International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management

Volume 9 • Issue 2 • April-June 2018

Relationship Marketing Model:

The Effect of Emotion on Relationship
Between Hoteliers and Customers of
Five Star Hotels in Bangladesh
Sara Sarwari, Stamford University Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh

ABSTRACT

To keep the customer loyal, today relationship marketing gets more and more attention in hospitality
industry especially in the hotel business. This article develops a model of relationship marketing to
empirically investigate: (1) the effect of emotions on relationship quality; and (2) and the effect of
both relationship quality and emotions on customer loyalty. Here empirical findings are derived from
a survey of 284 loyal guests at five-star hotels in Bangladesh by using structural equation modeling
(AMOS 21.0). The findings of this article provide strong evidence of the relationship between emotions
and relationship quality, which in turn are necessary determinants of customer loyalty. Findings imply
that increase of the positive emotions of customers will increase the relationship quality between the
hoteliers and the customers, which ultimately introduce more loyal customers in the five-star hotels
in Bangladesh and make the hotels pursuit more competitive advantage, and long-term profit.

Keywords
Customer Loyalty, Emotions, Relationship Marketing, Relationship Quality

1. INTRODUCTION

The marketplace today is very dynamic, vibrant and competitive. The customers are smarter, more
informed, and have access to many channels and choices which they take little time to exercise.
Customer can easily attract by the competitors who promise better offerings at lower prices (Bhardwaj,
2007). In order to remain competitive, firms need to build and enhance customer relationships by
delivering value, which can’t be satisfied by the core product alone (Zineldin, 2006).
For hotel businesses, loyal customers are more profitable because they are more attached to the
hotel and easier to serve than those of non-loyal customers (Tepeci, 1999). Bowen and Shoemaker
(1998) justify that that a small increase in loyal customers can result in a substantial increase in
profitability. Further, Kim and Cha (2002) argue that the more the customer stays in the hotel, the
more profitable it is for the hotel. According to Reichheld and Sasser (1990), hotels could improve
their profits from two to eight percent by reducing customer defections by five percent. The benefits
of customer relationship marketing, however, are not limited to service firms. Customers benefits

DOI: 10.4018/IJCRMM.2018040102

Copyright © 2018, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.


16
 International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management
Volume 9 • Issue 2 • April-June 2018

include provide the information as needed, customization of product and services (Crosby et al., 1990),
and reduced the purchase risk and give them more psychological comfort (Bejou, 1997; Grönroos,
2004; Berry, 2002).
In this article, five-star hotels had been chosen because different research indicates that
relationship marketing practice are occurred more in five-star hotels than in midrange or budget
hotels (Kim and Cha, 2002). The focus of this study was to find out how the customers view their
relationships with hoteliers.
Here two five stars hotels in Bangladesh were included among the three five-star hotels in
Bangladesh (Pan Pacific Sonargaon hotel, Radisson Water Garden hotel and Westin hotel): Pan Pacific
Sonargaon hotel, Radisson Water Garden hotel. To fulfill the requirements of a five star hotel, these
three five star hotels in Bangladesh try to provide as much facilities as possible to their customers.
This research will help managers of these hotels to deal with more different types of guests, with
relevant information and can improve their relationship marketing programs and can increase the
percentage of repeated visitors every year.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Relationship Marketing

Relationship marketing is one of the oldest approaches to Marketing (Zineldin and Philipson, 2007)
and Over the past twenty years, relationship marketing has represented a renaissance in marketing
(Bonnemaizon et al, 2007) and it embodies international, industrial and services marketing and in a
business context is superseding traditional marketing theory (Davis, 2008). The concept of relationship
marketing has emerged within the field of services marketing and industrial marketing (Dwyer et al.,
1987; Thorbjornsen et al., 2002; Swaminathan et al., 2007; Bolton et al., 2008; Ndubisi and Wah,
2005) and blossomed in the late 1980s and 1990s (Beetles and Harris, 2010).
In an early conference paper, Berry (1983) defines relationship marketing as attracting,
maintaining, and enhancing customer relationships. This is similar to the popular definition proposed
by Grönroos (1990). However, Grönroos (p.5) while viewing relationship marketing “to establish,
maintain, enhance with customers and other partners, at profit, so that the objectives of the parties
involved are met. This is achieved by a mutual exchange and fulfilment of promises.” In contrast, Kim
and Cha (2002) conducted research in the context of hospitality industry, and defined relationship
marketing as “a set of marketing activities that attract, maintain, and enhance customer relationships
for the benefit of both sides, emphasizing on retaining existing customers” (p. 323). According to
Kotler and Keller (2009) customer relationship marketing is the process of attracting, building and
retaining customers. Melbourne (Vic.). Council., (2009) relationship marketing defined RM as a
shared vision and commitment for the hospitality sector, with agreed goals to work together. This
vision can only be achieved through collaboration. A significant benefit that can be derived from
successful relationship marketing (RM) in a business is the development of loyalty in customers.
Hennig-Thurau, Gwinner & Gremler (2002) mentioned that customer loyalty and positive word-of-
mouth recommendations are usually the two outcomes of effective RM. Another advantage derived
from relationship marketing is the increased profitability that stems from the retention as opposed to
capturing new customers. Firstly, customer retention can be defined as the ‘ability of a firm’s offer
for a customer to purchase or patronage its product over a specific time period.’ (Shajahan, 2004.
p. 109). This is as not all customers are worth the additional effort as well as cost to retain, certain
customers are with more important with regards to their perceived value to the company as well as
potential for development in the future (Buttle, 2009). In the context of a hotel for example, a hotel
might want to centre its attention on the higher spending, more affluent members of its clientele,
as they represent more profits for the company as compared to the ordinary spending customer that
patronizes the hotel. With these measures and understanding of customer retention in place, hotels

17
International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management
Volume 9 • Issue 2 • April-June 2018

can reap increased profits as an advantage of relationship marketing. Relationship marketing theory
suggests that successful relationship marketing results from certain aspects of cooperative relationships
that characterize successful relational exchanges (Hunt, Arnett, and Madhavaram 2005). Arnett and
Badrinarayanan (2005) conceptualize a relationship marketing competence as a firm’s ability to
identify, develop, and manage cooperative relationships with key customers characterized by trust,
relationship commitment, and communication. He viewed relationship marketing as a strategy to
attract, maintain and enhance customer relationships (Ndubisi, 2007). “Relationship marketing involves
creating, maintaining, and enhancing strong relationships with customers and other stakeholders.
Relationship marketing is orientated to the long term. The goal is to deliver long-term value to
customers, and the measure of success is long-term customer satisfaction.” (Murphy et al., 2005).
Thereby relationship marketing is about retaining customers by improving communications, customer
data collection and customer service quality (Patsioura et al., 2009). It aims to increase long-term
profitability by means of effective management of relationships, and seeks to identify and understand
individual customers’ requests and then customizing/personalizing customer services (Sigala, 2005).
In addition, through personalized services, businesses are able to develop trust between employees
and customers, which will further strengthen customer relationships (Berry & Parasuraman, 1991;
Ward & Dagger, 2007). Xie and Heung (2012) discovered that hotel customers with a strong brand
relationship were more tolerant of unpleasant experiences such as service failure. These customers
tend to have fewer negative emotions and greater revisit intention, compared with those of weaker
relationships. RM has a positive influence on hotel performance regarding customers, finance, and
internal process, irrespective of the type and size of the property (Wu & Lu, 2012). Since they know
the products and services well, customers experience reduced anxiety and also have less potential risks
with future buying decisions (Colgate et al., 2005; Sheth & Parvatiyar, 1995). Research suggests that
the degree to which a hotel firm employs RM is positively associated with its financial performance
including return of investment, sales growth, and market share, as well as its marketing performance
including customer retention, customer satisfaction, and trust (Sin, Tse, Chan, Heung, & Yim, 2006).

2.2. Relationship Quality

Relationship quality has been used as one of the relationship outcomes in the proposed model in
this study. There is no clear consensus in the literature on the set of dimensions that comprise the
construct of ‘relationship quality’ (Ruben, 2007; Singh, 2008). RQ is determined from various
perspectives and differs from many definitions found in prior literature. Lacking specific attempts
to fully develop a relationship quality construct and a practical measure, researchers have used this
term inconsistently to generally describe relational constructs based on the empirical context under
investigation. (Julie, 2006). Relationship quality has been viewed as “an overall assessment of the
strength of the relationship and the extent to which it meets the needs and expectations of the parties
based on a history of successful encounters or events” (Smith, 1998, p. 78). While there are no specific
components comprising relationship quality construct, there is general agreement that customer
satisfaction with the service provider’s performance, trust in the service provider, and commitment
to the relationship with the service firm are key components of relationship quality (Palmer and
Bejou, 1994; Dorsch et al., 1998; Smith, 1998, Hennig-Thurau, 2002; Palmatier et al., 2006; Wang
et al., 2006). Parsons (2002) acknowledged that RQ should contain at least two dimensions including
trust and satisfaction. By integrating different viewpoints, Chakrabarty et al. (2007) assessed that
RQ is measured through trust, commitment, culture, interdependence, and communication. The
importance of relationship satisfaction, trust and commitment can be linked together as an overall
indicator of the higher-order construct of relationship quality. It is assumed that better relationship
quality is accompanied by greater satisfaction, trust, and commitment, although these three attitudinal
dimensions are distinct, consumers tend to view and evaluate them as a group together (Ruben, 2007;
Gerrard and Lawrence, 1997; Nelson, 2007b; Julie, 2006; Roger, 2007; Rauyruen & Miller, 2007).
Therefore, trust, satisfaction, and commitment are intimately interconnected in the conceptualization

18
 International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management
Volume 9 • Issue 2 • April-June 2018

of relationship quality (Yang & Wu, 2008). As pointed out by Garbarino and Johnson (1999), these
three dimensions (or evaluations) can be used to summarize a consumer’s knowledge and experience
with a particular service provider and lead to subsequent consumer actions. Palmatier et al. (2006)
identified that trust; commitment and satisfaction are the dimensions of relationship quality that most
often studied. As these three dimensions form the basis for in depth understanding of relationship
quality in this study, they are discussed separately below.
Trust is an important factor in affecting relationship marketing and customer loyalty. If one party
trusts another, such a party is willing to develop a positive relationship with other party. The more
the customer trusts the service provider, the more they satisfied with them and committed for the
organization, which ultimately create loyalty. Trust as an element of customer loyalty has an influence
on building customer loyalty (Aydin & Ozer, 2005, p. 146; Chen & Xie, 2007, p. 64; Du Plessis 2010,
pp. 91-92). According to Cerri (2012), high levels of mutual trust facilitate the effective exchange
between the business partners and enhance relationship quality. Trust was found to be important for
client-professional relationship quality in the financial planning environment (Hunt, Brimble and
Freudenberg, 2011). Chu (2009) asserts that customers’ trust is significant in building long-term
relationship and achieving customer loyalty.
Roberts-Lombard (2009, p. 73) defines customer satisfaction as “the degree to which a business’s
product or service performance matches up to the expectation of the customer. If the performance
matches or exceeds the expectations, then the customer is satisfied, if performance is below par then
the customer is dissatisfied”. There is a direct link between relationship quality and satisfaction (Balaji
2009, pp. 54-55). If a customer feels that he has a satisfying relationship with the organization, he may
continue his relationship with that organization. (Rootman 2006, p. 77). Customer satisfaction was
found to be a significant predictor of relationship quality in the Ethiopian mobile telecommunication
industry (Negi and Ketema, 2013). Li, Green, Farazmand and Grodzki (2012) reported that relationship
quality represented by customer satisfaction has influenced customer loyalty in the context of retail.
According to Morgan and Hunt (1994), commitment comes from trust, shared values and
the belief that it will be difficult to find another one that can offer the same value. Customers
who are committed to a relationship might be act in a same way because they need to remain
consistent with their commitment (Liang & Wang 2005: 66). More committed customers tend
to form a positive overall impression of the total duration of the relationship, including different
transactions, positive and negative, and these customers exhibit strong intentions to stay in the
relationship (Du Plessis 2010, p. 96).

2.3. Emotion
Emotion is considered to be an important variable in customer relationship development. No theses
consider this factor as an important one for the customers of five-star hotels in Bangladesh before.
The related constructs of emotions, affect, mood and attitude are often confused (Krampf et al.,
2003; Burns and Neisner, 2006); for the purposes of this study, it is first necessary to distinguish
between them. The affect construct has been seen as the umbrella for describing the general feeling
state (Bagozzi et al., 1999, Krampf et al., 2003; Burns and Neisner, 2006). Some authors make a fine
distinction between mood and emotions (i.e., Krampf et al., 2003). Such authors regard emotions as
a more intense stimulus than mood, and generally associated with action tendencies. Furthermore,
drawing from previous works, Burns and Neisner (2006) also have concluded that moods are not
generally associated with behavioral motivations and are not as action-oriented as emotions. This is
because moods are aroused without conscious awareness and without awareness of cause. In defining
emotions, Krampf et al. (2003) and Burns (2006) refer to the origin of understanding emotions in
the earlier nineteenth century work of James (1890), who considered them as being multifaceted,
involving different patterns of arousal. Looking from a broader definition, Bagozzi et al. (1999, p.
184) described emotions as being “a mental state of readiness that arises from cognitive appraisals
of an events or thoughts; has a phenomenological tone; is accompanied by physiological processes;

19
International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management
Volume 9 • Issue 2 • April-June 2018

is often expressed physically; and may result in specific actions to affirm or cope with the emotion,
depending on its nature and the person having it.” This definition has been considered most appropriate
for this study because it is consistent with the research findings that one’s positive emotions are
linked to one’s decision to stay with a particular service provider, and one’s negative emotions are
linked to one’s decision to discontinue involvement (Wong, 2004). Several authors have argued that
customers’ emotional experience is an important component in the course of relationship marketing
(Barnes 1997; Liljander and Strandvik, 1997; Pullman and Gross, 2004; Ruth et al., 2004; Wong,
2004; Anderson and Kumar, 2006; Bagozzi, 2006). Within the hospitality context, Pullman and Gross
(2004) investigate the importance of only positive emotions as an outcome of relational context by
including fifteen words on positive emotions. Relational context in their study refers to two types of
interaction: (1) between the guest and service provider, and (2) between the guest and other guests.
Their findings suggest that if the service provider keeps a long-relationship with customers, an
emotional response affecting future interactions can occur. Wong (2004) proposes that if customers
present positive emotions during interactions with service providers, then it is expected that they
will also present positive perceptions of overall relationship quality. Furthermore, more authors
clearly indicate that the customer associates both positive and negative emotions with the service
encounter; which in turn, plays a significant role in the customer’s degree of satisfaction, loyalty and
future behavioral intention (Allen, Machleit & Kleine, 1992; Oliver, 1993; Richins, 1997 Barsky &
Nash, 2002; Han et al., 2010).

2.4. Customer Loyalty

Customer Loyalty is considered as the most important part of relationship marketing (Palmer, 1994);
and central to the paradigm of relationship marketing (Hart et al., 1999). The significance of this
loyalty came from the idea that maintaining a customer is more profitable than winning a new one
because: (1) the cost is less in serving loyal customers than other customers (2) A very few loyal
customers are price sensitive, and (3) loyal customers spend more with the company than others
(Berry and Parasuraman, 1991; Dowling and Uncle, 1997; Bowen and Shoemaker, 1998; Tepeci,
1998; Noon et al, 2003). Customer loyalty is also one major driver of success in the hospitality
industry. Pullman and Gross (2004) acknowledge that loyal customers are the key to success in the
hospitality setting. Peng and Wang (2006) define relationship marketing as all marketing activities
directed towards building customer loyalty (keeping and winning customers) by providing value to
all the parties involved in the relational exchanges”. Loyal customer relationships have been found
to increase profitability for a firm over time (Reichheld, 2001; Mishra & Li, 2008). Bowen and
Shoemaker (1998) explain that a small increase in loyal customers can result in a substantial increase
in profitability. Further, Kandampully and Suhartano (2000) argue that, for the future survival of
hotel organizations, customer loyalty is a necessary prerequisite. Furthermore, Tepeci (1999) found
that loyal customers are more profitable because they are easier to serve than non-loyal customers.
From a customer perspective, Reichheld (1996) maintains that customers are willing to invest their
loyalty in businesses that can deliver superior value relative to competitors. Similar to this, Yang and
Peterson (2004) also acknowledge that there is a tendency for customers to avoid searching, locating,
and evaluating purchase alternatives, which predisposes them to be loyal to one company. That is,
when customers become loyal, they tend to avoid such processes that consume the time and effort
required to be accustomed to new vendors. Hennig-Thurau, Gwinner, and Gremler (2002) assert that
customer loyalty is the “primary goal” of relationship marketing. Bojei and Alwie (2010) reported that
relationship quality positively influenced the customer loyalty was mainly due strong commitment
given by the service provider to the customers. Ruswanti and Lectari (2016) also indicated significant
positive relationship between relationship quality and customer loyalty. The service providers have
delivered good services which met customer’s expectation and goal, and satisfying, subsequently
leads to good relational quality and customer loyalty.

20
 International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management
Volume 9 • Issue 2 • April-June 2018

3. RESEARCH PROBLEM

Given that the development and sustainability of loyalty is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve
in a competitive environment, and remains ambiguous regarding its underlying determinants (Liang
and Wang, 2005), authors have attempted to develop distinct models suited to investigate relationship
marketing in a range of contexts. In reviewing these models, it has been found that relationship
quality and customer loyalty (the final goal) are the most critical variables (Gwinner et al., 1998,
Shamdasani and Balakrishnan, 2000; De Wulf et al., 2001; Hennig–Thurau et al., 2002; Kim and
Cha, 2002; De Wulf et al., 2003; Lin et al., 2003; Hsieh et al., 2005; Liang and Wang, 2005; Wang
et al., 2006; Palmatier et al., 2006). There is no agreement, however, among relationship marketing
authors about the antecedents that best capture the characteristics of a relational exchange that
influences performance (Palmatier et al., 2006). The question is then that whether there is any
successful component of a relationship marketing, which can lead to enhance loyal customers? This
question leads to develop a study on customer relationship marketing, which can be used in securing
customer loyalty in five-star hotels.
Today the emotional response of customers is becoming an important part in relationship
marketing. Barnes (1997, p.774) argued that, “a relationship cannot be thought to exist without
emotional content.” Furthermore, this study also investigates the effect of emotions on customer
loyalty, as this association is important in customer relationship development. Accordingly, the
following questions set out the problem of this study:

1. What is the significant influence of customer emotions on relationship quality of customers of

five-Star hotels in Bangladesh?
2. Do emotions of customers influence customer loyalty?
3. Is relationship quality important in determining the loyalty that customers have with five-star
hotels in Bangladesh?

4. RESEARCH AIMS

In order to answer the above research questions, the aims of this study were given below:

• Find out the effect of customer emotions on relationship quality;

• Find out whether emotions ultimately influence customer loyalty or not;
• Investigate the role of relationship quality in the course of relationship development as a
consequence of emotions and as an antecedent of customer loyalty.

5. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Descriptive research in contrast with exploratory research answers the who, what, where, when, why
and sometimes how questions by surveying data. When the focus is on cause-effect relationships,
the study can be causal explaining which causes produce which effects (Yin, 1994). The concern in
causal analysis is how one variable affects, or is “responsible for,” changes in another variable. Here
the research purpose and research questions indicate that this thesis was mainly descriptive and causal
research because the author wanted to answer ‘what’ question through survey and wanted to find out
the causal relationship between independent variables (relational bonds) and dependent variables
(customer emotion, relationship quality and customer loyalty).
The samples of the study were the loyal guests of three five-star hotels in Bangladesh who
like to revisit the same hotel every year and prefer to stay there not less than three nights a year in

21
International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management
Volume 9 • Issue 2 • April-June 2018

a hotel. Five-star hotels were selected because, as previous research indicates, five-star hotels use
relationship marketing practices more frequently than mid-range or budget hotels (Kim and Cha, 2002).
Questionnaires were given out to the guests who are staying on those hotels. Using this procedure,
400 questionnaires were distributed among the guests in two hotels (Pan Pacific Sonargaon hotel,
Radisson Water Garden hotel).
The questionnaire was developed using 5-point Likert type scale, where for relationship quality
and loyalty, the author uses strongly agree to strongly disagree (1= strongly disagree) to (5 = strongly
agree) and for emotion, never to very often that means (1= never) to (5= very often). With exception
of the demographic questions, the instrument included a total of 18 items, reflecting the constructs
of interest. These items were taken from previously valid scales (i.e., 6 for relationship quality, 6 for
emotions, and 6 for loyalty).
Data for the research were collected using a quantitative, survey-based methodology. This
approach is important when causal relationships among the theoretical constructs need to be examined.
Survey questionnaire were considered to be the most appropriate tool. This method can be applied
to a large sample size as it is quick, inexpensive, and efficient. (McCelland, 1994; Churchill, 1995;
Sekaran, 2000; Zikmund, 2003).
Descriptive analysis for the entire sample was performed using AMOS 21. Here in the structural
model relational bonds- structural, financial and social bonds were exogenous variables and
relationship quality, emotions, customer loyalty were endogenous variables. The statistical analysis
may range from simple univariate analysis to multivariate techniques leading to test the statistical
significance of the result. Here Statistical Mediation Analysis was used to prove, whether there is
any intend relationship among the variables or not.
Reliability in this study was firstly measured by using Cronbach’s (1951) coefficient alpha
and then using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Nunnally and Bernstein (1994) suggest a rule
of thumb level of Cronbach’s alpha is higher than .70, with level as low as .60 being acceptable
for new scales. Other authors such as Carmines and Zeller (1979) indicate that at least .80 is
required to establish internal consistency. While different views have been recommended about
levels of acceptance, it is generally agreed that an alpha of .70 and over is acceptable. Therefore,
this cut-off point (.70) has been used as the minimum for determining internal consistency of
scales for this study. For using confirmatory factor analysis, CR and AVE were calculated from
the formula given by Fornell and Larcker (1981). CR measures the internal consistency of a set
of measures rather than the reliability of a single variable to capture the degree to which a set
of measures indicates the common latent construct (Holmes-Smith et al., 2006). Bagozzi and Yi
(1988) recommended that CR should be equal to or greater than .60, and AVE should be equal
to or greater than .50. Furthermore, to demonstrate convergent validity, magnitude of the direct
structural relationship between the item and latent construct (or factor) should be statistically
different from zero (Holmes-Smith et al., 2006). In other words, the final items (not including
deleted items) should be loaded highly on one factor (Anderson and Gerbing, 1988), with a factor
loading of .50 or greater (Hair et al., 1995).
In SEM, there are a series of goodness-of-fit indices, which identify whether the model fits
the data or not. There are many indices provided by SEM, although there is no agreement among
scholars as to which fit indices should be reported. In order to reflect diverse criteria and provide the
best overall picture of the model fit, Jaccard and Wan (1996), Bollen and Long (1993), Hair et al.
(1995), and Holmes Smith (2006) recommend the use of at least three fit indices by including one
in each of the categories of model fit: absolute; incremental; and parsimonious. This study adopted
those measures most commonly used in marketing research to evaluate models in which the three
categories are reflected. The first category of absolute values includes chi-square (λ), GFI, and
RMSEA; the second category (incremental) includes AGFI, NFI, CFI, TLI; and the third category
(parsimonious) includes λ /df.

22
 International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management
Volume 9 • Issue 2 • April-June 2018

The hypotheses that the author proved were as follows:

H1: Customer emotions will influence relationship quality.

H2: Customer emotions will influence customer loyalty.
H3: Relationship quality will influence customer loyalty.

6. PROBLEM SOLUTION

Before testing the structural model, following Anderson and Gerbing’s work (1988), measurement
models were tested to ensure stability of the scales used and to improve fit. Determining whether
each indicator’s estimated pattern coefficient for its proposed underlying construct is significant
assessed convergent validity. Based on the assessments, measures used in this study were within the
acceptable levels supporting the reliability of the constructs (see Table 1) As Bagozzi (1980) argued,
construct validity is a necessary perquisite for theory testing. In this study, results obtained from
goodness of- fit indices confirmed construct validity (Hsieh and Hiang, 2004). As for convergent
validity, evidence has been found in which all factor loadings for items measuring the same construct
were statistically significant (Anderson and Gerbing, 1988; Lin and Ding, 2005; Holmes-Smith et al.,
2006). As indicated in Table 1, most of the factors included high loadings (greater than .50) and were
statistically significant (P<0.001). Though some of the item’s factor loadings were below .50 but they

Table 1. Measures of the constructs and descriptive statistics

Standardized Cronbach Std.

Items CR AVE Mean Deleted Items
Loading Alpha (α) Deviation

Relationship Quality .77 .94 .66

high integrity rq1 .97 4.39 .594

Trustworthy rq2 .20 4.29 .534 rq2

problems are responded with understanding

.95 4.38 .591
rq3

satisfied with the relationship rq4 .14 4.29 .504 rq4

emotionally attached rq5 .24 4.37 .589 rq5

committed to my relationship rq6 .34 4.34 .576

Emotion .91 .97 .79

welcome .96 4.36 .550

pleased .28 4.21 .579 pleased

relaxed .73 4.36 .555

comfortable .97 4.36 .548

disappointment -.36 1.41 .534 disappointment

ignored -.28 1.37 .553 ignored

Customer Loyalty .81 .93 .52

best alternative cl1 .87 4.38 .586

to stay regularly in the future cl2 .43 4.29 .570 cl2

pay more for high quality product/services cl3 .91 4.39 .582

recommend to others cl4 .24 4.18 .452 cl4

strong loyalty cl5 .48 4.41 .566

have used this for number of years cl6 .53 4.49 .567

23
International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management
Volume 9 • Issue 2 • April-June 2018

couldn’t be deleted as they affect the measurement model. The results of AVE presented in Table 1
provide an additional support for convergent validity. In this study, the AVE and CR was calculated
after deleting the items that have low factor loadings and not adjusted in measurement model.
The reliability of the variables was measured by using Cronbach alpha, were all found to be
acceptable; relationship quality (α =. 77), emotion (α = .91), and customer loyalty (α =. 81).
As in the measurement model, the values appearing on the edge of the boxes are variance estimates
in which the amount of variance in the observed variables is explained by latent variables or factors,
and values next to the double headed arrows show correlations. The error terms (e) represent random
error due to measurement of the constructs they indicate. The indices for goodness-of-fit demonstrate
(Table 2) that this model fits the data adequately, even though chi-square was significant (λ = 65.442,
df = 31, P = .000, N = 284). The GFI = .956, AGFI = .922, CFI = .981, NFI= .965, TLI= .973
RSMEA = .051, λ /df = 2.111. The results obtained from goodness-of-fit indices show that model
fit the data adequately, despite the chi-square being significant. This chi-square estimate rejecting
valid model in large sample size is commonly accepted (Bagozzi and Yi, 1988).
Once all constructs in the measurement model (Figure 1) were validated and satisfactory fit
achieved (Anderson and Gerbing, 1988; Hair et al., 1995; Kline, 2005; Homles-Smith et al., 2006),
a structural model can then be tested and presented as a second and main stage of the analysis. The
structural model has been defined as “the portion of the model that specifies how the latent variables
are related to each other” (Arbuckle, 2005, p.90). The structural model specified which latent constructs
directly or indirectly influences the values of other latent constructs in the model (Byrne, 1989).
Hence, the purpose of the structural model in this study is to test the underlying hypotheses
in order to answer the research questions. These hypotheses were represented in three causal paths
(H1, H2, and H3) to determine the relationships between the constructs under consideration. The
underlying constructs were classified into two classes, including exogenous constructs (emotions)
and endogenous constructs (relationship quality and loyalty).
In summary, from Table 3 and Figure 2, this model fits with the hypotheses H1 and H3. That
means those paths were significant. The standardized estimates for these hypotheses were ß =.18 and
ß=.24 respectively. It has been empirically and theoretically found that a good model was achieved
after deleting H2. Structural model was therefore accepted.

7. INTERPRETATION OF THE RESULT

In total, three hypothesized relationship were examined (see Table 3). The interpretations of these
results are discussed here.

Table 2. Modification indices of constructed model

24
 International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management
Volume 9 • Issue 2 • April-June 2018

Figure 1. The measurement model

Table 3. Testing hypotheses using standardized estimates

*p > .05, **p < .05

7.1. Emotions and Relationship Quality

The Beta coefficients for the path between emotions and relationship quality were ß = .18 (p < .05).
In this case the direction of relationship is identified to have a statistically significant positive impact
on relationship quality.

7.2. Emotions and Loyalty

Hypothesis H2 represents the relationship between the emotions and customer loyalty. According to
the results presented in Table 3, it had been found that this hypothesis was not statistically significant
ß = .00(p > .05) and thus rejected.

25
International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management
Volume 9 • Issue 2 • April-June 2018

Figure 2. The structural model

7.3. Relationship Quality and Customer Loyalty

The Beta coefficient for the path between relationship quality (trust, satisfaction and commitment) and
loyalty are ß = .24 (p < .05). Here relationship quality backed by trust, commitment and satisfaction
are identified to have a statistically significant positive impact on loyalty and relationship quality
strongly explains the variability of the loyalty.

8. DISCUSSION

8.1. Emotions and Relationship Quality

This study has aimed to examine the positive influence of customer emotions and relationship quality.
Consistent with expectations, the results of this study demonstrated that the emotions construct is an
effective variable in predicting relationship quality, showing evidence to support H1. More specifically,
these results demonstrate that once positive emotions of loyal guests are enhanced, these guests have
a higher level of relationship quality. While Wong (2004) was one of the notable authors who found
that feelings of happiness served as a predictor of relationship quality, he did not use the global
dimensions of trust, satisfaction, and commitment to measure relationship quality. Shammout (2007)
on the other hand prove that positive emotions are important antecedents to increase relationship
quality between hoteliers and customers.

8.2. Emotions and Customer Loyalty

It was hypothesized that emotions will directly influence customer loyalty. Therefore, hypothesis H2
was formulated to examine this relationship.
As hypothesized, the results support emotions influencing customer loyalty (H2) but not directly,
it influences the loyalty through relationship quality. That means H2 is not supported. When customers

26
 International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management
Volume 9 • Issue 2 • April-June 2018

have positive emotions about the hotel then they will trust on them, satisfy with their services and
become committed for the hotel which ultimately create loyal customer. That means, those who are
emotionally attached to the hotel will come repeatedly than those who are not.

8.3. Relationship Quality and Customer Loyalty

As was expected, relationship quality is found to be an important determinant of loyalty. The results
indicate that the more guests of five-star hotels have a higher level of relationship quality with their
hoteliers, the more they are likely to be loyal to them. These findings are in agreement with the
argument made by Crosby et al. (1990) that relationship quality is the best predictor of a customer
who is looking for future contact with a service provider. In this case, this study confirms that
relationship quality is also an important variable in predicting the future of the relationship between
customers and service providers. Accordingly, this study provides additional support for a number
of previous studies such as Wang et al. (2006), who demonstrated that relationship quality has
significant effects on customer loyalty. Shamdasani and Balakrishnan’s (2000) findings also suggest
that if service providers can enhance the level of relationship quality experienced, then they can
ensure their customers loyalty. Within the particular context of hotels, Kim and Cha (2002) found
that relationship quality is critical for hoteliers attempting to increase share of purchases through
hotel usage, frequency, cross selling, and to achieve positive impact of relationship continuity and
WOM. This study confirms that this linkage is better captured when relationship quality is linked to
customer loyalty. So here H3 is positively proved.

9. IMPLICATIONS

9.1. Theoretical Implications

Theoretically, in relationship marketing, attracting new customers costs organizations more than
keeping existing ones. In the setting of hospitality, the focus of this study, researchers have found
that a small increase in loyal customers results in substantial increases in profitability (Bowen and
Shoemaker, 1998; Tepeci, 1999; Kim and Cha, 2002). However, developing and sustaining loyalty is
becoming increasingly difficult to achieve (Liang and Wang, 2005). Hence, this study has attempted
to how customers emotionally perceive relationships with their service providers, how emotions
increase the trust, satisfaction and commitment among the customers of five-star hotels in Bangladesh.
In the context of the hospitality industry especially in five-star hotels, this study also find out
how relationship quality including trust, commitment and satisfaction work well together in evoking
customer loyalty — the purpose of relationship marketing.

9.2. Managerial Implications

It has been confirmed by the results of this study that once customers become emotionally attached to
their relationship with a service provider, it becomes harder for them to change their service provider.
Wong (2004) emphasizes that emotions influence behavior, and customers respond to those events,
which maintain positive emotions and avoid those, which bring negative ones. Results of this study
therefore confirm that managers may want to pay more attention to customer emotions if they really
wish to maintain their competitive edge.
From a managerial perspective, this study highlights the importance of service developing and
maintaining relationship activities that achieve customer loyalty, particularly at five-star hotel chains.
Specifically, managers should be aware that enhance the quality of relationship with customers is very
important. If they neglect to do this, then it will not be easy for them to build strong loyal customers
for their hotels.

27
International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management
Volume 9 • Issue 2 • April-June 2018

10. LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Part of the strength of any research project is to recognize its limitations (Dolen and Lemmink,
2004). While this study will make a contribution to the body of relationship marketing literature, it
has several limitations that need to be identified. These are discussed below in terms of the context of
this study, the sample chosen, the constructs’ measures, and the analytical technique used to perform
the analysis (structural equation modeling):

• First, the number of loyal Bangladeshi customers who stayed in five-star hotels in Bangladesh
was very low. Either recreation or business purpose, they didn’t prefer to stay in five-star hotels
in Bangladesh;
• Second, one of the most important limitations of this study is related to the criteria used in
selecting loyal guests. Guests who had stayed three nights or more a year with a hotel chain were
identified as loyal. This criterion was used because there is no consensus among academics and
the industry on definite standards to identify loyal customers. For example, Kim and Cha (2002)
used twenty nights to identify loyal customers at five-star hotels, while Bowen and Shoemaker
(1998) considered those visiting the hotel at least three times as loyal. In the industry, some hotels
consider guests who stay 50 qualifying nights as loyal (i.e., Holiday Inn hotel), while others are
defined as loyal after staying one night (i.e., Hyatt hotel). Given that there is no agreement in
the academic literature nor industry reporting on what constitutes loyal guests at five-star hotels,
some may caution as to whether the criteria used in this study is definitive;
• Third, most of the customers in the five-star hotel chains in Bangladesh were businessman as a
profession. It became difficult to get variety of answers due to their profession;
• Fourth during the data collection time there was a political unrest. So, it became difficult to
get enough customers for survey. As a result, the researcher had a little opportunity to get back
enough surveyed questionnaires and choose the best ones;
• Fifth, though five-star hotel chains try to maintain their worldwide hotel facilities same but a
country’s economic development has a greater impact on all the sectors even in the hotel chains.
As a result, the amount of facilities that a loyal customer expects from the five-star hotels in
another countries, doesn’t expect here, which ultimately affect the result in this paper.

11. CONCLUSION

Because relationship marketing theory and practice is built to provide benefits to both customers and
service providers through their relationships so the aim of the study is to build and maintain customer
loyalty. In this context, this study makes a significant contribution to the relationship marketing
literature by proposing a model that empirically investigates loyal customers’ perspectives of their
relationships with hoteliers at five-star hotel chains in Bangladesh. This model provides a deeper
understanding for the relationship between service providers and their customers by examining the
association between relational bonds, emotions, and loyalty in one single model. Although there
could be constructs other than those incorporated in this model, this research includes constructs that
have provided a successful relationship marketing program. In particular, this study has extended the
research of emotions (positive and negative), relationship quality (trust, commitment and satisfaction)
and loyalty. Results have revealed that emotions and relationship quality are important in building
customer loyalty.
Adopting Anderson and Kumar’s (2006) observation that marketing practitioners are keen to
understand the significant role of emotions in the course of relationship marketing, it can be concluded
that this study will make a contribution to the literature in finding a significant relationship between
emotions (combining positive and negative) and good relationship. This supports previous findings
(i.e., Barnes, 1997; Liljander and Strandvik, 1997; Anderson and Kumar, 2006) that customer emotions

28
 International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management
Volume 9 • Issue 2 • April-June 2018

(positive and negative) are crucial in shaping the relationships between guests and their hoteliers.
Thus, the investigation of emotions in this study has provided us with a further understanding of
relationship development, which will be useful for both academics and practitioners in services. It
has been also found that when loyal customers experience positive emotions – then that will increase
the trust and satisfaction of the customers and the customers will be committed for the hotel, which
ultimately help the customers to revisit the hotel and not switch to other competitors.

29
International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management
Volume 9 • Issue 2 • April-June 2018

REFERENCES

Anderson, P. H., & Kumar, R. (2006). Emotions, trust and relationship development in business relationships:
A conceptual model for buyer-seller dyads. Industrial Marketing Management, 35(4), 522–535. doi:10.1016/j.
indmarman.2004.10.010
Arnett, D. B., & Badrinarayanan, V. (2005). Enhancing Customer – needs – driven CRM strategies: Core selling
teams, knowledge management competence, and relationship marketing competence. Journal of Personal Selling
& Sales Management, 25(4), 329–343.
Arnold, K. A., & Bianchi, C. (2001). Relationship marketing, gender, and culture: Implications for consumer
behavior. Advances in Consumer Research. Association for Consumer Research (U. S.), 28, 100–105.
Beetles, A. C., & Harris, L. C. (2010). The role of intimacy in service relationships: An exploration. Journal of
Services Marketing, 24(5), 347–358. doi:10.1108/08876041011060459
Bejou, D., Wray, B., & Ingram, T. N. (1996). Determinants of relationship quality: An artificial natural network
analysis. Journal of Business Research, 36(1), 15–37.
Berry, L. L. (1983). Relationship marketing. In L. L. Berry, G. L. Shostack, & G. D. Upah (Eds.), Emerging
Perspective on Services Marketing (pp. 25–38). Chicago: American Marketing Association.
Berry, L. L., & Parasuraman, A. (1991). Marketing Services: Competing Through Quality. New York: The
Free Press.
Bhardwaj, D. (2007). Relationship Marketing in Context to the IT Industry. Journal of Business Perspective,
11(2), 57–66. doi:10.1177/097226290701100207
Bolton, R. N., Lemon, K. N., & Verhoef, P. C. (2008). Expanding business-to-business relationships, Modeling
the customer’s upgrade decision. Journal of Marketing, 72(1), 46–64. doi:10.1509/jmkg.72.1.46
Bonnemaizon, A., Cova, B., & Louyot, M. (2007). Relationship marketing in 2015: A Delphi approach. European
Management Journal, 25(1), 50–59. doi:10.1016/j.emj.2006.12.002
Bowen, J., & Shoemaker, S. (1998). Loyalty: A strategic commitment. The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant
Administration Quarterly, 39(1), 12–25. doi:10.1177/001088049803900104
Burns, D. J., & Neisner, L. (2006). Customer satisfaction in a retail setting: The contribution of emotion.
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 34(1), 49–66. doi:10.1108/09590550610642819
Churchill, G. A., & Surprenant, C. (1982). An investigation into the determinant of customer satisfaction. JMR,
Journal of Marketing Research, 19(4), 491–504. doi:10.2307/3151722
Colgate, M., & Alexander, N. (1998). Banks, retailers and their customers: A relationship marketing perspective.
International Journal of Bank Marketing, 16(4), 144–152. doi:10.1108/02652329810220693
Crosby, L. A., Evans, K. R., & Cowles, D. (1990). Relationship quality in services selling: An interpersonal
influence perspective. Journal of Marketing, 54(3), 68–81. doi:10.2307/1251817
Davis, P. R. (2008). A relationship approach to construction supply chains. Industrial Management & Data
Systems, 108(3), 310–327. doi:10.1108/02635570810858741
Dwyer, F. R., Schur, P. H., & Oh, S. (1987). Developing buyer-seller relationships. Journal of Marketing, 51(2),
11–27. doi:10.2307/1251126
Garbarino, E., & Johnson, M. (1999). The different roles of satisfaction, trust, and commitment in customer
relationships. Journal of Marketing, 63(2), 70–87. doi:10.2307/1251946
Grönroos, C. (2004). The relationship marketing process: Communication, interaction, dialogue, value. Journal
of Business and Industrial Marketing, 19(2), 99–113. doi:10.1108/08858620410523981
Hennig-Thurau, T., Gwinner, K. P., & Gremler, D. D. (2002). Understanding relationship marketing outcomes:
An integration of relational benefits and relationship quality. Journal of Service Research, 4(3), 230–247.
doi:10.1177/1094670502004003006

30
 International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management
Volume 9 • Issue 2 • April-June 2018

Hunt, S. D., Arnett, D. B., & Madhavaram, S. (2006). The explanatory foundations of relationship marketing
theory. Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, 21(2), 72–87. doi:10.1108/10610420610651296
Kandampully, J., & Suhartanto, D. (2000). Customer loyalty in the hotel industry: The role of customer
satisfaction and image. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 12(6), 346–351.
doi:10.1108/09596110010342559
Kim, W. G., & Cha, Y. (2002). Antecedents and consequences of relationship quality in hotel industry. Hospital
Management, 21(4), 321–338. doi:10.1016/S0278-4319(02)00011-7
Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2009). Marketing Management. USA: Prentice Hall.
Krampf, R., Ueltschy, L., & Amico, M. (2003). The contribution of emotion to consumer satisfaction in the
service setting. The Marketing Management Journal, 13(1), 32–52.
Liang, C., & Wang, W. (2005). Integrative research into the financial services industry in Taiwan: Relationship
bonding tactics, relationship quality and behavioral loyalty. Journal of Financial Services Marketing, 10(1),
65–83. doi:10.1057/palgrave.fsm.4770174
Liljander, V., & Strandvik, T. (1995). The nature of customer relationships in services. In T. A. Swartz, D. E.
Bowen, & S. W. Brown (Eds.), Advances in Services Marketing and Management (Vol. 4). London: JAI Press.
Liljander, V., & Strandvik, T. (1997). Emotions in service satisfaction. International Journal of Service Industry
Management, 8(2), 148–169. doi:10.1108/09564239710166272
Mackinnon, D.P. (2008). Introduction to statistical mediation analysis. Routledge.
Malhotra, N. K. (2003). Marketing Research: An Applied Orientation (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson
Education Inc.
Morgan, R. M., & Hunt, S. D. (1994). The Commitment-Trust Theory of Relationship Marketing. Journal of
Marketing, 58(3), 20–38. doi:10.2307/1252308
Murphy, B., Maguiness, P., Pescott, C. H., Wislang, S., Ma, J., & Wang, R. (2005). Stakeholder perceptions
presage holistic stakeholder relationship marketing performance. European Journal of Marketing, 39(9/10),
1049–1059. doi:10.1108/03090560510610716
Ndubisi, N. O. (2007). Relationship marketing and customer loyalty. Marketing Intelligence, 25(1), 98–106.
doi:10.1108/02634500710722425
Ndubisi, N. O., & Wah, C. K. (2005). Factorial and discriminant analyses of the underpinning of
relationship marketing and customer satisfaction. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 23(7), 542–557.
doi:10.1108/02652320510629908
Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric Theory (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Palmer, A., & Bejou, D. (1994). Buyer-seller relationships: A conceptual model and empirical investigation.
Journal of Marketing Management, 10(6), 495–512. doi:10.1080/0267257X.1994.9964296
Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel. (2011). Hotels and Resorts. Retrieved 23.08.2011 from www.panpacific.com
Patsioura, F., Vlachopoulou, M., & Manthou, V. (2009). A new advertising effectiveness model for corporate
advertising web sites: A relationship marketing approach. Benchmarking: an International Journal, 16(3),
372–386. doi:10.1108/14635770910961380
Pullman, M. E., & Gross, M. A. (2004). Ability of experience design elements to elicit emotions and loyalty
behaviors. Decision Sciences, 35(3), 551–578. doi:10.1111/j.0011-7315.2004.02611.x
Radisson Blu Water garden Hotel (2011). Retrieved 23/11/11 from www.radissonblu.com/hotel-dhaka
Reichheld, F. F., & Sasser, W. E. (1990). Zero defections: Quality comes to services. Harvard Business Review,
68(5), 105–111. PMID:10107082
Ruth, J. A., Brunel, F. F., & Otens, C. C. (2004). An investigation of the power of emotions in relationship
realignment: The gift recipient’s perspective. Psychology and Marketing, 21(1), 29–52. doi:10.1002/mar.10114

31
International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management
Volume 9 • Issue 2 • April-June 2018

Shammout, A. B. (2007). Evaluating an Extended Relationship Marketing Model for Arab Guests of Five-Star
Hotels. School of Hospitality, Tourism and Marketing, Faculty of Business and Law, Victoria University.
Swaminathan, V., Page, K. L., & Gürhan-Canlie, Z. (2007). My Brand or Your brand: The effects of brand
relationship dimensions and self-construal on brand evaluations. The Journal of Consumer Research, 34(2),
248–259. doi:10.1086/518539
Tepeci, M. (1999). Increasing brand loyalty in the hospitality industry. International Journal of Contemporary
Hospitality Management, 11(5), 223–229. doi:10.1108/09596119910272757
Thurnbull, P. W., & Wilson, D. T. (1989). Developing and protecting profitable customer relationships. Industrial
Marketing Management, 18(3), 233–238. doi:10.1016/0019-8501(89)90040-0
Too, H. Y., Souchon, A. L., & Thirkell, P. C. (2001). Relationship marketing and customer loyalty in a retail
setting: A dyadic exploration. Journal of Marketing Management, 17, 287–319.
Walls, S. (2003). Relationship marketing: The dyadic bonding experience between a consumer and a company.
Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Wong, A. (2004). The role of emotional satisfaction in service encounter. Managing Service Quality, 14(5),
365–376. doi:10.1108/09604520410557976
Xie, D., & Heung, V. C. (2012). The effects of brand relationship quality on responses to service failure of hotel
consumers. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 31(3).
Zeithaml, V., & Bitner, M. J. (1996). Services Marketing. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Zineldin, M. (2006). The royalty of loyalty: CRM, quality and retention. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 23(7),
430–437. doi:10.1108/07363760610712975

Sara Sarwari is working as an Associate Professor, tenure period is 12 years, has 10 national and international
articles, including an article in an IGI global journal.

32