention Among Forest Visitors , 2004 .

[25]  Paul G. Patterson,et al.  Relationship benefits in service industries: a replication in a Southeast Asian context , 2001 .

[26]  R. Bagozzi,et al.  On the evaluation of structural equation models , 1988 .

[27]  Mary Jo Bitner,et al.  Relational benefits in services industries: The customer’s perspective , 1998 .

[28]  Hsin Hsin Chang,et al.  The impact of e-service quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty on e-marketing: Moderating effect of perceived value , 2009 .

[29]  Mosad Zineldin,et al.  The royalty of loyalty: CRM, quality and retention , 2006 .

[30]  R. Johnston,et al.  An analysis of international business-to-business relationships based on the Commitment–Trust theory , 2002 .

[31]  Thanika Devi Juwaheer,et al.  Relationships and impacts of service quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and image: an empirical study , 2009 .

[32]  James C. Anderson,et al.  STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING IN PRACTICE: A REVIEW AND RECOMMENDED TWO-STEP APPROACH , 1988 .

[33]  Edward G. Carmines,et al.  Reliability and Validity Assessment , 1979 .

[34]  A. Parasuraman,et al.  SERVQUAL: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. , 1988 .

[35]  Hailin Qu,et al.  A Study of Tourists' Satisfaction and Post-Experience Behavioral Intentions in Relation to Airport Restaurant Services in the Hong Kong SAR , 2002 .

[36]  Janjaap Semeijn,et al.  Online Travel Service Quality: the Role of Pre-Transaction Services , 2004 .

[37]  Young-Gul Kim,et al.  Identifying key factors affecting consumer purchase behavior in an online shopping context , 2003 .

[38]  Rolph E. Anderson,et al.  E‐satisfaction and e‐loyalty: A contingency framework , 2003 .

[39]  Arturo Molina,et al.  Relational benefits and customer satisfaction in retail banking , 2007 .

[40]  Yu-Hern Chang,et al.  Relational benefits, switching barriers and loyalty: A study of airline customers in Taiwan , 2007 .

[41]  Chung-Hsing Yeh,et al.  A survey analysis of service quality for domestic airlines , 2002, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[42]  Thomas O. Jones,et al.  Why Satisfied Customers Defect , 1996 .

[43]  R. Sitgreaves.  Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). , 1979 .

[44]  Yongil Lee,et al.  Perceived service quality for South Korean domestic airlines , 2011 .

[45]  C. Fornell,et al.  Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. , 1981 .

[46]  H. Yen,et al.  Internet retail customer loyalty: the mediating role of relational benefits , 2003 .

[47]  Mary Jo Bitner,et al.  Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm , 1996 .

[48]  Graham Francis,et al.  An international survey of the nature and prevalence of quality management systems in airports , 2003 .

[49]  Irene Gil-Saura,et al.  Relational benefits and loyalty in retailing: an inter‐sector comparison , 2009 .