The central role of customer dialogue and trust in gaining bank loyalty: an extended SWICS model

The purpose of this paper is to expand the Swiss Index of Customer Satisfaction (SWICS) model by investigating the role of customer dialogue in the interrelationships among customer satisfaction, customer trust, perceived value and customer loyalty upon Vietnam banking industry.

The conceptual framework was developed from both an exploratory research with focus group method and the literature. A structural equation model linking customer dialogue to customer satisfaction, customer trust, perceived value and loyalty is tested using data from a sample of 389 Vietnamese individual bank customers.

The results indicate the key role of customer dialogue in bank marketing since it not only has an independent impact on customer loyalty but also mediates the effect of customer satisfaction on loyalty completely and the relationship between customer trust and loyalty partially. Besides, the central role of customer trust was also highlighted since it mediates totally the effect of perceived value on both of customer dialogue and customer loyalty while explaining partially the path from customer satisfaction and customer dialogue.

First, regarding sample size, the authors have used suitable sampling methods with adequate sample representation. However, a larger sample size with more diverse age range and usage of various banking services may be more helpful and effective for the path analysis and managerial implication. Second, the authors have used only a limited set of measurement items due to the concerns of model parsimony and data collection efficiency. For example, perceived value can be measured upon more detailed dimensions, and yet the author focussed only on some selected measures based mainly on their relevance to the context studied.

The findings imply that building trust and engaging with customers better through communication are keys for Vietnamese commercial banks to gain more customer loyalty in such competitive conditions.

The study is noteworthy that it adds perceived value and customer trust in the SWICS model and investigates the interrelationships between all variables in a single model.