The impact of service quality on customer referrals: The mediating role of customer gratitude

ABSTRACT

The main aim of the paper is to study the impact of service quality on customer referrals (CR) and testing the mediating role of customer gratitude (CG). Gratitude is a significant component of personal relationships and may offer important insights into the impact of service quality on CR. In addition, CG may provide a more complete explanation of service quality, how it works, and customers or patients referred to other as referrals. Consequently, this research contributes to marketing literature by investigating CG as a mediating mechanism in the relationship between service quality and CR; all dimensions of service quality were observed in this study. Finally, a questionnaire survey was conducted to test the CG model in the context of service quality of healthcare industry. Furthermore, results show that CG fully mediates the relationship between service quality and CR. Overall, this research suggests a comprehensive CG model. It also provides empirical evidence that CG strengthens the relationships between service provider and service buyer–seller relationship.

KEYWORDS:

• Service quality
• customer referrals
• customer gratitude
• health care industry

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Najeeb Ullah holds an MS degree in Marketing by the International Islamic University and is doing work as sales support executive in multinational logistic company at corporate sales department. He has received Gold Medal in MBA marketing from President of Pakistan. His main area of interest is in the study of healthcare industry and marketing point of view.