Perceived quality of service and commitment of bank customers in Cameroon: the mediating role of satisfaction

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to access a relationship between the perceived quality of service and the commitment of bank customers in Cameroon, highlighting the mediating role of satisfaction. To achieve this goal, data was collected through a questionnaire administered face-to-face and online to 574 university teachers in Cameroon during the months of February to April 2022. Hypothetico-deductive approach was adopted, leading to the formulation of two research hypothesis. Structural equations were used to test the model of research. The results obtained show that the perceived quality of the banking service (through its “tangible elements”, “reliability” and “empathy” dimensions) positively influences customer satisfaction, which in turn significantly increases their commitment. We recommend that banks focus on these dimensions to create added value and better position their offers. Concretely, it will be a question for the Cameroonian banks of improving the tangible elements (good presentation of the building, modernization of the furniture, use of equipment at the cutting edge of technology, etc.), of rendering a reliable service, that is to say devoid of any error and finally to invest in the training of the staff in contact so that they constantly put themselves in the customer’s shoes in order to provide them the best possible service. The originality of this research lies in the fact that the structural equations were used to test the research model. Indeed, contrary to the correlation was relations between variables are tested in the independent way, structural equations make it possible to test these relations simultaneously, which increases the pertinence of the results. The main limitation of this research is that only one category of customers was taken in consideration. In the future research, a more heterogeneous sample may be selected.

Keywords: perceived quality, satisfaction, commitment, banks, Cameroon.

JEL Classification : M31

Paper type : Empirical research