A Comparison of Customer Commitment in Five Sectors Using the Psychological Investment Model

Abstract

In this article, customer commitment to companies is examined using a social psychological model: the investment model. According to this model, commitment is determined by satisfaction level, quality of alternatives, and investment size (both factual and psychological). The study presents an overview of the literature and compares commitment in 5 different sectors: the banking industry, health insurance, supermarkets, mobile telecom providers, and the automotive industry. The results show that the model in its entirety is applicable to all of these sectors. The applicability of the investment model is highest in the banking sector and lowest in the automotive and supermarket sectors. Satisfaction is a particularly important determinant of commitment in the banking and health insurance sectors, whereas alternatives are a relevant determinant in all industries, particularly in the automotive sector. There are major differences in the effect of investments on commitment. This factor is particularly important in the automotive sector and generally appears to be more important in highly competitive sectors. We discuss implications for relationship marketing in this article.

KEYWORDS:

• customer commitment
• customer loyalty
• customer relationship management (CRM)
• customer satisfaction and investment model

Notes

1. As the number of sectors we examined was small, it is impossible to support or reject hypotheses that assume there to be differences among types of sectors. So we claim some evidence to support a hypothesis if our results are in line with the hypothesis; we claim no evidence if our results are not in line with the hypothesis.