Whence consumer loyalty?
Richard Oliver asks which part of satisfaction affects loyalty and how much loyalty depends on it. He concludes that satisfaction is necessary early in the formation of loyalty but matters less as loyalty becomes established through other mechanisms, namely personal determination and social bonding at institutional and personal levels. He describes loyalty forming through cognitive, affective, conative and action phases, and argues that full loyalty results from perceived product superiority, personal determination, social bonding and their combined effects. He notes that many providers cannot realistically pursue full loyalty because of their product category or because consumers are indifferent, so for them satisfaction is the achievable goal.
Richard Oliver asks which part of satisfaction affects loyalty and how much loyalty depends on it. He concludes that satisfaction is necessary early in the formation of loyalty but matters less as loyalty becomes established through other mechanisms, namely personal determination and social bonding at institutional and personal levels. He describes loyalty forming through cognitive, affective, conative and action phases, and argues that full loyalty results from perceived product superiority, personal determination, social bonding and their combined effects. He notes that many providers cannot realistically pursue full loyalty because of their product category or because consumers are indifferent, so for them satisfaction is the achievable goal.
Written from the full text, author-hosted copy, 2026-11-02.
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63(4_suppl1), 33-44. doi:10.1177/00222429990634s105 https://doi.org/10.1177/00222429990634s105