Skip to main content
Frontiers of Business Research in China
Download PDF
  • Research Article
  • Published:

An empirical study of the effects of Guanxi investment on customer loyalty in Chinese market

A Survey on customer winning-back management in hotel industries from Sichuan, Yunnan and Zhejiang

Frontiers of Business Research in China volume 2, pages 98–115 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship among Guanxi investment, affective commitment and customer loyalty. A customer win-back model is proposed, including Guanxi investment strategies, customer perceptions (price sensitivity, trust and affection), affective commitment and customer 1oyalty(i.e., true loyalty, latent loyalty, spurious loyalty, non loyalty). The fieldwork was conducted in the hotel industry in China (N=1074). Results show that Guanxi investment strategy has significant effects on customer’s loyalty. This study hence contributes to the literature on customer win-back strategy and provides useful suggestions for managers in charge of customer relationship management.

摘要

顾客赢回맜理模型包括关系投资策略、 顾客感知 (信任、 情感和价格敏感)、 情感性承诺、 态度忠诚和行为忠诚等变量。 为了考察关系投资、 情感性承诺和顾客忠诚的关系, 选取 1074 家酒店的数据为样本。 研究结果显示, 关系投资策略可以提高顾客对, 商的信任和情感依附?降低顾客对价格的敏感程度, 并对顾客真正忠诚行为的形成有促进作用, 这对맜理者运用关系投资策略进行顾客赢回맜理具有指导意义.

References

  • Han Wei, Xi Youmin(2001). Is Guanxi a model of China’s business? Journal of Northwest University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition) (in Chinese), 31(1): 43–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang Tao, Chen Lurong(2006). Guanxi in the context of Chinese culture: An exploratory Research. Journal of Marketing Science (in Chinese), 12(3): 1–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang Zhongfang, Peng Siqing(1999). Conceptualization of interpersonal trust in China: A perspective of interpersonal relation. Sociological Studies(in Chinese), (2): 1–21

  • Zhai Xuewei(1999). Personal position: One concept and its analysis framework. Social Science in China (in Chinese), (4): 144–157

  • Ambler T(1994). Marketing’s third paradigm: Guanxi. Business Strategy Review, (5): 69–80

  • Amine A(1998). Consumers’ true brand loyalty: The central role of commitment. Journal of Strategic Marketing, (6):305–319

  • Anderson J C, Gerbing D W(1988). Structural equation modelling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103(3):411–423

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bagozzi R P, Yi Y(1988). On the evaluation of structural equation models. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 16(1): 74–94

    Google Scholar 

  • Bagozzi R P(1975). Social exchange in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, (3): 314–327

  • Bendapudi N, Berry L L(1997). Customers’ Motivations for maintaining relationship with service providers. Journal of Retailing, 73:15–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bloemer J, Kasper H(1990). Brand loyalty and brand satisfaction: The case of buying audio cassettes anew in the Netherlands, in Proceedings: Marketing for the New Europe: Dealing with Complexity. EMAC

  • Dahlstrom R, Nygaard A(1995). An exploratory investigation of interpersonal trust in new and mature market economies. Journal of Retailing, 71:339–361

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Day G S(1969). A two-dimensional concept of brand loyalty. Journal of Advertising Research, 9(3): 29–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Dick A S, Basu K(1994). Customer loyalty: Toward an integrated conceptual framework. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 22: 99–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donavan D T, Brown T J, Mowen J C(2004). Internal benefits of service-worker customer orientation: Job satisfaction, commitment, and organizational citizenship behaviours. Journal of Marketing, (1): 128–146

  • Fock H K Y, Woo K S(1999). The china market: Strategic implications of Guanxi. Business Strategy Review, (3): 33–43

  • Forell C, Larcker D F(1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1): 39–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gordon F(2005). The service quality loyalty relationship in retail services: Does commitment matter?. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 12(4): 99–111

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldsmith R E, Kim D, Flynn L R(2005). Price sensitivity and innovativeness for fashion among Korean consumers. The Journal of Social Psychology, 145: 501–508

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griffin J, Lowenstein M(2001). Customer win-back: How to recapture lost customers and keep them loyal. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

    Google Scholar 

  • Hair J F, Anderson R E, Tatham R L, Black W C(1998). Multivariate data analysis. N.Y.: Macmillan

    Google Scholar 

  • Jöreskog K G, Sörbom D(1996). Lisrel8: User’s reference guide. Mooresville: Scientific Software

    Google Scholar 

  • Jöreskog J L, Tomoaki S, Joseph A C, Naoto O(1993). The exercise of inter-firm power and its repercussion in U.S.—Japanese channel relationship. Journal of Marketing, 57(4): 1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee D Y, Dawes P L(2005). Guanxi, trust, and long-term orientation in Chinese business markets. Journal of International Marketing, 13(2): 28–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee P, Joglekar P(2005). A dual pricing model for price sensitive products subject to sudden obsolescence. Journal of Business & Economic Studies, (11):50–60

  • Lovett S, Simmons L C, Kali R(1999). Guanxi versus the market: Ethics and efficiency. Journal of International Business Studies, 30(2): 231–247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mela C F, Gupta S, Lehmann D R(1997). The long-term impact of promotion and advertising on consumer brand choice. Journal of Marketing Research, XXXIV: 248–261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michael T, Mark A V(1999). Manufacturing technology and strategy formulation: Keys to enhancing competitiveness and improving performance. Journal of Operation Management, 17: 411–428

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morgan R M, Hunt S Y D(1994). The commitment trust theory of relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing, 58(3): 20–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanzo M J, Santos M L, Vázquez R, Álvarez L I(2003). The role of market orientation in business dyadic relationships: Testing an integrator model. Journal of Marketing Management, 19: 73–107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith J B, Donald W B(1997). The effects of organizational differences and trust on the effectiveness and trust on the effectiveness of selling partner relationships. Journal of Marketing, 61(1): 3–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stauss B, Friege C(1999). Regaining service customers: Costs and benefits of regain management. Journal of Service Research, 1(4): 347–362

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stern B B(1997). Advertising intimacy: Relationship marketing and the services consumer. Journal of Advertising, XXVI: 7–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas J S, Blattberg R J, Fox E(2004). Recapturing lost customers. Journal of Marketing Research, XLI: 31–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thorsten H T(2000). Relationship quality and customer retention throught strategic communication of customer skills. Journal of marketing management, 16: 55–79

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Too L H Y, Anne L S, Peter C T(2001). Relationship marketing and customer loyalty in a retail setting: A dyadic exploration. Journal of Marketing Management, 17: 287–319

    Google Scholar 

  • Tung R L, Worm V(2001). Network capitalism: The role of human resources in penetrating the china market. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 29(2): 517–534

    Google Scholar 

  • Wathne K H, Biong H, Heide J B(2001). Choice of supplier in embedded markets: Relationship and marketing program effects. Journal of Marketing, 65(4): 54–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wulf K D, Gaby O-S, Dawn L(2001). Investments in consumer relationships: A cross-country and cross-industry exploration. Journal of Marketing, 65(10): 33–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yau O H M, Lee J S Y, Chow R P M, Sinleo Y M(2000). Relationship marketing the Chinese way. Business Horizons, 43(1): 16–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yeung I Y M, Tung R L(1996). Achieving business success in Confucian societies: The importance of Guanxi. Organizational Dynamics, 25(2): 54–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yum J O(1998). The impact of Confucianism on interpersonal relationships and communication patterns in East Asia. Communication Monographs, 12: 374

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics & Management, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, China

    Tang Xiaofei, Chou Ting-Jui & Chen Shuqing

Authors
  1. Tang Xiaofei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Chou Ting-Jui
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Chen Shuqing
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tang Xiaofei.

Additional information

__________

Translated from Yingxiao kexue xuebao 营销科学学报 (Journal of Marketing Science), 2006

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Tang, X., Chou, TJ. & Chen, S. An empirical study of the effects of Guanxi investment on customer loyalty in Chinese market. Front. Bus. Res. China 2, 98–115 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11782-008-0006-7

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11782-008-0006-7

Keywords

关键词