The role of service quality and price fairness in explaining customer satisfaction and loyalty in a shrimp industry B2B relationship

Purpose This study aims to determine how shrimp farms perceive the service of a shrimp feed company by assessing the impact of service quality and price fairness on customer satisfaction and loyalty in a business-to-business industry. Design/methodology/approach The research utilised the Servperf questionnaire on 193 shrimp producers who have commercial relationships with the shrimp feed company evaluated. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was employed to identify direct and indirect relationships between the variables using SmartPLS 4.0. An importance-performance map analysis also provided practical insights for top management. Findings The results show that only the dimensions of reliability and assurance significantly influence customer satisfaction. Also, customer satisfaction has a strong relationship with customer loyalty. Moreover, price fairness is the only predictor that can influence customer loyalty directly and indirectly via customer satisfaction. Practical implications The current study’s results provide valuable information for managers in the shrimp feed industry. These findings assist managers in developing tailored marketing strategies to deliver commercial benefits and suggest enhancing customer satisfaction to foster greater loyalty to their products and services. Originality/value This study focuses on specific business-to-business companies, particularly in developing countries, such as the shrimp feed company. Most existing research predominantly addresses business-to-consumer sectors. Furthermore, this research also tests the predictive relevance of a model. The balance between explanation and prediction is relevant for developing managerial recommendations.