The customer satisfaction–loyalty relation in an interactive e-service setting: The mediators

This study aims to examine the relation between customer satisfaction and loyalty through the introduction of commitment, trust, involvement and perceived value as mediators in the e-service context. An online consumer survey on selected web auction sites was used for the data collection. The findings suggest that customer satisfaction is an essential ingredient for service loyalty, but that mediators exist between satisfaction and loyalty. Commitment, trust and involvement are each proven to be partial mediators between satisfaction and loyalty, while perceived value is proven to be a complete mediator. The results have implications for the retention of satisfied customers in an interactive e-service setting.