Enhancing customer loyalty: critical switching cost factors

Journal of Service Management

Volumn 27, Issue 2, 2016, Pages 144-169

  El Manstrly, Dahlia ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Customer loyalty; Moderator effects; Perceived value; Services; Switching costs; Trust

Indexed keywords

EID: 84963852399     PISSN: 17575818     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1108/JOSM-09-2015-0291     Document Type: Article

References (97)

1. Agustin, C. and Singh, J. (2005), “Curvilinear effects of consumer loyalty determinants in relational exchanges”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 42 No. 1, pp. 96-108.
2. Anderson, J.C. and Gerbing, D.W. (1988), “Structural equation modeling in practice: a review and recommended two-step approach”, Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 103 No. 3, pp. 411-423.
3. Bagozzi, R.P. and Edwards, E.A. (1998), “Goal setting and goal pursuit in the regulation of body weight”, Psychology and Health, Vol. 13 No. 4, pp. 593-621.
4. Bagozzi, R.P. and Yi, Y. (1988), “On the evaluation of structural equation models”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 74-94.
5. Baron, R.M. and Kenny, D.A. (1986), “The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic and statistical considerations”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 51 No. 6, pp. 1173-1182.
6. Barroso, C. and Picón, A. (2012), “Multi-dimensional analysis of perceived switching costs”, Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 41 No. 3, pp. 531-543.
7. Blut, M., Frennea, C.M., Mittal, V. and Mothersbaugh, D.L. (2015), “How procedural, financial and relational switching costs affect customer satisfaction, repurchase intentions, and repurchase behavior: a meta-analysis”, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Vol. 32 No. 2, pp. 226-229.
8. Bowen, J. (1990), “Development of a taxonomy of services to gain strategic marketing insights”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 43-49.
9. Burnham, T.A., Frels, J.K. and Mahajan, V. (2003), “Consumer switching costs: a typology, antecedents, and consequences”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 31 No. 2, pp. 109-126.
10. Bush, A.J. and Hair, J.F. Jr (1985), “An assessment of the mall intercept as a data collection method”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 158-167.
11. Chaudhuri, A. and Holbrook, M.B. (2001), “The chain of effects from brand trust and brand affect to brand performance: the role of brand loyalty”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 65 No. 2, pp. 81-93.
12. Chebat, J.-C., Davidow, M. and Borges, A. (2011), “More on the role of switching costs in service markets: a research note”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 64 No. 8, pp. 823-829.
13. Chen, S. (2001), “An investigation into the relationship between commitment as loyalty: commitment as a key mediating variable for loyalty”, thesis, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV.
14. Chiu, H.C., Hsieh, Y.C., Li, Y.C. and Lee, M. (2005), “Relationship marketing and consumer switching behavior”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 58 No. 12, pp. 1681-1689.
15. Colwell, S.R., Zyphur, M.J. and Schminke, M. (2011), “When does ethical code enforcement matter in the inter-organizational context? The moderating role of switching costs”, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 104 No. 1, pp. 47-58.
16. Cupta, S., Lehmann, R.D. and Stuart, J.A. (2004), “Valuing customers”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 41 No. 1, pp. 7-18.
17. Daily Record (2007), “Scotland’s biggest shopping centre opens its doors”, available at: www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/scotlands-biggest-shopping-centre-opens-961195 (accessed August 25, 2014).
18. DeWitt, T., Nguyen, D.T. and Marshall, R. (2008), “Exploring customer loyalty following service recovery: the mediating effects of trust and emotions”, Journal of Service Research, Vol. 10 No. 3, pp. 269-281.
19. Dodds, W.B. (1991), “In search of value: how price and store name information influence buyers’ product perceptions”, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 5 No. 3, pp. 27-36.
20. Dodds, W.B., Monroe, K.B. and Grewal, D. (1991), “Effects of price, brand, and store information on buyers’ product evaluations”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 28 No. 3, pp. 307-319.
21. Dwyer, F.R., Schurr, P.H. and Oh, S. (1987), “Developing buyer-seller relationships”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 51 No. 2, pp. 11-27.
22. El-Manstrly, D.A. (2014), “Cross-cultural validation of switching costs: a four-country assessment”, International Marketing Review, Vol. 31 No. 4, pp. 413-437.
23. El-Manstrly, D.A. and Harrison, T. (2013), “A critical examination of service loyalty measures”, Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. 29 Nos 15/16, pp. 1834-1861.
24. Floh, A., Zauner, A., Koller, M. and Rusch, T. (2014), “Customer segmentation using unobserved heterogeneity in the perceived-value – loyalty – intentions link”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 67 No. 5, pp. 974-982.
25. Fornell, C.R. (1992), “A national customer satisfaction barometer: the Swedish experience”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 56 No. 1, pp. 6-12.
26. Fornell, C.R. and Larcker, D.F. (1981), “Structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 39-50.
27. Ganesh, J., Arnold, M.J. and Reynolds, K.E. (2000), “Understanding the customer base of service providers: an examination of the differences between switchers and stayers”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 64 No. 3, pp. 65-87.
28. Goode, M.M. and Harris, L.C. (2007), “Online behavioral intentions. An empirical investigation of antecedents and moderators”, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 41 Nos 5/6, pp. 521-536.
29. Gremler, D.D. (1995), “The effect of satisfaction, switching costs and interpersonal bonds on service loyalty”, thesis, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.
30. Gruen, T.W., Osmonbekov, T. and Czaplewski, A.J. (2007), “Customer-to-customer exchange: its MOA antecedents and its impact on value creation and loyalty”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 35 No. 4, pp. 537-549.
31. Ha, Y.W. and Park, M.C. (2013), “Antecedents of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty for emerging devices in the initial market of Korea: an equity framework”, Psychology and Marketing, Vol. 30 No. 8, pp. 676-689.
32. Hair, J.F., Black, W.C., Babin, B.J., Anderson, R.E. and Tatham, R.L. (2006), Multivariate Data Analysis, 6th ed., Pearson Education Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ.
33. Han, X., Kwortnik, R. and Wang, C. (2008), “Service loyalty: an integrative model and examination across service contexts”, Journal of Service Research, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 22-42.
34. Harris, L.C. and Goode, M.M. (2004), “The four levels of loyalty and the pivotal role of trust: a study of online service dynamics”, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 80 No. 2, pp. 139-158.
35. Henning-Thurau, T., Gwinner, K.P. and Gremler, D.D. (2002), “Understanding relationship marketing outcomes: an integration of relational benefits and relationship quality”, Journal of Service Research, Vol. 4 No. 3, pp. 230-247.
36. Herzberg, F., Mausner, B. and Snyderman, B.B. (1959), The Motivation to Work, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY.
37. Holbrook, M.B. (1999), “Introduction to consumer value”, in Holbrook, M.B. (Ed.), Consumer Value. A Framework for Analysis and Research, Routledge, London, pp. 1-28.
38. Holloway, B.B. (2003), “The role of switching barriers in the online service recovery process”, thesis, Department of Management and Marketing, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL.
39. Homburg, C. and Giering, A. (2001), “Personal characteristics as moderators of the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty – an empirical analysis”, Psychology and Marketing, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 43-66.
40. Hu, L.T. and Bentler, P.M. (1995), “Evaluating model fit”, in Hoyle, R. (Ed.), Structural Equation Modeling, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 76-99.
41. Johnson, D. and Grayson, K. (2005), “Cognitive and affective trust in service relationships”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 58 No. 4, pp. 500-507.
42. Jones, M.A., Mothersbaugh, D.L. and Beatty, S.E. (2000), “Switching barriers and repurchase intentions in services”, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 76 No. 2, pp. 259-274.
43. Jones, M.A., Mothersbaugh, D.L. and Beatty, S.E. (2002), “Why customers stay: measuring the underlying dimensions of services switching costs and managing their differential strategic outcomes”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 55 No. 6, pp. 441-450.
44. Jones, M.A., Reynolds, K.E., Mothersbaugh, D.L. and Beatty, S.E. (2007), “The positive and negative effects of switching costs on relational outcomes”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 9 No. 4, pp. 335-355.
45. Klemperer, P. (1995), “Competition when consumer have switching costs: an overview with applications to industrial organization, macroeconomics, and international trade”, Review of Economics Studies, Vol. 62 No. 4, pp. 515-539.
46. Kline, R.B. (2005), The Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling, The Guilford Press, New York, NY.
47. Lam, R. and Burton, S. (2006), “SME banking loyalty (and disloyalty): a qualitative study in Hong Kong”, International Journal of Bank Marketing, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 37-52.
48. Lam, S.Y., Shankar, V., Erramilli, M.K. and Murthy, B. (2004), “Customer value, satisfaction, and switching costs: an illustration from business-to-business service context”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 32 No. 3, pp. 293-311.
49. Li, Y., Li, G. and Feng, T. (2015), “Effects of suppliers’ trust and commitment on customer involvement”, Industrial Management and Data Systems, Vol. 115 No. 6, pp. 1041-1066.
50. Luran, P. and Lin, H.H. (2003), “A customer loyalty model for e-service context”, Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, Vol. 4 No. 4, pp. 156-166.
51. McKnight, D.H. and Chervany, N.L. (2002), “What trust means in e-commerce customer relationships: an interdisciplinary conceptual typology”, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 35-59.
52. MacKinnon, D. and Luecken, L. (2013), “How and for whom? Mediation and moderation in health psychology”, available at: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2821200/ (accessed January 12, 2014).
53. Mattila, A.S. (2004), “The impact of service failures on customer loyalty: the moderating role of affective commitment”, International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 134-149.
54. Meyer-Waarden, L. (2007), “The effects of loyalty programs on customer lifetime duration and share of wallet”, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 83 No. 2, pp. 223-236.
55. Molina-Castillo, F.J., Munuera-Alemán, J.L. and Calantone, R.J. (2011), “Product quality and new product performance: the role of network externalities and switching costs”, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Vol. 28 No. 6, pp. 915-929.
56. Moorman, C., Deshpandes, R. and Zaltman, G. (1993), “Factors affecting trust in market relationships”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 57 No. 1, pp. 81-101.
57. Morgan, R.M. and Hunt, S.D. (1994), “The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 58 No. 3, pp. 20-38.
58. Narayandas, D. (2005), “Building loyalty in business markets”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 83 No. 9, pp. 1-10.
59. Nunnally, J. (1967), Psychometric Methods, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.
60. Oliver, R.L. (1999), “Whence consumer loyalty?”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 63, Special Issue, pp. 33-44.
61. Palmatier, R.W., Dant, R.P. and Grewal, D. (2007), “A comparative longitudinal analysis of theoretical perspectives of interorganizational relationship performance”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 71 No. 4, pp. 172-194.
62. Parasuraman, A. and Grewal, D. (2000), “The impact of technology on the quality-value-loyalty chain: a research agenda”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 28 No. 1, pp. 168-174.
63. Patterson, P.G. and Smith, T. (2001), “Modeling relationship strength across service types in an Eastern culture”, International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 90-113.
64. Patterson, P.G. and Smith, T. (2003), “A cross-cultural study of switching barriers and propensity to stay with service providers”, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 79 No. 2, pp. 107-120.
65. Peter, J.P. (1981), “Construct validity: a review of basic issues and marketing practices”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 18 No. 2, pp. 133-145.
66. Podsakoff, P.M. and Organ, D.W. (1986), “Self-reports in organizational research: problems and prospects”, Journal of Management, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 531-544.
67. Ponte, E.B., Carvajal-Trujillo, E. and Escobar-Rodríguez, T. (2015), “Influence of trust and perceived value on the intention to purchase travel online: integrating the effects of assurance on trust antecedents”, Tourism Management, Vol. 47, April, pp. 286-302.
68. Pritchard, M.P. (1991), “Development of the psychological commitment instrument (PCI) for measuring travel service loyalty”, thesis, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR.
69. Reichheld, F.F. (1996), “Learning from customer defections”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 74, March/April, pp. 56-69.
70. Roos, I. and Gustafsson, A. (2007), “Understanding frequent switching patterns: a crucial element in managing customer relationships”, Journal of Service Research, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 93-108.
71. Royston, P. and Sauerbrei, W. (2008), Multivariable Model-Building: A Pragmatic Approach to Regression Analysis Based on Fractional Polynomials for Modelling Continuous Variables, Wiley, Chichester.
72. Salant, P., Dillman, I. and Don, A. (1994), How to Conduct Your Own Survey, John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY.
73. Sharma, N. (2003), “The role of pure and quasi-moderators in services: an empirical investigation of ongoing customer-service-provider relationships”, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Vol. 10 No. 4, pp. 253-262.
74. Sharma, N. and Patterson, P.G. (2000), “Switching costs, alternative attractiveness and experience as moderators of relationship commitment in professional, consumer services”, International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 11 No. 5, pp. 470-490.
75. Sharma, P. (2015), “Consumer ethnocentrism: reconceptualization and cross-cultural validation”, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 46 No. 3, pp. 381-389.
76. Sharma, P., Sivakumaran, B. and Marshall, R. (2014), “Exploring impulse buying in services: toward an integrative framework”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 42 No. 2, pp. 154-170.
77. Sherif, C.W., Sherif, M. and Nebergall, R.E. (1965), Attitudes and Attitude Change: The Social Judgment-Involvement Approach, Saunders, Philadelphia, PA.
78. Shin, D.H. and Kim, W.Y. (2008), “Forecasting customer switching intention in mobile service: an exploratory study of predictive factors in mobile number portability”, Technological Forecasting & Social Change, Vol. 75 No. 6, pp. 854-874.
79. Singh, J. and Sirdeshmukh, D. (2000), “Agency and trust mechanisms in customer satisfaction and loyalty judgments”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 28 No. 1, pp. 150-67.
80. Sirdeshmukh, D., Singh, J. and Sabol, B. (2002), “Consumer trust, value, and loyalty in relational exchanges”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 66 No. 1, pp. 15-37.
81. Sweeney, J.C. and Soutar, G.N. (2001), “Consumer perceived value: the development of a multiple item scale”, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 77 No. 2, pp. 203-220.
82. Thompson, F.M., Newman, A. and Liu, M. (2014), “The moderating effect of individual level collectivist values on brand loyalty”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 67 No. 11, pp. 2437-2446.
83. Tsai, H.-T., Huang, H.-C., Jaw, Y.-L. and Chen, W.-K. (2006), “Why on-line customers remain with a particular e-retailer: an integrative model and empirical evidence”, Psychology and Marketing, Vol. 23 No. 5, pp. 447-464.
84. Tucker, W.T. (1964), “The development of brand loyalty”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 1 No. 3, pp. 32-35.
85. Vasudevan, H., Gaur, S.S. and Shinde, R.K. (2006), “Relational switching costs, satisfaction and commitment: a study in the Indian manufacturing context”, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 18 No. 4, pp. 342-353.
86. Walter, A. and Ritter, T. (2003), “The influence of adaptations, trust, and commitment on value-creating functions of customer relationships”, Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Vol. 18 Nos 4/5, pp. 353-365.
87. Wang, C.Y. (2010), “Service quality, perceived value, corporate image, and customer loyalty in the context of varying levels of switching costs”, Psychology and Marketing, Vol. 27 No. 3, pp. 252-262.
88. Whitten, D. and Wakefiled, R.L. (2006), “Measuring switching costs in IT outsourcing services”, Strategic Information Systems, Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 219-248.
89. Wilson, D.T. (1995), “An integrated model of buyer-seller relationships”, Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 335-345.
90. Woisetschläger, D.M., Lentz, P. and Evanschitzky, H. (2011), “How habits, social ties, and economic switching barriers affect customer loyalty in contractual service settings”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 64 No. 8, pp. 800-808.
91. Woodruff, R.B. (1997), “Customer value: the next source of competitive advantage”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 25 No. 2, pp. 139-153.
92. Yang, Z. and Peterson, R.T. (2004), “Customer perceived value, satisfaction, and loyalty: the role of switching costs”, Psychology and Marketing, Vol. 21 No. 10, pp. 799-822.
93. Yi, Y. and La, S. (2004), “What influences the relationship between customer satisfaction and repurchase intentions? Investigating the effects of adjusted expectations and customer loyalty”, Psychology and Marketing, Vol. 21 No. 5, pp. 351-373.
94. Zeithaml, V.A. (1988), “Consumer perceptions of price, quality, and value: a means-end model and synthesis of evidence”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 52 No. 3, pp. 2-22.
95. Zeithaml, V.A., Berry, L.L. and Parasuraman, A. (1996), “The behavioral consequences of service quality”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 60 No. 2, pp. 31-46.
96. Agarwal, S. and Teas, R.K. (2001), “Perceived value: mediating role of perceived risk”, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Vol. 9 No. 4, pp. 1-14.
97. Scotland’s Census (2013), available at: www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/en/ (accessed December 1, 2014).