Service Quality and Premium Price Perception in Building Customer Loyalty: The Mediating Role of Satisfaction in Surety Bond Services

This study examines the relationships among service quality, premium price perception, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty in business-to-business (B2B) Surety Bond services. The study was conducted at PT Asuransi Kredit Indonesia (PT Askrindo) Bandung Branch Office. A quantitative cross-sectional design was applied. Data were collected from 140 representatives of business entities or principals that had experience using Surety Bond services. Respondents were selected through purposive sampling, with one respondent representing one customer organization. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4. The results indicate that service quality has a positive and significant effect on customer satisfaction (β=0.818, t=10.509,p<0.001). Customer satisfaction also has a positive and significant effect on customer loyalty (β=0.689, t=5.462,p<0.001). Furthermore, customer satisfaction significantly mediates the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty (β=0.563,t=4.521, p<0.001). In contrast, premium price perception does not significantly influence customer satisfaction or customer loyalty and does not have a significant indirect effect on loyalty through satisfaction. The findings suggest that customer loyalty in B2B Surety Bond services is primarily developed through reliable and satisfying service experiences rather than premium price evaluations alone. The study highlights the strategic importance of process accuracy, service responsiveness, information clarity, employee competence, document accuracy, and customer relationship management in strengthening retention within the Surety Bond business.