Do relationship benefits and maintenance drive commitment and loyalty?

Purpose - This paper seeks to examine the central role that commitment plays in driving customer loyalty and to identify the effect that confidence, social and special treatment benefits as well as relationship investment, communication and management have on the development of commitment, and ultimately customer loyalty. Design/methodology/approach - The paper reports the results of a national mail survey of 591 consumers across nine different service industries. Findings - The findings of the study suggest that relationship commitment drives customer loyalty and that confidence, social and special treatment benefits affect commitment to the service, as does relationship investment and management. Surprisingly, relationship communication was found to have a negative effect on commitment to the service. Practical implications - This paper provides managers with insight as to how they can better create and sustain loyal relationships through the creation of customer commitment. Originality/value - The paper empirically demonstrates the importance of commitment in developing and sustaining loyal relationships while also providing a detailed assessment of the role of relationship benefits and maintenance in creating committed customers.