Validating a multidimensional perspective of relationship marketing on brand attachment, customer loyalty and purchase intentions: a serial mediation model

Abstract

Organizations are actively involved in relationship marketing (RM) activities to strengthen their connections with customers. The current study discusses the multidimensional constructs of relationship marketing and its influence on customers’ brand attachment in the hotel sector, taking into account the sequential mediation of attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty between relationship marketing and purchase intention constructs. In order to collect the research data, we distributed questionnaires among 304 hotel customers and used SEM technique to analyze the hypotheses. The findings revealed that four dimensions of relationship marketing played a critical role in improving customers’ brand attachment. Furthermore, brand attachment has a significant and positive impact on behavioral loyalty and attitudinal loyalty. In addition, brand attachment, attitudinal loyalty, and behavioral loyalty have proved as significant serial mediators between the linkage of relationship marketing and purchase intentions. We also discussed the study’s theoretical and managerial implications.