Unveiling consumer loyalty dynamics: insights for golf club loyalty programs

Purpose With the competitive nature of golf club operations, understanding the loyalty formation process is crucial for maintaining a competitive edge. This study investigated the sequential developmental stages of consumer loyalty, progressing through cognitive, affective, and conative stages. Design/methodology/approach The study conducted a survey targeting consumers who have experienced golf club services in the United States. This study operationalized reliability and trust as key indicators of the cognitive stage, hedonic motivation and social engagement as indicators of the affective stage, and loyalty as the indicator of the conative stage. Findings Using structural equation modeling (SEM), this study found that reliability has a significantly positive influence on trust. Trust has a significantly positive influence on hedonic motivation and loyalty. Furthermore, hedonic motivation has a significantly positive influence on social engagement and loyalty. Originality/value By integrating these findings within the Cognitive-Affective-Conative (CAC) framework, this study contributes to both the theoretical literature on consumer loyalty and provides practical insights for golf club management.