Journal of Consumer Behaviour

J. Consumer Behav. 5: 15–31 (2006)

Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/cb.46

The antecedents of consumer loyalty

in retail bankingy
Barbara R Lewis* and Magdalini Soureli
Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester, UK

* This paper is focused on a study designed to investigate loyalty in retail banking. The
research findings suggest that loyalty is the outcome of a cognitive rather than an affective
process. The main antecedents of bank loyalty were found to be perceived value, service
quality, service attributes, satisfaction, image and trust: constructs that are inter-related
and form a network of loyalty antecedents.
Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Introduction rage variety seeking and switching behaviours

(Beckett et al., 2000). These include: increas-
Service providers are increasingly concerned to
ing consumer awareness and knowledge of
develop and maintain customer loyalty as they alternatives (Meidan, 1996); rising expecta-
are aware that loyalty leads to increased and
tions and more sophisticated behaviour
guaranteed income and is a key determinant of (Ennew et al., 1995); and provider activities
market share and profitability (Meidan, 1996). A
in the form of promotions, incentives to switch
loyal customer base enables companies to and ease of access. In addition, maintaining
reduce costs, both operational and marketing,
customers is increasingly difficult as many
e.g. to attract new customers (Griffin, 1995)
industries, for example financial services,
and can also boost employees’ morale and
move from high personal contact to remote
productivity (Lee and Cunningham, 2001).
contact via the telephone and Internet
Further, loyalty can lead to price indifference, (Harrison, 2000). Consequently, companies
favourable word-of-mouth communication,
need to consider the antecedents of customer
endorsements and customer referrals, cross loyalty and their relative importance, such that
sales and resistance to competition (Barnes and
they may try to impact on them in the provision
Howlett, 1998). and delivery of services.
Although customer loyalty exists in all
The present paper aims to identify and assess
service industries, there are forces that encou-
the antecedents of loyalty based on an investi-
gation in Greek retail banking. A resume of
————
—
*Correspondence to: Barbara R Lewis, Manchester Busi- research literature is offered, relating to under-
ness School, The University of Manchester, Booth Street standing the concept of customer loyalty, and
West, Manchester, M15 6PB.
E-mail: barbara.lewis@manchester.ac.uk
previous investigations in financial services, in
y particular those that focus on the antecedents
This paper is based on a presentation made at the
American Marketing Association Service Research of loyalty. From this, a conceptual model is
Conference in Reims, France, June 12th–14th 2003, developed. The fieldwork methodology adop-
‘What are the Antecedents of Service Loyalty: Evidence
from Retail Banking’, which has appeared in the ted is then outlined, followed by presentation
conference proceedings. and discussion of the main findings.

Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, February 2006
16
Literature review
Understanding the concept
of customer loyalty
Customer loyalty is complex, comprising many
dimensions and its conceptualisation has been
dominated by the behavioural and attitudinal
approaches. Behavioural definitions, based
on aspects of repeat purchase behaviour such
as amount of purchases, frequency of purchase
and amount of brand switching have been
offered, with associated criticisms by research-
ers such as Day (1969), Jacoby and Chestnut
(1978), Mercier (2001) and Zins (2001). In
contrast, the attitudinal approach which incor-
porates consumer attitudes, preferences and
disposition towards brands, and allows greater
insight into loyal behaviour, has been advo-
cated by, among others, Day (1969), Javalgi
and Moberg (1997), Pedersen and Nysveen
(2001) and Zins (2001).
In the attitudinal approach, loyalty may be
viewed as a three stage developing process.
Cognitive elements influence affective loyalty
which suggests some involvement on the
customer’s part and, in turn, affective loyalty
impacts on conative loyalty which captures
customers’ intentions or commitment to
behave in a loyal manner (Oliver, 1997).
Other researchers have suggested compo-
site measures of loyalty, arguing that loyalty is
formed both by the customer’s attitude and
behavioural intentions (e.g. Pedersen and
Nysveen, 2001) and so it should be measured
as a combination of attitudinal and behavioural
dimensions (Day, 1969; Dick and Basu, 1994;
Zins, 2001).
Further research has focused on customer
loyalty continuums or ladders to show how an
individual’s relationship with a company pro-
gresses through various stages, culminating in
loyalty and advocacy (see Christopher et al.,
1995; Mercier, 2001).
Service loyalty
The majority of research studies have focused
on brand loyalty, while loyalty in the services
area has remained underexposed (Lee and
Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
B. R Lewis and M. Soureli
Cunningham, 2001). It should be noted
though, that loyalty in the services sector is,
perhaps, more difficult to conceptualise than
in the product domain due to the character-
istics of services (Mittal and Lassar, 1998). For
example, intangibility and lack of standardisa-
tion may lead to reliability and confidence
playing a major role in building or maintaining
loyalty (Dick and Basu, 1994—cited in
Bloemer et al., 1998). In addition, the insepar-
ability of provider and customer, and the
customer’s participation in service production
and delivery, manifests the interpersonal com-
ponent of services and adds emotional dimen-
sions to loyalty ( Javalgi and Moberg, 1997;
Oliver, 1997). Further, service loyalty usually
refers to the service provider rather than a
specific product/brand, and the likelihood
of loyalty to a service provider may be
increased due to difficulties in service quality
evaluation and higher perceived risk ( Javalgi
and Moberg, 1997). Moreover, service loyalty
comprises many different variables (Harrison,
2000), which vary among services, according
to the specific characteristics of each service
industry.
Loyalty in financial services
Industry specific issues and characteristics
affect consumer behaviour and, therefore,
loyalty in financial services. The nature of the
service act, the relationships with customers,
customisation and the method of service
delivery ( Javalgi and Moberg, 1997) play an
important role in the formation of bank loyalty,
which therefore is a multi-faceted construct
(Dawes and Swailes, 1999).
Loyalty in financial services has been viewed
in relation to the length of time a customer has
been with a provider, number of services used
and frequency of service use. A definition of the
term which incorporates all the dimensions
that have been found in the literature should
include long-term intentional repurchase of
services, high degree of customer preference,
customers’ recommendations and advocacy,
customers’ price indifference, low likelihood
of switching and high potential of increasing
Journal of Consumer Behaviour, February 2006
Retail banking
volume of product use. Thus, a combination of
cognitive, affective, conative and behavioural
loyalty.
Having defined loyalty in general and bank
loyalty specifically, a brief presentation of the
factors affecting the construct is necessary to
provide greater insight into the subject of this
paper.
Antecedents of loyalty
There are many variables that have been
considered as antecedents of loyalty and have
been of major interest in research studies. The
most important ones are as follows:
Customer satisfaction
Satisfaction can be attributed to various dimen-
sions such as satisfaction with the personnel,
the core service or the organisation in general. It
may also be considered as the accumulated
experience of a customer’s purchase and
consumption experiences (Andreassen and
Lindestad, 1998). From any perspective, the
level of satisfaction experienced by the custo-
mer affects loyalty (Oliver, 1997; Drake et al.,
1998; Nguyen and LeBlanc, 1998; Moutinho and
Brownlie, 1989; Moutinho and Smith, 2000).
Perceived service quality
Parasuraman et al., (1988), among others,
defined service quality as a function of the
ability to perform the promised service
dependably and accurately, the willingness to
help customers and provide prompt service,
the knowledge and courtesy of employees and
their ability to inspire trust and confidence, the
individualised attention the firm provides its
customers and the physical facilities, equip-
ment, and appearance of personnel. In relation
to loyalty, it has been shown that service-
related factors such as speed of delivery,
efficiency, friendliness, ease of contact and
frequent communication (Drake et al., 1998;
Moutinho and Brownlie, 1989) can be effective
ways for banks to build loyalty (Bloemer et al.,
1998; Nguyen and LeBlanc, 1998; Moutinho
and Smith, 2000).
Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
17
Service attributes
The service attributes which characterise the
bank but are not part of the service quality that
customers perceive their main bank offers
them (e.g. ease of access, provision of informa-
tion and alternate transaction channels)
(Avkiran, 1999); are related to service quality,
satisfaction and customer loyalty (Moutinho
and Brownlie, 1989, Drake et al., 1998).
Corporate image
Corporate image refers to customers’ affective
preconceptions towards the service provider,
created by continuous service experiences
(Zins, 2001). The image of a bank can play an
important role in retaining customers (Bloemer
et al., 1998; Nguyen and LeBlanc, 1998).
Perceived value
Perceived value equates to the result of the
customer’s trade-off between perceived bene-
fits and perceived sacrifices (Zeithaml, 1988;
McDougall and Levesque, 2000) and has a
distinctive part to play in relation to loyalty
development (Zeithaml and Bitner, 1996;
Nguyen and LeBlanc, 1998).
Switching costs
Switching costs, including monetary costs,
time and the psychological effort generated
from the uncertainty of doing business with a
new service provider (Ruyter et al., 1998) can
be significantly influential in determining
customer loyalty (Andreassen and Lindestad,
1998; Dawes and Swailes, 1999; Harrison,
2000; Lee and Cunningham, 2001; Jones et al.,
2002).
Interpersonal relationships with bank
employees
It has been shown that customers are more
likely to become loyal if they develop a
personal relationship with a contact employee
(Bejou et al., 1998; Barnes and Howlett, 1998;
Hiscock, 2001; Perrien et al., 1992).
Journal of Consumer Behaviour, February 2006
18
Commitment-attachment
Attachment/affective commitment refers to
an emotional bond and sense of belonging
(Delgado-Ballester and Munuera-Aleman, 2001)
and has been viewed as a prerequisite for
customer loyalty to occur (Dick and Basu,
1994—cited in Bloemer et al., 1998; Oliver,
1997).
Trust
Trust is a feeling of security, based primarily on
the belief that one party’s behaviour is guided
by favourable intentions towards the best
interests of the other, and secondly on the
competence of a business to keep its promises
(Delgado-Ballester and Munuera-Aleman,
2001). Because of the emotional nature of
customer loyalty, trust in the service provider’s
reliability and integrity is very important (Bejou
et al., 1998; Pedersen and Nysveen, 2001).
Customer characteristics
Customer characteristics such as personality,
demographic, social and economic variables,
banking expertise and knowledge of financial
services (Harrison, 1994), all have an impact on
the formation and development of loyalty
(Hiscock, 2001).
Organisations’ relationship marketing
efforts
The efforts that banks make to build loyalty by
implementing customer reward schemes,
direct mail and other relationship marketing
techniques (Christopher et al., 1995) may
impact on customers and increase loyalty
(Barnes and Howlett, 1998; Harrison, 2000).
For each of these constructs, researchers
have offered a number of dimensions/compo-
nents and scales for assessment. All constructs
are found to have an effect on customer loyalty
and, particularly, bank loyalty. Moreover, they
interact with each other, forming simple or
more complex conceptual models of various
causal relationships. In the following para-
Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
B. R Lewis and M. Soureli
graphs, the studies that have focused on the
interrelationships of these loyalty antecedents
are briefly presented.
Inter-relationships of loyalty antecedents
The relationships between loyalty and custo-
mer characteristics, to include demographics,
attitudes and personality, have been investi-
gated by Fry et al., (1973); Jain et al., (1987)
and Shemwell et al., (1994). The inter-
relationships between satisfaction, purchase
intentions and loyalty have been the focus
of Jones and Suh (2000) who distinguished
between transaction specific and overall
satisfaction, and Yu and Dean (2001) who
assessed cognitive and affective satisfaction.
The relationships between service quality,
perceived value, satisfaction, image and loy-
alty have been considered by: Mittal and Lassar
(1988), who researched how technical and
functional service quality influence satisfaction
and loyalty; McDougall and Levesque (2000)
who investigated the impact of core and
relational service quality and perceived value
on satisfaction and loyalty intentions; Zins
(2001) who hypothesised that service quality
and image will influence perceived value,
overall satisfaction and future loyalty; and
Nguyen and LeBlanc (2001) who focused on
corporate image and reputation as critical
antecedents of customer loyalty.
Relationships between switching costs, ser-
vice quality and loyalty have been examined
by: Ruyter et al., (1998) who found that
industry specific switching costs have a con-
siderable effect on the relationship between
service quality and loyalty; Jones et al., (2002)
who showed how various switching cost
dimensions relate to repurchase intentions/
loyalty; and Lee and Cunningham (2001) who
followed a cost-benefit approach including
switching costs to understand service loyalty.
Moutinho and Brownlie (1989) and Mou-
tinho and Smith (2000) researched the impact
of new technology on satisfaction and loyalty
and, finally, trust, commitment and loyalty
were researched by Shemwell et al., (1994) and
Bejou and Palmer (1998).
Journal of Consumer Behaviour, February 2006
Retail banking
Four studies that include conceptual models
are particularly relevant. Andreassen and
Lindestad (1998) examined relationships
among the constructs of value, corporate
image, perceived quality, customer satisfac-
tion and customer loyalty: they concluded that
corporate image is a critical factor that
contributes to perceived service quality,
customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
Ruyter and Bloemer (1999) considered how
value attainment and positive mood impact
on loyalty in relation to varying levels of
customer satisfaction: showing that when
consumers experience a positive mood and
attain their values in a service setting, then
satisfaction’s impact on loyalty is decreased.
Bloemer et al’s., (1998) study in banking
examined how image, perceived service
quality and satisfaction determine loyalty:
image was found to be related indirectly to
bank loyalty and satisfaction via perceived
quality. Finally, Nguyen and LeBlanc (1998)
proposed relationships among customer satis-
faction, service quality and value and their
effect on corporate image and customer
loyalty towards banks. They found that
customer satisfaction and service quality were
positively related to service value, and high
levels of service quality and perceived value
led to the formation of favourable image.
Satisfaction but not quality and, to some
extent, image impacted on loyalty.
The results of all these studies provide
evidence that, although the literature is rich
in loyalty studies, there are contradictory
findings and no overall conclusions with
respect to the main loyalty antecedents. In
addition, only limited attention is focused on
loyalty models and very few studies have
referred to the emotional dimensions of loyalty,
the importance of which has already been
manifested in the research literature.
Research objectives
This paper tries to offer a more holistic view of
the loyalty concept, by measuring and asses-
sing the antecedents of loyalty in the retail
banking industry. The objectives are to:
Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
19
* Provide an understanding of the notion of
loyalty and its various dimensions.
* Introduce a new conceptual model that
captures some of the loyalty antecedents as
these emerge from existing models together
with some ‘new’ variables, e.g. the affective
dimensions of loyalty and the role of
commitment.
* Examine the impact of these variables on
loyalty and their relative importance.
* Investigate customers’ attitudes towards
bank loyalty by identifying the key dimen-
sions of and reasons for bank loyalty.
* Provide bank managers with useful informa-
tion for customer loyalty building.
In particular, this paper tries to answer the
following questions: is loyalty the cognitive
outcome of high perceived quality or does it
also have an emotional value? does commit-
ment contribute to loyalty? and what is the role
of interpersonal relationships in the develop-
ment of loyalty? Furthermore, the issues to be
monitored are whether or not there is true or
spurious loyalty towards banks, and what are
the antecedents of bank loyalty.
The research model
Due to a lack of relevant conceptual frame-
works, and in order to incorporate affective
aspects of loyalty, a new model of bank loyalty
(shown in Figure 1) is proposed. This model is
based on the premise that the relationship
between satisfaction and loyalty is not straight-
forward; satisfaction does not necessarily lead
to repurchase and so is insufficient to create
true loyalty. Consequently, bank commitment,
which implies some emotional attachment to
the service provider, and which may be
necessary for intentional loyalty, is seen as an
intermediate factor between satisfaction and
loyalty. Moreover, interpersonal relationships
with bank employees are suggested to influ-
ence the level of bank commitment, and also
impact directly on customer loyalty (Sheaves
and Barnes, 1996—cited in Dawes and Swailes,
1999).
Another construct which is considered to
affect the relationship between satisfaction and
Journal of Consumer Behaviour, February 2006
20
Figure 1. Antecedents of bank service loyalty
loyalty is customer involvement, defined as the
perceived personal importance and interest
that customers attach to the acquisition and
consumption of the service. Customer invol-
vement may have a direct positive effect on
loyalty, while it is also critical for mutual
relationship commitment. Further, corporate
image is viewed both as an antecedent of
loyalty and the outcome of external corporate
communications, which affects customers’
involvement. Finally, the impact of service
quality on satisfaction and the possible direct
effect of perceived value on loyalty are both
considered.
Research methodology
In order to achieve the research objectives, a
study was carried out to measure and assess the
antecedents of loyalty in the Greek banking
industry. The country-specific character of the
study was not considered to be a constraining
factor in relation to the generalisability of the
research findings and the paper’s objectives, as
the Greek financial services industry follows
the trends of most Western economies. In
particular, as in other European countries,
Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
B. R Lewis and M. Soureli
deregulation and new technology in distribu-
tion channels have lowered barriers to entry in
the Greek banking industry, while the changes
that the Euro has brought have intensified
competition and increased the potential for
customer defection. Greek banks compete
fiercely with each other for market share: to
that end, they have developed customer
relationship management systems and loyalty
schemes and they offer switching manage-
ment. Even so, Greek customers, similar to
other Europeans, become less loyal due, partly,
to their rising expectations and increasing
financial awareness.
Data Collection
For reasons of triangulation, both qualitative
and quantitative methods were used for the
collection of data. Initially, exploratory, quali-
tative research was conducted in order to
explore both bank managers’ and customers’
perceptions of loyalty antecedents.
During in-depth interviews, managers in
leading Greek banks discussed their percep-
tions of how both consumer attitudes to banks
and dimensions of loyalty have developed over
Journal of Consumer Behaviour, February 2006
Retail banking
time. They also outlined their attempts to retain
customers and enhance loyalty. Managers’
perceptions of loyalty antecedents included
service quality, bank image and also inertia,
which refers to repeat purchases generated
from non-attitudinal factors, such as conveni-
ence and habit (Griffin, 1995; Lee and
Cunningham, 2001).
In addition, personal interviews with a
group of eight customers were conducted, for
the identification of potential country-specific
loyalty antecedents and the development of
the survey questionnaire. According to their
responses, perceived value and image
appeared to influence customer loyalty. More-
over, inertia, previously defined, emerged as a
country-specific antecedent, which positively
affects loyalty towards banks.
The interviews were followed by conclusive
research in order to examine the relationships
of the model and to measure the loyalty
antecedents: specifically, a consumer survey
was conducted to enhance the replicability
and, hence, the reliability of the research
(Malhotra and Birks, 2000). The qualitative
research findings contributed to the design of a
structured survey questionnaire which was
administered by personal interview in bank
branches. Four of the five main banks in
Greece, with a total of 1829 branches (http://
www.hba.gr), provided research access and
200 personal interviews took place in 8
branches of the banks in Athens in June 2002.
The sample was a quota sample based on age
and gender of the Greek economically active
population (http://www.esye.gr).
Respondents were asked to focus on their
main bank, i.e. the one they use most often and
where they hold the majority of their accounts,
not necessarily the one in which the interview
took place. Most of the main variables were
operationalised following a multi-item appro-
ach, incorporating items already validated in
previous research studies.1 Consequently,
scales were developed and included for the
constructs in Figure 1. In addition, the country
————
1
— ————
Further details of items validated in previous research
studies are available from the authors.
Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
21
specific loyalty antecedents of inertia and
constructs such as service attributes, relation-
ship marketing efforts, trust and switching
costs were also measured using multiple
indicators. Finally, several variables were
assessed using single indicators (e.g. interper-
sonal relationships).
All items were measured using 5-point
Likert-type questions such as ‘totally agree—
totally disagree’ and ‘totally satisfied—totally
dissatisfied’. After completion of data collec-
tion, the scales were subjected to reliability
tests (Cronbach Alpha) so that the internal
consistency of the measures could be estab-
lished, and were purified based on item-total
correlations.2 When the reliability of the
measurement scales had been established,
the responses to the items included in each
scale were summed and the mean scores
calculated to give an overall measure for each
scale construct.
Findings
49.5% of the respondents were male and 50.5%
female: 42% were between 18 and 34 years and
45% between 35 and 54 years. Only 16.2% do
business with only one bank: the majority
(71%) use two or three banks, and two-thirds of
respondents have been doing business with
their main bank for more than 5 years—only
one in five had a ‘relationship’ of less than 2
years.
Loyalty (see Table 1(1)). Customers tend
to be loyal towards their bank, in terms of
their expressed preference for and desire to
remain with the bank and recommend it to
others, and because they consider their main
bank as their first choice for future purchases.
Even so, a majority of respondents said they
would be attracted to competitor banks that
offer lower loan rates (67%) or higher deposit
rates (54%).
Involvement had the highest mean score
(3.76) among the constructs measured, with
2
—
Details of the reliability coefficients of the measurement
scales are available from the authors.
Journal of Consumer Behaviour, February 2006
22 B. R Lewis and M. Soureli
Table 1. Main constructs

1. Loyalty Mean score

I consider my main bank as my first choice for future purchases 3.62

I would recommend my main bank to friends/family/others 3.62
I want to remain a customer with my main bank 3.91
I intend to do more business with my main bank in the next few years 3.29
I prefer my main bank to other banks 3.58
I would be attracted to a competitor that offers 2% lower loan rates 2.15
I would be attracted to a competitor that offers a 0.5% higher deposit rates 2.48
3.22
2. Involvement
I read an amount of information about financial products/services before purchasing 3.98
I compare product characteristics between banks 3.82
I check interest rates before deciding which bank to use for a banking account 3.72
I feel confident in selecting the right product/service 3.55
I discuss financial services purchasing with family/friends/others 3.64
I consider purchasing bank services as an important decision 3.90
3.76
3. Perceived value
The bank offers the best deposit interest rates 2.98
The bank offers the best loan interest rates 3.04
2.99
4. Service quality
The bank has up-to-date facilities and equipment 3.92
The bank gives me individual attention 3.44
The bank’s employees are willing to help and provide prompt service 3.82
The bank’s employees are knowledgeable and kind 3.69
The bank’s employees are able to perform the promised service dependably and accurately 3.77
3.74
5. Service attributes
The bank keeps me constantly informed 3.39
The bank is easy to access 4.13
The bank offers alternative channels of transactions (e.g. e-banking, phone-banking) 3.81
The bank offers innovative products 3.43
3.70
6. Image
The bank fulfils the promises that it makes to its customers 3.52
The bank has a good reputation 4.06
The bank has a better image than that of its competitors 3.72
The bank is contributing to society 3.53
3.70
7. Relationship marketing efforts
The bank offers flexible rates/customised products 3.39
The bank offers premiums or prizes for deposits 2.48
2.94
8. Commitment
I feel emotionally attached to this bank 2.70
I feel I have a commitment towards the bank 2.44
My relationship with this bank has a great deal of personal meaning 2.67
2.61
Continues

Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, February 2006
Retail banking 23

Table 1. Continued

9. Trust

I feel I can trust this bank 3.51

I feel my accounts are safe with this bank 3.94
I believe that management has my best interests at heart 2.68
3.38
10. Switching Costs
I feel I am offered preferential treatment 2.60
I think it would take a lot of time and effort to change bank 2.66
I will have difficulties in familiarising with the procedures of a new bank 2.47
I think that changing from one bank to another is too much of a bother 2.49
I have invested a lot in the relationship with this bank 2.31
2.50
11. Inertia
I am used to doing business with this bank 3.55
My family used to do business with this bank 2.78
3.16
12. Satisfaction
Meets expectations 3.67
Expectations from ideal bank 3.20
Speed of service 3.41
Provision of information 3.42
Friendliness of staff 3.72
Reliability 3.97
Competence of staff 3.67
Trustworthiness 3.95
Interest rates/terms 3.18
Variety of products/services 3.57
Total satisfaction 3.69
3.67

each of the elements attracting high agreement
(Table 1(2)).
Perceived value (Table 1(3)). The majority
of respondents (62.5%) were undecided as to
whether or not their bank offers the best
deposit interest rates, and best loan interest
rates (56.2%). Each of the items offered with
respect to service quality (Table 1(4)) received
a positive response, and the overall mean (3.74)
was high. Service attributes (Table 1(5)) were
also rated highly (mean 3.70), especially the
ease of access (by 83.9% of respondents), and
the provision of alternative delivery channels
(68.6%).
Image (Table 1(6)). In relation to the banks’
image, 80.7% of respondents agreed/totally
agreed that their main bank has a good
reputation, and 60.6% that it has a better image
than that of its competitors. The overall image
score was high (3.70). Relationship marketing
efforts (Table 1(7)) were not rated so highly
(mean score ¼ 2.94) and affective commit-
ment (Table 1(8)) had a very low mean score
(2.61)—only 29.1% of respondents felt emo-
tionally attached and even fewer (15.1%) felt
committed towards their bank.
Respondents also expressed moderate levels
of trust (Table 1(9), mean score ¼ 3.38): 60.1%
felt that they can trust their bank and 78.3% felt
that their accounts are safe with the bank, but
only 12.1% believed that the management has
their best interests at heart. Regarding inter-
personal relationships, only 26.7% of respon-
dents agreed/totally agreed that they have

Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, February 2006
24
developed such relationships with the contact
personnel of the bank.
Switching costs (Table 1(10)). The lowest
mean score (2.50) among all the constructs
measured shows that respondents do not
perceive high costs of switching banks. There
were high levels of disagreement with each of
the statements offered. Further, there was a
moderate level of inertia (Table 1(11)).
Finally, with respect to satisfaction, 68% of
respondents were satisfied with their main
bank, only 3.5% dissatisfied and 28.5% neither
satisfied nor dissatisfied, and 65.7% agreed/
totally agreed that the bank’s service meets
their expectations (12.6% disagreeing). The
mean scores of items in Table 1(12) are
generally high, in particular with respect to
reliability, friendliness of staff and trustworthi-
ness. For interest rates and terms, more than
half of the respondents were neither satisfied
nor dissatisfied.
Correlation analysis (see Table 2)
Correlation analysis was used to consider the
strength of association between variables.
Due to the nature of the data (i.e. not fol-
lowing normal distributions), a decision was
made to use Kendall’s tau b, a non-parametric
correlation, as a measure of the strength of
association between the variables in the
study.
Moreover, because correlations do not
allow for direct conclusions about causality,
the squared correlation coefficients were
used in order to show the amount of vari-
ability in one variable that is explained by the
other (Field, 2000). Overall, the values of the
squared correlation coefficients were in
agreement with the findings from the correla-
tion analysis.
Contrary to some previous research (e.g.
Bejou et al., 1998), most bank customers have
not developed interpersonal relationships
with their main banks’ contact personnel and
so, as one might expect, interpersonal relation-
ships were not associated with loyalty. Still,
interpersonal relationships with the banks’
personnel are related to the banks’ relationship
Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
B. R Lewis and M. Soureli
marketing efforts, the affective commitment
that they feel towards their main bank, and the
perceived switching costs. So, it seems that for
those customers who feel more attached to the
bank and perceive high costs of switching, this
may be a result of the interpersonal relation-
ships they have developed with the contact
employees.
Involvement had little correlation with most
of the key constructs, and no correlation was
found between involvement and loyalty: this is
counter to the findings of Harrison (2000).
Bank customers may read about financial
services, compare products and check interest
rates but this evaluation process does not
contribute to their loyalty.
The analysis showed that the perceived
value that customers get from their main
bank correlates with customer loyalty. Those
who believe that their main bank offers the
best interest rates, and feel they are receiving
greater value than they would from competi-
tion (as in Colgate and Hedge, 2001), are
willing to recommend it to others and remain
loyal.
Perceived service quality was associated
with customer satisfaction, perceptions of
service attributes, bank’s image, the bank’s
relationship marketing efforts, overall trust
and loyalty. The customised products and
price rewards that the banks offer positively
influence customers’ perceptions of service
quality. Moreover, customers who perceive
that their bank’s service quality is high
compared to their expectations, are generally
satisfied with their bank and the bank’s
service attributes: confirming the relationship
between satisfaction and service quality
found by Nguyen and LeBlanc (1998). They
feel that they can trust their bank, form a
favourable image of it (as in Nguyen and
LeBlanc, 1998) and appear to be loyal towards
the bank. The findings mirror previous
research evidence in relation to the key role
of service quality as a determinant of custo-
mer loyalty (e.g. Avkiran, 1999; Zins, 2001),
and the indirect effect of service quality via
satisfaction on loyalty (see Bloemer et al.,
1998).
Journal of Consumer Behaviour, February 2006
 Table 2. Correlation analysis

Interpersonal Loyalty Involvement Perceived Perceived Satisfaction Service Image Relationship Commitment Trust Switching Inertia
relationships value service attributes marketing costs
quality efforts
Retail banking

Kendall’s Interpersonal Correlation coefficient 0.114 0.147** 0.209** 0.214** 0.238** 0.143* 0.234** 0.279** 0.331** 0.224** 0.415** 0.190*
tau_b relationships Sig. (2-tailed) 0.047 0.009 0.001 0.000 0.000 0.037 0.01 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.001
N 182 192 158 183 191 131 135 121 194 195 193 197
Loyalty Correlation coefficient 0.021 0.261** 0.296 0.330** 0.279** 0.356** 0.212* 0.237** 0.351** 0.111* 0.205*
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.702 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.003 0.000 0.000 0.040 0.000
N 179 147 170 177 121 124 111 179 182 179 183
Involvement Correlation coefficient 0.184** 0.158** 0.228* 0.195** 0.223** 0.163* 0.023 0.136* 0.028
0.005
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.003 0.004 0.000 0.003 0.000 0.018 0.664 0.012 0.598 0.925
N 155 179 187 130 134 120 189 191 188 192
Perceived Correlation coefficient 0.145* 0.208* 0.051 0.173* 0.234** 0.158* 0.210** 0.100 0.062
value Sig. (2-tailed) 0.024 0.001 0.495 0.018 0.003 0.013 0.001 0.109 0.338
N 147 153 112 116 107 156 157 155 158

Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Perceived Correlation coefficient 0.542** 0.439 0.464** 0.333** 0.213* 0.322** 0.120* 0.003
service quality Sig. (2-tailed) 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.027 0.959
N 178 127 128 115 181 181 180 183
Satisfaction Correlation coefficient 0.491** 0.479** 0.412** 0.201** 0.410** 0.126* 0.055
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.016 0.305
N 127 132 117 188 189 187 190
Service Correlation coefficient 0.500** 0.377** 0.054 0.226** 0.035
0.059
attributes Sig. (2-tailed) 0.000 0.000 0.409 0.001 0.592 0.378
N 110 103 131 130 128 131
Image Correlation coefficient 0.431** 0.344** 0.476 0.188** 0.157*
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.003 0.016
N 104 134 133 132 136
Relationship Correlation coefficient 0.320** 0.389** 0.275 0.160*
mark efforts Sig. (2-tailed) 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.023
N 120 120 118 122
Commitment Correlation coefficient 0.403** 0.425** 0.362*
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.000 0.000 0.000
N 192 192 194
Trust Correlation coefficient 0.231** 0.244*
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.000 0.000
N 191 195
Switching Correlation coefficient 0.344*
costs Sig. (2-tailed) 0.000
N 193
Inertia Correlation coefficient
Sig. (2-tailed)
N

*Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

**Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Journal of Consumer Behaviour, February 2006

25
26
Satisfaction is related, as already noted, to
perceived service quality, and to loyalty—
which is in line with previous studies (e.g.
Drake et al., 1998; Moutinho and Smith, 2002;
Nguyen and LeBlanc, 1998) which demon-
strated the impact of customer satisfaction on
loyalty. Customers seem to be loyal because
they are satisfied with their main bank and with
specific service aspects such as speed of
delivery, competence and friendliness of staff,
reliability and responsiveness. In addition,
satisfaction is influenced by a bank’s relation-
ship marketing efforts and customers’ percep-
tions of service attributes. Further, satisfied
customers think highly of their bank (image),
and feel that they can trust it.
Service attributes. As already noted, the
service attributes that customers perceive
their main bank offers them, are related to
service quality and satisfaction. Moreover,
they correlate with banks’ relationship mar-
keting efforts, image and customer loyalty.
Those customers who perceive that they are
offered high quality service attributes, form a
favourable image of the bank and tend to be
loyal.
Image. The relationships found between
image and service attributes, service quality
and satisfaction confirm previous research (e.g.
Andreassen and Lindestad, 1998; Bloemer
et al., 1998), which found that image has a
strong relationship with customers’ percep-
tions of service quality and with satisfaction. In
addition, image was found to correlate with the
bank’s relationship marketing efforts, affective
commitment, trust and loyalty—in line with
Nguyen and LeBlanc (1998) who found image
to be a driver of loyalty.
Relationship marketing efforts. Besides the
correlations already mentioned, the banks’
relationship marketing efforts are related to
affective commitment, overall trust and switch-
ing costs but not with loyalty. Customers who
consider that their bank offers them custo-
mised products and premiums, tend to be more
attached to the bank, and feel they can trust it,
because it seems that the bank cares for their
best interests. In addition, these customers
perceive high switching costs.
Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
B. R Lewis and M. Soureli
Commitment. In addition to the aforemen-
tioned correlations, affective commitment
seems to be correlated with switching costs
and inertia. Moreover, there was a strong
association between commitment and trust
(supporting McKechnie and Harrison, 1995—
cited in Ennew et al., 1995). However,
respondents’ levels of affective commitment
were not high and so, again not surprisingly,
were not correlated with loyalty. Further,
although bank commitment has been found
to generate from customers’ high involvement
in decision-making and evaluative processes
(Dick and Basu—cited in Bloemer et al., 1998),
the findings show no association between
commitment and involvement.
Trust. In addition to the previously men-
tioned correlations, the trust that customers
show towards their bank relates strongly to
inertia and customer loyalty. This follows the
findings of Bejou et al. (1998) and Javalgi and
Moberg (1997), who highlighted the impor-
tance of trust in a bank’s reliability and integrity
and suggested that trust in a financial provider
and its personnel is a prerequisite for loyalty.
Switching costs would seem to be influenced
by interpersonal relationships, commitment,
and the banks’ relationship marketing efforts.
Moreover, they appear to be highly correlated
with inertia. The customers’ habit of dealing
with a bank makes them think that switching is
difficult. Previous research, albeit in other
industries, has shown that high switching costs
can be influential in determining customer
loyalty (Jones et al., 2002). However, bank
customers did not perceive particularly high
switching costs and so it is perhaps not
surprising that there was no correlation
between switching costs and loyalty.
Inertia correlates with trust, commitment
and switching costs. Customers who are used
to dealing with their main bank, tend to per-
ceive high switching costs and feel attached
to their main bank and show trust in the
bank. However, the data showed that inertia
was, perhaps surprisingly (as in Lee and
Cunningham, 2001), not closely related to
loyalty. That is, customers may buy products
from their main bank without much thought
Journal of Consumer Behaviour, February 2006
Retail banking 27

or feeling or attachment, just because they The model

have always done so: but they are loyal for
In relation to the model (Figure 1), some of the
other reasons.
relationships are confirmed and others not (see
Overall, the results concerning the antece-
Figure 2). The role of commitment as a
dents of bank loyalty were found to be
mediator between loyalty and satisfaction is
generally consistent with previous research
not strongly supported. Instead, there seems to
findings and suggestions. In particular, it was
be a strong relationship between satisfaction
seen that loyalty is affected by perceived value,
and loyalty. The development of interpersonal
perceived service quality, satisfaction, service
relationships correlates with commitment but
attributes, image and trust.
not loyalty, and involvement has no association
with commitment or loyalty. Image does affect
Discussion and conclusions loyalty, but this may also be the result of the
relationship between image, satisfaction and
Customers’ bank loyalty quality.
Further, the indirect effect of service quality
According to the given definition of bank loya-
on loyalty via satisfaction is supported. In fact,
lty and the research findings, some of the
quality correlates with both satisfaction and
respondents show spurious loyalty. They are
loyalty, showing a direct relationship with
lacking in emotional attachment or commit-
loyalty.
ment to their banks and they are willing to
Moreover, it seems that value does play a role
defect to competitor banks that offer better
as a loyalty driver. The effect of satisfaction on
rates. Others can be characterised as truly loyal,
loyalty may be influenced by service quality,
since they appear willing to provide good
service attributes, image or trust. Finally, all the
referrals about the service to others. They want
variables that correlate with loyalty also corre-
to remain customers of their bank, and would
late with each other, namely: perceived value,
consider it as their main choice for future
service quality, service attributes, image, satis-
purchases.
faction and trust.
In relation to attitudinal loyalty (see Oliver,
This paper has examined the role of some
1997), the respondents appear to be primarily
‘new’ variables in relation to loyalty, e.g. the
cognitive loyal, since they associate loyalty
affective dimensions of loyalty and the role of
with the value that they get from their bank.
commitment. The research findings confirm
Customers may also be affective loyal because
the suggestions of previous loyalty studies, for
they seem to be involved in financial purchas-
example with respect to satisfaction, quality
ing (Pedersen and Nysveen, 2001) and prefer
and image. Further, it is clear that loyalty
their main bank to other banks (Oliver, 1997).
cannot be examined separately in relation to
Still, they do not intend to do more business in
each potential factor: instead, each antecedent
the next few years, and they do not feel com-
needs to be considered within a network of
mitted to behave in a loyal manner: therefore,
relationships where loyalty is the outcome of
they do not show conative loyalty. Further,
all these inter-relationships.
they do not appear to exhibit behavioural
loyalty (based on repeat purchase behaviour—
see Pedersen and Nysveen, 2001), and they do
Managerial Implications
not consider purchasing other products from
their main bank. Considering the above findings, there are a
Overall, it would seem that customers tend number of implications for bank marketers.
to be loyal, but as they put great importance on Firstly, as customer satisfaction was shown to
both the value offered by banks and their be a main antecedent of loyalty, managers
convenience, their loyalty is mainly cognitive should take this into account and develop
and subject to situational changes. appropriate actions. To that end, they should

Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, February 2006
28
Figure 2. Antecedents of bank service loyalty (relationships confirmed)
try to identify dissatisfied customers, listen to
and solve their problems.
An important issue is the quality of service
offered. Banks’ strategies should place special
emphasis on achieving high service quality
and, ideally, differentiation from competitive
actions. Priority should be given to service
attributes such as ease of access, provision of
information, innovative products and provi-
sion of alternative delivery channels; attributes
which should enhance image and contribute to
loyalty.
Another useful finding for managers is the
importance of image as a loyalty antecedent.
The projection of an overall positive image of
the bank is critical and should, therefore, be
facilitated by communications’ campaigns that
build commitment, and relationship marketing
efforts to include flexible interest rates, custo-
mised products, and rewards.
Furthermore, banks have to find ways to
encourage the development of trust between
customers and contact employees which then
leads to loyalty. Managers need to persuade
Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
B. R Lewis and M. Soureli
their employees of the importance of inspiring
trust in and confidence of customers and train
them appropriately in order to become com-
petent, knowledgeable and, thus, trustworthy.
Limitations and further research
One limitation of this research comes from the
fact that the fieldwork was conducted only in
Greece. A more extended geographical sample
might show that, in other countries, there is a
difference in customer attitudes towards bank
loyalty, which would also impact on the
relevant managerial implications. Continuing
research might include refinement of some of
the measurement scales for multi-item con-
structs and development of multi-item scales
for the single item indicators. Further, validity
of the measurement scales could be tested by
confirmatory factor analysis. With respect to
sampling, respondents were limited to those
customers who go to the branch and were
willing to be interviewed, and the non-
probability sample did not allow assessment
Journal of Consumer Behaviour, February 2006
Retail banking
of sampling error. So, it is not possible to
generalise from the results. Finally, the objec-
tive of the research was not to test the model for
causal relationships but to investigate loyalty
antecedents. Generally, correlation is a neces-
sary but not sufficient condition for a causal
relationship. Consequently, the correlation
analysis only provides evidence of the existence
and strength of relationships. In addition, the
present research showed that each loyalty
driver cannot be examined in isolation from
the inter-relationships (or network) between
the variables and that loyalty appears to be the
outcome of all the inter-relationships. Further
research and analysis using structural equation
modelling would facilitate the assessment of
causal relationships.
Biographical notes
Barbara R Lewis is professor of Marketing in
the Manchester Business School. Her teaching
and research interests focus on marketing in
service sector industries. She has particular
expertise in issues relating to customer service
and service quality.
Magdalini Soureli is a doctoral researcher in
the Manchester Business School.
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