Investigating the impact of service quality dimensions, price and reputation on the behavioural intentions of retail banking customers

Abstract

Retail banking service providers are facing challenges such as continuous changes in consumer expectations and escalating global competitiveness. The banking sector is characterised as an extraordinarily competitive and regulated sector. As a result, it is essential that retail banking service providers reassess the level of their service quality and recognise the important factors that influence customer satisfaction, intention and loyalty. As pointed out by the literature, there is a fundamental need for studies on customer intention and behaviour which will show whether customer attitudes provide significant evidence of how customers act and feel. Furthermore, there is a lack of theoretical modelling and empirical studies on the relationships between customer satisfaction, service quality and variables in other areas of service experience, such as price, reputation and complaint intention, in the retail banking context. Thus, the current study adopted the expectation confirmation theory because its aim is to develop a framework that advances the understanding of customer satisfaction, intention and loyalty in the retail banking sector, which can be best achieved by choosing a theory whose main target is to measure customer satisfaction and post-purchase behaviour. The proposed framework enhances our understanding by expanding ECT theory. To clarify, the conceptual framework introduces three constructs, price, reputation and complaint intention, which had not previously been brought together into one framework with the rest of the present study constructs, a practice which is considered to offer a highly valuable contribution. Additionally, the outcomes from this study have many implications for managers and decision-makers in the banking service sector. It is essential for marketing managers in the banking sector to understand the importance of all of the components of service quality as well as price and reputation, in order to understand fully customer satisfaction and intentions. The primary aim of this study is to examine how customer intention and loyalty are affected by service quality dimensions, price and reputation, using the intermediation role of confirmation and customer satisfaction. This study has developed a theoretical framework that integrates a set of essential variables to evaluate the impact of service quality dimensions, price and reputation on customer's intentions and loyalty, using Expectation Confirmation Theory. Consequently, hypotheses are created to examine the association between the framework variables. This study employs a quantitative method alongside a positivist approach to examine the hypothetical associations within the conceptual framework. Of the online surveys distributed to retail banking consumers, 923 were valid. To validate and analyse the data, the research study employs structural equation modelling using AMOS SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). The final results illustrate that tangibles, assurance, responsiveness, empathy and price have a significant impact on confirmation and customer satisfaction. On the other hand, reliability has no significant impact on confirmation and customer satisfaction in the Saudi retail banking sector. In addition, reputation has a significant impact on customer satisfaction. Furthermore, confirmation also has an important influence on customer satisfaction and customer satisfaction has a significant relationship with customer intentions and loyalty. Customer satisfaction also has a significant relationship with customer loyalty. Indeed, the overall results of this study reveal the impact of service quality, price and reputation on customer intention and loyalty through customer satisfaction, along with confirmation of customer expectations. Finally, the outcomes of this study have practical and theoretical implications which advance the knowledge in this area.