The customer satisfaction - customer loyalty relationship : reassessing customer and relational characteristics moderating effects

Purpose: This study aims to examine the moderating effects of gender, income, age, customer involvement and length of the relationship on the customer satisfaction (CS)‐customer loyalty (CL) relationship in a contractual service context. CL is assessed using customer repurchase intention (RI) and repurchase behavior (RB). Design/methodology/approach: Using a postal mail survey, the authors measure the CS, RI involvement and socio‐demographic characteristics of customers who use a credit card. RB is measured by the number of transactions and the corresponding amount spent by clients, based on data provided by the company. The proposed hypotheses are tested using random sampling and hierarchical regressions. Findings: The significant moderators are different depending on the CL measure used. When RI is utilized, the gender and age of the client have a positive effect on the CS‐CL relationship. However, when RB is assessed using the number of transactions made by the credit card's owner, the length of the relationship becomes the significant moderator. Research limitations/implications: The study is limited to a single firm, from one industry sector, but provides future researchers a multitude of replication opportunities. Practical implications: Demographic and relational variables are important in explaining the CS‐CL relationship. Customer relationship strategies have positive results. RB is preferred to RI when evaluating and explaining CL. Originality/value: The assessment of customer and relational characteristics as moderating variables in the CS‐CL relationship, and comparing different measures of CL in a contractual service adds value to this research.