The Mediating Role of Customer Trust on Customer Loyalty

Abstract

The review of the literature reveals various relationships between the constructs of social identity, customer trust, and customer loyalty. Such results lead to questioning the nature of the conceptual structure that would include these constructs as well as their interrelationships in a structural model. From this perspective, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the mediating role of customer trust on customer loyalty in presence of corporate social identity in the context of financial institutions. Using data collected from 1296 customers-members of credit unions, the results of this study help to legitimize the idea that customer trust intervenes as a mediating variable that enhances the impact of corporate identity, corporate image and the reputation of the firm on customer loyalty. The implications of the study are discussed from both the research and managerial perspectives.