Impacts of general agents' customer relationship-building behaviors on trust, satisfaction, and renewal intention: A PLS-SEM and NCA approach

This study investigates how insurance general agents' relationship-building behaviors influence customer trust, satisfaction, and renewal intention. Grounded in relationship marketing and social exchange theories, five key behaviors-approach, inducement, common grounding, networking, and communication-were tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA). Data was collected from 253 insurance customers. The findings revealed that approach, common grounding, and communication significantly enhance trust. Only communication positively affects satisfaction. Furthermore, trust exerts a positive influence on both satisfaction and renewal intention, while satisfaction also emerges as a strong driver of renewal decisions. Mediation analyses indicate that trust partially mediates the relationship between communication and satisfaction, underscoring the importance of consistent and transparent information exchange in building customer trust. Moreover, satisfaction partially mediates the link between trust and renewal intention, reinforcing the pivotal role of emotional attachment for long-term contract retention. The NCA results show communication, trust, and satisfaction to be "necessary" factors, implying that without reaching certain thresholds in these variables, customers are unlikely to renew insurance contracts. These findings highlight the essential nature of proactive, empathetic, and clear communication strategies in fostering enduring customer loyalty. From a managerial perspective, insurers should prioritize clear, timely, and empathetic communication and foster trust-based engagement to optimize service delivery.