Influence of perceived customer value, employee service quality, bank image and customer satisfaction on Generation Y students bank loyalty

Abstract

Retail banks are increasingly focused on maintaining a loyal customer base. This is because loyal customers translate into higher profits and increased market share. The Generation Y cohort, which comprises the youth of today, is an important current and future banking segment and its bank loyalty could have a notable effect on the profitability of retail banks. Understanding the factors that positively contribute towards this cohort's bank loyalty will aid retail banks in devising appropriate marketing strategies for effectively targeting this market and maintaining their loyalty. As such, the purpose of this study was to determine the influence of perceived customer value, employee service quality, bank image and customer satisfaction on Generation Y students' bank loyalty in a South African context. The study followed a descriptive research design and a quantitative research approach. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from a convenience sample of 271 banking students registered at two public university campuses in Gauteng, South Africa. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics, reliability measures, correlation analysis and multivariate regression analysis. The study's findings suggest that South African Generation Y students' perceived customer value, bank image and customer satisfaction has a statistically significant positive influence on their bank loyalty. However, their perceived bank employee service quality has a positive yet nonsignificant influence on their bank loyalty.