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Customer loyalty through social networks: Lessons from Zara on Facebook

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  • Gamboa, Ana Margarida
  • Gonçalves, Helena Martins

Abstract

Companies’ escalating investment in social media—in particular, in Facebook—has become reality. However, most firms still do not see social networks as a vehicle for cultivating and winning customer loyalty, but rather as a resource for creating brand awareness. In this article, we offer a different view. By examining fans and non-fans of the Zara brand on Facebook, we discovered that Facebook enhances the relations that increase loyalty via trust, customer satisfaction, perceived value, and commitment. Our results revealed that these relations are stronger for fans of the brand than for non-fans, and suggest that customer satisfaction is the strongest determinant of loyalty. This indicates a new opportunity for marketing managers to achieve customer loyalty: Facebook.

Suggested Citation

  • Gamboa, Ana Margarida & Gonçalves, Helena Martins, 2014. "Customer loyalty through social networks: Lessons from Zara on Facebook," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 57(6), pages 709-717.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:bushor:v:57:y:2014:i:6:p:709-717
    DOI: 10.1016/j.bushor.2014.07.003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    5. Andrea Moretta Tartaglione & Ylenia Cavacece & Giuseppe Russo & Giuseppe Granata, 2019. "A Systematic Mapping Study on Customer Loyalty and Brand Management," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-21, January.
    6. Luisa Bosetti, 2015. "Engaging stakeholders through Facebook. The case of Global Compact LEAD participants," Proceedings of Business and Management Conferences 3005158, International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences.
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    12. Hou, Rui & Wu, Jiawen & Du, Helen S., 2017. "Customer social network affects marketing strategy: A simulation analysis based on competitive diffusion model," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 469(C), pages 644-653.
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