Moderating role of gender amongst various constructs of CRM An empirical study of Indian hotels

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the interrelationships among the extracted constructs of customer satisfaction (CS), knowledge about customer relationship management (CRM) program, customer attitude and their effect on relationship share (RS). The study also attempts to find if moderating role of gender exists among these constructs. Design/methodology/approach A conceptual framework is developed based on previous studies. In order to address a lack of comprehensive evaluation of B2C relationships in Indian hotels, this study extracted the dimensions of CRM in hotels and used them in the structural model. The conceptual model is tested using structural equation modeling approach through maximum likelihood estimation technique. A sample of 305 domestic travelers was used to test the hypothesized relationships among the constructs. Findings The findings indicate that CS and willingness to engage (CWER) in the relationship are major predictors of RS. Besides, CS indirectly affects RS through customer's attitude toward the hotel. The results of the study also show that customer willingness to engage in the relationship is dependent on attitude of customer toward firm which is further dependent on knowledge about CRM program. One more notable finding of the study states that gender plays a moderating role between CS and customer willingness to engage in the relationship. Practical implications - In addition to contributing toward academic knowledge, the findings of the present study will help the practitioners to better design CRM program and reap its maximum benefits. Originality/ value - The current study has considered new dimensions of CRM like customer's knowledge of CRM and this is the first study to capture responses of Indian travelers in relation with various constructs. This is the first study to test the moderating effect of gender between various constructs.