PERCEIVED INFLUENCE OF RELATIONSHIP COMMUNICATION ON INSURANCE SERVICE QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Andem I. Effiong

Extant literature in marketing and communications has long recognized the importance of effective communication as the essential link for sustainable relationship between organizations and their customers. In spite of its importance, many studies have revealed that practices of communication in relationship marketing in some service firms are fraught with problems, which influence the perceptions of customers about the commitment of those organizations to service quality and customer value. This exploratory study was undertaken to analyze how insurance customers perceive their relationships with insurers through received messages. The study also sought to identify the inherent differences in the perception of relational messages received from insurers by the customers based on gender. A simple random sample of 145 insurance customers were drawn for the study from three insurance agencies. Useful responses were received from 120 automobile insurance policyholders, which represented 82.76% of the sample. Four hypotheses were tested with Pearson Correlation, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and multiple regression analysis. The results of the study suggested significant relationship between relational messages, service quality, and customer satisfaction. In terms of differences in the perceptions of male and female respondents, the study indicated significant differences in the perception of personal values and perceived quality through messages received from insurers depending on the time and situational contexts.


INTRODUCTION
Within the past two decades, marketing communication has witnessed dramatic changes, which have not only impacted on the systems and strategies of organizations; but also seem to have influenced the perceptions and buying decision processes of customers. Most of those changes have been associated with the emergence of the internet and information technology as the catalysts that have transformed business communication and social interactions in un-imaginable ways (SORCE, 2002). The immediate impact of the transformation seems to be the relegation of interpersonal relationships, through face-to-face communications to the background in some major business interactions. It has also led to over-reliance on the computers and the virtual media as the main channels of communication between most organizations and their customers.
With such changes, some organizations also seem to have neglected the importance of problem solving and information gathering through personal contacts with customers. Above all, business communications in some organizations have become one sided monologue, which are not oriented to the needs and situations of customers. In that regard, some customers are usually inundated with advertisement and other forms of communication in printed and digital forms, which are not relevant to the customers' needs and desires. Undoubtedly, the outcome may not only involve wasted efforts, time, costs, and other resources to organizations, but can also be a major source of dissonance and apprehension to the customers.
Although the importance of relationship communication had been recognized as a key strategy in relationship marketing for over three decades, specific theories that pin the concept to the insurance industry are scarce. http://www.ijmp.jor.br v. 10, n. 1, January -February 2019 ISSN: 2236-269X DOI: 10.14807/ijmp.v10i1.829 (a) Do insurance customers relate the messages they receive from insurers with service quality? (b) What is the relationship between messages received from insurers and customers' satisfaction?
(c) Are there differences in the levels of association of messages with service quality by male and female insurance customers?
(d) What are the differences in the perceptions of relational messages and levels of customer satisfaction based on the gender of policyholders?
The study was exploratory in nature. It covered the perception of insurance service quality and policyholders' satisfaction from the perspective of automobile insurance buyers who were domiciled in the States of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Connecticut, USA in 2016. This research report is divided into six sections. Section one covers the introduction. Section two presents the literature review. The research method is covered in section three. Data analysis and results are captured in section four. Section five presents the discussion; and section six gives the conclusion and implications.

LITERATURE REVIEW
The volume of literature in relationship marketing and relationship communications is enormous. Most of the existing literature regards relationship communication as an integral part and a key strategy of relationship marketing.
Conversely, some researchers in communication processes and theories tend to relate relationship communication with human resource management; while most organizational behaviorists consider the concept as a key role in leadership and motivation.
The apparent disagreement tends to portray the complexity in maintaining relationships through communication, which are boundary spanning. Berlo (1960) saw the complexity to be inherent in communication as a process that is highly interdependent and inter-relational. Communication as a tool of relationship can be conceptualized as a multi-dimensional process involving: a) people (sender and receiver), b) messages and meanings, Communication can make or mar relationships depending on the nature of inputs, the mode of transmission, the interpretation processes, the relative output, and the internal and external situations.

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In the past, business communication theories hinged purely on transfer of meanings which Axley (1984) described as ineffective, because of the apparent disregard by the sender's prevailing situations and the future expectations of the receiver. In the same vein, many researchers have also exposed the inherent weaknesses of the transfer or conveyor theory of business communication which ignored the potential misinterpretations or misunderstanding of messages by the receiver in the design and implementation processes (KRAUSS; MORSELLA, 2000;HUTTON;MULHERN, 2003;THRASSOU;VRONTIS, 2009).
Undoubtedly, the paradigm shift in marketing communication from the transactional to relationship orientation was the outcome of the realization of the value of the customer as a partner in the communication process. That shift in orientation was a major transformation from the hitherto manipulative to the new "reflex-style consumer and symbiotic relationships, which were induced by the incessant changes in the macro and micro environments of business" (THRASSOU; VRONTIS, 2009 p. 514).

Communication in the Domain of Relationship Marketing
Communication in marketing has changed at an alarming pace (KOTLER; KELLER, 2012). The pace of change has been associated not only with the dramatic switch in technology and other factors in the environment of business, but also because of increased awareness and the ease of social interaction experienced by the customer of the new millennium, through the electronic media and the internet.
This wave of social interaction appears to have molded a new set of better informed and relatively calculative customers whose decisions to be involved in business relationships are subject to internal and external assessment of long term http://www.ijmp.jor.br v. 10, n. 1, January -February 2019 ISSN: 2236-269X DOI: 10.14807/ijmp.v10i1.829 values. Contemporary marketing communication from the perspective of the informed customers has therefore evolved into what Thrassou and Vrontis (2009 p. 514) called "symbiotic relationship".
The new perspective tends to support the earlier propositions by Berry (1983) that organizations need to think in terms of having and retaining customers instead of merely acquiring new customers. That shift in mental framing and orientation towards long term relationships with customers prompted the introduction of the concept which Berry labeled as relationship marketing.
Relationship marketing aims at "attracting, maintaining, enhancing and commercializing customer relationships" (BERRY, 1995 p. 236) in a manner that will facilitate the attainment of goals of the organization as well as the short and long term values of the customer. Marsey et al. (1995), conceptualized relationship marketing to comprise: a) orientation to customer retention, b) continuous customer contact, c) focus on customer value, d) long time dimension, e) high customer service emphasis, f) high commitment to meet customer expectations, and g) quality concern by all staff.
Relationship communication as a tool of relationship marketing involves continuous contact with the customer to develop symbiotic relationships from the external marketing environment to the internal context of the organization and from the tangible and the intangible dimensions of products and services which meet the intrinsic and extrinsic values that emanate from the needs and desires of customers. Verhoef (2003) views marketing relationship through communication with customers as the differential advantage which accrues to firms that are committed to customer value for the enhancement of effective customer response. Relationship communication between the organization and the customer has also been described

Relationship Communication in Insurance Marketing
Most of the previous studies in insurance marketing and communications focused extensively on the transactional and conveyor-belt theories of communication. The aim was to create a hierarchical impact on the customer, who was supposed to be convinced through some unique sales propositions that moved him/her from a state of unawareness to awareness, interest, desire, conviction, and action. On the other hand, relationship communication is conceptualized as a multidimensional and interactional process which originates from the domain of the customer whose needs and values are understood. The understanding emanates from the data-based attributes, which are maintained by an organization that readily translates the attributes into products or services which are desired by the customer to satisfy his/her impinging needs (KOTLER; KELLER, 2012). Bolton and Bhattacharya (2000) posit that relationship marketing of services (including insurance) requires customer intimacy, two way interactions through frequent flow of communication, amongst other facilitating conditions. Most insurance contracts involve protection against pure risks of loss which are fortuitous and uncertain in nature, and the relational exchange may require multiple episodes of one-to-one contacts in order to generate the intimacy that can build confidence and trusts, which the electronic tools alone may not be able fulfill.

Relationship Communication and Insurance Service Quality
Most studies on relationship communication have proposed the recognition of customers as "customers" (SHARMA; PATTERSON, 1999, p. 6). In that respect, organizations need to understand that customers do not buy products or services but they buy the experience associated with the products/services. These factors have also been found to have significant relationships with customers' interpretation of meanings in communications and interactions between service providers and customers (SHARMA; PATTERSON, 1999;ALLERD, 2001).
Research on antecedents of service quality involving communications and relationship marketing has provided substantial evidence of significant association between service quality, customer satisfaction, and loyalty of customers in the service industry. Crosby, Evans, and Cowles (1990) have revealed that customer expectation about future value can best be determined by the relationship quality of the sales team and the service provider communication integrity. Although empirical studies that link insurance services to relationship communication are skimpy and quite difficult to come by, it appears the belief in most service industries is that customers'

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http://www.ijmp.jor.br v. 10, n. 1, January -February 2019 ISSN: 2236-269X DOI: 10.14807/ijmp.v10i1.829 perception of service quality may depend more on commitment to benefits delivery that portrays transactional orientation than on symbiotic relationship communication, which could be only promissory in nature. The increased emphasis on the need for quality in the service marketing literature led to the formulation of the alternative hypothesis as follows: • Ha1: There is a significant relationship between relational messages received from insurers and customers' perception of service quality

Customer Satisfaction and Relationship Communication
Customer orientation as an element of the marketing concept has been extensively researched not only because of its relevance as the foundation of the marketing concept, but probably because of its significance as the mediating factor in effective relationship between organizations and their variegated customers.
Several studies have shown that customer satisfaction, which evolves from customer orientation could be better understood through self-assessment by the customer However, some studies have found that customer satisfaction could have both positive and negative effects on customer behaviour. For instance, a high level of customer satisfaction could result in a strong customer loyalty. Conversely, it may also have a negative effect on customer complaints and ability to query inherent but latent organizational lapses (FORNELL, 1992;BOLTON, 1998;GRONROOS, 2000;KOTLER, 2003). Customer satisfaction as desirable outcome of relationship communication has been emphasized in numerous marketing studies which relate to services at both the internal and external customers levels (KODISH; PETTEGREW, 2008;SHETH;PARVATIYAR, 1995;MARSEY;DAWES, 2007;SHI;DONG, 2008).
According to Chen, Shi and Dong (2008, p.9), "meanings of messages are in people". Meanings refer to the interpretations of messages as nurtured and generated by the customers that receive the messages throuh communication channels. Channel of communication is the means of transmission of the message (postal mail, email, person-to-person, television or radio, company website, etc.), Commitment is the degree to which the insured customer feels obligated to remain

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http://www.ijmp.jor.br v. 10, n. 1, January -February 2019 ISSN: 2236-269X DOI: 10.14807/ijmp.v10i1.829 with the insurer after receiving official messages. Situation is the prevailing circumstance under which the message is received (MARSEY et al., 1995) The term Empathy with regards to customer satisfaction means the belief by the customer that the company understands the situation of the customer as portrayed in the message (PARASURAMAN; ZEITHMAN;BERRY, 1988). Customer expectation is the standard of service expected from the company by the customer.
Personal value is the recognition accorded the customer as a partner in the business relationship as reflected in the communication process (GRONROOS, 2000) .
Reliability is the ability to deliver the quality of services with regard to time, manner, • Ha2: There is a significant relationship between relational messages received from insurers and perceived satisfaction by the customers.

Interpretation of Messages Based on Gender
Studies have shown that women, are more sensitive to meanings of messages than men in the exchange of messages with friends and colleagues on matters that relate to business. As Wood (2009)  These perceived differences in perceptions of communication patterns amongst men and women that have been highly emphasized in the communication literature prompted the proposition of the third and fourth alternative hypotheses as follows: • Ha3: There are significant differences between the perceptions of male and female customers on insurance service quality based on relationship messages received from insurers.
• Ha4: There are significant differences between the perceptions of male and female insurance customers with regard to customer satisfaction based on messages from insurers.

Sample Selection
A simple random sample of 145 customers were selected for the study from lists of registered customers supplied by three insurance agencies. Those selected were mostly automobile insurance customers who had purchased auto insurance policies from different insurance companies.
Most business contacts with the insurers were also routed through the agencies by the policyholders. Some of the questionnaires (80)

Instrument Design
The  (3) assurance (physical evidence) which were drawn from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI), and had been used in several previous studies in marketing FORNELL;MAZVANCHERYL, 2004;FORNELL et al, 1996).
Participants were asked to rate structured statements associated with their perceptions of communication from the insurers on a measurement scale of 1 to 5, in which 1= Strongly Disagree, 2= Disagree, 3= Neutral, 4= Agree and 5= Strongly Agree

Reliability Tests
The reliability of the measures in the research instrument was tested with the Cronbach's Alpha Reliability Statistics. As shown in Tables 1 and 2. The variables and measures had an overall reliability index of .894 while the standardized items reliability index was .901.  The instruments were also reviewed and tested with Cohen's kappa to determine the degree of consistency of the measures and the relative responses.

Data Analysis and Results
Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analyses. The data for the study were coded and crosschecked for accuracy. Inferential Statistics were used to analyze the coded data after extraction from the returned questionnaires.
The data were then entered into data sheet and analyzed with SPSS 22 software

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http://www.ijmp.jor.br v. 10, n. 1, January -February 2019 ISSN: 2236-269X DOI: 10.14807/ijmp.v10i1.829 based on the research questions and the relevant hypotheses. The descriptive statistics for the dependent and independent variables are shown in Table 3. The Null Hypothesis (H0) was tested with Pearson's Product Moment Correlation (r) at p ≤ .05 significant levels. The results were as shown in Table 4 below. Each of the four measures of service quality were tested independently with each of the four measures of relationship communication.
The results indicated that meanings of message was perceived as moderately correlated with empathy, weakly correlated with customer expectation, weakly correlated with personal value, and moderately correlated with reliability; coefficient (r) = .557, .326, ,295, and .563 respectively.
Similarly, relational commitment were perceived by the respondents to be highly correlated with empathy, customer expectation, and personal value (r = .765, .863, & .732); but moderately correlated with reliability (r = .539). In the same vein, communication channels were shown to be highly correlated with empathy and customer expectation, but weakly correlated with personal value, and reliability (r = .653, .814, 281, and.367 respectively).
The relationship between the prevailing situation and the four measures of service quality were found to be moderate in the case of empathy, but high in

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http://www.ijmp.jor.br v. 10, n. 1, January -February 2019 ISSN: 2236-269X DOI: 10.14807/ijmp.v10i1.829 customer expectation, personal value, and reliability with .683, .673, and .674 respectively. Hence the null hypothesis was rejected in all cases. The following sections present the analyses and exploration of the research questions and the relevant alternative hypotheses. The coefficient t score, which shows the significance of each variable was only significant for commitment, but not significant for other variables, t = 3.94, p ≤ .001 (Table 6). It indicates that the respondents perceived the relationship between commitment in relational messages and service quality to be significant as also shown in    (b) What is the relationship between messages received from insurers and customer satisfaction?
Research Question two and the second hypothesis (Ha2) were tested with Pearson Correlation and Multiple Regression Analysis. The correlation coefficients were R= .637 and R 2 = .406 which suggested a moderately strong relationship between the relational messages and customer satisfaction.
The results also indicated that customer's personal value could be influenced by perceived commitment of insurers as expressed in messages received from insurers (F= 3.647 p < .035, Table 9). The variable commitment also was found to have significant t coefficient value with p ≤ .042. Therefore, the regression equation could be expressed as follows: Relational Message = .725 + .106(message meaning) + .385(commitment) + .202(channels) + error. Moreover, the coefficient t scores, which test the significance of the variables was p≤ .042. Hence, H2 could not be rejected on commitment (Table   10).
The third research question and the relevant hypothesis (H3) were tested with one-way ANOVA for differences in the mean of male and female samples. The results indicated that customer perceptions of service quality were significantly different between male and female customers who participated in the survey (F = .020, p ≤ .888 for expected standards; F = .002, p ≤ .966 for empathy; F = 3.72, p ≤ .070 for perceived value; and F = 2.505, p ≤ .131 for reliability).
A further test with Levene Statistics of Homogeneity of Variances indicated that only one service quality variable, namely, customer value was differently perceived between the male and female participants. Hence, the hypothesis (H3) was rejected for all four variables (expected standards, empathy, perceived value, and reliability).  http://www.ijmp.jor.br v. 10, n. 1, January -February 2019ISSN: 2236  Research question four and the relevant hypothesis were tested with one-way ANOVA to determine whether there were also significant differences in the perception of the respondents on how the insurers' relational messages could influence customer satisfaction based on gender. The results were F = .029, p < .866 for responsiveness; F = 1.871, p < .188 for credibility; and F = 3.267, p < .087 for assurance (physical evidence).

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A further test with Levene Statistics also confirmed significant differences between male and female respondents in the perception of credibility in relational messages as related to customer satisfaction. Hence, H4 was rejected on responsiveness, assurance (physical evidence), but not rejected for credibility since the significant levels for credibility was p≤ .005, which was less than p ≤ .05 as shown in the Levene Test of Homogeneity (Table 13).

DISCUSSION
The goal of this research was to identify how insurance customers perceive messages they receive from insurers. The study also sought to analyze the inherent differences in the perception of relational messages between male and female customers with regards to service quality and customer satisfaction. apprehension on matters pertaining to service quality and customer satisfaction.
Undoubtedly as Festinger (1957) revealed, apprehension by customers could result in "cognitive dissonance" or perceived regrets on the existing relationship.
Another important contribution of the study is the corroboration of the significance of time and situation which was earlier posited by Gronroos (2000) as the key dimensions of "meaning creation in relationships, which are established, maintained, and enhanced over time" (p. 243).
The study confirms that messages transmitted to customers which ignore the convenience or otherwise of time and situation may be perceived negatively by customers. Meaning creation as the lexicon for interpretation of relational messages
The insurance industry had been found to be no exception in overlooking the internal and external values of customers in most communications and business relationships. This study has reaffirmed the need for a paradigm shift in line with modern practices which focus on effective relationship communication with customers.

IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION
The old adage of marketing is that business begins and ends with the customer. Customer is the central force that drives a business relationship.
Therefore, insurance companies need to treat the customer as the beginning, the Such situations constitute a major part of the receiver's threshold of meanings associated with messages.
The need to carefully identify and analyze specific circumstances which could motivate the customer to interpret and ascribe positive meanings to messages received in a business relationship should be emphasized. Such analysis may reveal the costs and benefits of adaptation or customization of messages rather than overemphasizing generic messages which may not accommodate the variegated needs of customers. Communication should be seen as the lifeblood of effective relationship in a highly competitive and largely integrated contemporary marketing environment.

LIMITATIONS AND NEED FOR FURTHER STUDIES
This study was exploratory and subject to some limitations. One of the limitations was the size of the sample. The sample was not very large and the scope
The sample size and the composition of the respondents could affect the generalizability of the findings. There is therefore the need for a further study that would cover a larger size of sample, which would be more representative of the insured population in the selected geographical areas.
Another limitation of the research was the fact that all respondents were auto

Survey Questionnaire
Dear Respondent, I am conducting a survey to understand how insurance customers perceive the existing business relationship with their insurers. The main aim is to see how insurance business relationships could be sustained through improved communication and service quality. We believe you can participate in the exercise by taking a few minutes to complete the following questionnaire. Please note that information given will be used strictly for research purposes. Due confidentiality will be maintained, and you are not obligated to buy products or services from any company.
Part A Do you hold any insurance policy? Yes --------No --------1. If you hold or intend to hold a policy, please rank the following factors from 1 to 5 (1= very important, 2= important, 3= neutral, 4= unimportant, and 5= very unimportant) with regards to your choice of an insurer or insurance company. Please rate the following statements according to how you see your existing business relationship with your insurers.