T. Hennigthurau et A. Klee, THE IMPACT OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND RELATIONSHIP QUALITY ON CUSTOMER RETENTION - A CRITICAL REASSESSMENT AND MODEL DEVELOPMENT, Psychology & marketing, 14(8), 1997, pp. 737-764
Customer satisfaction with a company's products or services is often s
een as the key to a company's success and long-term competitiveness. I
n the context of relationship marketing, customer satisfaction is ofte
n viewed as a central determinant of customer retention. However, the
few empirical investigations in this area indicate that a direct relat
ionship between these constructs is weak or even nonexistent. The over
all purpose of this article is to develop a conceptual foundation for
investigating the customer-retention process, with the use of the conc
epts of customer satisfaction and relationship quality. The article in
volves a critical examination of the satisfaction-retention relationsh
ip, and the development of a more comprehensive view of the customer's
quality perception. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.