Exploring the impact of service quality, brand trust and attitudinal loyalty on repurchase intention among smartphone users in Hong Kong

Ng, Holly; Li, Tilo; Li, Eugene

EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF SERVICE QUALITY, BRAND TRUST AND ATTITUDINAL LOYALTY ON REPURCHASE INTENTION AMONG SMARTPHONE USERS IN HONG KONG

HOLLY NG, TILO LI, EUGENE LI

Abstract:

Cellular phones have dramatically changed in the last several decades. They changed from a luxury good to a necessity good to most people. New features have been added to cellular phones, and they have become smarter and smarter. Many people can leave home without their wallets but not without their smartphones. In 2022 the smartphone penetration rate in Hong Kong stood at 97.1 percent for people over 10 years old. This penetration rate is higher than most developed economies. The two major players Apple and Samsung alone capture over 76 percent of the Hong Kong smartphone market. Potential rivals to these two leaders are Xiaomi and Huawei collectively account for close to 15 percent of the market. Competition among smartphone providers is extremely fierce. Therefore, a key marketing strategy for smartphone vendors is to strive to keep existing customers and motivate them to repurchase the same brand when they need to replace or upgrade their cellular phones. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the causality between service quality and attitudinal loyalty via brand trust and how brand trust affects attitudinal loyalty and repurchase intention. Data from a sample of 200 smartphone users show that service quality directly affects brand trust and confirm that brand trust plays a crucial role in building attitudinal loyalty and repurchase intentions. Brand trust also mediates the relationship between service quality and attitudinal loyalty. The findings of this study provide important implications to academics and marketing practitioners as they lead to more effective loyalty strategies to deal with the ever-increasing complexity of loyalty issues.

Keywords:
Smartphones, Service quality, Brand trust, Attitudinal loyalty, Repurchase intention

DOI: 10.20472/BM.2024.12.1.003

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APA citation:
HOLLY NG, TILO LI, EUGENE LI (2024). Exploring the impact of service quality, brand trust and attitudinal loyalty on repurchase intention among smartphone users in Hong Kong. International Journal of Business and Management, Vol. XII(1), pp. 31-46. , DOI: 10.20472/BM.2024.12.1.003