This paper presents a case study of a pioneering nationwide implementation of SERVQUAL by a major UK high street bank between 1993 and 1997 at an annual cost of one million pounds. In addition to highlighting serious weaknesses in the value of SERVQUAL as a measure of service quality and as a...

The aim is to identify those areas of marketing in the financial services sector that deserve to be given priority attention. A number of marketing areas are identified and assessed on their scope for improvement, the ease with which they can be changed and also on the sensitivity of the...

To enable research to be conducted into the validity of the relationship marketing paradigm, a model has been developed which allows researchers to test the characteristics of the relationship at any point in time. This model is rooted in the biological sciences and is based around the concept...

International banks are aggressively utilising the marketing concept in order to respond to an increasingly competitive industry. Banks in the Middle East, as in many developing regions, are seeking to become major players in the marketplace. Unique cultural priorities, lifestyles, buyer...

Machiavelli is too often and quite wrongly impugned. Rather than being the master of intrigue, he should be valued as the first political scientist. He deduced what brought political success. The gist of his advice to the Prince is that loyalty, winning it, inculcating it, is the key to success....

The boundaries of relationship marketing have been discussed since relationship marketing was first investigated in the 1970s. Investigating these boundaries, this paper reviews the links between relationship marketing and network theory. Three main themes of marketing relationships are...

The literature is rich with examples that stress the importance of marketers having long‐term customer relationships. Yet, the reality is that while relational attachments can foster benefits, there are many occasions when marketers seek, or are forced, to disband or change the nature of...