The Theoretical Analysis And Empirical Study Of Customer Loyalty Of Service Enterprises

Since 1990s it has become an important strategy for company managers to maintain stable customers because of the fierce competition and the difficulty to develop new market. Nowadays, products are not the center of commercial activities. The center has shifted to other fields like customer rights and customer relationship. All this shows that a customer -oriented era has come. In the customer-oriented era, enterprises especially service enterprises gradually realize the important role that loyal customers and stable customer relationship plays in fostering and enhancing the differentiated competitive advantage. It is a new task that the era has given to enterprises and the academia to carry out profound research on customer loyalty, foster and develop loyal customers and stable customer relationship.A lot of research has been done on customer loyalty in western countries. The focus of their research is the "Whence Consumer Loyalty?"(Richard L. Oliver, 1999). The study of "Whence Consumer Loyalty?" is focused on the study of the relationship between influence factors and the measures of customer loyalty. From different perspectives, researchers have given different answers. Some tried to find out the reason from customers themselves. Some tried to find out the reason from the companies and some others tried to discover the reasons from other aspects. Current studies have found out a few influence factors and a lot of empirical studies have been done on the relationship between these factors and customer loyalty. However, most researchers only studied the influence of one, two, or several factors on the measure (eg. repetitive purchasing behavior) of customer loyalty. They did not do thorough study on the influence of customer themselves, companies, and other factors and the mutual effects among these factors. There is almost no localized study in the research fields of customer loyalty in China. Therefore, in order to solve the central problem of "Whence Consumer Loyalty?", the author thinks that marketing personnel andresearchers have to solve a basic problem, that is, the structure of the dimension of customer loyalty, then the problem of influence factors and the mutual effects.On the principle of scientific prudence and uniting theory with practice, the author makes a localized study on the customer loyalty of service enterprises, using theoretical deduction and empirical research. On the basis of the analysis of literature, the author first establishes a new comprehensive model for the study of customer loyalty, combining his own understanding and discovery. Then by testing the model with China's local samples, the author further discusses some important problems eg. the inner structure of the dimension of customer loyalty, the influence factors of customer loyalty, the formation process of customer loyalty and the content of customer loyalty complex. The author makes some significant conclusions and provides Chinese enterprises including service enterprises with theoretical guidance for the practice of loyalty marketing.This paper puts forward the structure of the dimension of customer loyalty and involves complex, the concept of analytical psychology, into the study of customer loyalty for the first time. In addition, the paper points out that loyal behavior, loyal intension and loyal complex are the inner structure of the dimension of customer loyalty, which deepens and broadens the research fields. This paper reveals me complicated formation process of customer loyalty and effectively responds to the problem of "Whence Consumer Loyalty?". The author also establishes a comprehensive model for the study of customer loyalty. Although it does not cover all the influence factors of customer loyalty, the model is better than any current models. Furthermore, the author tentatively develops a set of measure models of customer loyalty and three scales, which provides new localized tools for the localized research of customer loyalty. By theoretical analysis and empirical research of customer loyalty of service enterprises, the author intents to start further discussion and promote the localized research of customer loyalty.