Moderating role of voluntary simplicity lifestyle and mediating role of relationship quality on the impact of perceived marketing ethics on customer loyalty

In today's competitive environment, it has become necessary for firms to use new, non-price elements such as customer orientation and ethical sales behavior of the organization and its employees as a means of differentiation to achieve higher revenues and improved market share.'Ethics in marketing practices in the service sector play an important role in the long-term survival of companies, obtaining long-term profitability and a sustainable competitive advantage, and ensuring their satisfaction, trust, and loyalty by increasing the quality of their relations with customers. The main purpose of the research is to determine the mediator and serial mediator roles of relationship quality in the effect of customer perceptions of companies' marketing ethics practices on customers' loyalty in the Turkish population. In addition, it is aimed to determine whether the voluntary simplicity lifestyle has a regulatory effect on the effect of marketing ethics on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. In the research, the participants were determined by using the quota sampling method, which is one of the non-random methods, and the convenience sampling method. Data were collected from 1663 participants by face-to-face and online survey methods, and the obtained data were analyzed in SPSS and AMOS programs. Within the scope of the study, explanatory and confirmatory factor analysis, a normality test, reliability analysis, difference tests and regression analysis with regulatory variables was performed using structural equation modeling. As a result of the analyses, it has been determined that the effect of marketing ethics on customer loyalty is a partial mediating effect of customer satisfaction and customer trust separately and a full serial mediating effect. In addition, it has been determined that self-sufficiency and intangible life dimensions, which are sub-dimensions of the voluntary simplicity lifestyle, have regulatory effects on the effect of marketing ethics on customer loyalty and satisfaction. On the other hand, it has been revealed that the dimensions of planned shopping and simplicity in the product, which are the other sub-dimensions of the voluntary simplicity lifestyle, do not have a regulatory effect on the effect of marketing ethics on customer loyalty and customer satisfaction. In addition, it has been found that there are statistically significant partial differences according to some demographic characteristics in consumers' perceptions of marketing ethics, customer trust, customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, and a voluntary simplicity lifestyle.