Trustworthiness
Morgan and Hunt (1994) hypothesize that trust is a major
factor that influence relationship commitment in
continuum brand trust leads to brand loyalty. According to
Chauduri and Holbrook (2001) brand trust is directly
related to both purchase and attitudinal loyalty. Trust
shown by the customers is an important factor that helps
the organization to sustain even during the time of
uncertainty (Moorman et al., 1992; Doney et al., 1997;
Dwyer et al., 1987).
Image
Consciously or unconsciously customers use their
preferences to project their own self image. According to
the Belk’s theory of extended self, people define them-
selves by the possessions they have, manage or create
(Belk 1988). Consumers prefer brands with personality
traits that are congruent with the personality traits that
represent their self schemas (Aaker, 1999) brand loyalty
is also influenced by attractiveness of the brand
personality (Kim et al., 2001) and the extent to which it
enhances the self image (Tidwell and Horgan, 1993).
Oliver (1999) argues that for fully bonded loyalty the
consumable must be part of the consumer’s self-identity
and his or her social-identity.
According to Morgan and Hunt (1994) brand trust leads
to brand loyalty because trust creates exchange
relationships that are highly valued. Chauduri and
Holbrook (2001) found that brand trust is directly related
to both purchase and attitudinal loyalty.
Importance of relationship
Loyalty is a desire to retain a valuable or important
relationship. (Moorman et al., 1992), in this manner the
establishment of loyalty is predetermined by the
importance of relevant relationship. The significance of
customer loyalty is that it is closely interrelated to the
company's continued existence and future development
(Fornell, 1992). Customer loyalty is the key characteristic
that has to be developed if the companies want to mature
4
Affecting customer Loyalty: do different Factors have various
Influences in different Loyalty levels? Andres Kuusik, Tartu
University Press 2007,
5
http://www.mtk.ut.ee/orb.aw/class=file/action=preview/id=302137/fe
bawb58.pdf http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/biz/india-
business/New-Article/articleshow/5204759.cms on 16/11/2009.
6
The Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators April–June
2009October 2009 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
7
http://www.mshmgi.com/glossary,C,Customer+Loyalty.html
8
http://www.iclp.ch/?q=customer-loyalty
9
http://www.customerservicebasics.com/customer-loyalty-
definition.htm#Ellen Goodwright
John 3
and to improve its profitability in a saturated environment.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Study design
The study conceptualizes to find out the factors that impinge on the
loyalty of customers. A Questionnaire was framed in the format of
Likert scale for data collection. The responses ranged between
highly agree to highly disagree. Universe of the study was 100
customers having BSNL mobile connection for the past 2 to 3
years.
According to Anderson and Gerbing (1988), to satisfy a structure
equation modeling (SEM) analysis needs samples between 100
and 150. Therefore, the study meets this basic requirement.
The main questions answered through the study are:
1. Are the customers loyal to BSNL
2. What are the major factors that influence the loyalty of the BSNL
customers?
The data was analyzed using ‘t’ test and factor analysis.
DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS
One sample t test was conducted on the responses (with
test value ‘4’ assigned to the response ‘agree’) given by
customers. t value -1.522 which is not significant at 0.05
level shows that the mean (3.92) of the responses did not
differ significantly from the test value. High significance
value (typically above 0.05) indicates that there is no
significant difference between the test value and the
observed mean. From the result it can be inferred that
majority of the customers are highly loyal to their mobile
service provider (BSNL) (Tables 1 and 2).
The paper explores to find out the factors that force the
customers to remain loyal to the services. From Table 3,
it can be infer that value added services, low premature
termination of calls, quality of customer care and the
ability to make calls even in peak hours are the striking
features that has made a remarkable impact on the cus-
tomers positive mindset towards BSNL. Factor analysis
was carried out on various customer loyalty variables, to
find out the major factors that are influencing the loyalty
of BSNL customers. The initial Kaiser-Mayer-Olkin (KMO)
was 0.532 which indicate that the analysis is middling.
Bartlett's test is significant at 0.01 level (Chi-Square =
170.505, p<0.001) and therefore factor analysis is
appropriate. Five components were extracted by rotated
component analysis. Tables 4 and 5
In the case of BSNL, trustworthiness, relationship,
image, value added services and inconvenience in
switching phone number is the main factors that influence
the loyalty of the customers. From the factor analysis, it is
found that trustworthiness is the key factor that motivates
the customers to remain loyal to their service provider
(BSNL). The customers were contented with BSNL’s geo-
graphical coverage; they opinioned that peak hour calling
was highly effective and they face very low premature