A Study on the Framework of Customer Orientation, Interest Rate Sensitivity, and Customer Loyalty in the Banking Services: The Moderating Roles of Deposit Interest and Loan Interest Rates

은행서비스에서 고객지향성, 금리민감도, 고객애호도의 구조에 관한 연구: 예금이자율과 대출이자율의 조절효과

The notion of customer orientation is now importantly considered in the context of banking industries. Despite customer-oriented organizational cultures, there are few studies addressing the relationship between customer orientation and its outcomes. In particular, this study aims at testing the effect of customer orientation as a key marketing effort designed by a bank. This is because interest rate sensitivity is critical for evaluating banking services after raising the base rate. In so doing, first, this study investigates the relationships among customer orientation, interest rate sensitivity, and customer loyalty. Second, this paper examines how the moderating effects of both deposit interest and loan interest rates influence the linkages of customer orientation-interest rate sensitivity and customer orientation-customer loyalty. To test the proposed model, research data are collected from 304 subjects who use banking services(e.g., Shin-Han, Kookmin, the First Bank, Hana, and Woori banks). Each construct was measured by published items and the psychometric properties of the three constructs, excluding two constructs of the moderators, were evaluated by employing the method of confirmatory factor analysis via the use of AMOS. The model fit was also evaluated using the CFI, TLI, and RMSEA fit indices that are recommended based on their relative stability and insensitivity to sample size. The findings show that the relationship between customer orientation and customer loyalty is significant, whereas the relationships between customer orientation and interest rate sensitivity and between interest rate sensitivity and customer loyalty are not supported. Although customer orientation is highly evaluated, customers' interest rate sensitivity that results in the comparison of interest rates plays an important role in reducing the effect of customer orientation. As a consequence, interest rate sensitivity does not influence customer loyalty. First of all, one of interesting results in this study is that the moderating effect of loan interest rate is quite different from deposit interest rate. In the case of deposit interest rate, the linkages both customer orientation-interest rate sensitivity and customer orientation-customer loyalty are insignificant. In the case of loan interest rate, however, the two proposed linkages are supported. As our proposed relationships are still in its infancy in the context of banking industry, our study contributes to enhance scholars' knowledge of bank services and provides insights for practitioners when their marketing strategies, particularly both deposit and interest rates, have to be established. Finally, this research also illuminates the need for further research that considers the influence of customer orientation on consumer's decision-making and bank profits. More specifically, the results are encouraging and will lead us to further investigate this key outcome of the banking deposit/interest rates.

은행서비스에서 고객지향성의 중요성이 더욱 커지고 있다. 조직의 고객지향적 문화와 전략이 급증함에도 불구하고, 국내 마케팅 문헌에서 고객지향성과 그에 따른 성과를 분석한 논문이 제한적이었다. 특히, 최근의 기준금리 상승에 따른 고객들의 금리민감도가 더욱 커질 수 있는 상황에서, 본 연구의 목표는 기업의 마케팅 노력인 고객지향성의 효과를 측정한다. 먼저 고객지향성과 금리민감도, 고객지향성과 고객애호도, 그리고 금리민감도와 고객애호도의 관계를 고찰한다. 또한 예금이자율과 대출이자율의 조절효과를 통해 고개지향성-금리민감도, 고객지향성-고객애호도의 관계에 어떠한 영향을 미치는가를 조사한다. 본 연구의 모형을 테스트하기 위하여, 국내 은행을 이용하는 304명의 고객을 이용하였다. 연구 결과 고객지향성과 고객애호도의 관계는 유의하게 평가된 반면, 고객지향성-금리민감도, 금리민감도와 고객애호도의 관계는 유의하지 않게 나타났다. 고객지향성이 높이 평가되어도 금리변동에 따른 경쟁상품간의 금리비교에 의해 고객의 금리민감도는 고객지향성의 효과가 상쇄되는 결과를 발생시키고, 금리민감도는 고객애호도에 유의한 영향을 미치지 않는다. 무엇보다도, 예금이자율과 대출이자율에 따른 조절효과가 완전히 상반되는 결과를 가져온 것이 흥미롭다. 예금이자율의 경우, 고객지향성-금리민감도, 고객지향성-고객애호도에 영향을 주지 않았으나, 대출이자율은 두 관계에 유의한 조절효과를 나타내었다. 본 연구의 결과는 아직 위의 관계에 대한 조명이 미숙한 상태에서, 향후 은행들이 어떻게 전략을 구축하여야 하는가에 대한 방향을 제공하였다는 점에서 그 연구의 공헌과 의의를 찾을 수 있다.