ABSTRACT
A critical issue for the continued success of a company is its capacity to build customer loyalty. There are two dimensions of customer loyalty: behavioural loyalty and attitudinal loyalty. Attitudinal loyalty is often measured by the degree of customers' revisit intentions and their recommendations to others. This chapter identifies and summarizes a number of antecedents of customer loyalty. Based on characteristics of antecedents, it further categorizes these antecedents into customer-related factors and product/service-related factors. The chapter covers number of antecedents, such as customer satisfaction, service quality, image/reputation and switching cost. The key to customer retention is customer satisfaction. Trust has been recognized as a requirement for customer relationship building and as a prior state for the development of commitment. Researchers also suggest that customer loyalty is influenced by customer and organizational identification. Perceived value has been characterized as a key component in explaining consumer behaviour in the marketing literature.
