EXAMINING THE MEDIATING ROLES OF E-SATISFACTION AND E-TRUST IN DEVELOPING E-LOYALTY AMONG ONLINE FASHION CONSUMERS: A COGNITIVE–MOTIVATIONAL–RELATIONAL THEORY PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

With the growth of e-commerce, online retailers are increasingly facing competition with one another, and customers' loyalty is a key factor in long-term success. Although a lot of effort is put into studying consumers' online behaviors, few studies have investigated the psychological mechanisms that link online service quality to e-loyalty, especially in emerging economies. Based on the Cognitive–Motivational–Relational Theory, this study aims to explore the impact of delivery efficiency and website design on e-loyalty and analyses the mediation of e-satisfaction and e-trust in between. A cross-sectional research design approach was used and 226 Pakistani customers were selected for the data collection process, relevant questionnaires were used. Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the proposed model. The findings show that delivery efficiency and website design greatly contribute to e-satisfaction, whereas website design also has a positive effect on e-trust. Also, e-satisfaction plays a significant role in boosting e-trust, and e-trust is found as the strongest predictor of e-loyalty. The results of mediation analysis support the findings that online service quality is followed by e-satisfaction and then e-trust in the process of customer loyalty. The results highlight the relevance of CMR Theory for the online context and the fact that customer loyalty is the result of interrelated cognitive, emotional and relational processes. The study is a contribution to the literature on e-commerce, relationship marketing, and extends the CMR theory to the online fashion retail context within an emerging economy. From a practical perspective, the results highlight the importance of delivering a consistent service, usability of the website and trust-creating measures in order to increase customer satisfaction and build customer loyalty in a sustainable way for online retailers.