Factors Influencing Customer Loyalty in Banks: The Mediating Effect of Customer Trust

Abstract

This study adds to the body of existing knowledge by examining the relationship between service quality (SQ), customer satisfaction (CS), brand reputation (BR), corporate social responsibility (CSR), and the mediating effect of customer trust (CT). This study's primary goal is to identify the individual and intuitive effects of service quality, customer satisfaction, brand reputation, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) on customer loyalty (CL). Additionally, the research investigates the significance of consumer trust as a mediator. The research collected responses from a diverse sample of 300 banking customers. A structured questionnaire was employed as the primary instrument for data collection. The questionnaire was made available to the bank customers in Lahore through online channels. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), Smart Partial Least Squares (PLS) and MS Excel was used for data analysis. A robust analysis was also performed by using MS Excel. The results show that CSR did not considerably meaningfully affect CL, even while SQ, CS, and BR had strong positive impacts on customer loyalty. This result calls for further research into the particular facets of CSR that might affect CL in the banking industry. The findings of the research may be specific to the context of the banking industry in Lahore and might not be directly generalizable to other regions or industries. The outcomes of this research offer practical implications for banking institutions seeking to enhance customer loyalty. Understanding the drivers of loyalty can guide strategic decisions related to SQ, CS, and BR.