Relational Bonds and Customer's Trust and Commitment - A Study on the Moderating Effects of Web Site Usage

Several relationship marketing theories have suggested that businesses could build long-term customer relationships. The purpose of this study is to develop relational bonding strategies for a financial service business and examine the relationship between the various relational bonds and customer trust and commitment under the moderating effects of corporate website usage. The findings of this study are threefold. First, the relational bonds that foster customer trust and commitment can be categorised empirically into three types: economic, social and structural bonds. Second, all of these bonds are significantly positively correlated with the customers' trust and commitment. Finally, customer use of a corporate website significantly moderates the relationship between the relational bonds and customer relational performance.