Customer advocacy and brand loyalty: the mediating roles of brand relationship quality and trust

Customer advocacy is linked to various psychological and brand-related outcomes. However, the potential mechanisms of such relationships remain poorly understood. The present study investigates the route through which customer advocacy impacts brand loyalty in the retail banking sector. Based on a sample of 351 South African retail bank customers, the study employs a model with brand relationship quality and brand trust serving as mediating variables between customer advocacy and brand loyalty. The results confirm the prediction that customer advocacy is positively related to brand loyalty through a serial mediation of brand trust and brand relationship quality. These findings underscore the crucial roles of brand relationship quality and brand trust in contributing towards brand loyalty, thus providing preliminary evidence concerning the possible mechanisms through which consumer-brand relationship quality and trust in brands synergistically enhance brand loyalty.