AN INVESTIGATION ON AIRLINE CUSTOMERS’ LEVEL OF LOYALTY AND TRUST IN RELATION TO DEMOGRAPHICS, USE OF AIRLINES AND TICKET-PURCHASING HABITS

Year 2018, , 78 - 86, 30.03.2018

Tanyeri Uslu , Bulent Sezen İbrahim Sarper Karakadilar

https://doi.org/10.17261/Pressacademia.2018.809

Abstract

Purpose- Loyalty and
trust have been analyzed in relation to customers’ behaviors and attitudes in
various service sectors in previous studies in the literature. This study aims
at evaluating how Turkish customers’ characteristics affect their perception of
loyalty and trust considering both low cost and network airlines. 

Methodology- A survey
was conducted and 967 airline passengers responded. Exploratory statistical
methodology was conducted in order to analyze the data. These statistical
techniques were used and hypotheses are tested with t-test and ANOVA. 

Findings- According to
the results of the analyses; (1) high level of education leads customers to
having less level of loyalty and trust, (2) low cost carrier customers’ level
of loyalty and trust is lower than network customers’, (3) where price research
and online ticket purchase is less or none, the customers’ level of loyalty and
trust is high,  (4) business travelers
have higher level of loyalty and trust to their preferred company than the
travelers’ with touristic/entertainment or visiting family/friends purposes.

Conclusion- Airline
companies should better evaluate their customers’ demographics and habits in
relation to their loyalty and level of trust.  

Keywords

Loyalty, trust, demographics, habits, ANOVA

References

• Alalwan, A. A., Dwivedi, Y. K., and Rana, N. P. (2017). Factors influencing adoption of mobile banking by Jordanian bank customers: Extending UTAUT2 with trust. International Journal of Information Management, 37(3), 99-110.
• Altıntaş, M. H. (2000). Tüketici davranışları: Müşteri tatmininden müşteri değerine. Alfa Basım Yayım Dağıtım.
• Binsar Kristian, P. (2014). Analysis of Customer Loyalty through Total Quality Service, Customer Relationship Management and Customer Satisfaction. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education, 3(3), 142-151.
• Chen, S. C., and Quester, P. G. (2015). The relative contribution of love and trust towards customer loyalty. Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ), 23(1), 13-18
• Chung-Herrera, B. G. (2007). Customers' psychological needs in different service industries. Journal of Services Marketing, 21(4), 263-269
• Colquitt, J. A., Conlon, D. E., Wesson, M. J., Porter, C. O., and Ng, K. Y. (2001). Justice at the millennium: a meta-analytic review of 25 years of organizational justice research.
• Çatı, K., and Koçoğlu, C. M. (2008). Müşteri İlişkileri Yönetimi. Güncel Pazarlama Yaklaşımlarından Seçmeler, Ankara: Detay Yayıncılık.
• DEMİR, C., and ÖZTÜRK, U. C. (2013). ÖRGÜT KÜLTÜRÜNÜN ÖRGÜTSEL BAĞLILIK ÜZERİNE ETKİSİ VE BİR UYGULAMA. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 26(1).
• Doney, P. M., and Cannon, J. P. (1997). Trust in buyer-seller relationships. Journal of marketing, 61, 35-51.
• Duffy, D. L. (1998). Customer loyalty strategies. Journal of consumer marketing, 15(5), 435-448.
• Dwyer, F. R., Schurr, P. H., and Oh, S. (1987). Developing buyer-seller relationships. The Journal of marketing, 11-27.
• Fornell, C., and Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of marketing research, 39-50.
• Garbarino, E., and Johnson, M. S. (1999). The different roles of satisfaction, trust, and commitment in customer relationships. the Journal of Marketing, 70-87.
• Gronroos, C. (1990). Relationship approach to marketing in service contexts: The marketing and organizational behavior interface. Journal of business research, 20(1), 3-11.
• Hapsari, R., Clemes, M. D., and Dean, D. (2015). The Role of Customer Engagement in Enhancing Passenger Loyalty in IndonesianAirline Industry: Relationship Marketing Approach. Asia-Pacific Management and Business Application, 3(3), 135-144.
• Kandampully, J., and Suhartanto, D. (2000). Customer loyalty in the hotel industry: the role of customer satisfaction and image.
• International journal of contemporary hospitality management, 12(6), 346-351.Kim, W. C., and Mauborgne, R. (2003). Fair process: Managing in the knowledge economy. Harvard Business Review, 81(1), 127-136.
• Kim, W. C., and Mauborgne, R. (1997). Value innovation: The strategic logic of high growth. Harvard Business School Pub.
• Kwon, I. W. G., Suh T. (2004). Factors affecting the level of trust and commitment in supply chain relationships, Journal of supply chain management, 40(1), 4-14
• Lee, J., Lee, J. N., and Tan, B. C. (2015). Antecedents of cognitive trust and affective distrust and their mediating roles in building customer loyalty. Information Systems Frontiers, 17(1), 159-175.
• Lin, H. H., and Wang, Y. S. (2006). An examination of the determinants of customer loyalty in mobile commerce contexts. Information and management, 43(3), 271-282.
• Mayer, R. C., Davis, J. H., and Schoorman, F. D., (1995). An integrative model of organizational trust, Academy of management review, 20(3), 709-734.
• McMahon-Beattie, U., Yeoman, I., Palmer, A., and Mudie, P. (2002). Customer perceptions of pricing and the maintenance of trust. Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, 1(1), 25-34.
• Molinillo, S., Gómez-Ortiz, B., Pérez-Aranda, J., and Navarro-García, A. (2017). Building Customer Loyalty: The Effect of Experiential State, the Value of Shopping, and Trust and Perceived Value of Service on Online Clothes Shopping. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 0887302X17694270.
• Moorman, C., Zaltman, G., and 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.
• Morgan, R. M., and Hunt, S. D. (1994). The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing. The journal of marketing, 20-38.
• Prentice, C., and Loureiro, S. M. C. (2017). An asymmetrical approach to understanding configurations of customer loyalty in the airline industry. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 38, 96-107.
• Too, L. H., Souchon, A. L., and Thirkell, P. C. (2001). Relationship marketing and customer loyalty in a retail setting: a dyadic exploration. Journal of Marketing Management, 17(3-4), 287-319.
• Walsh, G., and Beatty, S. E. (2007). Customer-based corporate reputation of a service firm: scale development and validation. Journal of the academy of marketing science, 35(1), 127-143.
• Wetsch, L. R. (2006). Trust, satisfaction and loyalty in customer relationship management: an application of justice theory. Journal of Relationship Marketing, 4(3-4), 29-42.
• Winer, R. S. (2001). A framework for customer relationship management. California management review, 43(4), 89-105.