The Role of Satisfaction in Repurchasing Services in the Airline Industry - Literature review Example

The role of satisfaction in repurchasing Services in Airline Industry Name Date Introduction The airline industry has achieved tremendous growth in the last few decades with the primary focus on promoting customer satisfaction. Achieving customer loyalty is important in the airline industry, but this can only be achieved if the company can achieve customer satisfaction especially when making repurchasing decisions. Competition increase in the airline industry has made customer satisfaction an important concept given the cost associated with the acquisition of the new customers. It is through the customer satisfaction that the aviation industry can be able to determine whether it has been able to achieve customer loyalty. Furthermore, airline industry stakeholders consider the customer satisfaction as one of the most significant assets for the business operations especially due to the competition and the volatility of airline industry. The existence of substitute services offered by different airline company thereby makes customer satisfaction vital to the success of airline industry. Emirates Airline is one of the most dominant airline company across the globe and offers various services to customers depending on their financial ability to meet the identified needs. Emirates Airline is headquartered in Dubai, and with weekly flights amounting to over 3,600 flights, customer satisfaction is vital to the success of the airline. However, Emirates Arline markets its products on various platforms and by sponsoring various events such as Rugby, Football, and infrastructures among others which has given the airline a better positioning in the market. However, engaging in these activities have propelled the airline to succeed in the market, and this has also enabled the company to achieve success in the market. Repurchase intentions in the airline industry are determined by the level of customer satisfaction. Therefore, this study will evaluate the role the satisfaction plays in determining the repurchasing decisions of various services availed by the Emirates Airline. Satisfaction Customers have different levels of satisfactions due to varying expectations especially when they access products or services in the market. Kosteroglou, Theriou, and Chatzoudes, (2016) indicate that satisfaction is the ability of the products or services to fulfill a person needs at the point when they access them. However, satisfaction depends on a person expectations at a given point of time. However, customers expectation can be influenced by a business due to the marketing techniques are undertaken by a company in the market. In most cases, business often considers the customer satisfaction as a measure for their performances given that they can monitor inflow and the outflow of the customers while accessing the products and services (Erjavec, Dmitrović, and Povalej Bržan, 2016). The organization must structure a way to manage the customer expectation especially with the way the services and the products are integrated into the market. Satisfaction may, therefore, range from the prices, quality, and the service delivery or even after the sale services. Companies have a habit of seeking for the customer's opinion in regards to their experiences with the access to their services or the products in the market (Kasiri, Cheng, Sambasivan, and Sidin, 2017). However, the customer dissatisfaction occurs when the products and services do not satisfy their needs as expected. It is the company that shapes the customer's expectation, and they have the ability to identify the customer's needs and satisfying them appropriately. Companies can be able to determine the customer satisfaction by making enquiring whether their needs have been met. Customer satisfaction in the airline industry is important concept especially given that there are many players in the market seeking for the services offered by the major players in the airline industry. Morgeson III, Sharma, and Hult, (2015) customers have various needs in respecting to services offered by the airline industry which is mainly determined by the prices they pay to access different services. Customer may access business flights, first class, or even use the commercial mode of travel which has different level of services. There are three main classes that shape the customer's expectation regarding airline services which includes the economy class, business class as well as first class-based services. Besides these air booking codes are determined by the prices and the level of services offered across the airline industry. Malshe and Agarwal, (2015) argues that the primary determinant of the level of services across the airline industry is determined by the fare and the classes that individuals access. Economy class is divided into three segments names economy saver, economy flex and the economy flex plus and they are mainly classified as low fares travel. In this class, the customer's expectations are often low, and the level of services offered by the airline are limited to meet the cost of the travel. However, customers must access adequate services in the economy class that meets the prices they pay to access those services (VIJI, and Christiana, 015). For instance, those in economy flex plus have the different expectation to those in economy saver due to the cost incurred when accessing different types of services. This is the same case with the economy and first class which where the services offered by the airline are different. First class is considered as a luxurious type of class where the fares are usually high which also shapes the customer's expectations (Liu, Huang, and Chen, 2014). However, first class customers are sensitive to the level of services they access and therefore meeting their expectations fundamental in the airline industry (Balvers, Gaski, and McDonald, 2016). They have the capacity to access services from different airlines, and hence airline companies must be vigilant especially on how they provide the services to the customers. On the other hand, economy and business class type of customers may be motivated differently when accessing various services across the airline industry which makes their level of satisfaction different. Some may be seeking for the mode of travel especially those who use the airline industry to move from one area to another for business purposes (Erjavec, 2015). Repurchasing Repurchasing is the process of the customers accessing the products or the services on numerous occasions. The purchasing decision is a process where the customers have expectations in regards to the purchase of various products and services in the market Chou, S.W. and Hsu, C.S., 2016). The decision-making process can be influenced by their past experiences, and therefore they may have different alternatives at their disposal. Customers may require additional information when making purchase decisions, and this may be provided by the marketing strategies, other people experiences along with the own experiences (Fang, Qureshi, Sun, McCole, Ramsey, and Lim, 2014). The purchase decisions are motivated by the individual's needs or a problem that a person may be facing. However, the repurchasing decisions are mainly influenced by the customer's experiences especially in times they have accessed the products or services in the market. In the airline industry, once a customer have a bad experience when using various services, then such a customer may seek for other available alternatives in the market. Therefore this will endeavor to establish the reason that influences the customers repurchasing decisions (Young, and Combs, 2016). A parent theory Customer satisfaction is an important concept in business today and highly affects the customer repurchasing decisions. Once the customers' expectations have been met, then they are likely to influence the customers repurchasing decisions (Balvers, Gaski, and McDonald, 2016). However, the repurchasing decisions are often made by the information regarding the products and services in the market which mainly result from the own or the social experiences. In the current world, the social conversation has become an important concept, and customers are easily influenced by other people experiences especially those close to them. Even though this is the case, it is the customers own experiences and the level of satisfaction that determines the purchasing decisions (Sudhamani, 2016). Relationship between the Customer Satisfaction and Repurchase decisions in airline industry Repurchase decisions and customer satisfaction have a positive relationship in the airline industry. Repurchase helps a company in maintaining steady sales in the market, and this helps in guaranteeing a company success in the long run. Furthermore, according to Oman, Pepur, and Arnerić, (2016), it costs the companies more when acquiring new customers than when promoting customer loyalty which is the basis when making the repurchase decisions. Customer loyalty is vital to the Emirates Company since it helps the airline in maintaining the competitive advantage over the other in the market. The fluctuation can portray the positive relationship between the customer satisfactions and repurchase decisions in the airline industry in the airline's revenues (Kaur, and Sharma, 2015). With the increase in competition, airline companies such as Emirates Airlines relies on the customer satisfaction to market their services since customers referrals are important in the airline industry (Viji, And Christiana, 2015). The valued added services are significant to achieve customer satisfaction as long as the customer's needs are adequately satisfied and their expectations are fulfilled. In airline industry customer often have different choices to choose from which makes the customer loyalty important to an airline company. However, the customer loyalty arises from the repurchasing decisions which also emanates from the ability of the airline company to achieve customer satisfaction (Ali, and Muqadas, 2015). Companies often make various advertisements relating to the product they offer, and the customers expect that the qualities indicated in the marketing strategies are well integrated into the products and services they offer (Kosteroglou, Theriou, and Chatzoudes, 2016). Once customers are fully satisfied with the products or services offered, they may repurchase it or even refer other people who may be in needs of services offered in the market (Young, and Combs, 2016). In this case, the Emirates Airline and others in the market often rely on the customer loyalty to make repeat sales in the market especially with the increase in competition. Economy, business, and first class customers often have a habit of making a repurchase decisions which depends on their past experiences while accessing the services availed by the airline. According to Mostert, Petzer, and Weideman, (2016) one of the most intangible assets to the airline company is the customer satisfaction which can easily be converted into sales given that it motivates the customers to make repurchasing decisions. Proposition Customers decision-making process in regards to the repurchase decisions is considered to be the repurchase intention. Therefore, Emirates airline should focus on the customer satisfaction to ensure that it can achieve the sustainable growth and at the same time stabilize the company profits. Furthermore, since Emirates Airline sponsors a variety of activities as well as of infrastructure, it is important to ensure that the stability of revenues is guaranteed in the long run and this can only be achieved if the company can reach the customer loyalty. Positive customers experiences when accessing different airline services often contribute to the sales increase in the referrals may also arise as a result of the customer satisfaction. Though the appropriate mechanism, Emirates airline can be able to monitor the customer's behaviors by coming up with measures to establish whether their expectations has been exceeded and developing areas that the Airline can improve. Therefore, customer satisfaction influences the repurchase decisions. Emirates Airline must focus on the customer satisfaction if it is to retain the competitive advantage in the market (Ismail, and Yunan, 2016). The Emirates airline should focus on innovation in various classes to ensure that customer expectations are exceeded. If this happens, then it is easier for the customers to make the decisions on purchase and repurchase of various services provided by the company. For instance, Emirates airlines should be innovative especially in different classes to ensure that it creates additional services that are cost friendly to the customers which in the long run will help in promoting customer satisfaction. Conclusion Customers ability to use services for the Emirates Airline again is regarded to as the repurchase intention which dictates the company progress in the market. Most companies often focus on customer satisfaction to promote customer loyalty which is the important concept for the Emirates Airline. Understanding, fulfilling and exceeding the customer's expectations is essential to ensure that the customers are fully satisfied which in turn helps in promoting the repurchasing decisions. Customers experiences when using various Airline services often result in the decrease or increase the utilization of the services accessed depending on the individual experiences. Therefore, Emirates Airline should conduct surveys to enquire the customer's attitude towards the services and the areas that the company should improve on in future to ensure that they are fully satisfied. Therefore, customer repeat purchase should be the primary company focus in any industry especially due to high costs associated with the acquisitions of new customers. References Ali, F. and Muqadas, S., 2015. The Impact of Brand Equity on Brand Loyalty: The Mediating Role of Customer Satisfaction. Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences, 9(3), pp.890-915. Balvers, R.J., Gaski, J.F. and McDonald, B., 2016. Financial Disclosure and Customer Satisfaction: Do Companies Talking the Talk Actually Walk the Walk?. Journal of Business Ethics, 139(1), pp.29-45. Chou, S.W. and Hsu, C.S., 2016. Understanding online repurchase intention: social exchange theory and shopping habit. Information Systems and e-Business Management, 14(1), pp.19-45. Erjavec, H.S., 2015. 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