Mediating Role of Customer Satisfaction in the Relationship Between Service Quality and Customer Loyalty in Nigerian Telecommunications

This study examines the mediating role of customer satisfaction in the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty among mobile network subscribers in Nigeria, drawing on evidence from subscribers in Kaduna State, North West Nigeria, and Niger State, North Central Nigeria. Service quality, customer satisfaction, and loyalty are foundational constructs in services marketing, yet their interrelationships in the specific context of Nigerian telecoms, characterised by frequent network downtime and consumer switching, remain insufficiently explored. Grounded in the expectation-disconfirmation theory and the service quality-satisfaction-loyalty chain, the study operationalises service quality through a telecoms-adapted SERVQUAL scale and measures loyalty through attitudinal and behavioural indicators. A cross-sectional quantitative survey of 420 subscribers is conducted using multistage sampling. Structural equation modelling with bootstrapped mediation tests is employed for analysis. The study controls for network provider and subscription plan type. Preliminary findings confirm that customer satisfaction fully mediates the service quality-loyalty relationship for prepaid subscribers, while only partial mediation is observed among postpaid subscribers. Network reliability and call quality are identified as the primary service quality drivers of satisfaction in northern Nigerian telecoms contexts. The study fills a geographic and contextual gap by focusing on two northern states rarely examined in telecoms marketing research. Recommendations assist network operators, marketing managers, and the Nigerian Communications Commission on service improvement priorities that maximise satisfaction and loyalty outcomes. Keywords: service quality, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, telecommunications, mediation