Abstract:

Purpose - The goal of this paper is to examine the importance of quality and customer satisfaction in the context of the mobile market in Portugal, leading consumers to become loyal clients. This research examined several attitudinal and behavioral drivers of brand loyalty such as perceived quality, satisfaction, trust and commitment and the possible relationship between them, exploring whether customer satisfaction affects the relationship between customers and mobile brands through time. Design/methodology/approach – Previous literature supported the development of a set of hypotheses. The model was tested on an empirical study based on a survey of 235 Portuguese consumers. The structured questionnaire included the measures of the main concepts (brand loyalty, trust, satisfaction and commitment) and several socio-demographic variables. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics (means, standard deviation, Cronbach’s alpha), paired-samples T-test, data reduction techniques and hierarchical regression analysis. Findings – The results reveal that repurchase intention, as a proxy to brand loyalty, is influenced by all the considered concepts. However, brand trust and brand involvement impact on brand commitment and seem to be stronger predictors of brand loyalty. Since this article considered brand loyalty as the sum of purchase intention and brand commitment, expected quality is not relevant for brand commitment, neither for repurchase intention (brand loyalty). Trust seems to impact on brand commitment but not in repurchase intention. Performed Quality is statistically significant but through consumer satisfaction. Therefore, Satisfaction and Involvement lead to strong brand commitment and repurchase intention and performed quality is also an independent variable that leads customers to develop brand loyalty in the mobile market. Results are discussed in light of the consumer-brand relationship theory. Research limitations/implications – Our study is only limited to Portugal and, specially, to a sample of young consumers mainly from the north of the country. Even though, this study offers a reasoned view on consumer-brand relationship. Practical Implications – Aiming to identify the role of quality and customer satisfaction in the Portuguese telecommunication market, this study hypothesised customer satisfaction as a mediator to involvement, brand trust and brand loyalty. As a Portuguese telecommunication player, if you want to keep customers paying attention to your brand and become a loyal client (commitment + repurchase intention), you need to satisfy them by betting on perceived quality (in time); on the other hand, you also need to involve them, by giving the right and accurate information about your products and services. If so, they will trust you, feel satisfied and, therefore, develop a strong feeling towards your brand.