Volume 20, No. 1, 2023
The Mediating Effect Of Customer Satisfaction On The Relationship Between Brand Equity And Customer Loyalty: A Study Of Lebanese Smes
Ahmad Tabiaat
Abstract
As competition between market players intensifies, customer satisfaction and loyalty are significant organizational concerns. This research aims to study the influence of antecedent variables influencing consumer loyalty. It aims to inspect the effect of brand equity on consumer loyalty, taking consumer satisfaction as a mediating variable. Consumer satisfaction and loyalty are imperative for Lebanese SMEs. The research is an explanatory, descriptive study presenting a theoretical and analytical framework. This research adopted the survey as a research strategy in a cross-sectional time horizon. It adopts the logic of positivism with a quantitative approach based on a questionnaire. The latter supports quantifiable results and statistical analysis. 384 valid questionnaires were collected online from Lebanese consumers of confectionery brands as a field of study. The empirical part was grounded on exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. These stages highlighted that KMO was used to assess the internal consistency, and Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to evaluate the reliability of these five constructs. The calculated coefficients are acceptable insofar as they are all greater than 0.70. The validity and reliability of constructs have improved after the PCA principal component analysis and have reduced the number of items. The latter has leveraged the efficiency and internal consistency of the questionnaire. This method is coupled with multiple linear regression indices to verify the hypotheses. Fit indices were satisfactory compared to generally accepted standards. The GFI, AGFI, TLI, NFI, and CFI indices are higher than the commonly accepted standard of 0.90. These indices confirm the results obtained from the PCA as a part of the exploratory factor analysis. Results demonstrated that the model fit and verified the research hypotheses.
Pages: 138-157
Keywords: customer loyalty, Consumer satisfaction, brand equity, confectionary brands