Towards building customer-wealth manager relationships : analysing the role of detachment

Abstract

Establishing, maintaining, and enhancing long-term, profitable customer relationships are essential for wealth managers wishing to maintain their competitive advantage in the South African wealth management market. However, customer detachment poses a serious threat to the continuation of these relationships as it strengthens an individual's psychological state of distance from a relational attachment figure, resulting in a higher likelihood of dissociating from the relationship or even terminating it altogether. Despite the threat posed by customer detachment, the research relating to customer detachment are rather scarce and focus predominantly on customer detachment from a brand perspective, which could be criticised from the attachment theory view which states that attachment and detachment inherently occur only between two humans as human emotions play such a big role. To date, no marketing research study has attempted to determine customer's detachment from an employee or manager, which could play a central role in building successful customer relationships. To bridge this gap, this study critically reviewed detachment within customer-wealth manager relationships within the South African wealth management industry by conducting a thorough systematised literature review (Article 1), empirically confirming and explaining the drivers (Article 2)and outcomes (Article 3) of customer detachment, as well as testing the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between detachment and its key constructs (Article 4). To reach the objective of Article 1, Scopus and Google scholar was used as search platforms, from which 42 suitable articles were extracted out of 859 articles pertaining to detachment in interpersonal relationships. The results of the literature review identified three categories of detachment, namely detachment as a means of defence, detachment as a result of caregiver interactions, detachment due to autonomy and evolving needs, and two categories of the outcomes of detachment, namely distancing and relationship termination and new attachments. The objectives of Articles 2, 3, and 4 were reached by modelling customer detachment in relation to the proposed drivers and outcomes and considering their moderating effects through exploratory structural equation modelling (ESEM). Using a quantitative descriptive research design, the data for these models were collected through online computer-administered questionnaires from a sample of 536 detached wealth management customers. The results revealed that detachment was statistically significantly influenced by disaffection, disillusionment, dissatisfaction, negative emotions (Articles 2 and 4) and inversely alienation (Article 4). The results of Articles 3 and 4 revealed that detachment had a statistically significant influence on disaffection, disillusionment, dissatisfaction, alienation and negative emotions and an inverse relationship with forgiveness. The moderation analysis revealed that men (i.e. male customers) had a stronger influence on the relationship between dissatisfaction and customer detachment

than women (i.e. female customers). Women, conversely, had a stronger influence on the relationship between customer detachment to forgiveness and customer detachment to non-repurchase intention than men. Moreover, the relationship between alienation and detachment on the one hand and negative emotions and detachment on the other was significant only for women. This study makes several theoretical and practical contributions that will enhance marketing researchers' and managers' understanding of the role detachment plays in customer-employee relationships within the wealth management industry. The contributions can be regarded as novel as this is the first study to investigate customer detachment specifically within a customer-employee relationship. Based on a thorough literature review, various constructs are tested empirically for the first time in relation to detachment, contributing both to the detachment and attachment theory. Being the first detachment study conducted in the wealth management industry, this study also offers valuable insight and direction to wealth managers wishing to enhance their understanding of customer detachment to improve their relationship marketing practices and gain a competitive advantage.