The enhanced loyalty drivers of customers acquired through referral reward programs
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to extend prior research on referral reward programs (RRPs) by examining if and how the mode of customer acquisition (RRP-acquired customers vs non-RRP-acquired new customers) moderates the relationships between customer satisfaction and attitudinal loyalty, per...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Emerald Group Publishing
2017
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/56997 |
| _version_ | 1848759990158884864 |
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| author | Ramaseshan, Balasubramani Wirtz, J. Georgi, D. |
| author_facet | Ramaseshan, Balasubramani Wirtz, J. Georgi, D. |
| author_sort | Ramaseshan, Balasubramani |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to extend prior research on referral reward programs (RRPs) by examining if and how the mode of customer acquisition (RRP-acquired customers vs non-RRP-acquired new customers) moderates the relationships between customer satisfaction and attitudinal loyalty, perceived switching costs and attitudinal loyalty, and attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty (i.e. recommendations, cross-buying, and total spend). Design/methodology/approach: Set in a banking context, this study is the first in an RRP context to link survey data with actual purchase data from a bank’s CRM records. Specifically, the survey captured customers’ satisfaction, perceived switching costs and attitudinal loyalty, whereas the CRM data provided actual loyalty behaviors (cross-buying and total spend). Findings: The findings show that the effect of satisfaction on attitudinal loyalty, and the effects of attitudinal loyalty on recommendations, cross-buying, and total spend were stronger for RRP-acquired customers than for non-RRP-acquired new customers. Furthermore, perceived switching costs had a lower effect on attitudinal loyalty for RRP-acquired customers than for non-RRP-acquired new customers. Practical implications: The findings offer managers a better understanding of how RRP-acquired customers differ from non-RRP-acquired new customers with regard to their satisfaction, perceived switching costs, and attitudinal and behavioral loyalty, thus enabling effective management of RRPs. Originality/value: This is the first empirical study that explores the differences between RRP-acquired customers and non-RRP-acquired new customers with regard to the effects of satisfaction and perceived switching costs on attitudinal loyalty, and the effect of attitudinal loyalty on behavioral loyalty. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:08:39Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-56997 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:08:39Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Emerald Group Publishing |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-569972018-02-06T04:45:20Z The enhanced loyalty drivers of customers acquired through referral reward programs Ramaseshan, Balasubramani Wirtz, J. Georgi, D. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to extend prior research on referral reward programs (RRPs) by examining if and how the mode of customer acquisition (RRP-acquired customers vs non-RRP-acquired new customers) moderates the relationships between customer satisfaction and attitudinal loyalty, perceived switching costs and attitudinal loyalty, and attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty (i.e. recommendations, cross-buying, and total spend). Design/methodology/approach: Set in a banking context, this study is the first in an RRP context to link survey data with actual purchase data from a bank’s CRM records. Specifically, the survey captured customers’ satisfaction, perceived switching costs and attitudinal loyalty, whereas the CRM data provided actual loyalty behaviors (cross-buying and total spend). Findings: The findings show that the effect of satisfaction on attitudinal loyalty, and the effects of attitudinal loyalty on recommendations, cross-buying, and total spend were stronger for RRP-acquired customers than for non-RRP-acquired new customers. Furthermore, perceived switching costs had a lower effect on attitudinal loyalty for RRP-acquired customers than for non-RRP-acquired new customers. Practical implications: The findings offer managers a better understanding of how RRP-acquired customers differ from non-RRP-acquired new customers with regard to their satisfaction, perceived switching costs, and attitudinal and behavioral loyalty, thus enabling effective management of RRPs. Originality/value: This is the first empirical study that explores the differences between RRP-acquired customers and non-RRP-acquired new customers with regard to the effects of satisfaction and perceived switching costs on attitudinal loyalty, and the effect of attitudinal loyalty on behavioral loyalty. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/56997 10.1108/JOSM-07-2016-0190 Emerald Group Publishing restricted |
| spellingShingle | Ramaseshan, Balasubramani Wirtz, J. Georgi, D. The enhanced loyalty drivers of customers acquired through referral reward programs |
| title | The enhanced loyalty drivers of customers acquired through referral reward programs |
| title_full | The enhanced loyalty drivers of customers acquired through referral reward programs |
| title_fullStr | The enhanced loyalty drivers of customers acquired through referral reward programs |
| title_full_unstemmed | The enhanced loyalty drivers of customers acquired through referral reward programs |
| title_short | The enhanced loyalty drivers of customers acquired through referral reward programs |
| title_sort | enhanced loyalty drivers of customers acquired through referral reward programs |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/56997 |