1

A THEORETICAL CONCEPTUALISATION OF TRUST AND COMMITMENT AS

TWO PILLAR ANTECEDENTS FOR CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP

MANAGEMENT (CRM)

Prof Mornay Roberts-Lombard

(Department of Marketing Management, University of Johannesburg)

ABSTRACT

Customer Relationship Management is an enterprise-wide commitment to

identify an organisation’s individual customers, and to create a relationship

between the organisation and these customers as long as the relationship is

mutually beneficial. CRM provides a transition from a transaction-based to a

relationship-based model that concentrates on the acquisition, development and

retention of profitable customer relationships. Long-term relationships with

customers can only be created, reinforced and retained by building the

customers’ trust in an organisation over time, demonstrating a commitment by

the organisation to service, communicating with the customers in a timely,

reliable and pro-active fashion, and handling conflicts between the organisation

and the customers effectively. Trust exists when one party has confidence in an

exchange partner’s reliability and integrity. Relationships characterised by trust

are so highly valued that parties will desire to commit themselves to such

relationships. Customers will only make commitments to trustworthy partners

because commitment entails vulnerability, and leaves them open to opportunism

1. INTRODUCTION

The emergence of the relationship-marketing paradigm in modern marketing

thought consolidates the increasing importance given by marketing academics to

managing, developing and evaluating relationships (Lages, Lages & Lages,

2005). Achrol (1991) forecasted two decades ago that the rise of “true marketing

organisations” within networks of functionally specialised organisations whose

2

interrelationships, being norm driven, are “held together and coordinated by

market driven focal organisations” by means of “norms of sharing and

commitments based on trust”. Morgan and Hunt (1994) further argue that global

dynamics have resulted in a somewhat paradoxal nature of relationship

marketing. To be an effective competitor (in the global economy) requires one to

be a trusted cooperator (in some network). “For most global businesses, the days

of flat-out, predatory competition are over …….. in place of predation, many

multinational organisations are learning that they must collaborate to compete,

“Business ethicists also stress that competition requires cooperation”.

Wyner (1999) argues that one of the most visible shifts in marketing is the

movement from a transaction marketing orientated to a relationship marketing

orientated approach. Roberts-Lombard and Du Plessis (2012) argue that a

relationship marketing orientated approach will work best when customers are

engaged in relationship building activities. An organisation that wants to be

successful in the current global competitive market where customers are

empowered and brand loyalty erosion is increasing, will therefore have to move

to Customer Relationship Management (CRM). CRM, as a component of

Relationship Marketing, stresses the importance of continuous interaction

between the seller and the buyer in order to cultivate a long-term, mutually

beneficial relationship. Organisations can build mutually valuable relationships

with customers through a trust-based collaboration process (Yoshida & James,

2010; Mukherjee & Nath, 2003).

Krasnikov, Jayachandran and Kumar (2009) describe CRM as an enterprise-

wide commitment to identify an organisation’s individual customers, and to create

a relationship between the organisation and these customers as long as the

relationship is mutually beneficial. CRM provides a transition from a transaction-

based to a relationship-based model that concentrates on the acquisition,

development and retention of profitable customer relationships. Long-term

relationships with customers can only be created, reinforced and retained by

3

building the customers’ trust in an organisation over time, demonstrating a

commitment by the organisation to service, communicating with the customers in

a timely, reliable and pro-active fashion, and handling conflicts between the

organisation and the customers effectively (Ndubisi, 2007). Trust is one of the

important underpinnings to CRM. The resources of the organisation have to be

used in such a manner that the trust customers have in the organisation is

maintained and strengthened (Ndubisi & Wah, 2005). A long-term relationship

between an organisation and a customer will therefore only develop if the

relationship is mutually beneficial (Baran, Galka & Strunk, 2008).

According to Van Vuuren, Roberts-Lombard and Van Tonder (2012),

commitment stems from trust, shared values and the belief that it will be difficult

to find partners that can offer the same value. Commitment is directly linked to

trust and is central to Customer Relationship Management (Roberts-Lombard,

2006). A customer will be committed to an organisation if the latter has proved to

be trustworthy and has shown that it has the ability to offer solutions and

successfully support the value-generating processes of the customer (Grönroos,

2003). Commitment is undoubtedly connected with trust, but it is less clear which

assumes precedence. Commitment may be the outcome of growing trust, or trust

may develop following a decision by the parties in the relationship to commit to

each other. Furthermore, the breakdown in commitment may be as a result of the

breakdown of trust and vice versa (Egan, 2004). Commitment operates in much

the same manner as trust, in that a certain level of commitment is required to

initiate the relationship, and as the relationship deepens, so does the existence

and evidence of commitment. Commitment involves behavioural, attitudinal,

affective and calculative components (Du Plessis & Roberts-Lombard, 2012).

This paper explores the nature of CRM and two key characteristics posited to be

associated with the effective cooperation that is required for customer

relationship management. Firstly, a perspective is provided on customer

orientation as a precursor to CRM, followed by a perspective on CRM. Secondly

4

it is theorised that successful customer relationship management requires

relationship commitment and trust. Finally, a framework is proposed to identify

the key components that constitute trust and commitment and how it relates to

the benefits of a customer management strategy.

2. CUSTOMER ORIENTATION AS A PRECURSOR TO CUSTOMER

RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

Relationship marketing focuses on the retention of existing customers. By

maintaining current customers, it is suggested that costs are reduced by saving

money that would otherwise have been spent on advertising, personal selling,

the setting up of new accounts, explaining procedures to new customers and

reducing costs of inefficiencies in the customer learning process. A relationship-

orientated view of the customer takes into account the income and profit to be

earned over a long-term relationship with a customer (Alvarez, Casielles &

Martin, 2011; Terblanche, 2007). Ndubisi (2007) stipulates that trust and

commitment are two primary principles on which relationship marketing is built.

The level of satisfaction which a customer experiences in a relationship with a

business is directly related to the principles of trust and commitment.

Organisations which recognise the importance of customer orientation create a

business culture which takes into consideration the interests of the customer in

all its activities. The business should observe the interests of the customer as a

partner in achieving the success of a business as superior to short-term separate

interests which occur within a business, no matter whether it is in the interests of

the employees, managers or owner of the business (Nazari, Divkolaei & Sorkhi,

2012; Vranesevic, Vignali & Vignali, 2002). Customer retention is therefore only

possible for the business if the principles of relationship marketing, namely trust

and commitment, focus on the interests of the customer, a commitment to

quality, the provision of added value through products and services, the

willingness to retain customers is applied by the business, and if relationships

5

with customers are managed professionally (McPherson, 2006). Considering

this, customer orientation should be perceived as an all embracive approach to

customer relationship management, resulting in customer retention. The next

section will focus on the concept of Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

as a method of retaining the most profitable customers.

3. A PERSPECTIVE ON CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM)

CRM is an information term for methodologies, software and usually Internet

capabilities that help an organisation to manage customer relationships in an

organised way. An organisation might build a database about its customers that

depicts relationships with sufficient detail so that management, salespeople,

people providing service, and perhaps the customer directly, could access

information, match customer needs with product plans and offerings, remind

customers of service requirements, and know what other products a customer

had purchased, amongst others (Hasan, Raheem & Subhani, 2011). CRM is also

perceived as an all embracing approach, which seamlessly integrates sales,

customer service, marketing, field support and other functions that touch

customers. When using this approach, by integrating people, process and

technologies and leveraging the Internet, the relationship with all customers and

suppliers is maximised (Hasounet & Alqeed, 2010). Basically, CRM is a notion,

regarding how an organisation can keep its most profitable customers and at the

same time reduce the costs and increase the values of interaction to

consequently maximise the profits (Frow, Payne, Wilkinson & Young, 2011).

CRM explores an approach to maximise customer value through differentiating

the management of customer relationships. The organisation utilises its

understanding of the drivers of current and future customer profitability to

appropriately allocate the resources across all areas that affect customer

relationships. These areas are communications, customer service, billing and

collections, product or service development and pricing strategies (Venkatesan,

Kumar & Bohling, 2007).

6

The importance of how CRM is described is not merely semantics. Its description

has a significant impact on how CRM is accepted and practised by the entire

organisation. CRM is not only an IT solution to the problem of getting the right

customer base, and growing it. CRM is much more (Robinson, Neeley &

Williamson, 2011). It involves a profound synthesis of strategic vision, an

organisational understanding of the nature of customer value and loyalty within a

multi-channel environment, the utilisation of the appropriate information

management and CRM applications, and high quality operations, fulfilment and

service. CRM can be viewed on a continuum. On the one side, CRM is defined

narrowly and tactically (i.e. as a particular technology solution), whilst at the other

extreme, CRM is viewed broadly and strategically (i.e. as a holistic approach to

managing customer relationships in order to create shareholder value – the

organisation becomes more customer centric) (Payne, 2009).

CRM therefore emphasises that managing customer relationships is a complex

and ongoing process and a response to, and reflection of a rapidly changing

marketing environment. Therefore, it is advocated to position CRM in any

organisation in a broad strategic context to secure a more customer centric

approach (Payne, 2009). Against this background, the characteristics of CRM are

discussed.

3.1 The characteristics of CRM

CRM is no longer only a method used by service organisations to obtain a

competitive advantage, since it has become a necessity for survival. As markets

become increasingly competitive, the development of relationships with

customers that can be maintained in the face of many incentives to switch

service providers is seen as a method of creating a sustainable competitive

advantage. Professional services such as banking, and medical and insurance

services are rated and rewarded by the client relationships they manage (Berndt,

et al., 2009; Rootman, 2006). A well-designed CRM strategy will incorporate four

key characteristics (Berndt et al., 2009; Buttle, 2004) (refer to Table 1).

7

Table 1 Characteristics of CRM

Characteristic Impact

Relationship Management Instant response based on customer input

Sales force automation Empowers sales professionals

Use of technology Develop strong customer relationship through

an improved understanding of customer

preferences, expectations and changing

needs

Opportunity in management Flexibility to manage unpredicted demand

and a good forecasting model to integrate

sales history with sales projections

The first characteristic is relationship management: This characteristic includes

instant response based on customer input. Customers expect to be able to deal

with the organisation when they want, where they want and how they want.

Organisations are further required to remember past interactions with customers

and they must build on those interactions in the future. Organisations should

provide customer service centres that can assist customers to address their

questions (Berndt et al., 2009). The second characteristic refers to sales force

automation: Sales Force Automation systems (SFA), typically functions as a part

of an organisation’s CRM system that automatically records all the stages in a

sales process. SFA includes a contact management system which tracks all

contact that has been made with a customer, the purpose of the contact, and any

follow-up that might be required. This ensures that sales efforts are not

duplicated, reducing the risk of irritating customers. Other elements of an SFA

system can include sales forecasting, order management and product

knowledge. While sales force automation products were originally introduced to

improve sales force productivity and provide better documentation for the

organisation, they are increasingly orientated towards developing customer

relationships and improving satisfaction. The development of any CRM system

depends on a significant level of infield technology. In order for salespeople to

8

use the system, they must be connected to it through a computer, Personal

Digital Assistant (PDA) or other device. The CRM system requires continued

communication among all operations that touch the customer. This includes

automation of sales promotion analysis, tracking the customer’s account history,

and coordinating sales, marketing, call centres and retail outlets to realise that

sales force automation (SFA) assists with developing trust and commitment with

customers, as organisations are in a position to know exactly what a customer

wants and when he wants it (Baran et al., 2008).

The third characteristic encompasses the use of technology. The ability to extend

customer knowledge and develop successful relationships with customers lies in

the organisation’s ability to understand customers, their individual preferences,

expectations and changing needs. Technology is employed to capture

information on customers, which in turn is used to monitor the customers’ buying

behaviour and to communicate with them on an individual basis, often with

personalised offers (Egan, 2004). Customer data is considered to have value and

the potential to augment the customer-organisation relationship. The storing of

data for later retrieval is known as data warehousing, and the manipulation of the

warehoused data is known as data mining (Evans, O’Malley & Patterson, 2004).

CRM is dependent on technologies. An example is where data warehousing

allows the organisation to search, store and integrate data from all available

sources, systems and organisational units. The data warehouse is a more

advanced form of database, often supplemented by mini-bases and data marts.

Data warehousing integrates information about customers and other

stakeholders in an organisation’s network of relationships. With this knowledge

the organisation can better customise and target communication, goods and

services to boost the organisation’s competitive power and increase customer

retention. The data warehouse becomes a key knowledge tool for the

organisation and can be used to stimulate indices of intimacy and connectedness

(Gummesson, 2008). Other technologies have developed that give organisations

a myriad of opportunities for communicating with customers. These new

9

technologies can make up-to-the-second customer data available and allow

organisations to communicate with customers directly. These new technologies

include the Internet, telecommunication and computer-telephony in call centres.

(Evans et al., 2004). Technology is to the advantage of the customer and should

lead to customer loyalty, as the organisation can communicate up-to-date

information with customers which will remove uncertainty and will lead to the

creation of trust. The created trust will lead to an enduring desire from the

customers to maintain the valued relationship with the organisation (Ndubisi &

Wah, 2005). The fourth characteristic is opportunity in management. This

characteristic includes the flexibility to manage unpredicted demand and a good

forecasting model to integrate sales history with sales projections. Customer

portfolio analysis (CPA) and customer intimacy (CI) analysis can be used by the

organisation as primary analytical activities. CPA involves using customer and

market data to decide which customers to serve. CI involves getting to

understand customers and their requirements. Network development and value

proposition development are focused on building and acquiring resources to

create and deliver value to customers. Managing the opportunity in the

customer’s lifetime is about implementing CRM by acquiring and retaining

customers and developing their value (Berndt et al., 2009; Buttle, 2004).

Organisations can use opportunity management to win the trust of customers by

understanding the customers’ requirements and delivering on their promises,

whereas CI can be used for flexibility in communicating with customers and this

should lead to committed customers. The combination of CPA and CI should

notify an organisation of potential conflicts and should allow the organisation to

take corrective action immediately (Ndubisi, 2007). This is important in the

forming of long term relationships with customers.

4. FORMING LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS WITH CUSTOMERS

The purpose of CRM is to develop appropriate relationships with customers

through communication to create long-term profit (Roberts-Lombard,

10

2011b,2011; Grönroos, 2003). CRM provides a transition from a transaction-

based to a relationship-based model that concentrates on the acquisition,

development and retention of profitable customer relationships. A goal of CRM is

to create an opportunity for re-purchase by a customer through an improvement

in the communication process to the customer, providing the right offer, relating

to product and price, through the right channel, at the right time. This will lead the

customer to perceive that the organisation is concerned with the customer’s

needs, and this in turn may lead to greater satisfaction, trust and commitment

towards the organisation. When the customer has additional experiences with the

organisation in which the customer’s needs were satisfied, the customer may

develop a sense of loyalty to the organisation (Roberts-Lombard, 2011a; Egan,

2004). Long-term relationships with customers can only be created, reinforced

and retained by building the customers’ trust in an organisation over time,

demonstrating a commitment by the organisation to service, communicating with

the customers in a timely, reliable and pro-active fashion, and handling conflicts

between the organisation and the customers effectively (Ndubisi, 2007).

4.1 Attracting profitable customers

Should an organisational goal be to attract the greatest number of customers,

this can be achieved by giving away products and services for free. The

organisation will be able to gain 100% market share, but it will not be in business

over a long period of time. Organisations should therefore only attract the most

profitable customers. All customers are not created equally, an organisation

should disinvest unprofitable customers. The purpose of CRM is to identify the

most profitable customers, retain them and encourage greater usage of the

organisation’s products and services, and to trade them up to more prestigious

and expensive items over time (Read, 2009; Baran et al., 2008; Rootman, 2006).

CRM adopts a customer focus that enables an organisation to retain loyal,

profitable customers and a greater share of the customer’s wallet through cross-

selling and up-selling. Organisations attempt to increase the customer lifetime

value through efforts such as personalisation, customisation and effective

11

customer profit projections based on recency, frequency and monetary value

(RFM) measurements. RFM is an approach to compute a score for each

customer based on how recently they purchased, how frequently they purchase

and how much revenue or profit they generate. The score generated is then used

to predict a customer’s likely response to future marketing expenditures and

efforts (Baran et al., 2008; Buttle, 2004; Egan, 2004). Trust is one of the

important underpinnings to CRM. The resources of the organisation have to be

used in such a manner that the trust customers have in the organisation is

maintained and strengthened (Ndubisi & Wah, 2005). A long-term relationship

between organisation and customer will only develop if the relationship is

mutually beneficial (Baran et al., 2008).

4.2 Managing the relationships with customers

The term management is important in defining CRM, as it pertains to the

organisation’s ability to develop strategies to attract and retain customers.

Management refers to the identification of prospects, selection and acquisition of

relevant prospects and developing the relationship. Organisations should

increase the number of products and services that add value for the customer

and are profitable for the organisation, since it can ensure that the lucrative

lifetime value of the relationship is maximised. To manage the relationship with

customers effectively, the linkage between marketing, communication and CRM

must be strong. CRM integrates marketing, sales and service functions through

organisation process automation, technology solutions and information resources

to maximise each customer contact. CRM facilitates relationships amongst the

organisation, customers, organisation suppliers and employees (Baran et al.,

2008; Du Plessis, Jooste & Strydom, 2005; Evans et al., 2004). CRM is about

managing the customer experience. Organisations must therefore understand

their customers’ needs and purchase behaviour and effectively manage each

interaction which they have with a customer. These interactions can arise when

customers interact with employees in the organisation through customer contact

centres, but also through advertising and sales promotion activities. CRM raises

12

the bar for customer service expectations as organisations exhibit greater

customer recognition and treat customers as individuals. Thus, CRM can provide

organisations with a competitive advantage (Baran et al., 2008; Du Plessis et al.,

2005). Customers will trust organisations that they (through past experiences)

have learnt can be trusted. Unfortunately, one of the constants of services is

service failure. When a service failure takes place the management of the

organisation should investigate what caused the failure, and they should rectify it

immediately and communicate their actions to customers. If service failures are

not dealt with, customers will end their relationship with the organisation (Berndt

et al., 2009).

4.3 CRM viewed as a system

CRM as a system refers to the technological integration of the various touch

points with customers throughout the organisation, e.g. the organisation’s

Intranet. The information obtained from customers must then be stored in a data

warehouse, which should allow easy, useable access to the information stored.

Touch points are any point of contact with the customer and can include phone

enquiries from customers, web applications, e-mail or in-person contact

transactions such as the interaction with the customer through walk-in-centres

(Onut, Erdem & Hosver, n.d.). When CRM is viewed as a system it must contain

four major technology components, namely (Baran et al., 2008; Geib, Reichold,

Kolbe & Brenner, 2005):

A data warehouse containing customer, contact, transaction and channel data.

The main purpose of data storage is to enable the organisation to develop

strategies around customer behaviour. A data warehouse is a repository for all

relevant customer and prospect information.

Analytical tools to identify customer behaviour patterns.

Campaign management tools to develop and evaluate the results of marketing

communications such as advertising and sales promotion campaigns.

Interfaces to maintain the database.

13

CRM aims to build relationships with customers through dialogue during the pre-

selling, selling, consuming and post-consuming stages. Information must be

communicated to the customer that can be trusted. Communication with

customers should also tell dissatisfied customers what the organisation is doing

to rectify the situation (Ndubisi & Wah, 2005). Du Plessis (2010) furthermore

states that trust and commitment are key elements for retaining customers. An

organisation must therefore focus on building relationships with customers to

reap the rewards of loyal customers. Communication is the glue that holds the

relationships with customers together and emotional trust is the foundation for

partners to function. Against this background, the Trust-Commitment theory of

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is discussed.

5. THE TRUST-COMMITMENT THEORY OF CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP

MANAGEMENT (CRM)

Scholars have identified different virtues that have been theorised in the

relationship marketing literature, but have placed special emphasis on trust

(Morgan & Hunt 1994; Moorman, Deshpandè & Zaltman, 1983) and commitment

(Morgan & Hunt 1994; Ndubisi, 2004). Morgan and Hunt (1994) stipulate that

trust and commitment are central to relationship marketing because they

encourage marketers to work at preserving relationship investments by

cooperating with exchange partners, resist attractive short-term alternatives in

favour of the expected long-term benefits of staying with existing partners, and

view potentially high-risk actions as being prudent because of the belief that their

partners will not act opportunistically. Therefore, when both trust and

commitment – not just one or the other – are present, they produce outcomes

that promote efficiency, productivity and effectiveness. In short, trust and

commitment lead directly to cooperative behaviours that are conducive to

relationship marketing success (Tsai, Tsai & Chang, 2010).

14

5.1 Trust

Before a relationship can exist, both parties must mutually perceive that the

relationship exists. Relationships are therefore a series of transactions which

build an awareness of a shared relationship through trust and commitment.

Higher levels of trust and commitment in turn are associated with higher levels of

customer retention, and this leads to increased organisational profitability (Read,

2009). Trust is focused and there is a generalised sense of confidence and

security in the other party. The parties believe that the one party will act in the

interest of the other, that the other party will be credible, and that the other party

has the necessary expertise (Lian, Chen & Wang, 2008). Trust can be viewed as

a partner’s belief that the other partner will perform actions that will result in

positive outcomes, as well as not take actions that will result in negative

outcomes. The trusting relationships between customers and organisations are

associated with overall positive outcomes, and trust in the organisation should

increase the benefit derived from transacting with the organisation (Botha & Van

Rensburg, 2010).

Ndubisi (2007) refers to trust as the willingness to rely on a partner in whom

confidence is entrusted. In developing relationships with customers, trust

between the parties is of the utmost importance. Customers will trust

organisations which they perceive to be honest (Sauers, 2008). Often consumers

only partially know what they are buying, their purchase is based on trust

(Morgan & Hunt, 1994). For example, the value of an insurance policy will only

be known at claim stage, as most customers do not understand the fine print and

legal conditions of their home insurance or retirement plan (Datamonitor, 2013).

A customer’s trust in an organisation has a positive and direct effect on the

customer’s loyalty towards the service provider. Customer loyalty is indicated by

an intention to perform a diverse set of behaviours that signal a motivation to

maintain a relationship with the organisation, including allocating a higher share

of the category wallet to the specific service provider, engaging in positive word-

of-mouth, and repeat purchasing (Botha & Van Rensburg, 2010). The

15

relationship between consumer trust and loyalty is supported by reciprocal

arguments (Morgan & Hunt, 1994). When service providers act in a manner that

builds customer trust, the perceived risk with the specific service provider is

reduced, enabling the customer to make confident predictions about the

provider's future behaviours (Tsai et al., 2010). Trust also influences loyalty by

affecting the customer’s perception of congruence in values with the provider,

and such value congruence is significantly related to the customer’s loyalty and

satisfaction. Trust as an underpinning of CRM therefore has a positive influence

on customer loyalty (Hoq, Sulatana & Amin, 2010; Ndubisi 2007).

Trust is therefore an essential ingredient for successful long-term relationships

(Morgan & Hunt, 1994). It allows partners in a relationship to help preserve the

relationship, avoid alternative relationship with other partners, and reduce

perceptions of risk. Trust has been viewed as a key driver of successful and

long-term relationships in consumer markets, and a critical success factor in

viable relationships in services marketing (Hu, Kandampully & Juwaheer, 2009;

Morgan & Hunt, 1994; Dwyer, Schurr & Sejo, 1987). According to Morgan and

Hunt (1994), trust exists when one party has confidence in the exchange

partner’s reliability and integrity. One major source of trust is the satisfaction of

customer expectations, and it is reinforced by positive service evaluations and

satisfactory consumption experiences which make future exchanges more

predictable. Additionally, trust has been found to be directly related to

behavioural intentions (Sirdeshmukh, Singh & Barry, 2002; Chaudhuri &

Holbrook, 2001), however limited empirical studies have examined the influence

of trust on actual patronage behaviours (Percy, Visvanathan & Watson, 2010).

5.2 Commitment

Commitment is an essential ingredient for successful, long-term relationships

(Biedenbach & Marell, 2010). It arises from trust, shared values and the belief

that partners will be difficult to replace. Commitment motivates partners to co-

operate in order to preserve the relationship investments. This implies that

16

partners forgo short-term alternatives in favour of long-term benefits associated

with current partners. Customers will only make commitments to trustworthy

partners because commitment entails vulnerability, and leaves them open to

opportunism (Read, 2009). Commitment is higher among individuals who believe

that they receive more value from a relationship, therefore highly committed

customers would be willing to reciprocate effort on behalf of an organisation due

to past benefits received (Botha & Van Rensburg, 2010). Therefore, commitment

in this context refers to both parties understanding that they are in the market

together for the long run. They are willing to make sacrifices for their partners

because they are mutually dependent upon each other in their quest to achieve

long-term returns on their psychological and financial investments (Baran et al.,

2008). For example, the way in which employees of an organisation perform their

tasks can lead to trust, and this will have a significant impact on the commitment

from the customer and therefore customer loyalty (Helkkula & Kelleher, 2010).

Commitment is central to a successful relationship. Commitment is the desire to

maintain the relationship and is indicated by ongoing investment into activities

which are expected to maintain the relationship into the future. As it may take

time to reach a point where a commitment is made, it may also imply a certain

maturity in the relationship (Morgan & Hunt, 1994). High levels of commitment

are also associated with perceptions of future rewards, relationship identification,

limited desire to seek out alternatives, the amount of effort expended in a

relationship, the investment made in the relationship and the individual’s

assumed responsibility (Tsai et al., 2010; Gummesson, 2008). Relationship

commitment is central to CRM. A customer will be committed to an organisation if

the latter has proved to be trustworthy, and has shown that it has the ability to

offer solutions and successfully support the value generating processes of the

customer (Ma, Ding & Hong, 2010). Commitment is undoubtedly connected with

trust, but it is less clear which assumes precedence. Commitment may be the

outcome of growing trust, or trust may develop following a decision by the parties

in the relationship to commit to each other. Furthermore, the breakdown in

17

commitment may be as a result of the breakdown of trust, and vice versa (Jain &

Bagdare, 2009:35-36).

Commitment is higher among individuals who believe that they receive more

value from a relationship, therefore highly committed customers would be willing

to reciprocate effort on behalf of an organisation due to past benefits received

(Botha & Van Rensburg, 2010). Therefore, commitment in this context refers to

both parties understanding that they are in the market together for the long run.

They are willing to make sacrifices for their partners because they are mutually

dependent upon each other in their quest to achieve long-term returns on their

psychological and financial investments (Baran et al., 2008). For example, the

way in which employees of an organisation perform their tasks, can lead to trust,

and this will have a significant impact on the commitment from the customer and

therefore customer loyalty (Helkkula & Kelleher, 2010).

Egan (2008) states that commitment is the implicit or explicit pledge of continuity

between relationship partners. Commitment has also been found to be positively

related to behavioural intentions, particularly customer loyalty. For example, the

greater the customer’s (affective) commitment in the relationship, the more the

customer is inclined to remain in the relationship. Alternatively, the commitment

to building long-term relationships is also demonstrated by the willingness of the

parties to invest resources (e.g. assets, time and effort) to strengthen the

relationship. Thus, after establishing commitment in the relationship, this should

not only lead to a greater propensity to maintain the relationship, but also to

invest in the relationship to increase its quality (Gounaris, 2005). While trust has

been based on an evaluation of the partner’s qualities (perceived reliability and

integrity), commitment involves a psychological attachment, a concern for the

welfare of the organisation. The next section provides an in-depth perspective on

the relationship between “Trust” and “Commitment” and the influence of “trust” on

the relationship loyalty intention of the customer.

18

6. TRUST INFLUENCES RELATIONSHIP COMMITMENT AND

RELATIONSHIP LOYALTY

In service industries, a high level of contact between service providers and

customers is required. The greater customers’ satisfaction with their service

experience, the more they feel they can trust both the organisation itself and the

personnel who provide its service. Thus, satisfied customers are more willing to

increase use for a short period and in the long run, by trust having been built by

an organisation (Aydin & Ozer, 2006). Frequent exposure to the business’s

products/services or the business’s brand can cause it to be seen as a well

known name that can be trusted. Linked to this is the perceived popularity of the

product service, the idea being that, if a large number of customers buy a product

or service, it must be reliable and should be trusted (McMahon-Beattie, 2005).

Kuusik (2007) argues that the development of trust is influenced by three aspects

within the business: supplier, product and salesman. This shows that the

customer evaluates the business with regard to the supplier, product and staff to

examine whether a trust relationship is viable.

Staff comprise representatives of the business in the customer’s eyes. When a

staff member’s behaviour is perceived as ethical, the business is also perceived

as ethical. Customer trust in the relational sales context can be defined as a

confident belief that the salesperson can be relied upon to behave in such a

manner that the long-term interest of the customer will be served (Chen & Xie,

2007). Within an optometric practice the customer evaluates the trust relationship

based on interaction with staff, the product properties and the overall

performance of the practice to form an image of the supplier. McMahon-Beattie

(2005) argues that businesses need to consider the element of pricing policies

and revenue as an antecedent of trust. Businesses need to be aware that pricing

can decrease trust if there is a perception that services are charged incorrectly or

exorbitantly. Significantly, customers often base their level of trust/distrust in a

business on their perceptions of the fairness of the pricing of the products and

19

services. Customers typically perceive price increases as fair if they are a

reaction to increased cost from the seller’s point of view, but unfair if they are in

reaction to increased demand.

The perception of a business as caring for its customers is also important in

developing trust, and a number of businesses have been witnessed investing in

RM and CRM strategies to improve the perception of the business in order to

result in the business being perceived as trustworthy in an endeavour to foster

customer loyalty and maximise long-term profits (McMahon-Beattie, 2005). Trust

is considered an important result of investing in a dyadic and affective

relationship between customers and the business. Increased trust is often cited

as a critical ingredient for determining relationship success and consequently

brings on an improved relationship quality with customers (Hoq et al., 2010).

Morgan and Hunt (1994) support this argument by stating that trust is extremely

important to relationship building and can be perceived as the cornerstone of the

strategic partnership between supplier and customer. Why? Relationships

characterised by trust are so highly valued that parties will desire to commit

themselves to such relationships. Indeed, because commitment entails

vulnerability, parties will only seek trustworthy partners.

Trust has been recognised as an important factor in affecting relationship

commitment and customer loyalty. Social exchange theory explains this causal

relationship through the principle of generalised reciprocity, which holds that

“mistrust breeds mistrust and as such would also serve to decrease commitment

in the relationship and shift the transaction to one or more direct short-term

exchanges. Therefore, it is posited that trust is a major determinant of

relationship commitment (Morgan & Hunt, 1994). Literature further postulates

that if one party trusts another, such a party is willing to develop a positive

behavioural intention towards the other party. Accordingly, when a customer

trusts a business or brand, that customer is willing to form a positive buying

intention towards the business. Trust works at preserving relationship investment

20

by cooperating with exchange partners, resisting attractive short-term

alternatives in favour of the long-term benefits of continuing with existing

partners, and viewing potentially high-risk actions as being prudent because of

the belief that their partners will not act opportunistically (Aydin & Ozer, 2006).

The relationship between customer trust and loyalty is supported by reciprocal

arguments. When service providers act in a way which builds customer trust, the

perceived risk with the service provider is reduced, which enables the customer

to make confident predictions about the service provider’s future dealings. Trust

influences loyalty by affecting the customer’s perception of congruence in values

with the service provider, and such value congruence is significantly related to

the customer’s satisfaction and loyalty. Trust as an element of customer loyalty

has a definite influence on the building of customer loyalty (Du Plessis, 2010;

Chen & Xie, 2007). Against this background, a perspective follows on the

influence of commitment on customer loyalty.

7. COMMITMENT INFLUENCES CUSTOMER LOYALTY

Relationships are built on the foundation of mutual commitment, and the

commitment level has been found to be the strongest predictor of the voluntary

decision to pursue a relationship. Commitment is a means for differentiating

successful relationships from unsuccessful relationships hence strong

relationships are built on the foundation of mutual commitment (Ibrahim & Najjar,

2008). Parties in the relationship identify commitment as the key endeavour to

develop and maintain their relationship. A high level of commitment provides the

context in which both parties can achieve individual and joint goals without fear of

opportunistic behaviour. This is because more committed partners will exert effort

and balance short-term problems with long-term goal achievement, higher levels

of commitment are expected with relationship success (Wang, 2010).

21

The following elements are generic to all definitions of commitment and can be

highlighted as follows (Du Plessis, 2010):

Commitment is directly linked to the concept trust.

Parties in the relationship trust each other and are loyal, which causes the

relationship to be stable.

Parties in the relationship work to create a long-term relationship with each

other.

One of the parties in the relationship has a desire to do business with the

other party in the relationship.

In a similar way to trust, commitment is an important ingredient in successful

relationships, with commitment being a central construct in relationship

marketing. In the buyer-seller relationship, commitment is defined as an implicit

or explicit pledge of relationship continuity between exchange partners hence

commitment refers to the motivation to stay with a supplier (Rauyruen & Miller,

2007). Commitment is generally regarded to be an important result of good

relational interactions. The strengh of customers’ commitment depends on their

perceptions of efforts made by the seller, which suggests that commitment is

fuelled by the ongoing benefits accruing to each partner. When the proportion of

commitment becomes more remarkable, it is not difficult to infer that the

relationship on both sides becomes more stable (Liang & Wang, 2005). For

commitment to exist, the following fundamentals need to be in place (Du Plessis,

2010):

Relationship terminations cost – These costs are influenced by the lack of

comparable alternative partners, expenses associated with the dissolution of

the relationship, and switching costs.

Relationship benefits influence commitment – Partner selection may be critical

in creating competitive strategies, as it is desirable to have partners who

deliver superior value benefits.

Shared values directly influence commitment – The extent to which partners

22

have common beliefs about behaviours, goals and policies that are important

and right for a situation, can affect relationship commitment.

Communication indirectly influences commitment – Sharing of meaningful and

timely information can strengthen the level of relationship commitment.

Opportunistic behaviour can negatively influence commitment through a

decrease in trust by one of the parties.

High levels of commitment in the relationship will lead to overall relationship

quality and loyalty. Relationship quality and commitment are antecedents of

repeat purchase behaviour. Customers who are committed to a relationship

might have a greater propensity to act because of their need to remain consistent

with their commitment (Liang & Wang, 2005). More committed customers tend to

form a positive overall impression towards the total relationship duration,

including different transactions, positive and negative, and these customers

exhibit strong intentions to stay in the relationship (Du Plessis, 2010).

The affective dimension of commitment best describes the emotional component

of loyalty. Hence, increases in relationship commitment will positively improve the

intention to continue a relationship which in turn will lead to increases in

behavioural intentions and ultimately loyalty (Zhang, Dixit & Friedmann, 2010).

Commitment operates in the same manner as trust, in that certain levels of

commitment are required to initiate the relationship, and as the relationship

evolves, so does the existence of commitment. Commitment is generally

regarded to be an important result of good relational interactions and is affected

by the customer’s perception of the effort made by the seller. Commitment is

fuelled by the ongoing benefits accrued to each partner in the relationship,

through the fact that committed customers have a greater propensity to act

because of their need to maintain their relationship commitment. When the

proportion of commitment becomes more remarkable, it is clear to infer that the

relationship on both sides becomes more stable, hence commitment is also an

important variable in the measurement of customer loyalty (Du Plessis, 2010;

23

Liang & Wang, 2005).

The next section provides insight into a new proposed paradigm of thought

based on the understanding of trust and commitment in future customer

management implementation.

8. OPPORTUNITY FOR A NEW THOUGHT PARADIGM BASED ON THE

UNDERSTANDING OF TRUST AND COMMITMENT IN FUTURE

CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT IMPLEMENTATION

Individual customers’ perception, once formed, can be difficult to alter. Decisions

that influence trust need to be infirmed by an understanding of customers, a

commitment to service and a focus on profitability. There is no need for confusion

when it comes to matters which relate to customers and trust (Olajide & Israel,

2012). What matters to the customer is a practical straightforward approach with

emphasis on honesty, simplicity, fairness, efficiency, initiative, respect and

excellence. Several vital truths exist when investigating trust and customers (Van

Vuuren, 2011):

Success is mutual – Short-term profiting at the expense of customers can be

costly and should be avoided; relationships based on trust are the only sure

foundation for long-term profitability and win-win solutions are crucial.

Complexity can diminish trust – Customers give their trust expecting

responsiveness, service and speed, and these are jeopardised by

complexity. Simplicity is needed if trust is to be built in the long run.

Recognition builds trust – All parties respond better when their value is

acknowledged, so whether the success is a customer’s or someone serving

a customer, recognition for their needs builds understanding, community

spirit and trust.

Clear communication is vital – Maintaining trust means listening, valuing

communication, being honest and learning from people’s comments.

24

Be consistent – Practising what you preach is essential for all customers.

Maintaining the trust of customers is challenging at any time, but it is

particularly exacting given the changing nature of customers’ needs.

Unless there is a minimum level of trust between the parties, it is unlikely that

relationships will be maintained. It is therefore imperative that businesses

address the listed issues in order to build trust. Trust between the parties must be

developed and it must be seen as an investment (Du Plessis, 2010).

Commitment, on the other hand, is influenced by the psychological, emotional,

economic and physical attachments in a relationship that are fostered by

association and interaction which bind parties together in a business relationship.

Four strategies can be developed to increase perceived relationship investment,

which in turn influences the commitment: financial bonding tactics, social bonding

tactics, and structural bonding tactics (Liang & Wang, 2005). These strategies

are discussed as follows:

Financial bonding tactics – Create a bond that stimulates customers’

consumption motivation and improves their loyalty through price decisions,

such as price discounts or better financing opportunities. This bond is easily

emulated by competitors hence it is unable to give the business a

sustainable competitive advantage.

Social bonding tactics – These are created through the personal ties and

linkages forged through interactions. These bonds are influenced through

factors such as disclosure, friendliness, closeness, empathy, responsiveness,

affiliation, attachment, connectedness and shared experiences.

Structural bonding tactics – The knots that secure the structure through

administration, structure, norms and institutionalisation of the relationship.

Rules, policies, procedures, infrastructure and/or agreements give formal

structure to relationship. Norms informally govern interactions and systems

facilitate interactions.

Perceived relationship investment – Relationship bonding tactics play a

25

predominant role through the increased importance the customer attaches to

the relational properties of interactions with the business. Investing time,

effort and other irrevocable resources in a relationship creates psychological

bonds that encourage customers to stay in that relationship and set an

expectation of reciprocation.

By providing this level of relationship bonding tactics, businesses can consolidate

their relationships with customers. The kinds of value-added services provided

improve customer efficiency and are not easily emulated by a competitor (Liang

& Wang, 2005).

Considering the theory provided in this article, Table 2 propose a

conceptualisation for a new paradigm thought on trust and commitment as two

pillar antecedents of CRM. .

Table 2: A new paradigm thought on Trust and Commitment as two

antecedents of Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

TRUST

Trust can be viewed as a partner’s belief that the other partner will perform

actions that will result in positive outcomes, as well as not take actions that will

result in negative outcomes. The trusting relationships between customers and

organisations are associated with overall positive outcomes, trust in the

company should increase the benefit derived from transacting with the

company (Du Plessis, 2010).

PILLAR

CONSTRUCTS

CONCEPTUALISATION RESEARCH

WORK

SUMMATIVE

PERSPECTIVE

Two-way

relationship

The benefit of wanting to

establish a relationship

by one part to another

Du Plessis (2010)

If an

organisation

delivers on its

promises, it Relationship Cofidence of one party Van Vuuren

26

dependence that the other will act in

its best interest

(2011) becomes

trusted by the

client. The

customer will

then be more

likely to utilise

the

organisation’s

services again,

as the customer

knows what

he/she can

expect from the

organisation

(Theron,

Terblanche &

Boshoff, 2012)

Shared values Common beliefs on

what is appropriate,

inappropriate, right or

wrong behaviour

Morgan and Hunt (1994)

Organisational

culture

Recognition of customer

orientation as a

business culture

Roberts-Lombard (2010)

Confidence and

security

The parties

believe that the one

party will act in the

interest of the

other, that the other

party will be credible,

and that the

other party has the

necessary expertise

Roberts-Lombard (2011)

COMMITMENT

Commitment is an essential ingredient for successful, long-term relationships

(Biedenbach & Marell, 2010). It arises from trust, shared values and the belief

that partners will be difficult to replace. Commitment motivates partners to co-

operate in order to preserve the relationship investments. This implies that

partners forgo short-term alternatives in favour of long-term benefits associated

with current partners.

PILLAR CONSTRUCTS

CONCEPTUALISATION RESEARCH WORK

SUMMATIVE PERSPECTIVE

Trust Commitment arises from Morgan and Hunt (1994)

Customers will

27

trust, shared values and

the belief that partners

will be difficult to

replace. Commitment

motivates partners to

co-operate in order to

preserve the relationship

investments

make

commitments

only to

trustworthy

partners,

because

commitment

entails

vulnerability

and leaves

them open to

opportunism

(Read, 2009).

Relationship

willingness

One party in the

relationship is motivated

to do business with the

other party in the

relationship

Du Plessis (2010)

Shared values The extent to which

partners have common

beliefs about

behaviours, goals and

policies that are

important and right for a

situation, can affect

relationship commitment

Van Vuuren (2011)

Communication Sharing of meaningful

and timely information

can strengthen the level

of relationship

commitment

Du Plessis & Roberts-Lombard (2013)

Relationship

termination

costs

These costs are

influenced by the lack of

comparable alternative

partners, expenses

associated with the

Roberts-Lombard (2011)

28

dissolution of the

relationship, and

switching costs

ASSIMILATION OF TRUST AND COMMITMENT INTO CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

BENEFITS

Attracting new customers

Encouraging existing customers to more regularly make use of the

organisations service

Encouraging existing customers to purchase higher-value services to

ensure higher profits

Reducing the extent of customer churn

Terminating relationships with customers who are not profitable

From the paradigm framework provided in Table 2, Figure 1 is proposed. This

figure provides an illustrative summary of the elements that are central to trust

and commitment for improving Customer Relationship Management(CRM).

29

Figure 1: The elements of trust and commitment and their relationship to

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Source (Researchers own construct)

It is therefore proposed that by focusing on the key aspects highlighted above

under each construct (refer to Figure 1), organisations can strengthen their ability

to enhance trust in the organisation and the brand it represents, and stimulate

Two-way relationship

Relationship dependence

Shared values

Organisational culture

Confidence and security

TRUST

COMMITMENT

Trust

Relationship willingness

Shared values

Communication

Relationship termination costs

CRM

BENEFITS

Behaviour prediction

Personalisation

Customer profitability

30

the commitment of customers towards the organisation more successfully. The

potential outcome being that organisations can improve on their ability to predict

consumer behaviour, personalise products and services to their customer base,

and enhance their level of profitability through customer loyalty.

9. CONCLUSION

The development of trust is considered an important result of investing in a

dyadic and affective relationship between the parties in the relationship.

Increased trust is cited as critical for relationship success between the customer

and the business (Kumar et al., 2010). A customer will desire a relationship with a

specific business if he finds the benefits received to exceed the effort in obtaining

benefits. From this it is evident that both parties in the relationship have certain

costs or effort, but also expected benefits (Rootman, 2006). The benefits sought

through the relationship by customers are satisfaction, value and quality, while

the business ultimately endeavours to create long-term loyalty and profitabilty

(Wetsch, 2005:38). Trust refers to the confidence in the dependability of one

party to act in the long-term interest of the other party. A party to a relationship

has trust, if the feeling that the other party can be depended on, exists

(Nyadzayo, 2010). Customers are loyal when they have consistently been

satisfied, and are then passionately loyal about doing business with sellers who

can always be trusted. This high-trust relationship requires going further than the

realm of a customer transient and transaction-based feeling of delight, and is

regarded as total trust (Clancy, 2010). Trust exists when one party has

confidence in an exchange partner’s reliability and integrity. Relationships

characterised by trust are so highly valued that parties will desire to commit

themselves to such relationships (Ibrahim & Najjar, 2008). The following

guidelines are proposed for winning the trust of customers, namely secure the

confidence of customers, enhance trust in the product quality or service quality of

the offering, customers must perceive the service provider as reliable, there must

be channels to secure two-way communication, constant provision of high quality

31

service delivery is required, an affiliation with a professional body or Association

is recommended, a supplier must do continuous market research on the needs

and preferences of their customers, there must be a continuous effort by the

supplier to honour commitments made to customers, promises made to

customers must be honoured, and the employees of the supplier must act in a

professional manner at all times (Roberts-Lombard, van Tonder, Pelser &

Prinsloo, 2014).

Commitment, on the other hand, is also an essential ingredient for successful,

long-term relationships (Buttle, 2004). Similar to trust, commitment appears to be

one of the most important variables in understanding relationships, and it is a

useful construct for measuring the likelihood of customer loyalty as well as for

predicting future purchase frequency (Du Plessis & Roberts-Lombard, 2012).

Commitment arises from trust, shared values and the belief that partners will be

difficult to replace. Commitment motivates partners to co-operate in order to

preserve the relationship investments. Commitment implies that partners forgo

short-term alternatives in favour of long-term benefits associated with current

partners. Customers will only make commitments to trustworthy partners

because commitment entails vulnerability, and leaves them open to opportunism

(Buttle, 2004). Commitment is higher among individuals who believe that they

receive more value from a relationship, therefore highly committed customers

would be willing to reciprocate effort on behalf of a company due to past benefits

received (Alwi, 2009). Commitment in this context refers to both parties

understanding that they are in the market together for the long run. They are

willing to make sacrifices for their partners because they are mutually dependent

upon each other in their quest to achieve long-term returns on their psychological

and financial investments (Baran et al., 2008). For example, the way in which

employees of an organisation perform their tasks, can lead to trust and this will

have a significant impact on the commitment from the customer and therefore

customer loyalty (Roberts-Lombard, 2010). The following guidelines are

proposed for winning the commitment of customers, namely customers must be

32

convinced that it would be to their benefit to conduct business with the supplier,

the value that customers receive from the services or products provided by the

supplier must be greater than the value they would have received from

competitors, customers must perceive the service provided by the supplier as

unique, and difficult to duplicate, customers should understand that if they wish to

leave the supplier, they might have to incur high switching costs, due to the

unique benefits that the supplier is able to offer, customers must be convinced

that the supplier have their best interest at heart and as such, the customers

should remain committed to their practices, customers should believe that the

supplier does not simply have opportunistic intentions, but genuinely cares about

their well-being and shares the same values they might have, and meaningful

information must be shared by the supplier with customers in a timely manner

(Roberts-Lombard, van Tonder, Pelser & Prinsloo, 2014).

REFERENCE LIST

Achrol, R. 1991. "Evolution of the Marketing Organisation: New Forms for

Tlirbulent Environments." Journal of Marketing, 55 (4):77-93.

Alvarez, L., Casielles, R. & Martin, A. 2011. Analysis of the role of complaint

management in the context of relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing

Management, 27(1-2):143-164.

Alwi, S.F.S. 2009. Online corporate brand images and consumer loyalty.

International Journal of Business and Society, 10(2):1-19.

Aydin, S. & Özer, G. 2006. How switching costs affect subscriber loyalty in the

Turkish mobile phone market: An exploratory study. Journal of Targeting,

Measurement and Analysis for Marketing, 14(2):141-155.

33

Baran, R.J., Galka, R.J. & Strunk, D.P. 2008. Principles of customer relationship

management. Mason: Thomson South-Western.

Berndt, A., Du Plessis, L., Klopper, H.B., Lubbe, I., Roberts-Lombard, M. 2009.

Starting out in marketing. Roodepoort: Future Vision Business Consultants.

Biedenbach, G. & Marell, A. 2010. The impact of customer experience on brand

equity in a business-to-business services setting. Brand Management Journal,

17(6): 446-458.

Botha, G. & Van Rensburg, A.C. 2010. Proposed business process improvement

model with integrated customer experience management. South African Journal

of Industrial Engineering, 2(1):45-57.

Buttle, F. 2004. Customer Relationship Management, concepts and tools.

Burlington: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.

Chaudhuri, A. & Holbrook, M. B. 2001. The chain of effects from brand trust and

brand affect to brand performance: the role of brand loyalty. Journal of Marketing,

65(2): 81–93.

Chen, Y. & Xie, J. 2007. Cross-market network effect with asymmetric customer

loyalty: Implications for competitive advantage. Marketing Science, 26(1):52.

Clancy, R. 2010. Do you hear your customers? Do they hear you? American

Banker, 175(141):10-10.

Datamonitor. (2013). South Africa life insurance. N.p.: Datamonitor.

34

Du Plessis, L. 2010. Customer relationship management and its influence on

customer loyalty at liberty life in South Africa. Unpublished Master’s dissertation.

Johannesburg: University of Johannesburg.

Du Plessis, P.J., Jooste, C.J. & Strydom, J.W. 2005. Applied strategic marketing.

2nd edition. Sandton: Heinemann.

Du Plessis, L. & Roberts-Lombard, M. 2012. The influence of trust and

commitment on customer loyalty: A case study of Liberty Life. Acta Academica,

44(4): 58-80.

Du Plessis, L. & Roberts-Lombard, M. 2013. Customer loyalty in the South

African long-term insurance industry. Acta Commercii, 13(1): 1-8.

Dwyer, R.F., Schurr, P.H. & Sejo, O.H. 1987. Developing Buyer-Seller

Relationships. Journal of Marketing, 51:11-27.

Egan, J. 2004. Relationship marketing, exploring relational strategies in

marketing. 2nd edition. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

Evans, M., O’Malley, L. & Patterson, M. 2004. Exploring direct and customer

relationship marketing. 2nd edition. London: Thomson.

Frow, P., Payne, A., Wilkinson, I.F. & Young, L. 2011. Customer management

and CRM: Addressing the dark side. Journal of Services Marketing, 25(2): 79-89.

Geib, M., Reichold, A., Kolbe, L. & Brenner, W. 2005. Architecture for customer

relationship management approaches in financial services. Conference

proceedings of the 38th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

N.p.: System Sciences.

35

Gounaris, S.P. 2005. Trust and commitment influences of customer retention:

insights from business-to-business services. Journal of Business Research,

58(2005):126-140.

Grönroos, C. 2003. Service management and marketing a customer relationship

management approach. 2nd edition. West Sussex: Wiley.

Gummesson, E. 2008. Customer centricity: Reality of a wild goose chase?

European Business Review, 20(4): 315-330.

Hasan, S., Raheem, S. & Subhani, M. 2011. Measuring Customer Delight: A

Model for Banking Industry. European Journal of Social Science, 22 (4): 510-518.

Hasounet, A.B.I. & Alqeed, M.A. 2010. Measuring the Effectiveness of Email

Direct Marketing in Building Customer Relationship. International Journal of

Marketing Studies, 2(1): 48-64.

Helkkula, A. & Kelleher, C. 2010. Circularity of customer service experience and

customer perceived value. Journal of Customer Behaviour, 9(1):37-53.

Hoq, M.Z., Sulatana, N. & Amin, M. 2010. The effect of trust, customer

satisfaction and image on customers' loyalty in Islamic banking sector. South

Asian Journal of Management, 17(1):70-93.

Hu, H., Kandampully, J. & Juwaheer, T.D. 2009. Relationships and impacts of

service quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and image: An empirical

study. Service Industries Journal, 29(2):111-125.

Ibrahim, H. & Najjar, F. 2008. Relationship bonding tactics, personality traits,

relationship quality and customer loyalty: Behavioral sequence in retail

environment. ICFAI Journal of Services Marketing, 6(4):6-37.

36

Jain, R. & Bagdare, S. 2009. Determinants of customer experience in new format

retail stores. Journal of Marketing and Communication, 5(2): 34-44.

Krasnikov, A., Jayachandran, S. & Kumar, V. 2009. The Impact of Customer

Relationship Management Implementation on Cost and Profit Efficiencies:

Evidence from the U.S. Commercial Banking Industry. Journal of Marketing, 73:

61–76.

Kumar, S.A., Mani, B.T., Mahalingam, S. & Vanjikovan, M. 2010. Influence of

service quality on attitudinal loyalty in private retail banking: An empirical study.

IUP Journal of Management Research, 9(4):21-38.

Kuusik, A. 2007. Affecting customer loyalty: Do different factors have various

influences in different loyalty levels? University of Tartu - Faculty of Economics

and Business Administration working paper series, (58):3-29.

Lages, C., Lages, C.R. & Lages, L.F. 2005. The RELQUAL scale: a measure of

relationship quality in export market ventures. Journal of Business Research,

58:1040-1048.

Lian, C., Chen, H. & Wang, W. 2008. Does online relationship marketing

enhance customer retention and cross-buying? The Service Industries Journal,

28(6):769-787.

Liang, C.C.L. & Wang, W.W.W. 2005. Integrative research into the financial

services industry in Taiwan: Relationship bonding tactics, relationship quality and

behavioural loyalty. Journal of Financial Services Marketing, 10(1):65-83.

Ma, Y., Ding, J. & Hong, W. 2010. Delivering customer value based on service

process: The example of Tesco.com. International Business Research, 3(2):131-

135.

37

McMahon-Beattie, U. 2005. Future of revenue management trust and revenue

management. Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, 4(4):406-407.

McPherson, M. 2006. Stop navel-gazing and look at your customer. Travel

Industry. Review, 130: 1-16.

Moorman, C., Deshpandé, R. & Zaltman, G. 1993. Relationships between

Providers and Users of Market Research: The Role of Personal Trust. Marketing

Science Institute, Cambridge, MA.

Morgan, R.M. & Hunt, S.D. 1994. The Commitment-Trust Theory of Relationship

Marketing. Journal of Marketing, 58:20-38, July.

Mukherjee, A. & Nath, P. 2003. A model of trust in online relationship banking.

International Journal of Bank Marketing, 21(1): 5-15.

Nazari, M., Divkolaei, M. & Sorkhi, M. 2012. Prioritizing the effective factors to

customer’s satisfaction. International Journal of Business Management, 7(2):

236-242.

Ndubisi, N.O. 2007. Relationship marketing and customer loyalty. Marketing

Intelligence and Planning, 25(1):98-106.

Ndubisi, N.O. & Wah, C.K. 2005. Factorial and discriminant analyses of the

underpinnings of relationship marketing and customer satisfaction. International

Journal of Bank Marketing, 23(7):542-557.

Nyadzayo, M. 2010. The mediating role of customer relationship management on

customer retention at selected motor vehicle dealership in the Buffalo City

Municipality. University of Fort Hare, South Africa.

38

Olajide, O. & Israel, A. 2012. Effect of customer satisfaction on customer loyalty

among selected bank customers in ado-ekiti metropolis, Nigeria. Interdisciplinary

Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 3 (11): 228-236.

Onut, S., Erdem, I. & Hosver, A. n.d. Customer Relationship Management in

Banking Sector and A Model Design for Banking Performance Enhancement.

Istanbul: Yildiz Technical University.

Payne, A. 2009. Handbook of CRM – Achieving Excellence in Customer

Management. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Percy, W.S., Visvanathan, N. & Watson, C. 2010. Relationship marketing:

Strategic and tactical challenges for SMEs. African Journal of Business

Management, 4(13):2596-2603.

Rauyruen, P. & Miller, K.E. 2007. Relationship quality as a predictor of B2B

customer loyalty. Journal of Business Research, 60(1):21-31.

Read, B. 2009. Top Tips To Build and Keep Customer Loyalty With CRM.

Customer Inter@ction Solutions, 27(9):26-28.

Roberts-Lombard, M. 2006. Verhoudingsbemarking by reisagentskappe in die

Wes-Kaap provinsie. Doctoral thesis. Potchefstroom: Noordwes-Universiteit.

Roberts-Lombard, M. 2010. Employees as customers – An internal marketing

study of the Avis car rental group in South Africa. African Journal of Business

Management, 4(4):362-372.

Roberts-Lombard, M. 2011(a). A management perspective on the current status

of referral marketing in the property selling industry. African Journal of Business

Management, 5(8):3082-3095.

39

Roberts-Lombard, M. 2011(b). The customer market practices of the travel

agency industry in the Gauteng province of South Africa. African Journal of

Business Management, 5(8):3096-3108.

Roberts-Lombard, M. 2010. Employees as customers – An internal marketing

study of the Avis car rental group in South Africa. African Journal of Business

Management, 4(4):362-372.

Roberts-Lombard, M. & Du Plessis, L. 2012. Customer relationship management

(CRM) in a South African service environment: An exploratory study. African

Journal of Marketing Management, 4(4): 152-165.

Roberts, Lombard, M., van Tonder, E., Pelser, T. & Prinsloo, J.J.. 2014. The

relationship between key variables and customer loyalty within the independent

financial advisor environment. The Retail & Marketing Review, 1(1): 26-42.

Robinson, L., Neeley, S.E. & Williamson, K. 2011. Implementing service recovery

through customer relationship management: Identifying the antecedents. Journal

of Services Marketing, 5(2): 90-100.

Rootman, C. 2006. The influence of customer relationship management on the

service quality of banks. Unpublished Master’s dissertation. Port Elizabeth:

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.

Sauers, A.C. 2008. Effective customer relationship management. New York:

Cambria Press.

Sirdeshmukh, D., Singh, J. & Barry, S. 2002. Consumer Trust, Value, and Loyalty

in Relational Exchanges. Journal of Marketing, 66(1):15-37.

40

Theron, E., Terblanche, N. & Boshoff, C. 2012. A managerial framework for

relationship management in the business-to-business financial services industry

Customer commitment to South African fast-food brands: An application of the

Conversion Model. Management Dynamics, 21(4): 31-52.

Terblanche, N. 2007. Customer commitment to South African fast-food brands:

An application of the Conversion Model. Management Dynamics, 16(2): 2-15.

Tsai, M-T., Tsai, C-L. & Chang, H-C. 2010. The effect of customer value,

customer satisfaction, and switching costs on customer loyalty: An empirical

study of hypermarkets in Taiwan. Social Behaviour and Personality Journal,

38(6): 729-740.

Van Tonder, E. 2010. A survival and sales growth framework for independent

financial advisers. Unpublished DCom thesis. Pretoria: University of Pretoria.

Van Vuuren, T. 2011. Customer loyalty in an optometric practice – A case study

perspective. Unpublished Master’s dissertation. Johannesburg: University of

Johannesburg.

Van Vuuren, T., Roberts-Lombard, M. & Van Tonder, E.. 2012. Customer

satisfaction, trust and commitment as predictors of customer loyalty within an

optometric practice environment. Southern African Business Review, 16(3):81-

96.

Venkatesan, R., Kumar, V. & Bohling, T. 2007. Optimal Customer Relationship

Management Using Bayesian Decision Theory: An Application for Customer

Selection. Journal of Market Research., XLIV: 579-594, November.

Vranesevic, T., Vignali, C. & Vignali, D. 2002. Culture in defining consumer

satisfaction in marketing. European Business Review, 14(5): 364-374.

41

Wang, C. 2010. Service quality, perceived value, corporate image, and customer

loyalty in the context of varying levels of switching costs. Psychology and

Marketing, 27(3):252-262.

Wetsch, L.R. 2005. Trust, satisfaction and loyalty in customer relationship

management an application of justice theory. Journal of Relationship Marketing,

4(3):29.

Wyner, G.A. 1999. Customer Relationship Measurement. Marketing Research,

11(2):39-41.

Yoshida, M. & James, J. 2010. Customer satisfaction with game and service

experiences: Antecedents and Consequences. Journal of Sport Management,

24(3): 338-361.

Zhang, J., Dixit, A. & Friedmann, R. 2010. Customer loyalty and lifetime value:

An empirical investigation of consumer packaged goods. Journal of Marketing

Theory and Practice, 18(2):127-140.