Antecedents and consequences of relationship quality. A case study of banking sector in Romania

Simona-Mihaela Trif
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Simona-Mihaela Trif: Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timisoara, Romania

Timisoara Journal of Economics, 2012, vol. 5, issue 18, 253–271

Abstract: This study investigates the impact of service quality and communication quality on relationship quality, as well as its influence on customer loyalty. Also, this study seeks to identify those intrinsic factors that best explains the structure of relationship quality construct. The conceptual model, which includes the hypothesized relationships, is validated in the banking sector in Romania through findings from an email survey of 78 business customers. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used in order to test the model fit and estimate the hypothesized relationships. The findings indicate that service quality and communication quality are significantly related to relationship quality, and relationship quality and customer loyalty are positively and strongly associated. Concerning the dimensionality of relationship quality, it was shown that satisfaction, trust, and commitment are the intrinsic factors that best explain its structure. In addition, it was proved that communication quality is a better predictor of relationship quality then service quality. This paper reinforces the importance of relationship quality as a source of sustainable competitive advantage due to its intangible aspects which cannot be easily duplicated by competitors. For managers, this study demonstrates the importance that the relationship quality plays in fostering customer loyalty. Also, the limitations of this research are presented, as well as directions for future research.

Keywords: relationship quality; service quality; communication quality; customer loyalty; Business-to-Business; SEM (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L84 M31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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