Trust, commitment, customer intimacy and customer loyalty in Islamic banking relationships

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of trust in enhancing customer loyalty, and to test the mediation role of commitment and customer intimacy in the relationship between trust and customer loyalty. A total of 500 questionnaires were distributed and 200 were returned (40 percent response rate), and a structural equation modeling technique was used to test the hypotheses. The results of this study show that trust has a significant relationship with commitment and customer intimacy but no significant relationship was found with customer loyalty. Commitment and customer intimacy have a significant relationship with customer loyalty. The mediation analysis reveals that commitment and customer intimacy play a mediation role in the relationship between trust and customer loyalty. This study indicates that commitment and customer intimacy affect customer loyalty. The role of commitment and customer intimacy as a mediator between trust and customer loyalty indicates that customers are committed to continuing and maintaining the relationships with Islamic banks. This study provides empirical evidence on interrelationships between trust, commitment, customer intimacy and customer loyalty in banking relationships.