Does the importance of value, brand and relationship equity for customer loyalty differ between Eastern and Western cultures?

(Sandy) Zhang, Sha, Jenny van Doorn and Peter S.H. Leeflang

International Business Review, 2014, vol. 23, issue 1, 284-292

Abstract: The use of the customer equity framework as a focal marketing strategy to increase customer loyalty has emerged as an important topic. Despite a growing number of investigations, previous studies are limited by their strong U.S. and European orientations. Research into Western consumers cannot necessarily predict the behaviour of Eastern consumers though. Therefore, this study investigates whether the link between customer equity drivers (value equity, brand equity and relationship equity) and loyalty intentions is sensitive to the cultural environment. A sample of 1553 Chinese and 1085 Dutch consumers in the banking and supermarket industries reveals that all three customer equity drivers exert a greater impact in Western than in Eastern cultures. This study also shows that Eastern consumers in general have higher loyalty intentions than Western consumers.

Keywords: Customer equity drivers; Loyalty intentions; Cultural differences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (25)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2013.05.002

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