From corporate credibility to customer loyalty : examining the role of customer trust, commitment and involvement

Abstract

Although various studies tackled customer loyalty, the effect of corporate credibility on customer loyalty appears to have been given little attention. The study aims at presenting a comprehensive framework for understanding this effect in retail banking in Malta, and incorporates an examination of the role customer trust, commitment and involvement play. An inter-relationship among the five constructs is proposed and adequate measures are identified. A postal survey is undertaken among 1,477 retail banking customers obtaining a response rate of 22.4 per cent. Results indicate that among the antecedents studied, trust is the main predictor of customer loyalty, followed by corporate credibility. The relationship between customer involvement and loyalty is partially mediated by both trust and corporate credibility, whereas customer commitment partially mediates the relationship between corporate credibility and loyalty, and the relationship between trust and loyalty. The effects of demographic variables are also reported. Among them, education emerges as a strong variable that marketers can use as segmentation basis. Results' implications are discussed followed by limitations of the study. Suggestions are also put forward.