Relationships among customer loyalty programs, service quality, relationship quality and loyalty

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to measure the impact of customer loyalty programs on relationship quality, relationship commitment, and loyalty. Design/methodology/approach A survey with 480 qualified observations from department store customers in Taiwan was conducted. A structural equation modeling approach was used. Findings Customer loyalty programs have a partially supported positive impact on relationship quality; service quality has a positive impact on relationship quality; customers with a positive relationship quality impact their relationship commitment; the higher the relationship commitment, the higher the loyalty; and a customer loyalty program partially supports a positive impact on loyalty. Originality/value The paper shows that customer loyalty programs have positive influences on loyalty. However, short‐term customer loyalty programs, namely, Minimum Purchase Gift Cards, displayed no significant influence on loyalty. The incentive of short‐term customer loyalty programs is not sufficient for loyalty.