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.