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Listening to bank customers: the meaning of trust

Aviv Kidron (Department of Human Services, Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, Yezreel Valley, Israel)
Yvonne Kreis (Schüllermann und Partner AG, Mainz, Germany)

International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences

ISSN: 1756-669X

Article publication date: 23 September 2020

Issue publication date: 1 December 2020

337

Abstract

Purpose

In banking services, trust is crucial to any relational exchange situation. Using the example of Israeli banks, the main research question driving this paper is – What are the reasons for trusting or not trusting banks? To date, few studies have examined the reasons of ongoing low trust during so-called “normal times”.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is unique in approaching the study of customer trust in banks through qualitative analysis by using the interdisciplinary trust approach.

Findings

The results offer important insights regarding situational normality, structural assurance and customers’ tendencies to trust the bank. The insights about trust derived from this complicated relationship between customers and banks reveals that customers grow dissatisfied and their level of trust consequently decreases when they perceive an imbalance in the exchange relationship with their bank.

Originality/value

This study provides novel insights into hidden attitudes and feelings behind each component of trust beliefs in the bank–customer trust relationship through interdisciplinary trust perspective.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the editor and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions.

Funding: The Israel Institute (grant no. 20102) supported this research. We gratefully acknowledge for their support.

Citation

Kidron, A. and Kreis, Y. (2020), "Listening to bank customers: the meaning of trust", International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 355-370. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQSS-10-2019-0120

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited

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