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The role of customer gratitude in making relationship marketing investments successful

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  • Fazal e Hasan, Syed
  • Lings, Ian
  • Neale, Larry
  • Mortimer, Gary

Abstract

This paper recognises that customer loyalty is important for many competitive organisations, and that retail firms make investments to build and maintain loyal relationships with their existing and potential customers (e.g. loyalty programs). However, there has been little focus on the mechanisms by which these relationship investments operate to achieve customer loyalty. This paper examines one mechanism, namely customer gratitude, which works to make a firm’s relationship marketing investment a success or a failure. Using data from 1600 undergraduate students, this study empirically confirms the mediating role of customer gratitude between the customers’ perceptions a firm’s relationship marketing investments and customers’ perceptions of the value of the relationship with the firm. Further, a significant moderating effect of perceived benevolence on the relationship between customers’ perceptions a firm’s relationship marketing investments and customer gratitude was identified. For theorists, this customer gratitude model offers a better psychological explanation of how relationship marketing investments operate to improve the value that customers place on their relationships with retailers. Our research suggests that managers should invest resources to stimulate customer gratitude in order to build strong customer–seller relationships.

Suggested Citation

  • Fazal e Hasan, Syed & Lings, Ian & Neale, Larry & Mortimer, Gary, 2014. "The role of customer gratitude in making relationship marketing investments successful," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 788-796.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:21:y:2014:i:5:p:788-796
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2014.06.007
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    4. 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.
    5. Rusni Hassan & Syed Ahmed Salman, 2021. "Innovative Nature of the Takaful Industry in Malaysia: Are We with The Conventional Insurance Industry?Overview," International Journal of Business and Administrative Studies, Professor Dr. Bahaudin G. Mujtaba, vol. 7(1), pages 1-11.
    6. O’Donnell, Kathleen A. & Strebel, Judi & Mortimer, Gary, 2016. "The thrill of victory: Women and sport shopping," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 240-251.
    7. Mirza Md Moyen Uddin, 2020. "Does financial development stimulate environmental sustainability? Evidence from a panel study of 115 countries," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2871-2889, September.
    8. Mortimer, Gary & Fazal-e-Hasan, Syed Muhammad & Strebel, Judi, 2021. "Examining the consequences of customer-oriented deviance in retail," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    9. Mahnaz Mansoor & Tahir Mumtaz Awan & Fauzia Syed, 2020. "Positive emotions as underlying mechanism between customer gratitude and behavioural intentions," Journal of Administrative and Business Studies, Professor Dr. Usman Raja, vol. 6(1), pages 09-20.
    10. Casidy, Riza & Wymer, Walter, 2016. "A risk worth taking: Perceived risk as moderator of satisfaction, loyalty, and willingness-to-pay premium price," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 189-197.
    11. Albors-Garrigos, Jose, 2020. "Barriers and enablers for innovation in the retail sector: Co-innovating with the customer. A case study in grocery retailing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    12. Bougoure, Ursula Sigrid & Russell-Bennett, Rebekah & Fazal-E-Hasan, Syed & Mortimer, Gary, 2016. "The impact of service failure on brand credibility," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 62-71.
    13. Grimmer, Louise & Grimmer, Martin & Mortimer, Gary, 2018. "The more things change the more they stay the same: A replicated study of small retail firm resources," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 54-63.
    14. Bahman Huseynli & Sevar Mammadova, 2022. "Determining the Moderator Role of Brand Image on Brand Innovativeness, Consumer Hope, Customer Satisfaction and Repurchase Intentions," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(2), pages 59-77.
    15. Sammon, Rachel & Kwon, Kyoung-Nan, 2015. "Host׳s interpersonal influence on guests in a home sales party," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 32-38.
    16. 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.

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