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Australasian Marketing Journal (2015)

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Australasian Marketing Journal

j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s e v i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / a m j

The relative contribution of love and trust towards customer loyalty

Shu-Ching Chen a,*, Pascale G. Quester b
a
b

College of International Management, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacic University, 1-1 Jumonjibaru, Beppu, Oita 874-8577, Japan
Business School, The University of Adelaide, 10 Pulteney Street, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia

A R T I C L E

I N F O

Article history:
Received 24 October 2013
Revised 10 December 2014
Accepted 25 December 2014
Available online
Keywords:
Customer loyalty
Love
Trust
Service encounter

A B S T R A C T

This study examines the respective role of two constructs, love and trust, as drivers of customer loyalty
in a business-to-consumer service context. A review of the psychology and marketing literature suggests prominent roles for both love and trust in relation to long-term interpersonal relationships. The
likely interaction between love and trust foreshadowed in prior studies also suggests the need of studying both factors simultaneously. Yet, to the authors knowledge, the relative contribution of love and trust
to loyalty has never been examined in the context of B2C service relationships. This study collected 293
valid consumer self-administered questionnaires in a personal care service setting. Analysis results, using
structural equation modelling, show that customer experience of love, and trust, are both signicant predictors of customer loyalty. However, love is a stronger driver of loyalty than trust. This study contributes
to our understanding of consumers unspoken needs or wants for love and conrms their need for trust
in service encounters, helping frontline employees and managers to perform better in their efforts to generate and maintain customer loyalty. The study also makes a cross-disciplinary contribution to the literature
on loyalty, love and trust, in marketing and psychology.
2014 Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Maintaining a long term relationship with customers is a challenge for organizations (Gummesson, 2008; Oliver, 1999). A key
objective for organizations seeking to build customer loyalty (Badgett
et al., 2007) may be to create superior customer experience. Numerous studies on understanding customer experiences and their
impacts on consumer behaviour, or on business, can be found (e.g.,
Puccinelli et al., 2009; Verhoef et al., 2009; Yim et al., 2008). Despite
this, research on customer experience continues to be lacking in the
eld of marketing (MSI, 2010, 2012, 2014).
Scholars have called for varied views on customer experience
(e.g., Puccinelli et al., 2009; Verhoef et al., 2009). Amongst the relevant studies of interpersonal relationships in the disciplines of
marketing and psychology, scholars have specically called for a
study of love. Whilst marketing studies investigating the notion of
love in commercial relationships are scarce (Vlachos et al., 2010),
the question of whether the notion of love is applicable to business contexts has interested researchers from the eld of psychology
(Berscheid, 2010). Therefore, a study of love in the business context
should contribute to our understanding of its application beyond
psychology and in doing so, would address the call for more research on love.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +81 0977 78 1082; fax: +81 0977 78 1123.
E-mail address: schen@apu.ac.jp; shu-ching.chen@alumni.adelaide.edu.au
(S-C. Chen).

In contrast with the concept of love, the concept of trust is well

recognized for its signicance to long term business relationships
(e.g., Bove and Johnson, 2000, 2006; Chaudhuri and Holbrook, 2001;
Doney and Cannon, 1997). In most studies of interpersonal relationships across the disciplines of marketing and psychology, trust
appears to be the critical factor in engaging customers in a relationship (e.g., Johnson and Grayson, 2000; Rempel et al., 1985).
Signicantly, the likely interaction between love and trust foreshadowed in prior studies (e.g., Fehr, 1993) suggests the need for
both factors of love and trust to be examined simultaneously. Yet,
to the authors knowledge, the relative contribution of love and trust
to customer loyalty has never been examined in the context of B2C
service relationships/commercial relationships.
Whilst previous research on loyalty has focused on identifying
the attitudinal and behavioural dimensions of the constructs (e.g.,
Hrtel and Russell-Bennett, 2010; Melnyk et al., 2009) as well as
establish their consumer manifestation (intention to purchase or
willingness to pay) (e.g., Dick and Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1999), this study
aims to provide a novel explanation of why customers stay loyal
in a B2C service relationship, by introducing the concepts of love
and trust. In the case of a service encounter, it is the interaction
between consumers and frontline employees that creates the customer experience (Frow and Payne, 2007; Verhoef et al., 2009).
Consumers experience of love and trust in their interactions with
frontline employees in the service encounter should therefore
provide some insight into why they may become loyal consumers.
In the service encounter, is it effective to use the concepts of love
and trust to predict a customers loyalty? What are the respective

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ausmj.2014.12.003
1441-3582/ 2014 Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article in press as: Shu-Ching Chen, Pascale G. Quester, The relative contribution of love and trust towards customer loyalty, Australasian Marketing Journal (2015),
doi: 10.1016/j.ausmj.2014.12.003

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contribution of the consumers experience of love and trust in the

formation of customer loyalty? From these research questions two
hypotheses are developed that guide this empirical work. First,
however, the extant literature on customer loyalty, love and trust
from both the marketing and psychology literature provide the theoretical background for this study.
2. Theoretical background and hypotheses
2.1. Customer loyalty
This study is concerned with the loyalty exhibited by current customers towards the rm. The signicance of maintaining and
strengthening on-going relationships with current customers is underscored by its tremendous impact on nancial performance
(Gummesson, 2008; Oliver, 1999). Given that the cost of customer
retention is lower than that of customer acquisition (Reichheld, 2001),
retaining current customers may be key to ensuring business success.
In addition, according to past studies, the role of frontline employees is critical in developing a basis for customer loyalty (e.g., Frow
and Payne, 2007). The interactions between customers and frontline employees can lead to the customer being, or not, loyal to the
rm (Bove and Johnson, 2000, 2006). This study thus examines customer loyalty by focusing on the potential and direct inuence of
customeremployee interactions on the customerrm relationship.
In this study, customer loyalty is dened as a consumers loyal
attitude and behaviour towards a specic service rm, despite competitors providing alternative services in the market. Denitions of
loyalty vary, but common elements can be identied, including the
expression of psychological (attitudinal) and process (behavioural)
loyalty in a relationship between an actor and another entity, in the
presence of alternative entities. For example, Melnyk et al. (2009,
p. 82) denes the core of the loyalty concept as being that there
is a relationship of some sort (i.e., ranging from very shallow to very
strong) between an actor and another entity and that the actor displays behavioural or psychological allegiance to that entity in the
presence of alternative entities. . . . Oliver (1999, p. 392) denes
ultimate loyalty in the service context as being a deeply held commitment to rebuy or repatronize a preferred service consistently in
the future, thereby causing repetitive same-brand or same brandset purchasing, despite situational inuences and marketing efforts
having the potential to cause switching behaviour. In addition,
loyalty can be demonstrated from consumer attitudes of liking, and
having a preference for, a specic rm (affective loyalty) and their
re-patronization of the same rm in the future regardless of market
factors (conative loyalty) (Chaudhuri and Holbrook, 2001; Dick and
Basu, 1994). Based on the acknowledgment of attitudinal and
behavioural components of loyalty, different types or levels of loyalty
have also been proposed by researchers. For example, Dick and Basu
(1994) list spurious, latent, true loyalty and no loyalty; Oliver (1999)
describes cognitive, affective, conative, and action loyalty; and Hrtel
and Russell-Bennett (2010) discuss varied functions of emotional
and cognitive consumer loyalty.
This study investigates customer loyalty from the perspective of
consumers experiences of love and trust. Though human relationships are temporal in nature (Berscheid, 2010), studies of personal
relationships suggest that an emotional bond derived from experiences appears essential for any relationship development and
reinforcement (e.g., Bowlby, 1979). A cross-disciplinary review of
the psychology and marketing literature also suggests that love and
trust play a prominent role in relation to loyalty. For example, customers adoration and commitment, which is one component of a
well-known theory of love (Sternberg, 1986) in psychology, are suggested as motives for customers self-isolation from competitors
overtures, which in turn sustains loyalty (Oliver, 1999). On the other
hand, trust also appears to be a key affective antecedent to the for-

mation of loyalty (e.g., Macintosh and Lockshin, 1997; Rempel et al.,

1985). A high level of customer trust in a service employee can result
in a customers favourable attitude towards a rm, and can lead to
the customers patronage of the rm (Bove and Johnson, 2000, 2006).
2.2. Customer experience of love
The notion of love has mainly been studied in relation to personal relationships in the context of psychology (e.g., Berscheid, 2010;
Hendrick and Hendrick, 1989; Lemieux and Hale, 1999; Overbeek
et al., 2007; Shaver et al., 1996). Love is an affectionate bond between
two parties (Shaver et al., 1987). Love is noteworthy because it provides an important interpersonal connection (Guerrero and Andersen,
2000) and because people have an intense desire to sustain a relationship when love exists (Shaver et al., 1996). Given the
importance of keeping customers loyal for an organizations business performance, applying the concept of love to the service/
commercial context could make a meaningful contribution towards
our understanding of business relationships. Remarkably, however,
the concept of love is only now receiving greater attention from marketing academics (Beetles and Harris, 2010).
This study uses Sternbergs (1986) love theory as the foundation of its proposed variable of love. Sternbergs (1986) theory of
love is cited in most conceptualizations of love in studies of interpersonal relationships in the eld of psychology (e.g., Berscheid,
2010; Guerrero and Andersen, 2000). The construct of love comprises three components: intimacy, passion, and decision/
commitment. In his study, intimacy refers to the feeling of closeness,
connection and bond. It can derive from a persons emotional investment in the relationship, including mutual understanding with
the loved one (Sternberg, 1986, p. 121). Passion refers to the analysis and response to the needs of another person and the actions
taken to full those needs. It can derive from a persons motivational involvement in the relationship through psychological and
physiological arousal due to a longing for union with the other party.
Decision/commitment refers to the short-term decision to love and
the commitment to maintain that love in the long-term through
actions. It can derive from a persons cognitive decision regarding,
and commitment to, an interpersonal relationship. Noticeably, the
component of decision/commitment in Sternbergs studies of love
is not a construct of its own, despite its wide application in the relationship marketing domain, but is only one dimension of the
construct of love. Moreover, the existence of three distinct components of Sternbergs (1986, 1997) love construct has been supported
in past psychology studies of personal relationship (e.g., Overbeek
et al., 2007). According to Sternberg (1986), it would be simplistic
to assume that all three components are equally weighted, and a
wide variety of close relationships can be described through variations of the three components of love. Given Sternbergs (1986) love
theory, customer interactions with frontline employee should relate
positively to all three components of the love construct.
This study uses Sternbergs (1986) three-dimensional construct of love to capture the complex and dynamic feelings of
customers experience from frontline employees in the service encounter. This may provide an insight into the love construct in the
business relationship, and its implications for both theory and practice in marketing. It should also help managers to understand how
frontline employees efforts can be made to serve customers better
in the critical service encounter. In addition, past studies suggest
that the boundary-spanning role of the frontline employee has a
decisive inuence on the customers perceptions of the rm, which
is vital to business success (e.g., Bove and Johnson, 2000; Frow and
Payne, 2007; Yim et al., 2008). In other words, customers experience of love derived from their interactions with frontline employees
can result in greater customer loyalty to the rm. Hence, this study
states as the rst hypothesis, that:

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H1. Consumers experience of love derived from their interactions with frontline employees in the service encounter is positively
associated with their loyalty to the rm.
2.3. Customer experience of trust
Trust can motivate consumers to keep a relationship and has been
identied as an indicator of a growing relationship. Consumers
develop trust through the continuous interaction of a dyadic relationship (Crutcheld, 2007; Johnson and Grayson, 2000) as the
relationship matures (Macintosh and Lockshin, 1997; Rempel et al.,
1985). Trust takes time to develop and, once it has, one party tends
to remain with the other party (Berry, 2002; Doney and Cannon,
1997; Morgan and Hunt, 1994).
Past studies dene trust in many different ways. For instance,
Johnson and Grayson (2000) dene trust from cognitive and affective perspectives. Cognitive trust stems from the consumers thinking
and analysis, so it is knowledge-driven, reecting the consumers
condence or willingness to rely on the competence and reliability of an object. Affective trust, on the other hand, is based on feelings
of security towards a specic object and the perceived strength of
the relationship between the consumer and the object. Doney and
Cannon (1997, p. 36) dene trust as the perceived credibility and
benevolence of a target of trust. Perceived credibility refers to the
expectation that the exchange partners oral or written promises
can be relied upon. Benevolence is the extent to which the exchange partner is simply interested in the other partners welfare
and motivated to seek mutual benets. This study follows Doney
and Cannons (1997) denition of trust, which is consistent with
the current research adopting the perspective of interpersonal relationships in a business context.
The service research has highlighted the unique contribution of
interpersonal trust between consumers and frontline employees to
the ultimate loyalty of consumers towards a rm (e.g., Crutcheld,
2007; Doney and Cannon, 1997; Guenzi and Georges, 2010;
Sirdeshmukh et al., 2002). It also suggests, however, that trust does
not always promote a close customeremployee relationship that
directly leads to loyalty. Mixed ndings have been reported in the
studies of trust and loyalty: Direct (e.g., Macintosh and Lockshin,
1997); indirect (e.g., Doney and Cannon, 1997; Sirdeshmukh et al.,
2002); and no relationship (e.g., Foster and Cadogan, 2000). This
study is thus interested in clarifying the predictive role of trust in
the formation of customer loyalty in a specic empirical context.
Therefore,
H2. Consumers experience of trust from their interactions with
frontline employees in the service encounter is positively associated with their loyalty to the rm.
In addition to examining the predictive role of trust, this second
hypothesized relationship should uncover the relative contribution of love and trust to customer loyalty. Examining the relative
contribution of love and trust to the formation of customer loyalty
can provide an insight into loyalty from a different perspective than
those already found in the marketing literature. It also responds to
the call for love to be studied beyond the conventional scope of personal relationships in psychology. Accordingly, this study proposes
those two hypotheses. A research model for this study, encapsulating both hypotheses, is shown in Fig. 1.
3. Research method
3.1. Context
This study uses the hairdressing industry as the research context.
Firms in the hairdressing industry tend to provide a longer cus-

Fig. 1. Research model and results.

Note: aStandardized Coecient; bCritical Ratio (z value) equal to t-value when df 30;
***p < 0.001.

tomer service in the moments of truth (Carlzon, 1987) and involve

a relatively higher interaction between frontline employees and consumers, creating a higher potential for frontline employees to
inuence consumer attitudes and behaviour. Given the research objective, these characteristics provide an appropriate setting for the
frontline employee to cultivate love, and trust, in their relationship with consumers, making this service context well suited for
research on the understanding of how consumers experience love
and trust in their interactions with frontline employees. Furthermore, rms in the hairdressing industry provide consumers with
services associated with frequency of purchase, allowing a direct
evaluation of the inuence of consumers experiences of love and
trust on loyalty.
3.2. Research instrument
This study uses self-administered questionnaires as the research instrument. Measurements for the constructs of customer
loyalty, customer experience of love and customer experience of trust
were adopted from previous studies, modied, and reworded to t
the research context and generate the research instrument.
The scales for customer loyalty are adapted from Chaudhuri and
Holbrook (2001). The construct is measured by the degree of consumers willingness to maintain their loyalty to a rm in terms of
service choices, preference for service options (affective loyalty), and
constancy of repurchase regardless of changing in price (conative
loyalty). For customer experience of trust, the items are adopted from
Doney and Cannon (1997). Trust is measured from the perspectives of credibility and benevolence. The construct is measured by
the perception of service consumers about frontline employees demonstrations of thoughtfulness towards them, attentiveness to their
needs and capacity to keep promises. To measure customer experience of love, Sternbergs (1997) love scales with three components
of intimacy, passion and decision/commitment are employed. These
interpersonal love items are used to measure the consumers love
towards a frontline employee. The use of the three-dimensional construct of love can be found mainly in the examination of personal
relationships in psychology.
All constructs were measured using multiple questions with vepoint Likert scales (1 = strongly disagree, and 5 = strongly agree).
The approach of parallel translation was also used to develop the
research instrument in order to ensure that it is better adapted to
a specic culture (Douglas and Nijssen, 2003; Werner and Campbell,
1970). A pre-test of the research instrument was conducted using
general consumers as respondents. In addition, validity and reliability assessments for the evaluation of the research instrument were
undertaken. The assessments include inter-item consistency reliability, convergent validity and discriminant validity. All measures

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Table 1
Measures, composite reliability (CR), means, SD, loadings, and variance extracted.
Construct/Measures
Trust (CR = 0.79)
My hairstylist is only concerned about himself/herself. (R)
My hairstylist does not seem to be concerned with my needs. (R)
My hairstylist is not trustworthy. (R)
Love: Intimacy (CR = 0.82)
I communicate well with my hairstylist.
I feel that my hairstylist really understands me.
I receive considerable emotional support from my hairstylist.
I feel emotionally close to my hairstylist.
I share deeply personal information about myself with my hairstylist.
Love: Passion (CR = 0.90)
I fantasize about my hairstylist.
I cannot image a hairdressing service without my hairstylist.
I especially like physical contact with my hairstylist when I am in the store.
The relationship with my hairstylist is passionate.
I adore my hairstylist.
There is something almost magical about the affection with my hairstylist.
Love: Decision/Commitment (CR = 0.89)
I view the relationship with my hairstylist as a good decision.
I would not let other hairstylists come to serve me when I am in the store.
I view my commitment to my hairstylist as a solid one.
I have condence in the stability of the relationship with my hairstylist.
I am committed to maintaining my affection with my hairstylist.
I could not let anything get in the way of my commitment to my hairstylist.
Loyalty (CR = 0.84)
I consider this hair salon is my rst choice when choosing a hair salon.
This is the hair salon that I prefer over others.
I would continue to visit this hair salon even if it increases price.

Mean

SD

Loading (std.)

3.63
3.81
3.87

0.05
0.05
0.05

0.79
0.83
0.61

2.74
2.77
2.66
3.10
2.78

0.05
0.05
0.06
0.06
0.06

0.69
0.62
0.73
0.68
0.67

1.99
1.80
2.02
2.41
2.10
1.98

0.05
0.05
0.06
0.06
0.06
0.06

0.77
0.81
0.80
0.68
0.82
0.79

2.86
2.90
2.39
2.50
2.75
2.44

0.07
0.06
0.06
0.06
0.06
0.06

0.69
0.71
0.78
0.72
0.82
0.78

3.55
3.33
3.22

0.05
0.05
0.05

0.80
0.85
0.72

Variance extracted
0.56

0.50

0.61

0.57

0.63

Note: R = reverse coded. All factor loadings are signicant at p < 0.01.

were shown to exhibit acceptable psychometric properties. As shown

in Table 1, both measures of composite reliability and variance extracted exceeded the acceptable level of 0.50 (Bagozzi and Yi, 1988;
Hair et al., 1998). This provides evidence for the reliability of the
constructs used in the model. In addition, convergent validity can
be reected through construct reliability (DeWitt et al., 2008). Evidence for discriminant validity was provided by the fact that the
average variance extracted (AVE) for each construct was beyond the
threshold level of 0.50 (Bagozzi and Yi, 1988). Details of the measurement items and of the psychometric properties of the measures
are provided in Table 1.

3.3. Data collection

The eldwork was conducted in the hairdressing industry in
China. Selecting one specic service industry in one specic country
allows some control over other industry- or country-specic variables which may impact on the denitions, delivery and perception
of love and trust. One representative rm was selected in terms of
its business scale (i.e. the number of chain stores) and quality service
performance in the industry. Data were collected using a stratied sampling method of consumers in the chain stores of the
selected rm. The target respondents were consumers who had
visited a specic chain store of the selected rm over one year, and
who had been continually attended to by the same hairstylists for
that period of time. Five hundred questionnaires were distributed
and 293 fully completed questionnaires were received from the
service outlets, yielding a response rate of 58.6%. As expected, most
of the consumers were female (65.9%). The age of the respondents
ranged mostly between 20 and 30 years (63.1%) and between 31
and 40 years (23.2%). Most respondents had visited the same salon
for 2.6 years on average and had been served by the same hairstylist for between 1 and 2 years (41.6%), or for over 2 years and up to
3 years (35.8%).

4. Results
4.1. Assessment of the measurement model
The model illustrated in Fig. 1 was tested using structural equation modelling (SEM) with Amos 17.0. Convergent validity was
assessed for the measurement model and conrmed by the loadings and overall t produced by conrmatory factor analysis (CFA)
(Anderson and Gerbing, 1988). The CFA overall t is acceptable
(CFI = 0.923, GFI = 0.873, IFI = 0.924, TLI = 0.913, RMSEA = 0.065, Chisquare = 493.918 with df = 223). As shown in Table 1, all items
exhibited high loadings on their pre-specied factors and exceeded the threshold loading of 0.50 (Steenkamp and van Trijp,
1991), indicating adequate convergent validity. Another examination of the measurement model t was undertaken by assessing the
composite reliability and variance extracted, which exceeded the
acceptable level of 0.50 (Bagozzi and Yi, 1988; Hair et al., 1998). All
criteria suggested by Gerbing and Anderson (1992) were met, supporting construct reliability.
Discriminant validity was also assessed. The estimates of average
variance extracted for all scales reached or exceeded the 0.50
minimum cutoff suggested by Bagozzi and Yi (1988). Moreover,
Fornell and Larcker (1981) argue that discriminant validity is evident
when the AVE of any two constructs is greater than their squared
correlation. Table 2 provides the supportive evidence.

4.2. Hypotheses testing

Both hypotheses H1 and H2 were supported by the data. SEM
is used to test the hypothesized model. The overall t statistics demonstrate acceptable model t (CFI = 0.918, GFI = 0.869, IFI = 0.919,
TLI = 0.908, RMSEA = 0.066, Chi-square = 511.493 with df = 224). The
results in Fig. 1 indicate that both consumers experiences of love
and trust in their interaction with frontline employees led to their

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Table 2
Discriminant validity analyses.

1. Trust
2. Love: Intimacy
3. Love: Passion
4. Love: Commitment
5. Loyalty

0.561a
0.000
0.160
0.070
0.007

0.464
0.370
0.402
0.242

0.608
0.468
0.095

0.573
0.349

0.627

Note: aBased on Fornell and Larcker (1981), AVE in the diagonal and squared correlations off-diagonal.

loyalty to the rm. Indeed, the model explains a remarkable 91%

of the variance in customer loyalty. The results indicate that customer experience of love and customer experience of trust are both
signicant predictors of customer loyalty. Moreover, love is a much
stronger driver of loyalty ( = 0.642, t = 8.009, p < 0.001) than trust
is ( = 0.231, t = 3.891, p < 0.001).
These results further indicate the relative strength of each components of love, that is, passion, intimacy and commitment. Amongst
the three components, decision/commitment (0.932) is the strongest indicator of customer experience of love. Passion (0.731) and
intimacy (0.724) have similar weight as indicators of customer experience of love. The results demonstrate the relevance of Sternbergs
(1986, 1997) love scale to a business setting and its suitability for
measuring customer experience of love in the service context.
5. Discussion
5.1. Theoretical contribution and implications
This study identies a novel explanation of why customers stay
loyal to a rm, using a prominent concept based on a universal
motive of human beings, love, along with one of the most established business to consumer construct, trust. Based on a crossdisciplinary review of the relevant literature in the elds of marketing
and psychology, this study postulates that consumers develop a loyal
relationship with a rm through repeated experience of love and
trust in their interactions with frontline service employees. Our empirical evidence provides clear support for these theoretical
assumptions.
This study veries the predictive roles of customers experience of love and trust in developing customer loyalty. The high level
of explained variance in loyalty represents a substantial improvement over previous loyalty research and advances our understanding
of the determinants of loyalty. Both love and trust are signicant
for customer loyalty. Our ndings also suggest that customer experience of love should be seen as quite distinct from customer
experience of trust. Given the consideration of customer experience of trust as another inuencing factor of customer loyalty, this
study suggests that customer experience of love has a much more
powerful inuence in the formation of customer loyalty. Consumers loyal attitudes and behaviour are primarily inuenced by their
experience of love.
Extending previous research from the eld of psychology, this
study uses the notion of love beyond the conventional context of
personal relationships, providing empirical evidence of the applicability of Sternbergs (1986, 1997) conceptualization and
measurement of love in the business context. The three components of Sternbergs love construct are distinct and each makes a
signicant, albeit different in terms of magnitude, contribution
towards customer experience of love in the service encounter.
This study also extends previous studies in the eld of marketing by uncovering the critical role of intimacy, passion and decision/
commitment in the construct of customer experience of love. Of
these three components, decision/commitment is signicantly stron-

ger than either passion, or intimacy, in determining customer

experience of love from interacting with frontline employees, leading
to customer loyalty to the rm. These ndings are different from
past studies of business relationships, which have widely studied
the inuence of commitment (e.g., Berry, 2002; Morgan and Hunt,
1994; Tsiros et al., 2009) and rarely mention intimacy and/or passion
(e.g., Beetles and Harris, 2010).
This study also provides additional empirical evidence for the
critical boundary-spanning role of frontline employees and the signicant impact they have on business performance (e.g., customer
loyalty). In contrast with extant studies (e.g., Bove and Johnson, 2000,
2006), this study uncovers the critical role of frontline employees
for business performance from the perspective of customers experience of love and trust. In addition, this study suggests that
customerfrontline employee relationships exert a direct inuence on customer loyalty, going beyond past studies suggesting an
indirect link to rm loyalty (e.g., Yim et al., 2008). Past research had
also found that a positive customerfrontline employee relationship can evolve into a loyal customerrm relationship. This study
further suggests that a customer experience of love and of trust can
play a separate and critical role in that transformation.
5.2. Managerial contribution and implications
This study emphasizes the importance of cultivating a quality
relationship with customers, with a particular focus on their experience of love and trust. The respondents in this study are
consumers in an on-going relationship with specic frontline employees lasting between 1 and 3 years (77.4%), and who had visited
a specic store for over two years. Results of the study clearly show
that customers experience trust and love in their interactions with
frontline employees, which can lead to their greater loyalty to the
rm. Managers operating in a high contact service setting such as
hairdressing, and other businesses with similar characteristics, may
nd the results useful in formulating how to better serve customers in order to foster loyalty by means of introducing love and trust
in their services.
In order to translate the notion of love and trust into service
actions to achieve customer loyalty, this study suggests that frontline employees should display intimacy, passion and decision/
commitment, as well as credibility and benevolence. In particular,
the factor of decision/commitment deserves more attention, as it
receives the highest ratings from consumers in an on-going relationship. When managers recruit frontline employees, they should
pay attention to applicants personalities. Peoples attitudes towards
trust and love, which are derived from their individual personal experience of interpersonal interactions, inuence their capacity to
show trust and love towards others. Recruitment of suitable employees for frontline services is therefore crucial.
5.3. Limitations and future directions
The current research model with three variables of customer experience of love, customer experience of trust and customer loyalty
to the rm may well be somewhat simplistic. Further research may
consider other factors mediating, or moderating, the impact of the
customer experience of love and trust on their loyalty. For instance, given that affection bonds can take about two years to develop
in an adult relationship (Hazan and Zeifman, 1999), the time needed
to establish emotional bonds in the service context may be included in the model.
The results reveal a close relation between interpersonal relationship and customer loyalty. Further research may use a dyadic
method to collect data from both consumers and frontline employees to reveal similarities and differences in their views on love and
trust, and their respective inuence on consumers loyalty to the

Please cite this article in press as: Shu-Ching Chen, Pascale G. Quester, The relative contribution of love and trust towards customer loyalty, Australasian Marketing Journal (2015),
doi: 10.1016/j.ausmj.2014.12.003

ARTICLE IN PRESS
S.-C. Chen, P.G. Quester/Australasian Marketing Journal (2015)

rm. A comparative study of these issues from different types of

informants could also provide further insights into the critical success
factors of a positive customer experience in the service encounter.
This study demonstrates that the three components of Sternbergs
(1986, 1997) love construct are suitable indicators of customers experience of love from service frontline employees. A further study
of a direct relationship of the three components of love and loyalty
respectively could provide further insights into the loveloyalty relations in the context of B2C service relationships. Further
examination of the three dimensions of Sternbergs love scale in different business settings could also make a valuable cross-disciplinary
contribution towards the extant literature on love in the research
domains of marketing, psychology and management. Finally, given
previous research investigating different types of loyalty, different
types of trust and different types of love, future research may want
to examine the potential difference in the respective inuence of
love and trust for customer loyalty.
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Please cite this article in press as: Shu-Ching Chen, Pascale G. Quester, The relative contribution of love and trust towards customer loyalty, Australasian Marketing Journal (2015),
doi: 10.1016/j.ausmj.2014.12.003