Family versus non-family businesses in the Eastern Cape, South Africa: A review of customer loyalty

This paper outlines the development of a model for investigating the factors that influence customer loyalty in South African family and non-family owned businesses. First, a number of models are discussed that relate to customer loyalty in general. Thereafter, an existing customer loyalty model used specifically for family and non-family owned businesses is presented and the findings are elaborated on. After critically analysing the existing models, it
is concluded that the models used to explain customer loyalty have neglected a number of variables that have been proven to affect customer loyalty in the South African context. Thus, an extended model is proposed in this study. According to this model, customer loyalty in family and non-family owned businesses is influenced by trust, commitment and conflict handling in the business. The influence of a moderating variable (two-way communication) is
also indicated. This study adds to the debate and literature on customer loyalty, especially in South African family owned and non-family owned businesses.