Relationship quality and customer loyalty in the Tanzanian microfinance sector

Amani Gration Tegambwage and Pendo Shukrani Kasoga ()
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Amani Gration Tegambwage: The University of Dodoma
Pendo Shukrani Kasoga: The University of Dodoma

Journal of Financial Services Marketing, 2024, vol. 29, issue 1, No 10, 138-153

Abstract: Abstract The study examines the mediating effects of relationship quality (RQ) on the link between its antecedents and loyalty as well as the impacts of individual antecedents of RQ on the two marketing of services outcomes, namely RQ and loyalty. A questionnaire derived from previous studies was completed by 424 microfinance institutions (MFIs) borrowers in Tanzania. Structural equation modeling (SEM) assessed the influence of the five individual antecedents of RQ, namely trust, commitment, satisfaction, communication, and conflict handling on RQ and loyalty, and the mediating effects of RQ between its antecedents and loyalty. All five individual antecedents were significant predictors of RQ, with conflict handling playing the biggest role. In addition, trust, communication, commitment, and conflict handling were significant predictors of customer loyalty, with trust exerting the strongest influence, while satisfaction had an insignificant influence. Moreover, RQ mediates the relationship between loyalty and trust, commitment, communication, and conflict handling, but cannot mediate the link between satisfaction and loyalty. The study contributes to the conceptualization of RQ and its consequences in the nascent field of microfinance services research. Building borrower loyalty to MFI requires an understanding and enhancement of trust, commitment, communication, and conflict handling. However, greater emphasis should be placed on trust because of its superior influence on borrower loyalty to MFI.

Keywords: Relationship quality; Customer loyalty; Microfinance institutions; Services marketing; Financial services; Borrowers; Tanzania (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1057/s41264-022-00191-8

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