Service quality and attitudinal loyalty: the mediating effect of delight on retail banking relationships

This study explores the mediating effect of customer delight on the relationship between service quality and attitudinal loyalty in the South African retail banking context. Using a quantitative research design, a sample of 400 retail banking customers were collected. Structural equation modelling and specifically the partial least squared (PLS) method were applied on the data. The results confirm that customer delight plays a partial mediating role on the relationship between service quality and attitudinal loyalty. This suggests that banks need to proactively pursue strategies that delight their customers, rather than merely satisfying them. This, however, is a major challenge for banks given the constant need to over-deliver on promises made to customers. In a competitive South African retail banking market driven by sales volumes and the growth in market share, this challenge is amplified further.