Abstract

An understanding of the effect of after-sales services in satisfaction and post behavioural intentions is important to services marketing managers because it allows them to differentiate their offering substantially, in a way that strengths the relationship with their clientele in the short, as well as in the long run. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of after-sales services on customers’ satisfaction as well as on their behavioural intentions, namely “repurchase intention” and “word-of-mouth” (WOM). The research conducted followed a quantitative methodology. The selected research tool was a questionnaire. The study conducted was targeted at customers of a large retail chain marketing home appliances in Iran and 302 usable responses were utilised. A path analysis was performed using the “Amos 18” software. Findings show that after-sales service quality, affect satisfaction, which in turn affects behavioural intentions. Hence, after-sales services affect the overall offering and thus, the quality of the relationship with customers.

Key words: Retailing, after-sales services, service quality, customer satisfaction, word-of-mouth, repurchase intention.