The association between relationship marketing investments and customer gratitude in the Vietnam retail sector: an S-O-R approach

Retailers are under pressure to win customer loyalty in a competitive business environment. Combining the stimuli-organism-response (S-O-R) framework and social exchange theory, this study analyses the impact of 'stimuli' (i.e., store access convenience, store transparency policy, and hierarchy) on 'organisms' (i.e., trust, commitment, perceived quality and gratitude) and a 'response' (i.e., customer behaviour loyalty). Quantitative data were collected through interviews with 443 retail customers via a questionnaire. The CB-SEM results demonstrate the positive effects of the focal stimuli on organisms, which subsequently affect customer behaviour loyalty. These findings extend the 'stimuli' of the SOR framework by integrating hierarchy, an important Confucian cultural value, in Vietnam retailing. In addition, the results demonstrate an internal interaction in the organisms: customer gratitude is a result of customer commitment, trust and perceived quality. These results support the extension of the S-O-R framework and explain the role of customer gratitude and loyalty in Confucian culture.