Reoperationalising the Loyalty Framework

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to operationalise loyalty as a segmentation tool utilising both psychological and behavioural measures (as suggested by Backman, 1988), while recognising the vast differences between the types of loyalty possible by acknowledging the differences between first time visitors and actual ‘loyal’ visitors (as suggested by Opperman, 2000). Secondary purposes of the study included the identification of differences between the segments derived. The proposed framework identified an easy to utilise, and effective segmentation tool. It was also revealed that the proposed framework can be very useful for segmenting cruise passengers into distinct homogeneous groups. Specific managerial implications are discussed.