The role of satisfaction and website usability in developing customer loyalty and positive word‐of‐mouth in the e‐banking services

Purpose – Customer loyalty and positive word‐of‐mouth (WOM) have been traditionally two main goals aimed at by managers. Focusing on the online banking, the importance of these concepts is even greater due to the increasing competence in electronic commerce. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to characterize both concepts in the e‐banking context. Design/methodology/approach – The influence of satisfaction and website usability in developing customer loyalty and positive WOM in the e‐banking business were measured. After the validation of measurement scales, hypotheses are contrasted through structural modelling. Findings – This research showed that satisfaction with previous interactions with the bank website had a positive effect on both customer loyalty and positive WOM. In addition, website usability was found to have a positive effect on customer satisfaction and, as expected, loyalty was also significantly related to positive WOM. Practical implications – In order to develop customer loyalty and positive WOM, banks that operate in the internet should: prioritize ease‐of‐use in website development, and identify the needs of online customers (e.g. in terms of services offered) in order to offer them what they really want. Originality/value – Although the increasing competitiveness in e‐business is motivating an exponential growth in the number of studies that analyze loyalty development and WOM in the internet, there is still a lack of studies that analyze the formation of both concepts in the e‐banking context. Thus, this work represents a new contribution to the field of online banking, which has acquired a notable popularity in recent years.