Relationships among customer loyalty programs, service quality, relationship quality and loyalty: An empirical study

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to measure the impact of customer loyalty programs on relationship quality, relationship commitment, and loyalty. Design/methodology/approach - A survey with 480 qualified observations from department store customers in Taiwan was conducted. A structural equation modeling approach was used. Findings - Customer loyalty programs have a partially supported positive impact on relationship quality; service quality has a positive impact on relationship quality; customers with a positive relationship quality impact their relationship commitment; the higher the relationship commitment, the higher the loyalty; and a customer loyalty program partially supports a positive impact on loyalty. Originality/value - The paper shows that customer loyalty programs have positive influences on loyalty. However, short-term customer loyalty programs, namely, Minimum Purchase Gift Cards, displayed no significant influence on loyalty. The incentive of short-term customer loyalty programs is not sufficient for loyalty.