Analyzing the commitment-loyalty link in service contexts

This study addressed the ill-understood issue of how loyalty develops in se rvice patrons. Although many theorists hold commitment to be an essential p art of this process, the link between commitment and loyalty has received l ittle empirical attention. To address this void, the study first portrayed commitment's root tendency to resist changing preference as a function of t hree antecedent processes. Second, this portrayal formed the basis for deve loping a psychometrically sound scale to measure the construct of commitmen t. Third, the scale was then used in a mediating effects model (M-E-M) to t est the commitment-loyalty link. Path analyses found this parsimonious stru cture to be a significant improvement over rival direct effects models (D-E -Ms). Results found the tendency to resist changing preference to be a key precursor to loyalty, largely explained by a patron's willingness to identi fy with a brand. Implications of these findings for loyalty's development a nd research are explored.