THE IMPACT OF RELATIONSHIP MARKETING ORIENTATION ON BRAND EQUITY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO LICENSED COMMERCIAL BANKS IN SRI LANKA

Abstract

In recent years, the traditional transaction approach has been challenged and shifted to relationship marketing. The ultimate aim of the relationship marketing is to produce the high customer equity and customer equity consists of three key drivers: brand equity, value equity, and relationship equity. Among these three drivers, brand equity is considered as more important than the others as it is more powerful mechanism to create sustainable competitive advantage for the organizational concern. Thus this study examined the research problem of whether Relationship Marketing Orientation (RMO) impacts on brand equity in Sri Lankan licensed commercial banks. This research was carried out with the objectives of evaluating the impact of RMO on brand equity in Sri Lankan licensed commercial banks. Furthermore a conceptual model was developed to link RMO and brand equity. Trust, bonding, communication, shared value, empathy and reciprocity are considered as the dimensions of RMO. Similarly brand loyalty, perceived quality, brand image and brand awareness are the dimensions of brand equity which were derived from the literature. Quantitative methodology was applied and a questionnaire was used to collect data.1000 household customers were selected from 100 licensed commercial banks that comprised of public and private banks as per quota sampling method. Multiple regression was applied for the data analysis. Findings revealed that there is a positive and significant impact of RMO on brand equity in Sri Lankan licensed commercial banks.

Key Words: Relationship Marketing, Relationship Marketing Orientation (RMO), Brand Equity, Licensed Commercial Banks (LCBs) .

For full paper: fmscresearch@sjp.ac.lk