The interrelationship of retailer's relationship efforts and consumers' attitude and behavior

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically test a model for examination of the impact of different relationship efforts (financial bonding, social bonding, and structural bonding) made by a retailer on key relationship marketing outcomes (trust, relationship commitment, and behavioral loyalty). Design/methodology/approach – A cross department study in the financial services industry was conducted based on three consumer samples (Department of Loans, Deposits, and Credit Cards) drawn from XYZ Bank, one of the most famous banks providing merchant banking services in Taiwan. Findings – SEM results indicate that retailers undertaking relationship efforts to loyal consumers can positively affect these consumers' attitudes and behavior. Besides, the findings suggest that financial services with dissimilar attributes need different kinds and levels of service and relationship efforts. Originality/value – Consequently, managers and employees of retail banks need to be trained, motivated, and rewarded for making relationship efforts to regular consumers.