Investigating factors that can have an impact on customer loyalty : an empirical study of IKEA

Abstract:   Title: Investigating factors that can have an impact on customer loyalty -an empirical study of IKEA     Level: thesis for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration   Author: Nana Wei 8502202-T141   Supervisor: Dr. Aihie Osarenkhoe   Date: 2010 – May   Aim: The aim of this thesis is to investigate which factors will have impact on customer’ loyalty strategy. And in this study, both markets of China and Sweden will be discussed. Therefore, the focus of this thesis is on the international companies.   Method: As the purposes of this thesis are descriptive and explanatory, the method used in this thesis is the qualitative method. Interview method is used in the thesis to collect data and information. Besides that, case study method is used in the thesis to analyze the data and information.   Findings: when considering how to retain customer loyalty, service quality, communication, advertisements is important for companies. Moreover, trust and commitment are also important for companies. Besides that, there are some differences between Chinese and Swedish markets, such as different attitude towards customer classifying method, and the different reasons of implementing customer loyalty strategy. Finally, some problems of customer loyalty strategy are studied.   Contribution: This research is about customer loyalty strategy and the focus of it is the comparison of Chinese and Swedish markets. Therefore, this thesis helps to better understand customer loyalty strategy in different markets.    Key words: customer loyalty, customer classifying, trust, commitment, communication