The moderating effects of involvement with respect to customer relationship management of the airline sector

• A relationship bonding CRM model is proposed for the airline industry.
• Relationship bonding tactics positively affect the relationship quality.
• Involvement moderates the effects of relationship bonding tactics on the perceived relationship investment.
• Highly involved passengers focus on social bonding and structural bonding tactics.
• Lowly involved passengers focus on financial bonding tactics.

This study examines the moderating effects of involvement with respect to customer relationship management of the airline sector, according to the perceptions of Taiwanese international air passengers. Results indicate that relationship bonding, perceived relationship investment, relationship quality and behavioral loyalty are positively related, with involvement moderately affecting how financial bonding, social bonding, structural bonding and perceived relationship investment are related. More specifically, social bonding and structural bonding significantly affect the perceived relationship investment for passengers with high involvement in air travel, while financial bonding significantly affects the perceived relationship investment for passengers with low involvement.