Original Research

The influence of social media service quality on client loyalty in the South African banking industry

Bramwell K. Gavaza, Kim L. Viljoen, Liezel Cilliers
Acta Commercii | Vol 19, No 1 | a695 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/ac.v19i1.695 | © 2019 Kim L. Viljoen | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 20 July 2018 | Published: 30 April 2019

About the author(s)

Bramwell K. Gavaza, Department of Business Management, University of Fort Hare, Alice, South Africa
Kim L. Viljoen, Department of Business Management, University of Fort Hare, Alice, South Africa
Liezel Cilliers, Department of Information Systems, Faculty of Management and Commerce, University of Fort Hare, South Africa

Abstract

Orientation: The impact and growth rates of Facebook and other forms of social media have made it imperative for all businesses to ensure they have social media strategies in place.

Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to measure the influence of social media service quality on client loyalty in the South African banking industry.

Motivation for the study: There are limited studies conducted in developing countries such as South Africa that focused specifically on the social media service quality and client loyalty in the banking industry.

Research design, approach and method: The study used a quantitative approach and a descriptive research design to test the proposed hypotheses. An online survey on Facebook was used to collect the data from a sample of 377 respondents who had interacted with the five major banks in South Africa on the said platform. A snowball sampling technique was used to identify the appropriate respondents. The data was analysed with Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to assess the model fit.

Main findings: Findings of the research study proved that the social media system’s availability, fulfilment and privacy have a significant influence on the overall service quality of social media, which leads to client loyalty in the South African banking industry.

Practical/managerial implications: The study recommended that managers and marketers should constantly evaluate, monitor and improve the overall service quality of social media offered to their clients, as it leads to a corresponding increase in client loyalty in the South African banking industry.

Contribution/value-add: The study provided empirical evidence, which contributed to the body of business and marketing knowledge in a South African banking context.


Keywords

social media; service quality; client loyalty; banking industry; E-Social ServQual

Metrics

Total abstract views: 3693
Total article views: 3550

 

Crossref Citations

1. Emotional brand communication on social media to foster financial well-being
Charmaine du Plessis
Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies  vol: 13  issue: 4  first page: e202342  year: 2023  
doi: 10.30935/ojcmt/13452