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This study aims to examine the role of service customers’ variety-seeking and engagement in driving their service switching intention. The authors also explore the moderating role of customer relationship proneness in this association.

To test the hypotheses, the authors deployed a sample of 227 service customers, whose data was analyzed by using partial least squares structural equation modeling.

The findings show that customer engagement mediates the relationship of customer variety-seeking and their service switching intention, as hypothesized. Moreover, customer relationship proneness weakens the negative effect of engagement on customers’ service switching intention.

Though scholarly acumen of customer engagement is rapidly developing, little remains known regarding its theoretical interface with customer variety-seeking and switching intention. Addressing this gap, the authors test a model exploring the mediating role of customer engagement in the association of customer variety-seeking and switching intention, and the potentially moderating role of customer relationship proneness in the association of customer engagement and service switching intention.

This study investigates the mediating role of consumer engagement (CE) in the relationship between perceived behavioral control (PBC) and purchase intent and the moderating role of perceived safety in the relationship between PBC and CE in the self-driving car (SDC) context.

To test the model, a sample of 368 consumers was deployed using partial least-squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

The findings reveal that consumers' SDC engagement mediates the relationship between PBC and their intent to purchase an SDC. Consumer-perceived SDC safety also moderates the association of PBC/engagement.

While prior research has examined consumer-based drivers of SDC adoption, understanding of consumers' SDC engagement-related dynamics and outcomes lags behind. Addressing this gap, we propose and test a model that explores consumers' SDC engagement vis-à-vis its drivers (perceived SDC safety/behavioral control) and outcomes (SDC purchase intent).

The purpose of this empirical study is to investigate both the relationships among brand satisfaction, trust and loyalty and the moderating effects of personality traits, namely, consumer innovativeness, variety-seeking and relationship proneness, in the context of fast-moving consumer goods.

Data were collected using a survey of 443 consumers. Structural equation modeling, specifically partial least squares regression, was used to test the theoretical model.

The findings indicate that brand loyalty is the most affected (both directly and indirectly) by satisfaction through the mediation of brand trust in both product categories studied. Moreover, variety-seeking behavior negatively moderates the relationship between brand trust and brand loyalty for fruit juices.

This research was conducted in the context of fast-moving consumer goods within a limited geographical region. Future research could apply this model to different contexts and countries.

Companies that produce fast-moving consumer goods are advised to consider the important role of satisfaction in the generation of trust, which leads to brand loyalty.

This study proposes and tests a theoretical model that is more comprehensive than the models used in previous studies because it investigates the relationships among satisfaction, trust, loyalty and personality traits. It is the first attempt to examine the moderating effects of consumer innovativeness, variety-seeking and relationship proneness on the relationship between brand trust and loyalty.

Product category involvement and relationship proneness are crucial in explaining relationship outcomes. Nevertheless, the authors know little about their roles in the formation of loyalty, especially in the retail industry. Individual consumer traits and preferences are likely to play a critical role in the success of relationship marketing. Yet, relationship marketing studies have fallen short of considering such individual differences. The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effects of product category involvement and relationship proneness on the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty in retail clothing stores.

Data were obtained using a survey of 220 consumers. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was employed to test the proposed theoretical model.

The results show that satisfaction significantly affects product category involvement and relationship proneness, which, in turn, significantly affect purchase intention and word-of-mouth (WOM). The results also show that product category involvement and relationship proneness partially mediate the impact of satisfaction on purchase intention and WOM.

Product category involvement and relationship proneness play a critical role in explaining the satisfaction–loyalty link. Future research could consider the role of potential moderating variables.

Retail managers should not only focus on improving customer satisfaction to achieve customer loyalty, but should also consider the importance of product category involvement and relationship proneness, and their role in the formation of customer loyalty both in traditional and online environments.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to explore the mediating effects of product category involvement and relationship proneness on the relationship between satisfaction, purchase intention and WOM in the retail industry.