Data of influence of need for affiliation on small business customer loyalty

The need for affiliation (nAff) facet of David McClelland’s (1961) triad of needs is prevalent in psychology, leadership, and business literature. Typically, nAff is referenced in combination with McClelland’s additional two triads: need for achievement (nAch) and need for power (nPow). Isolating the construct of nAff, this study investigates the linkage of affiliation inclination of small business customers to their perceived value of retail servicescapes, filling a gap in the literature on nAff. We analyzed data from 265 small business customers via online questionnaires. The study suggests that servicescapes evoke customers’ feelings and reactions and they subsequently form opinions of the servicescapes and the associative business. The results indicate that customers’ <em>need</em> to be attached to a small business and be satisfied with their experiences with a small business drive customer loyalty. When customers have positive servicescape reactions and become loyal customers, small businesses benefit. Implications for this study’s findings are valuable to small business owners: they might consider servicescape initiatives for their ongoing business success.

戴维·麦克莱兰（David McClelland）1961年提出的需求三要素理论中的亲和需求（need for affiliation，nAff）维度，在心理学、领导力与商业研究文献中应用广泛。通常nAff会与该理论另外两个需求维度——成就需求（need for achievement，nAch）和权力需求（need for power，nPow）——结合进行讨论。本研究将nAff的构念单独剥离，聚焦小微企业客户的亲和倾向与他们对零售服务场景（retail servicescapes）感知价值之间的关联，填补了现有nAff相关研究的空白。本研究通过线上问卷收集了265名小微企业客户的数据并进行分析。结果表明，服务场景会唤起客户的情绪与反应，进而促使其形成对服务场景及关联商户的评价。研究发现，客户依附小微企业、并对其服务体验感到满意的亲和需求，会推动客户忠诚度的形成。当客户对服务场景产生正向反应并成为忠诚客户时，小微企业将从中获益。本研究结论对小微企业经营者具有重要实践价值：他们可通过布局服务场景相关举措，助力业务的持续成功。