scholarly journals The Causal Effect of Service Satisfaction on Customer Loyalty

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guofang Huang ◽  
K. Sudhir

We propose an instrumental-variable (IV) approach to estimate the causal effect of service satisfaction on customer loyalty by exploiting a common source of randomness in the assignment of service employees to customers in service queues. Our approach can be applied at no incremental cost by using routine repeated cross-sectional customer survey data collected by firms. The IV approach addresses multiple sources of biases that pose challenges in estimating the causal effect using cross-sectional data: (1) the upward bias from common-methods variance resulting from the joint measurement of service satisfaction and loyalty intent in surveys, (2) the attenuation bias caused by measurement errors in service satisfaction, and (3) the omitted variable bias that may be in either direction. In contrast to the common concern about the upward common-methods bias in estimates using cross-sectional survey data, we find that ordinary-least-squares substantially underestimates the causal effect, suggesting that the downward bias resulting from measurement errors and/or omitted variables is dominant. The underestimation is even more significant with a behavioral measure of loyalty, where there is no common-methods bias. This downward bias leads to significant underestimation of the positive profit impact from improving service satisfaction and can lead to underinvestment by firms in service satisfaction. Finally, we find that the causal effect of service satisfaction on loyalty is greater for more difficult types of services. This paper was accepted by Juanjuan Zhang, marketing.

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 234-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Gillitzer ◽  
Nalini Prasad

We seek to identify the causal effect of sentiment innovations on consumption. Using unique Australian consumer sentiment survey data, we show that, immediately after elections with a change of government, supporters of the winning party report substantially more optimistic beliefs about economic conditions than supporters of the losing party. We argue that this variation in beliefs is orthogonal to changes in fundamentals and find robust evidence that the shifts in sentiment affect spending intentions. Furthermore, using geographic variation in sentiment, vote shares, and automobile purchases, we find evidence that stated spending intentions are indicative of actual spending. (JEL E23, E24, E32, F44, L16)


Crisis ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 157-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin S. Kuehn ◽  
Annelise Wagner ◽  
Jennifer Velloza

Abstract. Background: Suicide is the second leading cause of death among US adolescents aged 12–19 years. Researchers would benefit from a better understanding of the direct effects of bullying and e-bullying on adolescent suicide to inform intervention work. Aims: To explore the direct and indirect effects of bullying and e-bullying on adolescent suicide attempts (SAs) and to estimate the magnitude of these effects controlling for significant covariates. Method: This study uses data from the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBS), a nationally representative sample of US high school youth. We quantified the association between bullying and the likelihood of SA, after adjusting for covariates (i.e., sexual orientation, obesity, sleep, etc.) identified with the PC algorithm. Results: Bullying and e-bullying were significantly associated with SA in logistic regression analyses. Bullying had an estimated average causal effect (ACE) of 2.46%, while e-bullying had an ACE of 4.16%. Limitations: Data are cross-sectional and temporal precedence is not known. Conclusion: These findings highlight the strong association between bullying, e-bullying, and SA.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1and2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjit Singh H.

This research explores the impact of service satisfaction, relational satisfaction, price satisfaction, and commitment on customer loyalty in logistics outsourcing relationships in Indian scenario. 254 users of logistics services from India were selected for investigating the potential linkages among the aforementioned satisfaction aspects and loyalty. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to test the reliability and validity of the measurement and structural model developed to study the relationship among the linkages. Findings from the study supports that logistics service satisfaction, price satisfaction, relational satisfaction and commitment do influence loyalty positively. The analysis suggests that service satisfaction is the most important antecedent having primary influence in the formation of customer loyalty. Service satisfaction also has secondary influence on loyalty by acting as a strong driver in both relational satisfaction and commitment aspects of the service dimensions. Price satisfaction though positively been driven by service satisfaction, was found to have less significant effect as a predictor of loyalty in this context. The present study suggests that relational satisfaction is the second major predictor of loyalty which also drives commitment. This research is not an end-point but an attempt to establish the linkages and the effect among the antecedents driving the building and retention of good buyer-seller relationship in logistics outsourcing.


2000 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Charlene Henderson ◽  
Steven E. Kaplan

This study investigates the determinants of audit report lag (ARL) for a sample of banks. Researchers have been interested in the determinants of ARL, in part, because it impacts the timeliness of public disclosures. However, prior ARL research has relied exclusively on regression analysis of cross-sectional samples of companies from many industries. In addition to focusing exclusively on banks, panel data analysis is introduced and compared with cross-sectional analysis to demonstrate its power in dynamic settings and its potential to improve estimation. Results reveal important differences between cross-sectional analysis and panel data analysis. First, bank size is negatively related to ARL in cross-section but positively related to ARL using panel data analysis. The cross-sectional size estimate is subject to omitted variables bias, and furthermore, cross-sectional analysis fails to capture variation in size over time in relation to ARL. Panel data analysis both accounts for omitted variables and captures the dynamics of the relationship between size and ARL. As well, the panel data model's explanatory power far exceeds that of the cross-sectional model. This is primarily due to the panel model's use of firm-specific intercepts that both capture the role of reporting tradition and eliminate heterogeneity bias. Thus, panel data analysis proves to be a powerful tool in the analysis of ARL.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aimé Bitakuya Heri ◽  
Francesca L. Cavallaro ◽  
Nurilign Ahmed ◽  
Maurice Mubuyaeta Musheke ◽  
Mitsuaki Matsui

Abstract Introduction Zambia is among the countries with the highest HIV burden and where youth remain disproportionally affected. Access to HIV testing and counselling (HTC) is a crucial step to ensure the reduction of HIV transmission. This study examines the changes that occurred between 2007 and 2018 in access to HTC, inequities in testing uptake, and determinants of HTC uptake among youth. Methods We carried out repeated cross-sectional analyses using three Zambian Demographic and Health Surveys (2007, 2013–14, and 2018). We calculated the percentage of women and men ages 15–24 years old who were tested for HIV in the last 12 months. We analysed inequity in HTC coverage using indicators of absolute inequality. We performed bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses to identify predictors of HTC uptake in the last 12 months. Results HIV testing uptake increased between 2007 and 2018, from 45 to 92% among pregnant women, 10 to 58% among non-pregnant women, and from 10 to 49% among men. By 2018 roughly 60% of youth tested in the past 12 months used a government health centre. Mobile clinics were the second most common source reaching up to 32% among adolescent boys by 2018. Multivariate analysis conducted among men and non-pregnant women showed higher odds of testing among 20–24 year-olds than adolescents (aOR = 1.55 [95%CI:1.30–1.84], among men; and aOR = 1.74 [1.40–2.15] among women). Among men, being circumcised (aOR = 1.57 [1.32–1.88]) and in a union (aOR = 2.44 [1.83–3.25]) were associated with increased odds of testing. For women greater odds of testing were associated with higher levels of education (aOR = 6.97 [2.82–17.19]). Education-based inequity was considerably widened among women than men by 2018. Conclusion HTC uptake among Zambian youth improved considerably by 2018 and reached 65 and 49% tested in the last 12 months for women and men, respectively. However, achieving the goal of 95% envisioned by 2020 will require sustaining the success gained through government health centres, and scaling up the community-led approaches that have proven acceptable and effective in reaching young men and adolescent girls who are less easy to reach through the government facilities.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. e043532
Author(s):  
Kazutaka Sekine ◽  
Rogie Royce Carandang ◽  
Ken Ing Cherng Ong ◽  
Anand Tamang ◽  
Masamine Jimba

ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate whether child marriage had causal effects on unmet needs for modern contraception, and unintended pregnancy, by estimating the marginal (population-averaged) treatment effect of child marriage.DesignThis study used secondary data from the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2016. Applying one-to-one nearest-neighbour matching with replacement within a calliper range of ±0.01, 15–49 years old women married before the age of 18 were matched with similar women who were married at 18 or above to reduce selection bias.SettingNationally representative population survey data.ParticipantsThe sample consisted of 7833 women aged 15–49 years who were married for more than 5 years.Outcome measuresUnmet needs for modern contraception and unintended pregnancy.ResultsThe matching method achieved adequate overlap in the propensity score distributions and balance in measured covariates between treatment and control groups with the same propensity score. Propensity score matching analysis showed that the risk of unmet needs for modern contraception, and unintended pregnancy among women married as children were a 14.3 percentage point (95 % CI 10.3 to 18.2) and a 10.1 percentage point (95 % CI 3.7 to 16.4) higher, respectively, than among women married as adults. Sensitivity analysis indicated that the estimated effects were robust to unmeasured covariates.ConclusionsChild marriage appears to increase the risk of unmet needs for modern contraception and unintended pregnancy. These findings call for social development and public health programmes that promote delayed entry into marriage and childbearing to improve reproductive health and rights.


2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (7) ◽  
pp. 842-857 ◽  
Author(s):  
Achchuthan Sivapalan ◽  
Charles Jebarajakirthy

Purpose Enhancing retailing service quality (RSQ) serves as a basic strategy for gaining competitive advantage in the retailing industry and enables retailers to make a loyal customer base. The purpose of this paper is to propose and empirically investigate a comprehensive mechanism for enhancing customer loyalty to retail stores via service quality practices. This study suggests information on retailers can be the antecedent of the RSQ and its dimensions, thereby proposing a comprehensive mechanism for enhancing customer loyalty to retailers. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected using questionnaire surveys from 2,375 customers of three main supermarkets in Sri Lanka. After testing the measurement model, two structural models were run to test hypotheses. Findings The findings showed that the RSQ positively influenced customer loyalty. From all the RSQ dimensions, the store’s physical aspects, personal interaction and policy had a significant influence on customer loyalty. The findings also demonstrated that information on retailers contributes to enhancing a customer’s favorable evaluation of the supermarket’s physical aspects, personal interaction and retailing policy. Research limitations/implications This study was conducted with supermarket customers in one country using the cross-sectional data. Hence, the model should be replicated among retail customers in other countries with the longitudinal data. Practical implications Practically, this study recommends to retailers which dimensions of service quality they need to focus to enhance customer loyalty to their business. The study furthermore recommends certain dimensions that need to be emphasized while retailers design their promotional and communication programs. Originality/value Information on retailers has been suggested as an antecedent for enhancing supermarkets’ service quality practices. Thus, this study proposes a comprehensive mechanism for enhancing customer loyalty to retailers via service quality practices.


2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-17
Author(s):  
Sushma Dahal ◽  
Sabina Maharjan ◽  
Raj Kumar Subedi ◽  
Juna Maharjan

Background: Nepal as a signatory to Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2003 has passed a new tobacco control bill entitled “Tobacco product control and regulatory bill, 2010” in 2011. On this background, it is imperative to assess the knowledge and attitude of people towards this new regulation that forbids smoking in public places.Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 394 students of higher secondary level in three randomly selected colleges of Kathmandu district, Nepal. Information on respondents’ awareness on current ban, source of information, implementation status and their attitude towards the new regulation were collected using self-administered questionnaire. Analysis of quantitative data was done using descriptive statistics whereas qualitative data were analyzed manually.Results: Majority of respondents (79.9%) said that there is ban on smoking in public places in Nepal. The most common source of information was television (72.3%), followed by friends (36.5%) and family members (33.9 %). Most of the respondents (67.4%) had frequently seen people smoking in public places and 48.8% had not seen or heard any penalty given to those people. Overall, 74.1% of the participants stated that the ban on smoking in public places was a ‘very good thing’. Majority of those who viewed that the ban was good, reasoned ‘it will protect people from diseases like cancer’. Those who viewed that the ban was not good, reasoned ‘people cannot be changed by compelling’ and ‘to smoke or not to smoke is people’s own will’.Conclusion: This study shows that majority of adolescents are aware of and have positive attitude towards new regulation on smoking ban in public places in Nepal. There is need of implementing the policy strictly by raising awareness among people and penalizing those who violate it.


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