The Antecedents of Customer Loyalty

Abstract

Health care service encounters provide many opportunities to examine customer loyalty. In this study, customer loyalty is examined from the perspective of individual situation or “need context” and the customer’s perception of his or her personal encounters with the service provider.This study differs from much of the past research in that the authors hypothesize that perceived value would have a direct influence on repeat patronage, which undergirds customer loyalty. This study’s findings also support the role of value in mediating the relationship between antecedent processes and repeat patronage. Results reveal the influence of benefit, sacrifice, personal preference, and the perceived situation on value. Although this finding is consistent with several theoretical propositions, this study is the first to empirically examine these relationships concurrently. Managerial implications as well as strategies for developing customer loyalty are also discussed.