Year | 2025 |
Volume/Issue/Review Month | Volume-XVIII | Issue-I | Jan.-Jun. |
Title | Direct and Indirect Effects of Perceived Environmental Sustainability with Customer Loyalty: A Case Study of Kochi Metro Rail Transport System |
Authors | Linchu Rajan, Dr. Sheena Sasidharan V. |
Broad area | Case Study |
Abstract | Abstract: Now a days, consumers are more aware of the environmental sustainability initiatives of business organizations and they expect the firms to be more socially and environmentally sustainable. There is a theoretical gap between current studies that examine how mass rapid transit systems' environmental sustainability initiatives affect the loyalty of their passengers. Thus, using the antecedents of customer loyalty in the Kochi Metro Rail Transport System, this study examined the impact of customers' perceptions of environmental sustainability initiatives. Data were collected from 380 commuters who are using Kochi Metro as their transportation mode. Structural Equation Modelling was used to test the relationship. The result shows that the environmental sustainability initiatives of Kochi Metro Significantly relates to customer loyalty. The relationship between perceived environmental sustainability initiatives and customer loyalty could be both direct and indirect through customer identification. The result shows that while environmental sustainability has a direct positive impact on customer loyalty, customer identification also contributes, though to a lesser extent, to strengthening this relationship. The study helps to understand how environmental sustainability can serve as a powerful marketing tool for transportation corporations. |
File | ![]() |
Referenceses | Agrawal, R., Gaur, S. S., & Narayanan, A. (2012). Determining customer loyalty: Review and model. The marketing review, 12(3), 275-289. Asatryan, R., & Asamoah, E. S. (2014). Perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and the antecedents of customer loyalty in the airline industry. Scientific papers of the University of Pardubice. Series D, Faculty of Economics and Administration. 32 (3/2014).
Ashraf, S., Ilyas, R., Imtiaz, M., & Tahir, H. M. (2017). Impact of CSR on customer loyalty: putting customer trust, customer identification, customer satisfaction and customer commitment into equation-a study on the banking sector of Pakistan. International Journal of Multidisciplinary and Current Research, 5(5), 1362-1372.
Bagozzi, R. P., & Yi, Y. (1988). On the evaluation of structural equation models. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 16(1), 74–94. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02723327 Bhattacharya, C. B., & Sen, S. (2003). Consumer–company identification: A framework for understanding consumers’ relationships with companies. Journal of marketing, 67(2), 76-88. Byrne, B. M. (2001). Structural Equation Modelling With AMOS, EQS, and LISREL: Comparative Approaches to Testing for the Factorial Validity of a Measuring Instrument. International Journal of Testing, 1(1), 55–86. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327574ijt0101_4 Chang, R.; Chanda, R.C. Vafaei-Zadeh, A.; Hanifah, H.; Gui, A. Assessing Green Practices on Eco-Friendly Hotel Customer Loyalty: A Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling and Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis Hybrid Approach. Sustainability 2024, 16, 3834. https://doi.org/10.3390/ su16093834 Chaudhuri, A., & Holbrook, M. B. (2001). The chain of effects from brand trust and brand affect to brand performance: The role of brand loyalty. Journal of Marketing, 65(2), 81-93. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.65.2.81.18255
Cheung, G. W., Cooper-Thomas, H. D., Lau, R. S., & Wang, L. C. (2024). Reporting reliability, convergent and discriminant validity with structural equation modelling: A review and best-practice recommendations. In Asia Pacific Journal of Management 41(2). Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-023-09871-y Cooper, B., Eva, N., Zarea Fazlelahi, F., Newman, A., Lee, A., & Obschonka, M. (2020). Addressing common method variance and endogeneity in vocational behaviour research: A review of the literature and suggestions for future research. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 121, 103472. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103472 De Mendonca, T. R., & Zhou, Y. (2019). Environmental performance, customer satisfaction, and profitability: A study among large US companies. Sustainability, 11(19), 5418. Dick, A. S., & Basu, K. (1994). Customer loyalty: Toward an integrated conceptual framework. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 22(2), 99-113. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092070394222001 Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (2016). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50. Frempong, M. F., Mu, Y., Adu-Yeboah, S. S., Hossin, M. A., & Amoako, R. (2022). Corporate sustainability and customer loyalty: The role of firm’s green image. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 32(1), 54–60. https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2021.2017153 García de Leaniz, P. M., & Rodríguez Del Bosque Rodríguez, I. (2015). Exploring the antecedents of hotel customer loyalty: A social identity perspective. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 24(1), 1-23.
Gefen, D., Karahanna, E., & Straub, D. W. (2003). Trust and TAM in online shopping: an integrated model. MIS Quarterly. Glaveli, N. (2021). Corporate social responsibility toward stakeholders and customer loyalty: Investigating the roles of trust and customer identification with the company. Social Responsibility Journal, 17(3), 367-383. Hair, J. F., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. L., & Black, W. C. (1998). Multivariate Data Analysis. (5th Edn). Prentice Hall International. Hair, Joseph, F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & E., A. R. (2010). Multivariate data analysis. In Multivariate Data Analysis, 785–785. Hamaker, H. C. (1995). Improved estimates of the range of errors on photomasks using measured values of skewness and kurtosis. Proc.SPIE, 2621, 198–207. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.228171 Hooper, Daire, Coughlan, J., & Mullen, M. (2008). Evaluating model fit: a synthesis of the structural equation modelling literature. In 7th European Conference on Research Methodology for Business and Management Studies, 195–200. Hsu, S.H., et al. (2013). The Impact of Green Innovation on Customer Loyalty: A Mediating Role of Customer Identification. Sustainability, 5(7), 2876-2892. Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6(1), 1–55. Hulland, J. (1999). Use of partial least squares (PLS) in strategic management research: A review of four recent studies. Strategic Management Journal, 20(2), 195–204. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1097-0266(199902).
Ishak, F., & Abd Ghani, N. H. (2013). A review of the literature on brand loyalty and customer loyalty. Karim, R. A., & Rabiul, M. K. (2024). The relationships of corporate sustainability, customer loyalty, and word of mouth: the mediating role of corporate image and customer satisfaction. Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, 25(3), 421-441. Kenny, D. A., Kaniskan, B., & McCoach, D. B. (2015). The Performance of RMSEA in Models with Small Degrees of Freedom. Sociological Methods and Research, 44(3), 486–507. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124114543236 Liu, T. C., Wang, C. Y., Wu, L. W. (2010), Moderators of The Negativity Effect: Commitment, Identification, and Consumer Sensitivity to Corporate Social Performance, Psychology & Marketing, 27(1): 54-70 Mael, F. A., & Ashforth, B. E. (1992). Alumni and their alma mater: A partial test of the reformulated model of organizational identification. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 13(2), 103-123. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030130202 Martínez, P., & Del Bosque, I. R. (2013). CSR and customer loyalty: The roles of trust, customer identification with the company and satisfaction. International journal of hospitality management, 35, 89-99. Martinez, P. (2015). Customer loyalty: Exploring its antecedents from a green marketing perspective. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(5), 896-917.
May, A. Y. C., Hao, G. S., & Carter, S. (2021). Intertwining corporate social responsibility, employee green behavior, and environmental sustainability: The mediation effect of organizational trust and organizational identity. Economics, Management and Financial Markets, 16(2), 32-61. Moisescu, O. I., & Gic?, O. A. (2020). The impact of environmental and social responsibility on customer loyalty: A multigroup analysis among generations x and y. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(18), 6466. Morelli, J. (2011). Environmental sustainability: A definition for environmental professionals. Journal of environmental sustainability, 1(1), 2. Nkansah, B. K. (2018). On the Kaiser-Meier-Olkin’s Measure of Sampling Adequacy. Iiste, 8(7), 52–76. www.iiste.org Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric Theory. McGraw-Hill. Nyadzayo, M. W., & Khajehzadeh, S. (2016). The antecedents of customer loyalty: A moderated mediation model of customer relationship management quality and brand image. Journal of retailing and consumer services, 30, 262-270. Ovidiu-Ioan Moisescu (2018) From perceptual corporate sustainability to customer loyalty: a multi-sectorial investigation in a developing country. Economic Research Ekonomska Istraživanja, 31(1), 55-72, DOI: 10.1080/1331677X.2017.1421998. Pan, Y., Sheng, S., & Xie, F. T. (2012). Antecedents of customer loyalty: An empirical synthesis and re-examination. Journal of retailing and consumer services, 19(1), 150-158. Pan, J. Y. (2024). Understanding high-speed rail users in the US–Environmental and sustainability perspectives. Travel Behaviour and Society, 34, 100670 Panda, T. K., Kumar, A., Jakhar, S., Luthra, S., Garza-Reyes, J. A., Kazancoglu, I., & Nayak, S. S. (2020). Social and environmental sustainability model on consumers’ altruism, green purchase intention, green brand loyalty and evangelism. Journal of Cleaner production, 243, 118575. Rather, R. A. (2018). Investigating the impact of customer brand identification on hospitality brand loyalty: A social identity perspective. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 27(5), 487-513. Robert Joumard & Henrik Gudmundsson (2010). Indicators of environmental sustainability in transport: An interdisciplinary approach to methods. INRETS., Recherches, A. Lauby. ffhal00492823f Sekasi, J., & Martens, M. L. (2021). Assessing the contributions of urban light rail transit to the sustainable development of addis ababa. Sustainability, 13(10), 5667 Shin, M., Back, K. J., Lee, C. K., & Lee, Y. S. (2020). Enhancing customer-brand relationship by leveraging loyalty program experiences that foster customer-brand identification. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32(12), 3991-4016. Shirazi, A., ZEYNVAND, L. H., & KARIMI, M. A. (2013). Investigating the effects of brand identity on customer loyalty from social identity perspective. Štreimikien?, D., Navikait?, A., & Varanavi?ius, V. (2016). Company’s value creation via customer satisfaction and environmental sustainability influence. Montenegrin journal of economics. 12, (4). Sutton, P. (2004). A perspective on environmental sustainability. Paper on the Victorian Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability, 1, 32 Wolter, J. S., Bock, D., Smith, J. S., & Cronin Jr, J. J. (2017). Creating ultimate customer loyalty through loyalty conviction and customer-company identification. Journal of Retailing, 93(4), 458-476. Yang, A. J. F., Chen, Y. J., & Huang, Y. C. (2017). Enhancing customer loyalty in tourism services: the role of customer-company identification and customer participation. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 22(7), 735-746. Zeithaml, V. A., Berry, L. L., & Parasuraman, A. (1996). The behavioural consequences of service quality. Journal of Marketing, 60(2), 31-46. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299606000203 |