The Effects of Customer Satisfaction and Antecedents on the Customer Loyalty of Low-Cost Airline Customers in Thailand
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Abstract
In this research , the objectives are firstly, to study the effects of quality of service on image and reputation; customer satisfaction; and customer loyalty, secondly, examine the effects of image and reputation on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty and finally, to investigate the effects of customer satisfaction on customer loyalty. The researcher adopted both qualitative and quantitative methods. In the quantitative phase, the researcher collected data from 400 low-cost airline customers. In the qualitative phase, using the technique of in-depth interviews, the researcher collected data from 15 ground personnel employed by three low-cost airlines at Don Mueang International Airport. Using techniques of descriptive statistics, the researcher analyzed the data collected in forms of percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Employing structural equation modeling (SEM) through applications of a software computer program, the researcher tested the validity of a causal relationship model.
Findings showed that quality of service exerted positive effects on image and reputation; customer satisfaction; and customer loyalty. Moreover, image and reputation exerted positive effects on customer satisfaction, but showed no effects on customer loyalty. In addition, customer satisfaction had positive effects on customer loyalty.
In the view of the researcher, the findings derived from data analysis can provide important information for low-cost airlines in Thailand in the following fashion: Image and reputation did not show direct effects on customer loyalty. But image and reputation did have indirect effects via the customer satisfaction on quality of service after having used the service provided by the low-cost airlines.
Article Details
Academic articles, research articles, and book reviews in the Ph.D. in Social Sciences Journal are author’s opinions, and not the publisher’s, and is not the responsibility of the Ph.D. in Social Sciences Journal Philosophy Association, Ramkhamhaeng University. (In the case that research is done on human, the researcher has to be trained in Ethics for Doing Research on Human Training and has to produce the evidence of the training).
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