Customer loyalty and value anticipation: does perceived competition matter?

Abstract

Purpose – Drawing on customer value theory and the demanding nature of today’s customers, this paper examines the moderating effects of competition, as perceived by customers, on the nexus between customer value anticipation (CVA), satisfaction, and loyalty. Design/methodology/approach – Utilizing data from the Ghanaian banking sector, which has been going through some reforms that are changing the banking landscape, the study analyzes data from 587 customers. Respondents were drawn from a cluster of banks within an enclave with different types of customers and epitomized the competitive nature of Ghana’s banking sector. Findings – CVA drives customer satisfaction, attitudinal loyalty, and behavioral loyalty among bank customers. However, between attitudinal and behavioral loyalty, customers will be more behaviorally loyal to banks that successfully anticipate their needs than they would be in attitude. The relationships between CVA and satisfaction and loyalty are such that the level of competition among sector players does not alter the effect; thus, when a bank can anticipate customer value, customers are going to stay loyal to such a bank irrespective of the competitive offers. Originality/value – Although the impact CVA has on satisfaction and loyalty is justified in the existing literature, extant research has not systematically examined the influence of external boundaries and situational effects on the potency of anticipating customer value in detail. The current study shows the effect of competition on CVA and customer behavioral outcomes. The study further concludes that irrespective of competition, banks that are perceived to be high on CVA will have their customers being loyal. This is very important in the development of bank marketing and product innovation strategies.