LAUSR

ABSTRACT Considerable research has examined relationship quality of the in-service transactional customer perspectives resulting from direct customer-initiated contacts with firms, such as during purchases, customer service, and technical support. This study looks at relationship quality through the unique lens of the customer lifecycle, exploring the effects of pre-service and indirect company-triggered initiatives from a customer experiential value perspective using data from 429 mobile service subscribers. Our results indicate that in addition to the offering excellence, pre-service factors such as experiential value, trust in advertising, brand equity, and cloud-based customer relationship management systems, contribute substantially to customer relationship quality. These findings support the contention that firms should proactively engage in relationship quality management early in the customer lifecycle through specific pre-service and indirect initiatives during the customer requirements, engagement, and acquisition phases. Considering these results, the authors discuss implications for managers and researchers as well as future research directions.