Microsoft Word 2007 ichrie conference Proceedings Final-Final 06-06-07. doc

Commitment and loyalty
From the relationship marketing perspective, customer commitment is seen as being the key determinant of 
customer retention and loyalty (Gundlach et al., 1995; Fullerton, 2005). Kumar, Scheer, and Steenkamp (1995) state 
that commitment is regarded as a favorable affective reaction, and it leads to customer loyalty. Bowen and 
Shoemaker (1998) disclosed that committed guests are more likely to be loyal guests who spread positive word of 
mouth referrals. Some researchers suggested that customer commitment is strongly linked to loyalty (Dick & Basu, 
1994). In this sense, the following hypothesis is proposed:
Hypothesis 7
: Commitment through satisfaction with service recovery positively affects loyalty.