The impact of customer involvement in airline loyalty programs: a multigroup analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18089/tms.2021.170303Keywords:
Loyalty Programs, Benefits, Loyalty, Perceived Functional Value, Involvement.Abstract
Loyalty programs (LPs) have been considered a key determining factor for the performance of many companies. Although the benefits, satisfaction, perceived functional value (PFV), and loyalty (BSPfvL) have been widely explored, few studies have attempted to compare the results of this model in different groups of consumers. This study aims to analyze the relationships for varying levels of user involvement in airline loyalty programs. The population of this study was individual members of airway loyalty programs in Brazil. We obtained 429 answered questionnaires. We used multi-group analysis (MGA) using Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results of this study indicate the mediation effect of satisfaction and perceived value and moderation of consumer involvement. A difference was identified between the two groups regarding hedonic benefits, satisfaction, and loyalty. This research has successfully contributed to the airline industry regarding the importance of loyalty benefits. Additionally, it highlights the importance of establishing consumers’ involvement in company loyalty programs. Finally, this study provides practical and theoretical contributions and guides future research efforts.
References
Aaker, D. A., Kumar, V., Leone, R. P., & Day, G. S. (2013). Marketing research: International student version. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Ashley, C., Noble, S. M., Donthu, N., & Lemon, K. N. (2011). Why customers won't relate: Obstacles to relationship marketing engagement. Journal of business research, 64(7), 749-756.
Aurier, P., & Guintcheva, G. (2014). Using affect–expectations theory to explain the direction of the impacts of experiential emotions on satisfaction. Psychology & Marketing, 31(10), 900-913.
Babin, B. J., Griffin, M., & Hair Jr, J. F. (2016). Heresies and sacred cows in scholarly marketing publications. Journal of Business Research, 69(8), 3133-3138.
Berry, J. (2015). The 2015 colloquy loyalty census. Cincinnati: Colloquy.
Berselli, C., Pereira, L. A., Pereira, T., & Limberger, F. (2021). Overtourism: Residents' perceived impacts of tourism saturation. Tourism Analysis, 26(2-3), 2-3.
Bijmolt, T. H., Leeflang, P. S., Block, F., Eisenbeiss, M., Hardie, B. G., Lemmens, A., & Saffert, P. (2010). Analytics for customer engagement. Journal of service research, 13(3), 341-356.
Bolton, R. N., & Drew, J. H. (1991). A multistage model of customers' assessments of service quality and value. Journal of consumer research, 17(4), 375-384.
Bolton, R. N., Lemon, K. N., & Verhoef, P. C. (2004). The theoretical underpinnings of customer asset management: A framework and propositions for future research. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 32(3), 271-292.
Bolton, R. N., Lemon, K. N., & Verhoef, P. C. (2004). The theoretical underpinnings of customer asset management: a framework and propositions for future research. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 32(3), 271-292.
Bowen, J. T., & Chen, S. L. (2001). The relationship between customer loyalty and customer satisfaction. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 13(5), 213–217.
Briggs, E., & Grisaffe, D. (2009). Service Performance-Loyalty Intentions Link in a Business-to-Business Context: The Role of Relational Exchange Outcomes and Customer Characteristics. Journal of Service Research, 13(1), 37–51.
Brodie, R. J., Hollebeek, L. D., Juri?, B., & Ili?, A. (2011). Customer Engagement. Journal of Service Research, 14(3), 252–271.
Brodie, R. J., Ilic, A., Juric, B., & Hollebeek, L. (2013). Consumer engagement in a virtual brand community: An exploratory analysis. Journal of business research, 66(1), 105-114.
Bruneau, V., Swaen, V., & Zidda, P. (2018). Are loyalty program members really engaged? Measuring customer engagement with loyalty programs. Journal of Business Research, 91, 144–158.
Chen, P. T., & Hu, H. H. (2010). The effect of relational benefits on perceived value in relation to customer loyalty: An empirical study in the Australian coffee outlets industry. International journal of hospitality management, 29(3), 405-412.
Chin, W. W., Mills, A. M., Steel, D. J., & Schwarz, A. (2014, May). Multi-group invariance testing: An illustrative comparison of PLS permutation and covariance-based SEM invariance analysis. In International Conference on Partial Least Squares and Related Methods (pp. 267-284). Cham: Springer.
Chitturi, R., Raghunathan, R., & Mahajan, V. (2008). Delight by Design: The Role of Hedonic versus Utilitarian Benefits. Journal of Marketing, 72(3), 48–63.
D'Angelo, André Cauduro, Schneider, Heleno & Larán, Juliano Aita. (2006). Marketing de relacionamento junto a consumidores finais: um estudo exploratório com grandes empresas brasileiras. Revista de Administração Contemporânea, 10(1), 73-93.
De Wulf, K., Odekerken-Schröder, G., & Iacobucci, D. (2001). Investments in consumer relationships: A cross-country and cross-industry exploration. Journal of Marketing, 65(4), 33-50.
De Wulf, K., Odekerken-Schröder, G., & Iacobucci, D. (2001). Investments in consumer relationships: A cross-country and cross-industry exploration. Journal of Marketing, 65(4), 33-50.
Demoulin, N. T., & Zidda, P. (2008). On the impact of loyalty cards on store loyalty: Does the customers' satisfaction with the reward scheme matter?. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 15(5), 386-398.
Doorn, J. V., Lemon, K. N., Mittal, V., Nass, S., Pick, D., Pirner, P., & Verhoef, P. C. (2010). Customer Engagement Behavior: Theoretical Foundations and Research Directions. Journal of Service Research, 13(3), 253–266.
Dorotic, M., Bijmolt, T. H., & Verhoef, P. C. (2012). Loyalty Programmes: Current Knowledge and Research Directions. International Journal of Management Reviews, 14(3), 217–237.
Duque-Oliva, E. J., & Mercado-Barboza, M. (2011). ATC-PSQUAL Scale: A proposal to measure perceived quality of the Air Traffic Control Service. Innovar, 21(41), 169-186.
Evanschitzky, H., Ramaseshan, B., Woisetschläger, D. M., Richelsen, V., Blut, M., & Backhaus, C. (2012). Consequences of customer loyalty to the loyalty program and to the company. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 40(5), 625–638.
Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Buchner, A., & Lang, A. G. (2009). Statistical power analyses using G* Power 3.1: Tests for correlation and regression analyses. Behavior Research Methods, 41(4), 1149-1160.
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error: Algebra and statistics. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(3), 382-388.
Fournier, S. (1998). Consumers and their brands: Developing relationship theory in consumer research. Journal of Consumer Research, 24(4), 343-373.
Gupta, S., Gupta, T., & Shainesh, G. (2018). Navigating from programme loyalty to company loyalty. IIMB Management Review, 30(3), 196–206.
Hair Jr, J. F., Gabriel, M. L., & Patel, V. K. (2014). Modelagem de Equações Estruturais Baseada em Covariância (CB-SEM) com o AMOS: Orientações sobre a sua aplicação como uma Ferramenta de Pesquisa de Marketing. Revista Brasileira de Marketing, 13(2), 44-55.
Hair Jr, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C., & Sarstedt, M. (2016). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Sage publications.
Hair Jr, J. F., Sarstedt, M., Hopkins, L., & Kuppelwieser, V. G. (2014). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM): An emerging tool in business research. European business review, 26(2), 106-121. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-10-2013-0128
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R. E., & Tatham, R. L. (2009). Análise multivariada de dados. Bookman.
Hair, J., Babin, B., Money, A., & Samouel, P. (2005). Fundamentos de métodos de pesquisa em administração. Bookman Companhia Ed.
Hall-Phillips, A., Park, J., Chung, T.-L., Anaza, N. A., & Rathod, S. R. (2016). I (heart) social ventures: Identification and social media engagement. Journal of Business Research, 69(2), 484–491.
Han, H., & Ryu, K. (2009). The Roles of the Physical Environment, Price Perception, and Customer Satisfaction in Determining Customer Loyalty in the Restaurant Industry. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 33(4), 487–510.
Hapsari, R., Clemes, M. D., & Dean, D. (2017). The impact of service quality, customer engagement and selected marketing constructs on airline passenger loyalty. International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, 9(1), 21-40.
Harrigan, P., Evers, U., Miles, M., & Daly, T. (2017). Customer engagement with tourism social media brands. Tourism management, 59, 597-609.
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sinkovics, R. R. (2009). The use of partial least squares path modeling in international marketing. In New challenges to international marketing. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Hinde, R. A. (1979). Toward understanding relationships. London: Academic Press.
Holbrook, M. B. (1999). Consumer value: a framework for analysis and research. Psychology Press.
Hsee, C. K., Yu, F., Zhang, J., & Zhang, Y. (2003). Medium Maximization. Journal of Consumer Research, 30(1), 1–14.
Hu, H.-H. "S., Huang, C.-T., & Chen, P.-T. (2010). Do reward programs truly build loyalty for lodging industry? International Journal of Hospitality Management, 29(1), 128–135.
Itani, O. S., Kassar, A. N., & Loureiro, S. M. C. (2019). Value get, value give: The relationships among perceived value, relationship quality, customer engagement, and value consciousness. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 80, 78-90.
Jacoby, J., & Kyner, D. B. (1973). Brand loyalty vs. repeat purchasing behavior. Journal of Marketing research, 10(1), 1-9.
Jang, D., & Mattila, A. S. (2005). An examination of restaurant loyalty programs: what kinds of rewards do customers prefer?. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 17(5), 402-408.
Jones, M. A., Reynolds, K. E., & Arnold, M. J. (2006). Hedonic and utilitarian shopping value: Investigating differential effects on retail outcomes. Journal of business research, 59(9), 974-981.
Kang, J., Alejandro, T. B., & Groza, M. D. (2015). Customer–company identification and the effectiveness of loyalty programs. Journal of Business Research, 68(2), 464-471.
Keller, K. L. (1993). Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity. Journal of Marketing, 57(1), 1-22.
Keller, K. L. (2020). Consumer research insights on brands and branding: a JCR curation. Journal of Consumer Research, 46(5), 995-1001.
Kim, M., Vogt, C. A., & Knutson, B. J. (2015). Relationships among customer satisfaction, delight, and loyalty in the hospitality industry. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 39(2), 170-197.
Kivetz, R., & Simonson, I. (2002). Earning the right to indulge: Effort as a determinant of customer preferences toward frequency program rewards. Journal of Marketing Research, 39(2), 155-170.
Klaaren, K. J., Hodges, S. D., & Wilson, T. D. (1994). The role of affective expectations in subjective experience and decision-making. Social Cognition, 12(2), 77-101.
Koo, B., Yu, J., & Han, H. (2020). The role of loyalty programs in boosting hotel guest loyalty: Impact of switching barriers. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 84, 102328.
Kotler, P., Keller, K. (2012). Administração de marketing. Tradução Sônia Midori Yamamoto; revisão técnica Edson Crescitelli. – 14. ed. – São Paulo: Pearson Education do Brasil.
Kumar, V., & Shah, D. (2004). Building and sustaining profitable customer loyalty for the 21st century. Journal of Retailing, 80(4), 317-329.
Lee, S., Chua, B. L., & Han, H. (2017). Role of service encounter and physical environment performances, novelty, satisfaction, and affective commitment in generating cruise passenger loyalty. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 22(2), 131-146.
Liljander, V. (2000). The importance of internal relationship marketing for external relationship success. In Relationship Marketing (pp. 161-192). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Meire, M., Hewett, K., Ballings, M., Kumar, V., & Van den Poel, D. (2019). The role of marketer-generated content in customer engagement marketing. Journal of Marketing, 83(6), 21-42.
Meyer?Waarden, L. (2008). The influence of loyalty programme membership on customer purchase behaviour. European Journal of Marketing, 42(1/2), 87-114.
Meyer?Waarden, L. (2008). The influence of loyalty programme membership on customer purchase behaviour. European Journal of Marketing, 42(1/2), 87–114.
Mimouni-Chaabane, A., & Volle, P. (2010). Perceived benefits of loyalty programs: Scale development and implications for relational strategies. Journal of Business Research, 63(1), 32-37.
Mohd-Any, A. A., Mutum, D. S., Ghazali, E. M., & Mohamed-Zulkifli, L. (2019). To fly or not to fly? An empirical study of trust, post-recovery satisfaction and loyalty of Malaysia Airlines passengers. Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 29(5-6), 661–690. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-10-2018-0223
Mota, M. D. O., & Freitas, A. A. F. (2008). Análise dos benefícios relacionais observados por usuários de serviços. RAM. Revista de Administração Mackenzie, 9(6), 126-147.
Nunes, J. C., & Drèze, X. (2006). Your loyalty program is betraying you. Harvard business review, 84(4), 124-31.
Oliver, R. L. (1997). Satisfaction: a behavioral perspective on the consumer. New York: McGraw Hill.
Palmatier, R. W., Jarvis, C. B., Bechkoff, J. R., & Kardes, F. R. (2009). The role of customer gratitude in relationship marketing. Journal of marketing, 73(5), 1-18.
Pereira, T., & Gadotti dos Anjos, S. J. (2021). Corporate Social Responsibility as Resource for Tourism Development Support. Tourism Planning & Development, ahead-of-print, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/21568316.2021.1873834
Pesonen, J., Komppula, R., & Murphy, J. (2019). Plastic loyalty–Investigating loyalty card programs for a Finnish hotel chain. Tourism Management, 73, 115-122.
Raïes, K., Mühlbacher, H., & Gavard-Perret, M.-L. (2015). Consumption community commitment: Newbies and longstanding members brand engagement and loyalty. Journal of Business Research, 68(12), 2634–2644.
Rocha, T. V., Toledo, G. L., & de Almeida, L. F. (2008). A Percepção dos Clientes Agrícolas sobre os Programas de Fidelidade: um estudo de caso. Revista Brasileira de Gestão de Negócios-RBGN, 10(28), 282-294.
Schumann, J. H., Wünderlich, N. V., & Evanschitzky, H. (2014). Spillover effects of service failures in coalition loyalty programs: the buffering effect of special treatment benefits. Journal of Retailing, 90(1), 111-118.
So, K. K. F., King, C., Sparks, B. A., & Wang, Y. (2016). The role of customer engagement in building consumer loyalty to tourism brands. Journal of Travel Research, 55(1), 64-78.
So, K. K. F., Wei, W., & Martin, D. (2021). Understanding customer engagement and social media activities in tourism: A latent profile analysis and cross-validation. Journal of Business Research, 129, 474-483.
Sprott, D., Czellar, S., & Spangenberg, E. (2009). The Importance of a General Measure of Brand Engagement on Market Behavior: Development and Validation of a Scale. Journal of Marketing Research, 46(1), 92–104.
Stathopoulou, A., & Balabanis, G. (2016). The effects of loyalty programs on customer satisfaction, trust, and loyalty toward high- and low-end fashion retailers. Journal of Business Research, 69(12), 5801–5808.
Steinhoff, L., & Palmatier, R. W. (2016). Understanding loyalty program effectiveness: managing target and bystander effects. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 44(1), 88–107.
Suh, J. C., & Yi, Y. (2012). Do consumption goals matter? The effects of online loyalty programs in the satisfaction?loyalty relation. Psychology & Marketing, 29(8), 549-557.
Sweeney, J. C., & Soutar, G. N. (2001). Consumer perceived value: The development of a multiple item scale. Journal of Retailing, 77(2), 203-220.
Tellis, G. J. (1988). Advertising exposure, loyalty, and brand purchase: A two-stage model of choice. Journal of Marketing Research, 25(2), 134-144.
Tynan, C., McKechnie, S., & Chhuon, C. (2010). Co-creating value for luxury brands. Journal of Business Research, 63(11), 1156-1163.
Vivek, S. D., Beatty, S. E., Dalela, V., & Morgan, R. M. (2014). A generalized multidimensional scale for measuring customer engagement. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 22(4), 401-420.
Wood, W., & Neal, D. T. (2009). The habitual consumer. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 19(4), 579–592.
Yi, Y., & Jeon, H. (2003). Effects of loyalty programs on value perception, program loyalty, and brand loyalty. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 31(3), 229-240.
Zeithaml, V. A. (1988). Consumer Perceptions of Price, Quality, and Value: A Means-End Model and Synthesis of Evidence. Journal of Marketing, 52(3), 2–22.
Zhang C., T., Zhang, P., & Lu, L. (2020). Service encounter value and online engagement behaviors. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 85, 102338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2019.102338
Zins, A. H. (2001). Relative attitudes and commitment in customer loyalty models. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 12(3), 269-294. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000005521
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Tourism & Management Studies
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The journal retains published articles’ copyrights, but they are simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC-ND), which allows individuals’ to share the relevant papers as long as authorship and publication in this journal are duly acknowledged.