An exploratory study of consumer switching behavior in platform businesses: A mixed methods approach

Abstract

AbstractThis study investigates consumer switching behavior factors in platform businesses. This study reports a two‐phase study of switching behavior. The first phase, Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic analysis, was conducted by collecting reviews and comments to find out consumers' potential switching behavior factors. The second phase was the interview with the consumer who did the switching behavior as to why they made the switching behavior. Besides, among the potential switching behavior factors, actual switching behavior factors were compared. It links quantitative and qualitative phases in exploratory sequential mixed methods design. The switching behavior factors were identified by applying the push‐pull‐mooring framework. The result of the study on music platforms' push effects is price perception, pull effects are promotion and algorithm recommendation, and mooring effects are payment convenience, switching cost, and reward. In Over‐the‐top (OTT), platforms' push effect is a lack of content, pull effects are promotion, WOM, and diversity of content, and mooring effects are content expectations, social networks, payment convenience, and convenience of watching. In e‐commerce platforms' push effects are technical issues, delivery cost, and lack of trust, pull effects are service line extension, and convenience of use, mooring effects are reward, payment convenience, and convenience of access to my data. This work contributes to the growing body of studies investigating the switching behavior factor in each platform business. Also, the study makes recommendations to aid platform marketing managers in understanding the impact of push‐pull‐mooring variables.