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While the literature attends to how customer retention strategies develop relationship quality (e.g. trust), it does not account for the potential mediator (s) in this relationship. The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of brand relationship quality (BRQ) in the relationship between relational bonds and brand loyalty in retail service contexts.

A total of 524 valid questionnaires from respondents aged between 15 and 24 are analyzed using structural equation modeling.

First, BRQ significantly mediates the relationship between relational bonds and brand loyalty. Second, structural bonds are the only driver of attitudinal attachment; social and structural bonds lead to a sense of community. Third, attitudinal attachment is the main influence on both behavioral and attitudinal loyalty.

First, a focus on a single market segment, i.e. 15-24 year olds. Second the dimensions used to measure relational bonds and BRQ might not be applicable to other contexts. Third, does not consider potentially important moderator(s). Fourth, does not distinguish between store and product brands.

This study makes the following contributions to the literature: First, demonstrates the importance of BRQ as a mediator in the relationship between relational bonds and brand loyalty. Second, elucidates the role of BRQ in establishing brand loyalty in three theoretical frameworks applied to retail service contexts. Third, suggests a more comprehensive view of brand loyalty involving both behavioral and attitudinal dimensions. Fourth, proposes the managerial implications of this work for the customer retention strategies of retail service firms.

The purposes of this paper are to examine whether internal market orientation facilitates the development of external market capabilities, before influencing organizational performance, and to investigate whether learning orientation strengthens the aforementioned link.

This study collected data through a survey and utilized moderated hierarchical regression analysis to examine the hypothesized relationships.

Internal market orientation facilitates the development of both market capabilities and in turn enhances organizational performance. The result also shows that customer-linking capability is a stronger mediator between internal market orientation and organizational performance. Besides, learning orientation does not moderate the relationship between internal market orientation and external market capabilities.

This study only examines two market capabilities; considers only internal market orientation and does not include other antecedents; and used cross-sectional data, instead of longitudinal data, which consist of information only from 159 services companies in Taiwan.

A company should have international market orientation mechanisms, such as internal market information system and reward systems to keep the internal communications open. For companies stressing external customer relationship, internal marketing is important.

This study provides empirical evidence for the claim that internal marketing influences the formation of an organization's external market capabilities. It also considers two types of market capabilities instead of treating market capabilities as a holistic variable. This study also clarifies learning orientation's relationships with internal market orientation and market capabilities.