IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v68y2015i6p1318-1323.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The influence of relationship marketing investments on customer gratitude in retailing

Author

Listed:
  • Huang, Min-Hsin

Abstract

Customer gratitude represents the emotional core of reciprocity and plays a key force in developing and maintaining successful seller–buyer relational exchanges. Based upon personal interviews with 239 members of loyalty card programs of a department chain store, this study shows that alternative relationship marketing investments (i.e., direct mail, tangible rewards, interpersonal communication, and preferential treatment) have a differential influence on customers' gratitude and consequently behavioral loyalty. More specifically, results of this study indicate that preferential treatment is the most effective relationship marketing tactic to enhance customer gratitude, followed by interpersonal communication and tangible rewards, respectively. Management implications for retailers to increase customers' gratitude are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Huang, Min-Hsin, 2015. "The influence of relationship marketing investments on customer gratitude in retailing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(6), pages 1318-1323.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:68:y:2015:i:6:p:1318-1323
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2014.12.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296314004068
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2014.12.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. MacKenzie, Scott B. & Podsakoff, Philip M., 2012. "Common Method Bias in Marketing: Causes, Mechanisms, and Procedural Remedies," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 88(4), pages 542-555.
    2. Andrea C. Morales, 2005. "Giving Firms an "E" for Effort: Consumer Responses to High-Effort Firms," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 31(4), pages 806-812, March.
    3. Babin, Barry J. & Attaway, Jill S., 2000. "Atmospheric Affect as a Tool for Creating Value and Gaining Share of Customer," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 91-99, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Simon, Françoise, 2017. "Relationship norms and media gratification in relational brand communication," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 12-22.
    2. Mpinganjira, Mercy & Maduku, Daniel K., 2019. "Ethics of mobile behavioral advertising: Antecedents and outcomes of perceived ethical value of advertised brands," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 464-478.
    3. Wilhelmus Hary Susilo & Yan Pieter Mulia Hutabarat & Otto Bustani, 2019. "The Pursuit for Brand Usage Intent: Insight in Higher Education which Used the Compatible Computer," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 9(5), pages 125-132.
    4. Gilboa, Shaked & Seger-Guttmann, Tali & Mimran, Ofir, 2019. "The unique role of relationship marketing in small businesses’ customer experience," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 152-164.
    5. Qi, Ji (Miracle) & Wang, Sijun & Lindsey Hall, Kristina K., 2023. "Bridging employee engagement and customer engagement in a service context," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    6. Bi, Qingqing, 2019. "Cultivating loyal customers through online customer communities: A psychological contract perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 34-44.
    7. Ruz-Mendoza, Miguel Á. & Trifu, Andreea & Cambra-Fierro, Jesús & Melero-Polo, Iguácel, 2021. "Standardized vs. customized firm-initiated interactions: Their effect on customer gratitude and performance in a B2B context," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 341-353.
    8. Pilar Fernández‐Ferrín & Sandra Castro‐González & Belén Bande, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility, emotions, and consumer loyalty in the food retail context: Exploring the moderating effect of regional identity," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 648-666, March.
    9. Simon, Françoise & Tossan, Vesselina, 2018. "Does brand-consumer social sharing matter? A relational framework of customer engagement to brand-hosted social media," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 175-184.
    10. Fiona Cownie, 2017. "Gratitude and its drivers within higher education," Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(2), pages 290-308, July.
    11. Maraj Rahman Sofi & Iqbal Ahmad Hakim, 2018. "Customer Relationship Management as Tool to Enhance Competitive Effectiveness: Model Revisited," FIIB Business Review, , vol. 7(3), pages 201-215, September.
    12. Chang, Woojung & Song, Ji Hee & Lee, Sungho, 2020. "Observation of other's preferential treatment as a constructive catalyst for improved repatronize intentions," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    13. Vaquero Martín, María & Reinhardt, Ronny & Gurtner, Sebastian, 2021. "The dilemma of downstream market stakeholder involvement in NPD: Untangling the effects of involvement and capabilities on performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 136-151.
    14. Muhammed S. Alnsour, 2018. "Online relationship marketing for banks in face-to-face economies," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 6(3), pages 105-116, September.
    15. Obeng, Efua & Nakhata, Chinintorn & Kuo, Hsiao-Ching, 2019. "“Paying it forward: The reciprocal effect of superior service on charity at checkout”," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 250-260.
    16. Lee, Hyunjung Crystal & Chugani, Sunaina & Namkoong, Jae-Eun, 2022. "The role of entitlement and perceived resources in gratitude’s effect on materialism: Longitudinal and situational effects," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 993-1003.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nierobisch, Tim & Toporowski, Waldemar & Dannewald, Till & Jahn, Steffen, 2017. "Flagship stores for FMCG national brands: Do they improve brand cognitions and create favorable consumer reactions?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 117-137.
    2. Mai Thi My-Quyen & Le Nguyen Hau & Pham Ngoc Thuy, 2020. "Mindful co-creation of transformative service for better well-being," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 14(3), pages 413-437, September.
    3. Darima Fotheringham & Michael A. Wiles, 2023. "The effect of implementing chatbot customer service on stock returns: an event study analysis," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 802-822, July.
    4. Ting Chi & Olabisi Adesanya & Hang Liu & Rebecca Anderson & Zihui Zhao, 2023. "Renting than Buying Apparel: U.S. Consumer Collaborative Consumption for Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-16, March.
    5. Youn Kue Na & Sungmin Kang, 2018. "Sustainable Diffusion of Fashion Information on Mobile Friends-Based Social Network Service," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-23, May.
    6. Ayodeji Emmanuel Oke & Ahmed Farouk Kineber & Mohamed Elseknidy & Fakunle Samuel Kayode, 2023. "Radio frequency identification implementation model for sustainable development: A structural equation modeling approach," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(3), pages 1824-1844, June.
    7. Sangeeta Peter & Victor Anandkumar, 2016. "Deconstructing the shopping experience of tourists to the Dubai Shopping Festival," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(1), pages 1199109-119, December.
    8. Xia, Lan & Kukar-Kinney, Monika, 2014. "For our valued customers only: Examining consumer responses to preferential treatment practices," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(11), pages 2368-2375.
    9. Musarra, Giuseppe & Kadile, Vita & Zaefarian, Ghasem & Oghazi, Pejvak & Najafi-Tavani, Zhaleh, 2022. "Emotions, culture intelligence, and mutual trust in technology business relationships," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    10. Talat Islam & Saima Ahmad & Ishfaq Ahmed, 2023. "Linking environment specific servant leadership with organizational environmental citizenship behavior: the roles of CSR and attachment anxiety," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 855-879, April.
    11. Qian, Lixian & Yin, Juelin & Huang, Youlin & Liang, Ya, 2023. "The role of values and ethics in influencing consumers’ intention to use autonomous vehicle hailing services," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    12. Fuentes, Christian & Bäckström, Kristina & Svingstedt, Anette, 2017. "Smartphones and the reconfiguration of retailscapes: Stores, shopping, and digitalization," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 270-278.
    13. Diogo Hildebrand & Yoshiko Demotta & Sankar Sen & Ana Valenzuela, 2017. "Consumer Responses to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Contribution Type," Post-Print hal-01576949, HAL.
    14. Talwar, Shalini & Kaur, Puneet & Escobar, Octavio & Lan, Sai, 2022. "Virtual reality tourism to satisfy wanderlust without wandering: An unconventional innovation to promote sustainability," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 128-143.
    15. Ramendra Pratap Singh & Neelotpaul Banerjee, 2018. "Exploring the Influence of Celebrity Credibility on Brand Attitude, Advertisement Attitude and Purchase Intention," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 19(6), pages 1622-1639, December.
    16. Maggioni, Isabella & Sands, Sean & Kachouie, Reza & Tsarenko, Yelena, 2019. "Shopping for well-being: The role of consumer decision-making styles," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 21-32.
    17. Simona Romani & Silvia Grappi & Richard Bagozzi, 2013. "Explaining Consumer Reactions to Corporate Social Responsibility: The Role of Gratitude and Altruistic Values," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 114(2), pages 193-206, May.
    18. Dewani, Prem Prakash & Sinha, Piyush Kumar & Mathur, Sameer, 2016. "Role of gratitude and obligation in long term customer relationships," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 143-156.
    19. Muhamad Azrin Nazri & Nor Asiah Omar & Aini Aman & Abu Hanifah Ayob & Nur Ainna Ramli, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Performance in Takaful Agencies: The Moderating Role of Objective Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-18, October.
    20. Garaus, Marion & Wagner, Udo & Manzinger, Sandra, 2017. "Happy grocery shopper: The creation of positive emotions through affective digital signage content," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 295-305.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:68:y:2015:i:6:p:1318-1323. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.