Customer Satisfaction, Trust and Loyalty Relationships in International Industrial Markets: A Case of Dikkan Firm

Abstract

International industrial markets require industrial firms to develop new strategic moves and relationships in order to survive in a competitive market place. Customer satisfaction is the most important goal for industrial businesses, as well as it is the most important goal for every business. Thanks to customer satisfaction, industrial firms are able to maintain the relationships with the other businesses and get a step forward in international industrial markets. Industrial firms pay attention to creating value, meeting expectations, and ensuring trust in order to develop their networks in international markets. The aim of this research was to analyze the relations of satisfaction with trust and loyalty in international industrial markets. For this purpose, data were collected from different companies which a Turkish company work with in international markets. E-mail survey technique was used as data collection method and the survey was implemented to foreign customers, who work in the companies in international industrial markets, in April-May, 2017. Factor analyses and multiple regression analyses were used in data analysis. Factor analysis was implemented to the INDSAT Customer Satisfaction Scale and five dimensions were obtained. These dimensions were named such as: Technical Service Satisfaction, Product Satisfaction, Sales Employees Satisfaction, Information and Documents Supplied Satisfaction, Order Process Satisfaction. At the end of the factor analyses implemented to the trust and loyalty scales, one dimension for trust and one dimension for loyalty were revealed. Hypotheses were tested via regression analyses and it was found out that customer satisfaction explained 55,2 % of variance in trust and 54,5 % of variance in loyalty. The research has contributed to the literature in terms of approving the satisfaction-trust relation and the satisfaction-loyalty relation in both international and industrial markets.