THE SOCIAL DYNAMICS OF CUSTOMER ORIENTATION AND SERVICE QUALITY AND THEIR EFFECTS ON REPURCHASE INTENTION IN AUTOMOTIVE DEALERSHIPS: A PLS-SEM ANALYSIS

Using a social exchange theory perspective, this study examines the impact of customer orientation on the social dimensions of service quality (assurance, responsiveness, and empathy). It further investigates how customer orientation and these social dimensions influence repurchase intention. The study also examines the mediating roles of the social dimensions in the relationship between customer orientation and repurchase intention. In addition, it evaluates the direct effects of the non-social dimensions of service quality (reliability and tangibles) on repurchase intention, as well as their moderating roles in the relationships between customer orientation, the social dimensions, and repurchase intention. An online survey was conducted among four-wheel vehicle owners in India. Respondents were selected using a combination of purposive and snowball sampling. Data from 371 respondents were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The findings reveal that customer orientation positively impacts assurance, responsiveness, and empathy. Customer orientation, assurance, and empathy foster repurchase intention. Assurance and empathy mediate the relationship between customer orientation and repurchase intention, whereas responsiveness does not exhibit a direct or mediating effect. Although reliability does not directly influence repurchase intention, it amplifies the positive effects of customer orientation and assurance. However, it weakens the positive effect of empathy. Conversely, tangibles directly enhance repurchase intention and strengthen the influence of assurance. This study offers novel insights by being the first to demonstrate the roles of customer orientation and each service quality dimension in shaping repurchase intention in automotive dealerships. The finding that reliability weakens the effect of empathy on repurchase intention demonstrates that interactions between the social and non-social dimensions of service quality may produce unexpected outcomes in automotive dealership settings.