Behavioral Aspects in 'GLOBAL' Retail Environment

8/3/2019 Behavioral Aspects in 'GLOBAL' Retail Environment

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Behavioral Aspects in 'GLOBAL'Retail Environment :

Relationship Quality, Customer Loyalty, Relationship BondingTactics & Personality Traits

*Ranjana Patil,

**Namrata Shah,

***S. Balasubramanian &

**** Prof Dr Pradip Manjrekar


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Abstract

This study examines a connection betweenrelationship bonding tactics, social self-imagecongruity, customer's relationship orientation,relationship satisfaction, trust, relationalcommitment and loyalty towards retail stores.

Relationship duration was used as a controllablevariable in the marketing system. Data from 1,269customers of different storesgloballywereanalyzed . The results indicate that relationshipbonding tactics and psychological traits lead to a

higher relationship satisfaction. Moreover, it hasbeen found that relationship satisfaction positivelyimpacts trust which, in turn, leads to commitmentand ultimately to loyalty.


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Objectives

The three-fold objectives are:

To illustrate the impact of particular behavior thatwill signal whether customers remain with or leavea company.

To explore the links between relationship bondingtactics as well as customer personality and theloyalty of customer

To propose an academic as well as a managerialoutline concerning relationship foundation. Thisaspect is considered to be imperative sinceretailers are often surrounded by uncertainty and

inaccurate information about what really matters tocustomers resulting in relationship marketingprograms that are implemented ineffectively.


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Relationship Bonding Tactics

Financial Bonding Tactics

Social bonding tactics

Structural bonding tactics


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Financial Bonding Tactics the financial bonding tactics as a kind of

business practice which is to empower customerloyalty through pricing incentives.

functional bonds are also illustrated as taskbonds created by the economic, strategic,technological and instrumental benefits derivedby the exchange parties


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Social bonding tactics Social bonding tactics are personal ties that

focus on service dimensions to develop buyer-seller relationships during interpersonal

interactions, friendships and identifications Social bonds dispose customers to self-

disclosure, listening and caring, which in turngets better reciprocal understanding between thecustomers and the service provider and theiropenness


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Structural bonding tactics Structural bonding tactics are created since each

party desires its partner in order to achievesomething; these bonds bring the members

together, keep them together, and cause them tointeract in a relationship


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Customers Relationship Orientation

Do customers really want to build a long-term relationship with us?

The term customers relationship orientation has

been interpreted as the desire of the customer

to develop a long-term relationship with firm. Weconstruct customers relationship orientation as acontinuum. One end of continuum show absenceof relationship desire, while the other end showsa high level of relationship desire. When acustomer has no relationship orientation, wedefine that the customer is transactional oriented.


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Social Self-Image Congruity

The significance of self-concept lies in the fact thatin many cases what a consumer buys can beinfluenced by the image he/she has ofhimself/herself. That is, consumers use products todemonstrate their self-concepts to themselves.

Through the purchase and the use of products,

consumers define, maintain and enhance their self-concept .

As purchase and consumption are good vehiclesfor self-expression, consumers often buy productsthat are perceived to be similar to their own self-

concept This results in what is often described as self-

image congruity


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Social Self-Image Congruity

A higher level of different types of self-image congruity (actual, ideal, social andideal social self-image congruities) leads toa higher level of customer satisfaction in the

retail environment.


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Relationship Satisfaction

Relationship satisfaction refers to "thecognitive and affective evaluation based onpersonal experience across all ... episodeswithin the relationship

Thus, relationship satisfaction can beconsidered to be a positive emotional andrational state resulting from the assessmentof the buyer's working relationship with thesupplier


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Relationship Satisfaction

Positive interactions lead to long-termcontinuation of the relationship, thusemphasizing that relationship satisfaction isessential to the improvement of relationshipperformance.

Satisfaction is based on the customer'scumulative experience rather than being atransaction-specific phenomenon.Especially, in the context of relationshipbetween loyalty and satisfaction,conceptualizing with a single transaction istoo restrictive


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Trust

In interpersonal relationships, trust isdefined as the "willingness to rely onanother party and to take action incircumstances where such actions make

one vulnerable to the other party Trust is an essential ingredient in the

creation, development, and maintenance oflong-term relationships between buyers andsuppliers


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Trust

Trust is assumed to influence relationshipcommitment since it reduces the perceptionof risk, empowers the confidence of theconsumer and it diminishes the transaction

costs. These benefits should build attachment and

create a desire to continue the relationship.


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Relational Commitment

Relational commitment is defined as "anexchange partner believing that an ongoingrelationship with another is so important asto warrant maximum efforts at maintaining

it; that is, the committed party believes therelationship is worth working on to ensurethat it endures indefinitely"


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Loyalty

Loyalty is defines as the "biased behavioralresponse, expressed over time, by somedecision making unit, with respect to onestore out of a set of stores, which is a

function of psychological processesresulting from commitment".


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Hypotheses

H1: A higher level of relationship bonding tactics leads to a higher

level of relationship satisfaction.

H2: A higher level of customer's relationship orientation leads to ahigher level of relationship satisfaction.

H3: A higher level of social self-image congruity leads to a higherlevel of relationship satisfaction.

H4: A higher level of relationship satisfaction leads to a higher levelof trust.

H5: A higher level of trust leads to a higher level of relationalcommitment.

H6. A higher level of relational commitment leads to a higher level of

loyalty H7: A higher level of relationship satisfaction leads to a higher level

of loyalty

H8: A higher level of trust leads to a higher level of loyalty.


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Results of Hypotheses Tests

Hypothesis 1 stated that a higher level of relationship bonding

tactics leads to a higher level of relationship satisfaction. Thestandardized coefficient of this path was 0.182. The t-valuewas 9.485, which was significant at a = 0.01. The significantcoefficient provided evidence of support.

Hypothesis 2 explored the relationship between customer'srelationship orientation and relationship satisfaction .

Hypothesis 2 was supported since the t-test for the pathcoefficient was significant (t-value of 10.678), indicating thatthe customer personality positively influenced the overallsatisfaction.

The shoppers' social self-image congruity was expected torelate positively to overall satisfaction level. The greatersocial self-image congruity toward the store, the higher it wasanticipated would be their levels of relationship satisfaction.This relationship, was found to be significant with an alphalevel of 0.01 With a t-value of 10.134, so Hypothesis 3 wassupported.


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Hypothesis 1 stated that a higher level ofrelationship bonding tactics leads to a higherlevel of relationship satisfaction. Thestandardized coefficient of this path was 0.182.The t-value was 9.485, which was significant ata = 0.01. The significant coefficient providedevidence of support.

Hypothesis 2 explored the relationshipbetween customer's relationship orientationand relationship satisfaction . Hypothesis 2 wassupported since the t-test for the pathcoefficient was significant (t-value of 10.678),indicating that the customer personalitypositively influenced the overall satisfaction.


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The shoppers' social self-image congruity wasexpected to relate positively to overall satisfactionlevel. The greater social self-image congruitytoward the store, the higher it was anticipatedwould be their levels of relationship satisfaction.This relationship, was found to be significant withan alpha level of 0.01 With a t-value of 10.134, soHypothesis 3 was supported.

It was hypothesized that relationship satisfactionwould influence trust. The higher the Satisfaction of

customers, the higher it was anticipated would bethe levels of trust. The significant coefficient (t-value of 16.068) enabled Hypothesis 4 to besupported.


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It was postulated that a higher level of trust leads toa higher level of relationship Commitment (t-valueof 35.82) so Hypothesis 5 was Supported.

The shoppers loyalty was expected to beinfluenced positively by relational commitment,

trust and relationship satisfaction. When shoppersare highly committed and have high levels of trustand satisfaction towards the retail store, they aremore likely to visit the store in the future or toencourage their friends to do so. The (t-value of

3.745) and (t-value of 12.19) and (t-value of 8.865)were all found to be significant, so Hypothesis 6, 7and 8 were all supported.


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Conclusion

From the results of the current study, it ispossible to infer that not only are servicedepth and scope important, but alsoproviding value added services are the

most effective relationship marketingprograms.

This study determines that relationshipbonding tactics, customer's relationship

orientation and social self-image congruityhave positive effects on relationship quality.


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Conclusion

we confirm the importance of customerrelationship management in the retail storecontext. Thus, to promote a high level ofrelationship quality and loyalty, retail stores

should endeavor to provide merchandiseswith more attractive financial premiums.


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Conclusion

The customer feels uncomfortable if he visits astore which does not reflect his perception ofhimself. The present study suggests that socialself-image congruity influences directlyrelationship satisfaction and indirectly trust and

relational commitment and loyalty. In fact, as suggested by Levy (1981) "most

products say something about the social worldof those who consume them", so consumers

search for products which have an image thatare compatible with their perception of self(Ibrahim and Najjalr, 2008).


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THANK YOU

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Behavioral Aspects in 'GLOBAL' Retail Environment