Service Quality Dimensions And Customer Loyalty In The Nigerian Telecommunication Industry
AKPAN, Aniefiok Okon
Department of Marketing, Faculty of Business Administration, University of Nigeria Enugu campus
MBAH, Chris Chukwuemeka
Department of Marketing, Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Enugu State.
EZENYILIMBA, Emma (Ph.D)
Department of Marketing. Faculty of Management Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria
Keywords: Service quality, customer loyalty, telecommunication
Abstract
The Nigerian telecommunication sector has experienced exponential growth in recent years. The sector has witnessed stiff competition, with the operators engaging in diverse marketing activities to ensure their subscribers remain satisfied and brand loyal. In spite of such activities, complaints of poor quality of service have been on the increase, and most subscribers have to posses more than one line and frequently switch from one network provider to the other in search of better quality of service. This study therefore sought to examine the relationship between service quality dimensions and customer loyalty in the Nigerian telecommunication industry, using the SERVQUAL model. Three hundred and eighty four (384) subscribers of the four major telecommunication companies (Airtel, MTN, Glo and 9mobile) were surveyed. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from these subscribers. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Specifically, frequency count and simple percentages were used to analyze the personal data, while Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to test the hypotheses at 5% level of significance. It was found that the five service quality dimensions (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy) have significant positive relationship with customer loyalty. On the basis of the findings, it was recommended among others, that telecommunication service providers should strive to improve the quality of service offered to their customers, if they want to enjoy the loyalty of their customers