This study examines the relationships among elements of relationship management activities (predictors), relationship quality (a mediating construct), and relationship outcomes (commitment, loyalty, and word of mouth). Despite much research focusing on relationship quality, some central questions concerning the relationship among the three constructs have not been fully explored. A conceptual model was developed and tested to examine the mediating effect of relationship quality on the relationship between the seven relationship management activities and the three relationship outcomes. Structural equation analyses on the data collected from a survey of 887 dinner patrons at 21 luxury restaurants show that relationship quality is the primary mediating construct between relationship management activities and relationship outcomes. The effective use of a relationship management strategy may increase customer commitment, spread positive word of mouth, and generate loyalty. The findings of this study provide restaurant managers with a guideline for developing and implementing an enhanced relationship management strategy.
Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103(3), 411-423.
2.
Baker, J. (1987). The role of the environment in marketing services: The consumer perspective. In J. A. Czepiel, C. Congram, & J. Shanahan (Eds.), The service challenge: Integrating for competitive advantage (pp. 79-84). Chicago: American Marketing Association.
3.
Baumgartner, J. (1991, July 22). Nonmarketing professionals need more than 4Ps. Marketing News TM, p. 28.
4.
Beatty, S. E., Kahle, L. R., & Homer, P. (1988). The involvement-commitment model: Theory and implications. Journal of Business Research, 16(2), 149-167.
5.
Beatty, S. E., Mayer, M. L., Coleman, J. E., Reynolds, K. E., & Lee, J. (1996). Customer-sales associate retail relationships. Journal of Retailing, 72(3), 223-247.
6.
Berry, L. L. (1999). Discovering the soul of service: The nine drivers of sustainable business success. New York: Free Press.
7.
Bettencourt, L. A., & Brown, S. W. (1997). Contact employees: Relationships among workplace fairness, job satisfaction and prosocial service behaviors. Journal of Retailing, 73(1), 39-61.
8.
Bhattacharya, A., & Friedman, H. H. (2001). Using “smart” pricing to increase profits and maximize customer satisfaction. The National Public Accountant, 46(6), 34-37.
9.
Bitner, M. J. (1990). Evaluating service encounters: The effects of physical surroundings and employee responses. Journal of Marketing, 54(2), 69-82.
10.
Bloemer, J., & Ruyter, K. D. (1998). On the relationship between store image, store satisfaction and store loyalty. European Journal of Marketing, 32(5/6), 499-513.
11.
Bove, L. L., & Johnson, L. W. (2000). A customer-service worker relationship model. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 11(5), 491-511.
12.
Bowen, J. T., & Shoemaker, S. (1998). Loyalty: A strategic commitment. The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 39(1), 12-25.
13.
Clark, M. A., & Wood, R. C. (1999). Consumer loyalty in the restaurant industry: A preliminary exploration of the issues. British Food Journal, 101(4), 317-326.
14.
Claycomb, C., & Martin, C. L. (2002). Building customer relationships: An inventory of service providers’ objectives and practices. The Journal of Services Marketing, 16(7), 615-635.
15.
Crosby, L. A., Evans, K. R., & Cowles, D. (1990). Relationship quality in services selling: An interpersonal influence perspective. Journal of Marketing, 54(3), 68-81.
16.
Day, G. S. (1969). A two-dimensional concept of brand loyalty. Journal of Advertising Research, 9(3), 29-35.
17.
Dick, A. S., & Basu, K. (1994). Customer loyalty: Toward an integrated conceptual framework. Academy of Marketing Science Journal, 22(2), 99-113.
18.
Etzioni, A. (1988). The moral dimension: Toward a new economics. New York: Free Press.
19.
Fornell, C. (1992). A national customer satisfaction barometer: The Swedish experience. Journal of Marketing, 56(1), 6-21.
20.
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39-50.
21.
Franciosi, R., Kujal, P., Michelitsch, R., Smith, V., & Deng, G. (1995). Fairness: Effect on temporary and equilibrium prices in posted-offer market. The Economic Journal, 105(431), 938-950.
22.
Fu, Y. Y., & Parks, S. C. (2001). The relationship between restaurant service quality and consumer loyalty among the elderly. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 25(3), 320-336.
23.
Garbarino, E., & Johnson, M. S. (1999). The different roles of satisfaction, trust, and commitment in customer relationships. Journal of Marketing, 63(2), 70-87.
24.
Gerbing, D. W., & Anderson, J. C. (1988). An updated paradigm for scale development incorporating unidimensionality and its assessment. Journal of Marketing Research, 25(2), 186-192.
25.
Grönroos, C. (1994). From marketing mix to relationship marketing: Towards a paradigm shift in marketing. Management Decision, 32(2), 4-21.
26.
Gruen, T. W., Summers, J. O., & Acito, F. (2000). Relationship marketing activities, commitment, and membership behaviors in professional associations. Journal of Marketing, 64(3), 34-49.
27.
Gwinner, K. P., Gremler, D. D., & Bitner, M. J. (1998). Relational benefits in services industries: The customer’s perspective. Academy of Marketing Science Journal, 26(2), 101-114.
28.
Hair, J. F., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. L., & Black, W. C. (1998). Multivariate data analysis (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
29.
Harrison-Walker, L. J. (2001). The measurement of word-of-mouth communication and an investigation of service quality and customer commitment as potential antecedents. Journal of Service Research, 4(1), 60-75.
30.
Hennig-Thurau, T., Gwinner, K. P., & Gremler, D. D. (2002). Understanding relationship marketing outcomes: An integration of relational benefits and relationship quality. Journal of Service Research, 4(3), 230-247.
31.
Hennig-Thurau, T., & Klee, A. (1997). The impact of customer satisfaction and relationship quality on customer retention: A critical reassessment and model development. Psychology & Marketing, 14(8), 737-764.
32.
Jarvelin, A., & Lehtinen, U. (1996). Relationship quality in business-to-business service context. In B. B. Edvardsson, S. W. Johnston, & E. E. Scheuing (Eds.) QUIS 5 advancing service quality: A global perspective (pp. 243-254). Lethbridge, Canada: Warwick Printing.
33.
Kachelmeier, S. J., Limberg, S. T., & Schadewald, M. S. (1991). A laboratory market examination of the consumer price response to information about producers’ costs and profits. The Accounting Review, 66(4), 694-717.
34.
Kahneman, D., Knetsch, J. L., & Thaler, R. (1986). Fairness as a constraint on profit seeking: Entitlements in the market. The American Economic Review, 76(4), 728-741.
35.
Kelley, S. W. (1992). Developing customer orientation among service employees. Academy of Marketing Science Journal, 20(1), 27-36.
36.
Kenny, D. A. (1979). Correlation and causality. New York: John Wiley.
37.
Kim, W. G., & Cha, Y. (2002). Antecedents and consequences of relationship quality in hotel industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 21(4), 321-338.
38.
Kim, W. G., Han, J. S., & Lee, E. (2001). Effects of relationship marketing on repeat purchase and word-of-mouth. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 25(3), 272-288.
39.
Kumar, N., Scheer, L. K., & Steenkamp, J. E. M. (1995). The effects of perceived interdependence on dealer attitudes. Journal of Marketing Research, 32(3), 348-356.
40.
Lee, Y. K., Choi, B. H., & Moon, H. N. (2002). The effects of relational benefits of customer’s employee and restaurant satisfaction, and customer loyalty. Korean Management Review, 31(2), 1-32.
41.
MacKenzie, S. B., Podsakoff, P. M., & Ahearne, M. (1998). Some possible antecedents and consequences of in-role and extra-role salesperson performance. Journal of Marketing, 62(3), 87-98.
42.
MacLaurin, D. J., & MacLaurin, T. L. (2000). Customer perceptions of Singapore’s theme restaurants. The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 41(3), 75-85.
43.
Mattila, A. S. (2001). Emotional bonding and restaurant loyalty. The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 42(6), 73-79.
44.
Moorman, C., Zaltman, G., & Deshpande, R. (1992). Relationships between providers and users of market research: The dynamics of trust within and between organizations. Journal of Marketing Research, 29(3), 314-328.
45.
Morgan, R. M., & Hunt, S. D. (1994). The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing, 58(3), 20-38.
46.
Oh, H. (2000). The effect of brand class, brand awareness, and price on customer value and behavioral intentions. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 24(2), 136-162.
47.
Oh, H. (2002). Transaction evaluations and relationship intentions. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 26(3), 278-305.
48.
Parsons, A. L. (2002). What determines buyer-seller relationship quality? An investigation from the buyer’s perspective. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 38(2), 4-12.
49.
Prewitt, M. (1997). Casual chains stand divided over value of frequent-diner programs. Nation’s Restaurant News, 31(13), 47-52.
50.
Pritchard, M. P., Havitz, M. E., & Howard, D. R. (1999). Analyzing the commitment-loyalty link in service contexts. Academy of Marketing Science Journal, 27(3), 333-348.
51.
Ranaweera, C., & Neely, A. (2003). Best student paper: Some moderating effects on the service quality-customer retention link. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 23(2), 230-248.
52.
Reichheld, F. F., & Sasser, W. E., Jr. (1990). Zero defections: Quality comes to services. Harvard Business Review, 68(5), 105-113.
53.
Reynolds, K. E., & Beatty, S. E. (1999). Customer benefits and company consequences of customer-salesperson relationships in retailing. Journal of Retailing, 75(1), 11-32.
54.
Selnes, F. (1998). Antecedents and consequences of trust and satisfaction in buyer-seller relationships. European Journal of Marketing, 32(3/4), 305-322.
55.
Sheth, J. N., & Parvatiyar, A. (1995). Relationship marketing in consumer markets: Antecedents and consequences. Academy of Marketing Science Journal, 23(4), 255-271.
56.
Smith, J. B. (1998). Buyer-seller relationships: Similarity, relationship management, and quality. Psychology & Marketing, 15(1), 3-21.
57.
Stevens, P., Knutson, B., & Patton, M. (1995). DINESERV: A tool for measuring service quality in restaurants. The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 36(2), 56-60.
58.
Sui, J. J., & Baloglu, S. (2003). The role of emotional commitment in relationship marketing: An empirical investigation of a loyalty model for casinos. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 27(4), 470-489.
59.
Urbany, J. E., Madden, T. J., & Dickson, P. R. (1989). All’s not fair in pricing: An initial look at the dual entitlement principle. Marketing Letters, 1(1), 17-25.
60.
Williams, L. J., & Podsakoff, P. M. (1989). Longitudinal field methods for studying reciprocal relationships in organizational behavior research: Toward improved causal analysis. In B. M. Staw & L. L. Cummings (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 11, pp. 247-292). Greenwich, CT: JAI.
61.
Wilson, D. T. (1995). An integrated model of buyer-seller relationships. Academy of Marketing Science Journal, 23(4), 335-345.
62.
Wong, A., & Sohal, A. (2002). An examination of the relationship between trust, commitment and relationship quality. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 30(1), 34-50.
63.
Wray, B., Palmer, A., & Bejou, D. (1994). Using neural network analysis to evaluate buyer-seller relationships. European Journal of Marketing, 28(10), 32-48.
64.
Zeithaml, V. A. (1988). Consumer perceptions of price, quality, and value: A means-end model and synthesis of evidence. Journal of Marketing, 52(3), 2-22.
65.
Zins, A. H. (2001). Relative attitudes and commitment in customer loyalty models. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 12(3), 269-294.
