Switch Service Providers Research Articles

Being Fair to Customers: A Strategy in Enhancing Customer Engagement and Loyalty in the Bangladeshi Mobile Telecommunication Industry

The mobile telecommunications sector in Bangladesh is extremely competitive, necessitating a sophisticated comprehension of the complex interplay among fairness, trust, engagement, and loyalty. This study examines the trends in this industry using a quantitative methodology and 150 participants. The study focuses on how consumer behaviour, loyalty, and the chance of switching service providers are affected by perceived fairness. It also explores representations of demographics, length of customer relationships, and differing opinions on cost, remuneration, and dispute resolution processes. The results underscore the tactical benefit of equitable treatment in shaping consumer behaviour, allegiance, and contentment. The study underscores the significance of suppliers customising their approaches to appeal to a wide range of demographic groups, addressing issues regarding equity, and enlisting happy customers as brand ambassadors. It also highlights the industry’s ongoing requirement for evaluation and flexible loyalty-building tactics in a market that is changing quickly. In the face of fierce competition, the study offers mobile service providers in Bangladesh useful information on how to cultivate long-lasting relationships with their customers. It is understood that there are restrictions on extrapolating results to other industries, that the sample procedure may induce biases, and that qualitative insights are necessary. Prospective investigations into certain fairness features, cross-industry comparisons, qualitative approaches, and longitudinal studies are some ideas for future research. When taken as a whole, these channels have the ability to further our comprehension of the dynamics of justice, trust, engagement, and loyalty while cultivating customised approaches for long-term client relationships in the mobile telecom industry.

Human Touch Experience: A Strategy for Reducing Consumer Switching Behavior in The Financial Service Industry

This research provides an in-depth exploration of the Human Touch Experience (HTE) as a strategy for reducing consumer switching behavior in the financial service industry (Non-Bank). Amidst increasing competition and digitalization, maintaining customer loyalty has become a significant challenge for the industry. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative survey data from 1,207 respondents with qualitative data from 30 in-depth interviews. The findings underscore that high levels of HTE are associated with increased customer satisfaction and loyalty and a decreased intention to switch service providers. Furthermore, financial institutions that incorporate HTE practices into their operations report lower rates of customer churn and higher customer satisfaction and loyalty. The results suggest that, despite the digital revolution, a balance between efficient digital services and personalized human interaction can enhance customer relationships.

I Deserve That Deal! Effects of New Customer Exclusive Promotions on Existing Service Customers

Given the inherent profitability in retaining existing customers over recruiting new ones, this research examines negative consequences of exclusive promotions used to recruit new customers to a service organization. It explores existing, loyal customer perceptions of the distributive justice of such promotions and their subsequent behavior toward the organization. Findings suggest that receiving a similar or better offer may increase feelings of distributive justice among existing customers for a new customer promotion. Further, higher loyalty increased feelings of distributive justice. Negative perceptions of distributive justice regarding the exclusive offer drive customer alienation and entitlement, which can then lead to negative relational behavior from existing customers such as lower repurchase intentions, intent to switch service providers, and complaint behavior.

Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty and Switching Behaviour: A Conceptual Model of Mobile Telecommunications Consumers

The paper presents an overview of the mobile telecommunications sector by highlighting the effect of the sector on the economy. The was followed by a discussion of the different types of contracts, with much focus on customer switching, so as to highlight that this industry is highly susceptible to customers switching service providers. The discussion then progressed to why customers switch, the costs and barriers associated with switching and what can be done to minimize such behaviour. A thorough review of relevant literature on consumer behaviour in general and customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and consumer switching behaviour in particular, as well as the antecedents of the aforementioned constructs, culminated in the development of a conceptual model for managing customer switching in the mobile telecommunications industry.

Antecedents of Trust, Corporate Image, and Switching Costs: A Case in Telecommunication Services in Kurdistan Region of Iraq

This study elaborates on the direct effects of the antecedents of customer trust, corporate image, and the cost of switching service providers. It also examines the indirect effects of these antecedents on customer loyalty and satisfaction through trust, improved corporate image, and lower switching costs. The results of our analysis, which covered a sample of 514 customers in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, show that all the four antecedents studied had both direct and indirect effects on trust, corporate image, switching costs, satisfaction, and loyalty. We also observe that satisfaction is an important mediator between loyalty and the other variables. However, conflict handling has very strong direct and indirect impacts on the other dependent variables. There are some differences between our findings and those of previous research on countries like Turkey, China, and western cultures.

Cloud services as the ultimate gate(keeper)

Abstract In the Internet of Things (IoT), the amount and smart use of data will determine whether or not a firm can compete successfully. Manufacturing firms will collect data through sensors in their devices and, at least in the cases of SMEs, likely store the collected data in the cloud, purchasing cloud services and storage from the large e-platform providers doubling as cloud providers. The e-platform providers will also collect data from users of their other services. These data are often generated by the same firms that purchase cloud services when they use the e-platforms to sell goods and services. Access to the data and to data analytics on fair business terms, and the possibility to switch cloud and service providers are vital for the SMEs and, in general, to create a competitive and vibrant IoT. However, cloud and e-platform customers seem to be facing difficulties. According to the EU Commission, SMEs are finding it particularly hard to engage cloud and e-platform providers, and to gain access to cloud services on reasonable, transparent terms. The contracts are skewed in favour of the cloud providers. The customers get locked in and may be obliged to agree not to assert any of their intellectual property rights vis-à-vis the cloud provider or the cloud provider’s network. Moreover, the cloud and e-platform providers may under certain circumstances access and make use of the users’ data, and that may give them a competitive advantage vis-à-vis the users, since the providers may have access to much more data, even data originating from the users’ competitors, suppliers, customers, etc. They can thus use all the data available to them to obtain a fuller picture of whole industries, and they may use that advantage in data to leverage and enter users’ markets. Indeed, they may use the data in the cloud for data-driven business strategies to enter the core market of the firms that have provided them with data in the first place. This article discusses whether competition law can address the conduct of the cloud and e-platform providers, so that firms may access and make use of all the possibilities that the IoT harbours.

Is satisfaction a necessary and sufficient condition to avoid switching? The moderating role of service type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the drivers of service provider switching intention other than satisfaction and, additionally, analyse the moderating role of the type of service (utilitarian vs hedonic). Specifically, the authors study the effects of alternative attractiveness, post-purchase regret, anticipated regret and past switching behaviour. Design/methodology/approach A representative survey with 800 consumers of mobile phone services (utilitarian) and holiday destinations (hedonic) was carried out. Findings Satisfaction is not a significant antecedent of switching intention in the hedonic service and its effect is marginal in the utilitarian service. In the utilitarian service, the main predictor of switching intention is post-purchase regret, whereas in the hedonic service, the main determinants of switching intention are past switching behaviour and anticipated regret. Originality/value The main contribution of this study is the analysis of the determinants of provider switching behaviour that may explain abandonment by satisfied customers, to see if their influence is greater or smaller than that of satisfaction itself, which has been the most analysed variable. Furthermore, there are expected to be differences between utilitarian and hedonic services, an aspect which is also studied in this work.

Status demotion in hierarchical loyalty programs and its effects on switching: Identifying mediators and moderators in the Chinese context

Hierarchical loyalty programs (HLPs) are widespread across many service industries; however, research on the effects of status demotion in an Eastern cultural context is relatively scant. Based on the psycho-evolutionary theory of emotions, the theory of embarrassment and the literature on losing face, this study explores the effect of status demotion on customers' intentions to switch service providers in the Chinese context. By doing so, the study examines how feelings of frustration and social discomfort mediate the relationship between status demotion and the switching intentions of Chinese airline HLP members. It further examines how relationship age and gender moderate the link between status demotion and feelings of frustration and social discomfort. Three hundred and forty-seven active members of airline HLPs in China participated in a structured survey. The data collected were then analyzed using partial least squares-based structural equation modeling. The results show that status demotion causes members to experience feelings of frustration and social discomfort, which further lead them to switch service providers. These effects of status demotion on frustration and social discomfort are found to be higher (lower) among the members with longer (shorter) relationship age and male (female) members. The findings of the study have significant theoretical and managerial implications.

The impact of strategic vs. tactical cause-related marketing on switching intention

This research aims to investigate the impact of strategic vs. tactical Cause-related Marketing (CrM) on customer’s intention to switch service providers. Strategic and tactical CrM differ in the level of the following dimensions: company-cause congruence, duration, amount of invested resources, and top management involvement in CrM. The experimental design was used to test the conceptual model in the context of mobile phone services in Egypt. The responses of 193 participants to a survey were used for data analysis using partial least squares (PLS-SEM). The findings demonstrated a possible indirect effect of CrM dimensions (amount of invested resources in CrM, top management involvement, and campaign duration) on switching intention. Also, a significant direct effect of CrM dimensions (company-cause congruence, amount of invested resources, and top management involvement) on switching intention was found. Moreover, customer satisfaction, emotional value, and attitude towards switching played a mediating role in the effect of CrM dimensions (company-cause congruence and top-management involvement) on switching intention. Furthermore, the levels of customer satisfaction with, perceived emotional value from, and trust in a strategic CrM adopting mobile service provider were significantly higher than in a tactical CrM adopting mobile service provider. The results imply that adopting strategic CrM could help in reducing current customers’ intention to switch to other mobile service providers and may attract potential customers. Additionally, top management involvement in CrM and company-cause congruence may be the two most important dimensions of CrM. This research attempted to fill some gaps in the literature such as the limited studies about the differential effects of strategic and tactical CrM and their effect on behavioural intentions (switching) especially in the services context.

Nonlinear antecedents of customer satisfaction and loyalty in third-party logistics services (3PL)

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the nonlinear impact of quality dimensions of third-party logistics (3PL) services on customer satisfaction and loyalty.Design/methodology/approachBy interviewing 167 small-size companies, and using penalty and reward contrast analysis, the paper explores the nonlinear impact of seven dimensions of 3PL services (safety, fault’s recovery, reliability, speed, flexibility, communication, and friendliness) on customer satisfaction and loyalty.FindingsThe results confirm the existence of the dimensions’ nonlinear impact on customer satisfaction. It also shows that some quality dimensions have a direct and nonlinear impact on loyalty. The dimension “friendliness” has a direct impact on loyalty if the company has a below market average performance, which may lead customers to switch service providers. “Flexibility on collection and delivery” has a direct impact if the company has a higher performance, contributing to customers’ intention to continue using the service. Another finding is that, if the company delivers good service recovery after the customer found faults in the service, and if customers trust the company service, they say they intend to continue to work with the company.Research limitations/implicationsThe present research focused only on small companies in one country (Brazil). Further studies should be carried out to explore different countries, with different realities, and different size of companies.Practical implications3PL companies should not only deal with customers’ satisfaction, but also with other quality aspects that directly affect customer intention to continue doing business with the 3PL service provider. These are friendliness, flexibility regarding time and frequency of collection and delivery and faults’ recovery.Originality/valueThe present research confirms that the personal relationship is a crucial aspect to be managed in order to keep customers in the long term. In addition, as opposed to most research looking for the antecedents of satisfaction and loyalty of 3PL customers, the present research shows that there is a direct nonlinear impact of the dimensions’ performance on customers’ loyalty, what should be taken in consideration by 3PL managers. It also shows how penalty-reward contrast analysis may reveal nonlinear antecedents that could be used for better understandings companies’ success in the long term.

Inertia in services: causes and consequences for switching

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the antecedents of customer inertia (i.e. knowledge, confusion, perceptions of competitor similarity and switching costs) and their relationship to customer satisfaction, service providers’ switching intentions and actual switching behavior. Customer inertia is said to reduce the incidence of service provider switching; however, little is known about the antecedent drivers of inertia.Design/methodology/approachThe conceptual model was tested by a longitudinal/discontinuous panel design using an online survey research of 1055 adult (i.e. +18 years old) subscribers to cell phone services. Partial least squares (PLS) path modeling was used to simultaneously estimate both the measurement and structural components of the model to determine the nature of the relationships between the variables.FindingsFindings of the PLS structural model provide support for the direct relationship between customer inertia and its antecedents (i.e. knowledge, confusion, perceptions of competitor similarity and switching costs). The results show that customer inertia has a moderate negative effect on the intention to change service providers but had no measurable effect on the actual behavior of changing service providers, other than indirectly, by influencing the perception of difficulty in switching some 11 months later. Further results from an analysis of indirect pathways of the antecedents to inertia show that switching costs are the only variable which indirectly reduce intentions to change service providers. The results also show that the effect of satisfaction on switching service providers is partially moderated by inertia. Importantly, these relationships are reasonably robust given past switching behavior and contract status of consumers.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors find evidence which explains some of the causes of inertia, and show that it has both direct and moderating effects on service provider switching intentions, though not necessarily the behavior of changing service providers. However, support was found for its indirect role through intent as an influence on switching behavior. Importantly, the authors find that inertia has lingering effects, in that it influences the perception of switching difficulties and, hence, behavior up to 11 months in the future.Practical implicationsManagerial implications are that service firms can profit from customer inertia through a reduction in churn. However, high levels of customer inertia over the longer term may increase the level of customer vulnerability to competitor offers and marketing activities, as satisfaction with the provider does not in itself explain switching intentions or behavior.Originality/valueThis study is the first study to contribute to an understanding of the antecedent drivers of customer inertia with respect to service provider switching and to empirically evaluate a variety of antecedent factors that potentially affect switching intentions. Importantly, the long lasting latent effect of inertia in indirectly influencing service switching behavior was found to persist some 11 months later.

DEMANDING QUALITY SERVICE: AN EVALUATION OF THE WIRELESS APPLICATION SERVICE PROVIDERS ASSOCIATION (WASPA) CODE OF CONDUCT IN LIGHT OF THE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 68 OF 2008

Consumerism has been around for quite some time, giving rise to the need to protect consumers against exploitation by suppliers. In the South African context the impetus to extend protection to consumers of goods and services however only gained proper momentum at the beginning of the 2000s. The Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 was introduced to provide protection in respect of online transactions. With the introduction of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 that affords protection to consumers in the credit market as well as the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 that affords protection to consumers in a wide variety of instances consumer protection in South Africa has eventually reached an acceptable level.The CPA, being the most recent in the aforementioned trio of consumer protection legislation, is a comprehensive piece of legislation that extends protection to South African consumers in a wide variety of matters, inter alia, providing them with rights in respect of defective goods, contract terms, franchise agreements, auctions, product liability and so forth. The CPA was signed into law by the President on 24 April 2009 and was put into effect incrementally. The general effective date of the CPA is 31 March 2011 and the regulations issued in terms of the Act were published on 1 April 2011.The fast-developing mobile (cellphone) industry, where products and services improve constantly, necessitates the forging of consumer–brand relationships in order to keep consumers brand loyal and thus to prevent them from switching to competing brands. The South African cellphone industry has been characterised by major growth and is regarded as being one of the fastest-growing industries on the African continent. The number of cellphone users has more than doubled from 12 million in 2005 to 28 million in 2011, constituting 82% of the adult South African population. Competition between cellphone brands has also increased as a variety of different cellphone handsets and smart phones have started entering the South African market, making them accessible and affordable to South African consumers, as well as making it easier to switch between brands. South Africa has shown rapid growth in the number of cellphone users, leading the market to reach saturation. This rapid growth has also led to major network congestion and subsequent service problems related to the South African cellphone service provider networks. Subsequently, customers are showing high levels of customer dissatisfaction, requiring service recovery strategies to be put in place to remedy the situation. As it is impossible for service providers to consistently meet and exceed customer needs, service providers need to determine what remedies customers anticipate when their expectations are not met and service failures occur. If service providers are unable to recover from service failures, service providers could experience detrimental results to their profitability and performance, which could furthermore lead to customers switching service providers and engaging in negative word-of-mouth. According to Bejou and Palmer, it is important for a service business to determine their customer types and how long customers have been dealing with them (consumption stage), as this will influence how customers will react when faced with poor service and service failures and how easily they will switch to a substitutable product and new service provider.This note will examine the right to fair value, good quality, and safety in respect of services provided by mobile “service providers” in South Africa with particular reference to the CPA as well as the WASPA Code of Conduct for the mobile service provider industry.

Evaluating mobile number portability policy in the Thai mobile telecommunications market

Mobile number portability (MNP), which allows consumers to retain their mobile numbers when switching service providers, is expected to promote competition by lowering switching costs. This paper estimates switching costs and switching costs reduction from the MNP policy in Thailand using the mixed logit model with preference heterogeneity on a nationwide survey of mobile telecommunications service usages. The estimation result shows that the MNP policy reduces switching costs by 37% on average and that this benefit is heterogeneous across consumers. The considerable and persistent switching costs call for additional measures to facilitate switching.

Implications of New Technological Adaptions on Switching Barriers

With the technological advancements in the past few years in the mobile telecommunication industry, customer requirements and their behavioral patterns changed a lot. Implications of two of most popular such technological approaches which are independent from the service provider were discussed in this paper. Usually, firms have identified the value of maintaining a higher level of switching barriers since it is one kind of successful strategic aspects in mobile telecommunication. But, the importance of these strategies was challenged with the adoptions of new technologies. Therefore, to study its’ implication, data set was obtained by conducting a survey from randomly select mobile subscribers in Sri Lanka. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, t-test and factorial ANOVA test were used for the data analysis purpose. According to the analysis, it is revealed that these two technological advancements are weakened the level of switching barriers significantly. It may allow subscribers to switch service providers easily. On the other hand, subscribers with higher relationship age are having the highest switching barrier level even though they are users of those new technologies. But a significant difference among users and non-users has been identified through the study. Thus, policy makers are required to come up with new strategies to retain those subscribers within the network.

Does Bundling Decrease the Probability of Switching Telecommunications Service Providers?

I examine whether bundling of telecommunications services makes individuals less likely to switch their service provider because of increased switching costs. Using a detailed survey dataset from the Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI), I find that Internet subscribers who previously bundled are less likely to switch their Internet service provider than are those who did not bundle. The results are robust to correction for the potential selection problem through the use of an endogenous treatment model. The finding that bundling reduces the probability of switching service providers and locks-in existing users can have important implications for market competitiveness and consumer welfare.

Membership-based consumer switching intentions and benefit exchange theory

Purpose This research aims to predict private club members’ intentions to switch service providers based on the benefit exchange theory through a structural model with a second-order factor. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a qualitative procedure to develop a functional, social and psychological model based on the benefit exchange and switching intention literatures. A further quantitative analysis surveyed a sample of 366 private club members and assessed the usefulness of this model. Findings The results of the confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling indicate that social benefits have a stronger impact on switching intention than loss of functional benefits under the context of a high level of interaction between members and between members and service providers. In addition, they confirm the moderating effects of psychological benefits on the relationship between functional benefits and switching intention. Practical implications The findings indicate that members are unlikely to switch if there are positive word of mouth and interpersonal interactions between members and the club (social benefits). Even if they are disappointed with the functional benefits of the club’s products or services, they may still choose to stay with it owing to psychological benefits affecting their decision to switch. The findings offer managerial insights into utilizing relationship marketing activities to strengthen interpersonal relationships, word of mouth, trust, commitment and emotional factors to retain members. Originality/value This research confirms that the benefit exchange theory can explain members’ intentions to switch from their current clubs and provides valuable recommendations to managers on retaining their clubs’ members. Because the switching intentions of club members have not previously been adequately studied, this study fills an important gap in the literature.

The price sensitivity of mobile use among low income households in six countries of Asia

The private sector in developing countries is increasingly interested in extending mobile telephony services to low income and rural markets that were previously considered unprofitable. Determining the right price is a central challenge in this context. Despite known limitations, the Contingent Valuation (CV) method, which elicits information on the Willingness to Pay (WTP), is a useful guide to pricing decisions. The present study draws on data generated using the CV method to examine whether mobile use is sensitive to small declines in the current per-minute price of use for low income households in six countries of Asia: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. A Heckman model is used to correct for the sample selection problem arising from the study of mobile phone owners alone. We find that demographic criteria, including income, are not significant in explaining whether usage is responsive to price fall, although they appear important in determining mobile phone ownership. Instead, subscription to multiple service providers has an important association with the price sensitivity of use: Those with multiple SIM cards are likely to increase usage when price falls whereas those who report that they would not switch service providers are unlikely to do so. The study further finds that consumption would increase among those with a more diversified use of mobile services (to participate in competitions and to access government services) and among more ׳limited’ users (those who attach a greater importance to the emergency uses of the phone). Overall the findings suggest that there exists a latent demand for mobile minutes among low income households that can be tapped through a small reduction in price. However, given the relatively low profit margins in these markets and the ability of users to switch between service providers quickly and at low cost, competing on price could threaten the long term survival of firms. Non-price strategies would therefore be important for firm survival and sustainable service delivery.

ELECTRICITY SUPPLIER SWITCHING: A CONCEPTUAL MODEL BASED ON MIGRATION THEORY

Electricity sector liberalization is moving forward with the purpose of efficiency, better customer service, and lower prices; however it has not fully succeeded yet, neither in Europe nor in the rest of the world. While service provider switching is an indicator of successful liberalization, it also means customer loss and acquisition from the electricity suppliers’ point of view. Therefore, it has a significant importance for both the market regulator and market participants including customers and suppliers, making it a concept that should be understood thoroughly. This paper aims to build a conceptual model of electricity supplier switching behavior to be tested for a relatively neglected customer segment in the business to business market [B2B]: small and medium enterprises [SME]s. The model can also be used for business to consumer [B2C] segment because of the similar behaviors of small organizations and individuals. The model proposed in this study is mainly based on the study of Bansal et al. (2005) who adopt push, pull, and moorings [PPM] migration model to switching, using the similarities between human migration and customer switching. An extensive literature research is conducted to support and contribute to the existing PPM model and to have an extended version of it.

The market performance indicator: a macro understanding of service provider switching

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to adapt the market performance indicator (MPI), used by the European Commission to evaluate market conditions, over time, to show that the MPI explains actual switching behavior better than stated intent and satisfaction. While research on service provider switching has focused on the outcomes of service transactions and the benefits of switching, there is little research on how consumers view market conditions as being favorable or not for switching. Design/methodology/approach – The authors used a mixed methodology of focus groups and longitudinal survey research of cell phone consumers to evaluate the effect of the MPI on satisfaction, perceptions of value, switching intentions and behavior. Findings – The MPI was found to influence perceptions of satisfaction and value, and was found to contribute strongly to actual switching behavior. The results also showed that an improvement in the MPI or market conditions lead to a much greater relationship between it and actual switching behavior, suggesting that there may well be important threshold level, upon which greater switching behavior occurs. Originality/value – The MPI provides marketers and policy-makers with benchmarks to compare the consumer welfare of different markets in different countries. Switching studies with MPI figures can be more easily generalized to different contexts.

Dimensions of patient loyalty and switching intention: Relational outcomes for benchmarking approach

Patient loyalty is gaining attention increasingly among healthcare service providers in an intense competition. The ex-post facto correlational study conducted in National Capital Region, India in four multi-specialty hospitals with 500 beds are administered by four different establishments – trust run, charity based, corporate managed, and government hospitals. About 400 of patients were randomly selected from the said selected hospitals. The study found patients' patronize required personalized approaches (reliable and tangible) and organizational strategies (functional) which in turn affect the likelihood of switching service providers. The study also measured the patients' loyalty and their intention to switch to other service provider exemplified that potential antecedents and consequences of service quality in terms of reliable, functional aspects and tangible factors required vigor, dedication, and absorption. The differential attitude of patients demonstrated that strength and weakness of the hospital, which seems to differ from public sector hospital, to trust run, charity and private hospitals. Analyses describes that patients who have switching experiences still tend to consider more thoroughly all aspects of services; the relationship between the variables were stronger even badly experienced patients in trust run and public sector hospitals.