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年提出的三大需求理论中的亲和需求（need for affiliation, nAff）维度，在心理学、领导力及商业研究文献中广受关注。通常而言，nAff会与麦克莱兰提出的另外两项需求一同被讨论：成就需求（need for achievement, nAch）与权力需求（need for power, nPow）。本研究单独聚焦亲和需求这一构念，探讨小微企业客户的亲和倾向与其对零售服务场景（retail servicescapes）的感知价值之间的关联，填补了现有nAff研究领域的文献空白。研究团队通过线上问卷收集了265名小微企业客户的调研数据并开展分析。本研究表明，服务场景能够唤起客户的情绪体验与行为反应，进而促使客户形成对该服务场景及关联企业的认知评价。研究结果显示，客户"渴望依附小微企业，并对其服务体验感到满意"的需求，会推动客户忠诚度的形成。当客户对服务场景产生积极感知并成为忠诚客户时，小微企业将从中获益。本研究结果对小微企业主具有重要实践价值：其可通过推行服务场景相关建设举措，助力企业实现持续经营成功。