Abstract
Previous studies have shown that the most important factor affecting customer loyalty in the service industry is service quality. However, on the subject of whether service quality has a direct or indirect effect on customer loyalty, scholars' views apparently vary. Some studies suggest that service quality has a direct and fundamental influence on customer loyalty (Bai and Liu, 2002). However, others have shown that service quality not only directly affects customer loyalty, it also has an indirect impact on customer loyalty by influencing customer satisfaction and perceived value (Cronin, Brady, and Hult, 2000). Currently, there are few domestic articles that specifically address the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty in the mobile communication industry. Moreover, research has studied customer loyalty as a whole variable, rather than breaking it down further into multiple dimensions. Based on this analysis, this paper summarizes previous study results, establishes an effect mechanism model among service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty in the mobile communication industry, and presents a statistical test on model assumptions by using customer investigation data from Heilongjiang Mobile Company. It provides theoretical guidance for mobile service management based on the discussion of the hypothesis test results. For data collection, the sample comprised mobile users in Harbin city, and the survey was taken by random sampling. Out of a total of 300 questionnaires, 276 (92.9%) were recovered. After excluding invalid questionnaires, 249 remained, for an effective rate of 82.6 percent for the study. Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ coefficient was adapted to assess the scale reliability, and validity testing was conducted on the questionnaire from three aspects: content validity, construct validity. and convergent validity. The study tested for goodness of fit mainly from the absolute and relative fit indexes. From the hypothesis testing results, overall, four assumptions have not been supported. The ultimate affective relationship of service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty is demonstrated in Figure 2. On the whole, the service quality of the communication industry not only has a direct positive significant effect on customer loyalty, it also has an indirect positive significant effect on customer loyalty through service quality; the affective mechanism and extent of customer loyalty are different, and are influenced by each dimension of service quality. This study used the questionnaires of existing literature from home and abroad and tested them in empirical research, with all questions adapted to seven-point Likert scales. With the SERVQUAL scale of Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988), or PZB, as a reference point, service quality was divided into five dimensions-tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy-and the questions were simplified down to nineteen. The measurement of customer satisfaction was based mainly on Fornell (1992) and Wang and Han (2003), ending up with four questions. Based on the study’s three indicators of price tolerance, first choice, and complaint reaction were used to measure attitudinal loyalty, while repurchase intention, recommendation, and reputation measured behavioral loyalty. The collection and collation of literature data produced a model of the relationship among service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty in mobile communications, and China Mobile in the city of Harbin in Heilongjiang province was used for conducting an empirical test of the model and obtaining some useful conclusions. First, service quality in mobile communication is formed by the five factors mentioned earlier: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. On the basis of PZB SERVQUAL, the study designed a measurement scale of service quality for the mobile communications industry, and obtained these five factors through exploratory factor analysis. The factors fit basically with the five elements, indicating the concept of five elements of service quality for the mobile communications industry. Second, service quality in mobile communications has both direct and indirect positive effects on attitudinal loyalty, with the indirect effect being produced through the intermediary variable, customer satisfaction. There are also both direct and indirect positive effects on behavioral loyalty, with the indirect effect produced through two intermediary variables: customer satisfaction and attitudinal loyalty. This shows that better service quality and higher customer satisfaction will activate the attitudinal to service providers more active and show loyalty to service providers much easier. In addition, the effect mechanism of all dimensions of service quality on all dimensions of customer loyalty is different. Third, customer satisfaction plays a significant intermediary role among service quality and attitudinal and behavioral loyalty, indicating that improving service quality can boost customer satisfaction and make it easier for satisfied customers to become loyal customers. Moreover, attitudinal loyalty plays a significant intermediary role between service quality and behavioral loyalty, indicating that only attitudinally and behaviorally loyal customers are truly loyal customers. The research conclusions have some indications for Chinese telecom operators and others to upgrade their service quality. Two limitations to the study are also mentioned. First, all data were collected in the Heilongjiang area, so there might be a common method bias that skews the results. Second, the discussion addresses the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty, setting customer satisfaction as mediator, but does not consider other factors, like customer value and consumer features, This research will be continued in the future.
现有文献表明, 影响服务业顾客忠诚的最重要因素是服务质量. 然而, 在服务质量是直接还是间接影响顾客忠诚方面, 学者们的观点有着明显的分歧. 目前, 中国国内专门针对移动通信行业服务质量与顾客忠诚之间关系的文章较少. 此外, 以往相关文献多是将顾客忠诚作为一个整体变量进行研究, 没有进一步将其细分为多个维度. 基于此, 本文拟通过实证研究来探析移动通信业服务质量各维度与顾客忠诚各维度之间的直接和间接影响机理, 其中选择顾客满意作为二者关系的中介变量, 希望研究结论能给国内移动通信企业的服务管理提供有效的理论指导. 为了使搜集到的数据有效, 本次调研范围仅限于黑龙江哈尔滨市, 调查对象为移动通信公司的用户. 本次调研采取随机抽样的方式, 共发放问卷350份, 收回问卷325份, 回收率为 92.9%. 剔除无效问卷, 有效问卷为289份, 即有效回收率为82.6%. 本文借鉴国内外现有文献所使用的量表, 这些量表已经在实证研究中得到验证. 本文提出六个假设, 总体而言, 只有四个假设没有得到支持. 为了验证服务质量构成要素量表的合理性, 本文对289份有效样本进行探索性因子分析. 同样, 对顾客忠诚的维度进行检验. 本研究采用Cronbach's ${\alpha}$系数来评价量表的信度. 本研究从内容效度, 结构效度和聚合效度三方面对问卷进行效度检验. 本研究对数据和模型的拟合优度进行检验, 以提高假设检验的准确程度. 通过文献资料的收集, 整理及数据处理, 本文提出了服务质量五维度模型以及服务质量与顾客忠诚度之间相互关系模型, 通过实证分析验证了有形性, 可靠性, 反应性, 保证性和关怀性是服务质量的五个构成要素, 验证了PZB对于服务质量的SERVQUAL的测量方法, 研究了移动通信服务质量各维度对顾客忠诚各维度的直接影响机理, 以及服务质量各维度如何通过顾客满意这一中介变量对顾客忠诚各维度的间接影响机理, 建立了相应的关系模型,并运用结构方程分析方法,对模型进行实证检验, 得出如下研究结论: 第一, 移动通信服务质量由有形性, 可靠性, 响应性, 保证性和移情性五个要素构成, 顾客忠诚由态度忠诚和行为忠诚两个维度构成. 在PZB设计的SERVQUAL量表基础上, 本文针对移动通信行业设计了服务质量测量量表, 通过探索性因子分析得出五个因子. 这五个因子与五构成要素基本一致, 说明服务质量五要素概念适用于移动通信行业. 同样, 对顾客忠诚量表进行因子分析, 得出两个因子, 与本文中的态度忠诚和行为忠诚相一致. 第二, 移动通信服务质量对顾客忠诚存在直接和间接的正向影响作用. 其中, 服务质量对态度忠诚有直接和间接的正向作用, 间接作用是通过顾客满意这一中介变量影响的; 服务质量对行为忠诚有直接和间接的正向作用, 间接作用是通过顾客满意和态度忠诚这两个中介变量影响的. 这说明移动通信服务质量越好, 顾客的满意度越高, 其对服务提供商的态度就越积极, 在行为上就越容易表现出对服务提供商的忠诚. 而且, 服务质量各维度对顾客忠诚各维度的影响机理是不同的, 比如: 有形性对顾客满意有直接的正向作用, 但对顾客忠诚却没有显著的直接作用; 保证性对顾客满意没有显著的直接作用, 但对顾客忠诚有直接和间接的正向作用. 第三, 顾客满意在移动通信服务质量与态度忠诚, 行为忠诚之间的具有显著的中介作用, 这说明服务质量的提高可以增加顾客的满意度, 而满意的顾客更容易成为忠诚的顾客; 而态度忠诚在移动通信服务质量与行为忠诚之间的具有显著的中介作用, 这说明顾客行为上表现出忠诚可能是虚假忠诚, 只有态度和行为都忠诚的顾客才是真正的忠诚顾客. 本文的研究结论对中国及其它国家的电信运营商如何提升服务质量有一定的借鉴意义. 本文存在两方面的局限性: 首先, 本研究仅在黑龙江哈尔滨地区进行问卷调研, 针对移动公司用户, 统计数据会存在一定的抽样误差, 影响最终的统计分析结果. 第二, 本研究主要探讨了服务质量对顾客忠诚的影响关系, 并引入了顾客满意作为中介变量, 但没有考虑其他可能影响顾客忠诚的因素, 例如顾客价值, 消费者特征等.