Customer Relational Benefits and Relationship-Marketing Outcomes: Comparing Three Transaction Types of Travel Product

Abstract

Given the increasing popularity of the Internet and TV shopping, travel agencies are using these electronic channels to conduct business transactions. However, few studies investigate how customers' relational benefits affect relationship-marketing outcomes in the travel industry. This study examines the effects of the relational benefits on customer satisfaction and loyalty by focusing on three types of transaction used for travel products.The results indicate that confidence and social benefits, but not special treatment benefits, positively affect customer satisfaction. All three types of customers' relational benefits are positively related to loyalty. The influences of confidence benefits on satisfaction and loyalty are stronger for Internet transaction than interpersonal transaction and TV shopping transaction. The influences of social benefits on satisfaction and loyalty are stronger for TV shopping transaction than interpersonal transaction and Internet transaction. Therefore, the relationships among customer relational benefits, satisfaction, and loyalty are moderated by the three types of transaction.

Effects of Shopping Orientation, Trust and Satisfaction on WOM Intention: Focusing on Undergraduates’ HMR Choices

“…Accordingly, undergraduates' trust in HMR is likely to mediate in between their shopping orientation and word-of-mouth intention. The roles of satisfaction in between trust and word-of-mouth intention are supported by primacy effects [27] and rapport [28]. That is, undergraduates who basically trust in HRM products, have various opportunities to experience positive initial results upon eating HRM foods or have rapport with HMR items after eating it is highly likely to act out some WOM behaviors.…”

Relationship intention and service quality as combined competitive strategy

“…Customers, on the other hand, stand to gain relational benefits: confidence, social and special treatment benefits (Chen and Hu, 2013;Hennig-Thurau et al, 2002). Confidence benefits relate to the customer's psychological feelings of security and trust, which reduce anxiety about purchasing processes (Dagger and Danaher, 2014;Lovelock and Wirtz, 2011); social benefits refer to emotions, such as a feeling of familiarity or a sense of belonging and the formation of a social bond with the service provider (Hennig-Thurau et al, 2002;Lovelock and Wirtz, 2011;Yen et al, 2015) and special treatment benefits refer to economic benefits (e.g. discounts and faster service) and customisation benefits (e.g.…”

“…Another possible competitive strategy to follow is to build long-term relationships with customers, referred to as a 'relationship marketing approach' (Vivek et al, 2012). This approach, with its focus on establishing, developing and maintaining relationships between service providers and their customers, is gaining popularity among academics and practitioners as they begin to understand the importance of long-term relationships when formulating marketing strategies (Pablo Maicas Lopez et al, 2006;Yen et al, 2015). The benefits of following a relationship marketing approach are very similar to those for offering superior service quality: it leads to greater levels of customer satisfaction (Kaura et al, 2012), an increase in positive word-of-mouth communication (Foscht et al, 2009) and customer loyalty (Kaura et al, 2012;Terpstra and Verbeeten, 2014).…”

Effects of Undergraduates' Shopping Orientation on WOM Intention: Mediation Effects of Trust and Moderation Effect of Satisfaction onHMR

“…Accordingly, undergraduates' trust in HMR is likely to mediate in between their shopping orientation and word-of-mouth intention. The roles of satisfaction in between trust and word-of-mouth intention are supported by primacy effects (Karmarkar et al, 2015) and rapport (Yen et al, 2015). Therefore, the following research model and hypothesis were established.…”