Cultivating high quality relationships with customers is of paramount importance in the banking sector. However, there has been little effort to examine relationship quality (RQ) in financial services, and though the evaluation of RQ should depend on the experience provided, empirical evidence on how customer experience may contribute to RQ is scant. Therefore, based on data collected from 227 retail banking clients, analysed using PLS-SEM, the purpose of this study is to understand the role played by customer experience on RQ in retail banking, and its impact on relational outcomes, comparing customers with and without a dedicated account manager.
Keywords: Relationship quality | Customer experience | Retail banking | Retention | Tolerance | Word-of-Mout

Key factors, such as globalization and the development of information technologies, have forced some firms to change their approach to customer relationship management, particularly within the new competitive frame work of online channels. In this context, customer relationship proneness may guide relationship quality (RQ) by keeping commercial relations alive. This research proposes and examines a conceptual model using a compre hensive management approach that includes market orientation (MO), knowledge management (KM), and perceived relationship investment (PRI) as perceived by customers, which, when available, enhance RQ in an online context. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the effect of RQ on CRP, making a unique contribution to better understanding the continuity of customer–firm relationships. The proposed conceptual model is tested in two different cultures and economic stages, providing relevant insights on the cross-cultural relationship marketing literature. Survey questionnaires are administered to a sample of Spanish and Mexican banking customers, and structural equation modeling, using partial least squares, is used to analyze the data collected. The results show that, in both countries, CRP is significantly influenced by RQ, while PRI should be con sidered when improving the quality of customer relationships. However, intangible aspects (such as the level of MO or KM) seem to be relevant in more mature, competitive markets whose customers show a higher level of LTO. In terms of practical applications, banks must recognize that customers give different priorities to different capabilities and resources based on their perceptions of the RQ. Hence, banks should give clear priorities to commercial strategies aimed at improving RQ. Implications of the results are discussed, and future research avenues suggested.
Keywords: Relationship quality ،Customer relationship proneness ، Online channel ، Cross-cultural effects

With the dominance of digital media, corporations increasingly attempt to engage their strategic stakeholders, especially consumers, on digital media for the purposes of interactive marketing and relationship management. Utilizing an online survey data of 272 Chinese users of WeChat, the most influential mobile social networking application in China, this study examined the re lationships between perceived values of branded WeChat accounts, consumer engagement on the account, quality of business-consumer relationships, and purchase intention. Results: showed that consumer engagement is driven by five perceived values. Consumer en gagement affected relationship quality and overall purchase intention. It also mediated the effect of perceived values on both. Intention to purchase via WeChat, however, was predicated by perceived values (i.e. usefulness) only. Theoretical contributions to stakeholder engagement theory and practical implications for corporate mobile (WeChat) strategy are discussed.
Keywords: Consumer engagement | Social media | Organization-public relationships | Purchase intention | Mobile apps | WeChat

To increase competitiveness, companies are increasingly using online brand communities (OBCs) to cocreate value for themselves and their consumers; however, evidence of the effectiveness of OBCs as a marketing tool remains mostly anecdotal. This study developed a framework for examining how the cocreation of value in OBCs can extend and improve brand relationships between corporations and consumers through combination with the integration of online and offline relationships. Sample 1, comprising 450 respondents, was used to investigate second-order OBC value cocreation and total measurement models. Sample 2, comprising 418 respondents, demonstrated that OBC value cocreation directly benefits consumer OBC commitment, thereby directly enhancing offline brand relationship quality (BRQ) and brand commitment as well as indirectly enhancing brand loyalty, and that BRQ directly benefits brand commitment and brand loyalty. This paper presents the research and managerial impli cations of these findings, as well as limitations and future research directions.
Keywords: Online brand community | Value cocreation | Brand relationship model | Brand relationship quality