Value, Trust and Loyalty in Relational Exchanges

Contemporary thought in marketing management recognizes that consumer trust is a critical factor in relational exchanges between service providers and consumers. Although the key role of trust in consumer value creation and loyalty is well recognized, a few studies have examined how a company´s ability to support and enhance consumer´s goal-attainment builds or depletes consumer trust. Similarly, the mechanisms by which successful consumer goal-attainment contributes to consumer value creation and subsequent loyalty have received little attention. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by proposing a tentative framework. The framework involves multiple dimensions of goal-attainment (attribute-level, consequence-level, superordinate-level) and three distinct facets of consumer trust judgments (contact person, core offering, management policies and practices) as well as consumer loyalty. In addition, the framework specifies value as a key mediator of the trust-loyalty relationship. The paper also proposes that the framework be tested using a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches for data collection in two distinct service contexts. Based on the assumption that consumer goal-attainment may involve an asymmetric effect on trust, the chosen structural equations modeling approach also allows testing of contingent, asymmetric relationships. Managerial implications will allow managers to enhance customer experience and to strengthen consumer relationships as well as to make predictions about the structure and drivers of consumer trust, value and loyalty in the future.