Customer Involvement Management Practices and Customer Retention in the Hospitality Industry
Chijindu H. Iruka, Walter Brown Ateke

Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between Coaching as a component of Customer Involvement Management (CIM) practice and Customer Retention (CR) in the Hospitality industry in Rivers and Bayelsa States of Nigeria. Data collected from a total of one hundred and forty-five (145) top level managers drawn from seventy-nine (79) luxury brand hotels were used in the final analysis. The data collected was analyzed using simple percentages, weighted averages, and graphs at the primary level of analysis, while the hypotheses were tested using the Spearman’s rank order correlation coefficient (rho). All computations were performed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 17.0. The study discovered a positive and significant relationship between coaching as customer involvement management practice and customer retention. The study therefore concluded that Coaching as a customer involvement management practice is a prerequisite for firms that seek customers not just for transactional exchanges, but also for enduring and mutually satisfying relational exchanges. It was therefore recommended that firms should put in place adequate machineries that will enable the integration of the customers in their value creation and delivery processes. It was also recommended that firms should endeavor to produce products that capture the opinions and suggestions of their customers as this will bond them more to the firm.

Full Text: PDF