14. Innovation Through Total Quality Management Elements, and Customer Loyalty in Spanish Financial Institutions

Customer relationship marketing (CRM) and total quality management (TQM) share a common principle that has become particularly important for financial institutions following the 2008 financial crisis: creating customer value to generate customer loyalty. The present study analyzes the relative influence and development levels of the component elements of TQM models on CRM strategies to improve financial institution customer’s loyalty; an issue that has special relevance in a situation of economic crisis. Data gathered by means of a survey sent out to 53 Spanish banks and savings banks shows that, while all TQM components are considered necessary in generating customer loyalty, “customer and market orientation of all business agents and activities” is seen as especially important. The results also showed that there is insufficient development in establishing “human resource management policies,” “process management geared toward continuous improvement,” and on “establishing a system to evaluate results using wide-ranging indicators.”