The Direct and Indirect Effects of Relationship Marketing Elements on Loyalty of Students

Student loyalty is considered as a critical factor in the long term success of universities and institutions of higher education. The purpose of this study was to examine the direct and indirect effects of relationship marketing elements such as trust, satisfaction and commitment on loyalty of master students. Hereof, a model of casual relationship between the antecedents and consequence of relationship marketing is presented in this research.The present research with regard to the aim is practical and with regard to the data gathering is the descriptive survey. The population of the present research included all students at the master level at the University of Payam-e-Noor, Tehran campus. The total sample number was 442 students. Self-administered questionnaire was utilized for data collection and ultimately the data gathered from 400 students was analyzed. The research validity was confirmed in terms of convergent and discriminate validity. The reliability of questionnaire was determined by calculating the Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Structural Equation Modeling was used to analyze collected data. The research findings indicated an indirect effect of trust on student loyalty via satisfaction and commitment. In addition, trust effected commitment directly and indirectly through satisfaction. Also, the results showed that satisfaction effects student loyalty directly and indirectly via commitment. Finally, the relationship between commitment and student loyalty was confirmed.