Investigating the Mediating Effect of Customer Satisfaction in the Service Quality - Customer Loyalty Relationship

Abstract

This article aims to elaborate on the concepts of service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty and their relationships with the goal of establishing greater clarity on the path of relationship flow in the life insurance industry. The authors propose a model based on a thorough review of the literature and offer an empirical investigation into the mediating role of customer satisfaction in the hypothesized model. The study begins with an identification of relevant variables and then moves to relationship testing. The authors use Multiple Regression Analysis to test the proposed causal relationships. The results empirically substantiate Customer Satisfaction as an intervening variable that offers directional influence as a mediator of the relationship between Service Quality and Customer Loyalty. The mediation model established in this study is found to be partial and complementary. The study establishes customer satisfaction as a mediator in a service quality – customer loyalty relationship in the context of the life insurance industry in India.