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After so many years, the Malaysian mobile service market is getting saturated, whereby service operators are having difficulties differentiating themselves because they offer similar services. As the service options are wide, customers become less committed to a particular provider and might easily shift from one operator to another. This situation forces the service providers to create a strategy that focuses more on gaining and retaining long-term relationships with their customers. Therefore, the objective of this study is to determine the underlying dimensions of relationship marketing in the Malaysian mobile service sector. A sample of 300 customers in Klang Valley was drawn using scientific procedures of mall intercept, and structural equation modeling was utilized in testing the proposed model. The results show that the relationships between the exogenous latent factors and the overall endogenous factor are significant, ranging from.77 to.94. This illustrates that a relatively high proportion of the variance in relationship marketing is well explained by each of the factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to consider the development of research in loyalty programs and relationship marketing in international retailing and review their application in specific retail stores in Malaysia, namely, AEON, Parkson, the Store Corporation, and Metrojaya. The article reviews the development of the relationship marketing and loyalty programs literature and its application in Malaysia and suggests how relationship marketing and loyalty programs have emerged over the years and their significance to retailing in Malaysia. The article also emphasizes the importance of relationship marketing and loyalty programs in retailing and discusses where research needs to go with respect to loyalty programs to enable them to continue to offer a competitive advantage to retailers. At the moment most loyalty programs are too similar to provide any real differentiation advantage to the retailer. Furthermore, the article highlights the loyalty programs that have been successful in Malaysia, why they have been successful, and their contribution to the success of the respective retail outlet. Finally, it explores the current understanding of relationship marketing and loyalty program activities and processes within the international retail firm in a developing country context. The achievements and limitations of loyalty programs in the area of international retailing are examined over the past 20 years and issues are addressed surrounding the future of loyalty programs in retailing that require further research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines the applied dimensions of relationship marketing, namely, customer service, loyalty/rewards programs, personalization, customization, and brand/store community with different customer retention levels in three retail stores in Malaysia. The relationship between customer service, loyalty/rewards programs, customization, personalization, and brand/store community with customer retention were examined via an empirical investigation of 450 loyalty/reward program members of three retail stores in Malaysia. The survey was personally administered but self-completed. All variables, namely, customer service, loyalty/rewards programs, customization, personalization, and brand/store community, were able to significantly discriminate between high and low customer retention levels. Retail managers in a developing country like Malaysia must be aware of the importance of these applied dimensions of relationship marketing (i.e., what can be done or practiced by the retailer to manage and enhance customer relationships) and how they impact customer retention levels. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]