Correspondence: Constantine Lymperopoulos, Department of Business Administration, University of the Aegean, 8 Michalon str., Chios, Greece. Tel: +30 210 3298743; Fax: +30 210 9926080; e-mail: klimper@aegean.gr

¹is Assistant Professor at the University of the Aegean, Department of Business Administration and Adjunct Professor at the University of Piraeus and the Hellenic Open University. He has a BSc in Business Administration from the University of Piraeus and an MSc and PhD from Kepler University, Linz, Austria. His work experience has been in Henkel Hellas and the Ionian Bank of Greece.

²is Head of Marketing Department in ATEbank and Tutor of Marketing in the Hellenic Open University. He holds a BSc in Agricultural Economics from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, an MSc in Marketing from the University of London and a PhD in Marketing from the University of the Aegean. He has worked for Nestlé.

Received 27 February 2008; Revised 27 February 2008.

Abstract

The paper aims to explore the potential impact of 'bank personnel efficiency' and 'price satisfaction' on overall customer satisfaction of consumer credit products and positive word of mouth (WOM). Furthermore it aims to provide bank managers with useful insights into the development of high quality relationships with customers. 'Personnel efficiency', is related to the human factor of service quality, while 'price satisfaction' refers to the customers' subjective view of the bank's pricing policy. The research involved a review of the available literature on service quality dimensions and their effect on satisfaction and WOM. For the collection of data, a survey was designed and conducted in the greater area of Athens, Greece. The research questionnaire was administered by means of personal interviews to 750 bank customers. Data analysis, using structural equation modelling, suggests that 'personnel efficiency' and 'price satisfaction' are antecedents of overall 'customer satisfaction', which is a prerequisite for positive 'word of mouth'.