Customer‐service firm attachment: what it is and what causes it?

Purpose – This article aims to: conceptualize customer‐service firm attachment; as well as to propose a theoretical framework that provides insights into the formation and development of affectionate ties in customer‐service firm relationships. Design/methodology/approach – Toward these two goals, the authors integrate conclusions from a multidisciplinary literature that covers attachment theory, brand attachment, and place attachment. Findings – The authors formally define customer‐service firm attachment as the emotional bond connecting a customer with a service firm. They offer a conceptual framework that assumes that customer satisfaction, service quality, customer trust towards the service firm and its personnel, customer‐firm image congruence, and positive emotions felt during the service experience are the main drivers of customer‐service firm attachment. Research limitations/implications – Notwithstanding the fact that this article remains conceptual in spirit, it provides several theoretical and managerial implications. Originality/value – This article reviews and merges the latest insights from diverse attachment theories and concepts in diverse disciplines (i.e. social psychology, environmental psychology, leisure science, consumer behavior, and marketing). It also presents attachment styles as a new consumer segmenting criteria.