Satisfaction and loyalty in B2B relationships in the freight forwarding industry: adding perceived value and service quality into equation
Abstract
This paper focuses on analysing the determinants of satisfaction (service quality, perceived value), as well as its possible influence on customer loyalty of freight forwarders to freight transport service providers (by road/maritime/air) in Spain. To this end, we propose a causal model tested using information from 205 freight forwarders collected through personal interviews. The model was estimated using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) approach. Moreover, the existence of differences in the perceptions on the analysed variables between transport modes is tested through ANOVA. Results show that service quality has an influence on customer satisfaction, both directly, as well as through perceived value. In turn, it is confirmed the relationship between satisfaction with the transportation company and customer loyalty. Furthermore, there are significant differences in quality dimensions and satisfaction between transport modes. This study confirms the importance of service quality and perceived value to promote the link between chain actors: freight forwarder and transport service provider. The main aim of this research is to go deeper into the study of satisfaction and loyalty of freight forwarders to freight transport service providers. Findings provide evidence about differences in the dimensionality of service quality between B2C and B2B settings and, even in the latter, differences between freight forwarding services and other industries are observed. The present paper is one of the few studies that obtains relevant information about several transport modes simultaneously and the findings reinforce the notion that perceptive processes in each of them are different.
Keyword : B2B loyalty, service quality, perceived value, goods transportation, freight forwarder, carrier
How to Cite
Gil-Saura, I., Berenguer-Contri, G., & Ruiz-Molina, E. (2018). Satisfaction and loyalty in B2B relationships in the freight forwarding industry: adding perceived value and service quality into equation. Transport, 33(5), 1184-1195. https://doi.org/10.3846/transport.2018.6648
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Bucklin, R. E. 2015. An introduction to the special issue, Journal of Retailing 91(4): 543–545. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2015.03.004
Butcher, K.; Sparks, B.; O’Callaghan, F. 2001. Evaluative and relational influences on service loyalty, International Journal of Service Industry Management 12(4): 310–327. https://doi.org/10.1108/09564230110405253
Chang, C.-H.; Thai, V. V. 2016. Do port security quality and service quality influence customer satisfaction and loyalty?, Maritime Policy & Management: the Flagship Journal of International Shipping and Port Research 43(6): 720–736. https://doi.org/10.1080/03088839.2016.1151086
Chen, C.-H.; Lee, H.-Y. 2008. Empirical analysis of the customer loyalty problem in the international logistics market, WSEAS Transactions on Business and Economics 5(4): 113–123.
Chen, F.-Y.; Chang, Y.-H. 2005. Examining airline service quality from a process perspective, Journal of Air Transport Management 11(2): 79–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2004.09.002
Chen, K.-K.; Chang, C.-T.; Lai, C.-S. 2009. Service quality gaps of business customers in the shipping industry, Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review 45(1): 222–237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tre.2008.02.005
Chen, K. K.; Chiu, R.-H.; Chang, C.-T. 2017. Using beta regression to explore the relationship between service attributes and likelihood of customer retention for the container shipping industry, Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review 104: 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tre.2017.04.015
Cook, P. D.; Das, S.; Aeppli, A.; Martland, C. 1999. Key factors in road-rail mode choice in India: applying the logistics cost approach, in WSC’99. 1999 Winter Simulation Conference Proceedings “Simulation – a Bridge to the Future”, 5–8 December 1999, Phoenix, AZ, US, 2: 1280–1286. https://doi.org/10.1109/WSC.1999.816854
Cronin, J. J.; Taylor, S. A. 1992. Measuring service quality: a reexamination and extension, Journal of Marketing 56(3): 55–68. https://doi.org/10.2307/1252296
Cunningham, M. T.; Kettlewood, K. 1976. Source loyalty in the freight transport market, European Journal of Marketing 10(1): 60–79. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000005038
Daugherty, P. J. 2011. Review of logistics and supply chain relationship literature and suggested research agenda, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management 41(1): 16–31. https://doi.org/10.1108/09600031111101402
Ding, J.-F.; Tsai, P.-P. 2012. Evaluating quality improvement of service recovery for ocean freight forwarders in Taiwan, Information Technology Journal 11(11): 1579–1587. https://doi.org/10.3923/itj.2012.1579.1587
Durvasula, S.; Lysonski, S.; Mehta, S. C. 2000. Business‐to‐business marketing service recovery and customer satisfaction issues with ocean shipping lines, European Journal of Marketing 34(3/4): 433–452. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090560010311957
Evers, P. T.; Johnson, C. J. 2000. Performance perceptions, satisfaction, and intention: the intermodal shipper’s perspective, Transportation Journal 40(2): 27–39.
Falk, R. F.; Miller, N. B. 1992. A Primer for Soft Modeling. University of Akron Press. 103 p.
Flodén, J.; Bärthel, F.; Sorkina, E. 2017. Transport buyers choice of transport service – a literature review of empirical results, Research in Transportation Business & Management 23: 35–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rtbm.2017.02.001
Fornell, C.; Larcker, D. F. 1981. Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error, Journal of Marketing Research 18(1): 39–50. https://doi.org/10.2307/3151312
Frost, F. A.; Kumar, M. 2001. Service quality between internal customers and internal suppliers in an international airline, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management 18(4): 371–386. https://doi.org/10.1108/02656710110386996
Gil-Saura, I.; Servera-Francés, D.; Fuentes-Blasco, M. 2010. Antecedents and consequences of logistics value: and empirical investigation in the Spanish market, Industrial Marketing Management 39(3): 493–506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2008.11.007
Gold, A. H.; Malhotra, A.; Segars, A. H. 2001. Knowledge management: an organizational capabilities perspective, Journal of Management Information Systems 18(1): 185–214. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421222.2001.11045669
Golicic, S. L. 2007. A comparison of shipper and carrier relationship strength, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management 37(9): 719–739. https://doi.org/10.1108/09600030710840831
Gounaris, S. 2005. Measuring service quality in B2B services: an evaluation of the SERVQUAL scale vis‐à‐vis the INDSERV scale, Journal of Services Marketing 19(6): 421–435. https://doi.org/10.1108/08876040510620193
Ha, M.-S. 2003. A comparison of service quality at major container ports: implications for Korean ports, Journal of Transport Geography 11(2): 131–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0966-6923(02)00069-8
Hair, J. F.; Hult, G. T. M.; Ringle, C.; Sarstedt, M. 2017. A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLSSEM). Sage Publications, Inc. 384 p.
Harper, D. V.; Evers, P. T. 1993. Competitive issues in intermodal railroad-truck service, Transportation Journal 32(3): 31–45.
Huang, P.-L.; Lee, B. C. Y.; Chen, C.-C. 2017. The influence of service quality on customer satisfaction and loyalty in B2B technology service industry, Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2017.1372184
Huang, S. T.; Bulut, E.; Duru, O. 2015. Service quality assessment in liner shipping industry: an empirical study on Asian shipping case, International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics 7(2): 221–242. http://doi.org/10.1504/IJSTL.2015.067852
Jang, H. M.; Kim, S. Y. 2012. Customer loyalty and logistics service performance in maritime transport: a literature review and conceptual model, Journal of Navigation and Port Research 36(9): 753–761. https://doi.org/10.5394/KINPR.2012.36.9.753
Johansson, H. J.; McHugh, P.; Pendlebury, A. J.; Wheeler, W. A. 2007. Business Process Reengineering: Breakpoint Strategies for Market Dominance. Wiley. 256 p.
Juga, J.; Juntunen, J.; Juntunen, M. 2012. Impact of service quality, image and relational aspects on satisfaction and loyalty in logistics outsourcing relationships, International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics 4(1): 17–28. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSTL.2012.044133
Kersten, W.; Koch, J. 2010. The effect of quality management on the service quality and business success of logistics service providers, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management 27(2): 185–200. https://doi.org/10.1108/02656711011014302
Kumar, V. Pozza, I. D.; Ganesh, J. 2013. Revisiting the satisfaction–loyalty relationship: empirical generalizations and directions for future research, Journal of Retailing 89(3): 246–262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2013.02.001
Lagoudis, I. N.; Lalwani, C. S.; Naim, M. M. 2006. Ranking of factors contributing to higher performance in the ocean transportation industry: a multi-attribute utility theory approach, Maritime Policy & Management: The Flagship Journal of International Shipping and Port Research 33(4): 345–369. https://doi.org/10.1080/03088830600895568
Lam, S. Y.; Shankar, V.; Erramilli, M. K.; Murthy, B. 2004. Customer value, satisfaction, loyalty, and switching costs: an illustration from a business-to-business service context, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 32(3): 293–311. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092070304263330
Lobo, A. 2010. Assessing the service quality of container shipping lines in the international supply chain network – shippers’ perspective, International Journal of Value Chain Management 4(3): 256–266. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJVCM.2010.033615
Lu, C.-S. 2007. Evaluating key resources and capabilities for liner shipping services, Transport Reviews 27(3): 285–310. https://doi.org/10.1080/01441640600984015
Lu, C.-S. 2003. The impact of carrier service attributes on shipper–carrier partnering relationships: a shipper’s perspective, Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review 39(5): 399–415. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1366-5545(03)00015-2
Ludvigsen, J. 1999. Freight transport supply and demand conditions in the Nordic countries: recent evidence, Transportation Journal 39(2): 31–54.
Mahmud, A.; Jusoff, K.; Hadijah, S. 2013. The effect of service quality and price on satisfaction and loyalty of customer of commercial flight service industry, World Applied Sciences Journal 23(3): 354–359.
Naumann, E.; Williams, P.; Khan, M. S. 2009. Customer satisfaction and loyalty in B2B services: directions for future research, The Marketing Review 9(4): 319–333. https://doi.org/10.1362/146934709X479908
O’Loughlin, C.; Coenders, G. 2004. Estimation of the European customer satisfaction index: maximum likelihood versus partial least squares. Application to postal services, Total Quality Management & Business Excellence 15(9–10): 1231–1255. https://doi.org/10.1080/1478336042000255604
Panayides, P. M.; So, M. 2005. The impact of integrated logistics relationships on third-party logistics service quality and performance, Maritime Economics & Logistics 7(1): 36–55. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.mel.9100123
Parasuraman, A.; Zeithaml, V. A.; Berry, L. L. 1994. Reassessment of expectations as a comparison standard in measuring service quality: implications for further research, Journal of Marketing 58(1): 111–124. https://doi.org/10.2307/1252255
Park, J.-W.; Robertson, R.; Wu, C.-L. 2004. The effect of airline service quality on passengers’ behavioural intentions: a Korean case study, Journal of Air Transport Management 10(6): 435–439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2004.06.001
Petrick, J. F. 2004. The roles of quality, value, and satisfaction in predicting cruise passengers’ behavioral intentions, Journal of Travel Research 42(4): 397–407. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287504263037
Robinson, R. 2002. Ports as elements in value-driven chain systems: the new paradigm, Maritime Policy & Management: the Flagship Journal of International Shipping and Port Research 29(3): 241–255. https://doi.org/10.1080/03088830210132623
Russo, I.; Confente, I.; Gligor, D. M.; Autry, C. W. 2016. To be or not to be (loyal): is there a recipe for customer loyalty in the B2B context?, Journal of Business Research 69(2): 888–896. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.07.002
Singh, H.; Garg, R. K.; Sachdeva, A. 2018. Supply chain collaboration: a state-of-the-art literature review, Uncertain Supply Chain Management 6(2): 149–180. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.uscm.2017.8.002
Sirdeshmukh, D.; Singh, J.; Sabol, B. 2002. Consumer trust, value, and loyalty in relational exchanges, Journal of Marketing 66(1): 15–37. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.66.1.15.18449
Solakivi, T.; Ojala, L. 2017. Determinants of carrier selection: updating the survey methodology into the 21st century, Transportation Research Procedia 25: 511–530. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trpro.2017.05.433
Song, D.-P.; Li, D.; Drake, P. 2015. Multi-objective optimization for planning liner shipping service with uncertain port times, Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review 84: 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tre.2015.10.001
Thai, V. 2008. Service quality in maritime transport: conceptual model and empirical evidence, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics 20(4): 493–518. https://doi.org/10.1108/13555850810909777
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