Brand trust is a powerful asset for Small and Medium size Enterprises
(SMEs) to retain good relationships with their loyal customers, to
ensure their long term survival. However, SME managers first need to
understand the consequences of the two unique emotional and rational
components of trust on attitudinal and behavioral loyalty, because both
loyalty dimensions have unique consequences for a brand’s performance.
Hence, this study aims to answer two research issues: (1) Do brand
intentions and brand reliability influence both attitudinal loyalty and
behavioral loyalty? (2) Which component of trust explains attitudinal
and behavioral loyalty more? Data were obtained from 210 customers
through the use of an intercept survey method on successful SME brands
in the restaurant industry. The findings revealed that emotional and
rational trust influenced both attitudinal and behavioral loyalty.
Despite that, customers have a higher tendency to exhibit attitudinal
and behavioral loyalty when a brand can be relied upon to deliver on its
promises.