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1 – 10 of over 37000Maomao Chi, Junjing Wang, Xin (Robert) Luo and Han Li
Drawing on and extending the push-pull-mooring (PPM) framework, this paper aims to empirically explore the influencing mechanism of traveler switching intention from the hotel…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on and extending the push-pull-mooring (PPM) framework, this paper aims to empirically explore the influencing mechanism of traveler switching intention from the hotel reservation platforms to the sharing accommodation platforms (SAPs).
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts structural equation modeling to analyze the 543 responses collected among hotel reservation platforms and SAPs travelers.
Findings
The results support the positive effect of both push factors (e.g. dissatisfaction with product, service and information quality of hotels on the hotel reservation platform) and pull factors (e.g. price value, authenticity, interaction, home benefits and novelty of SAPs) on traveler switching intention. Except for the negative effect of switching cost, other mooring factors including prior switching experience and social influence positively affect traveler switching intention. The authors also found the switching cost negatively and prior switching experience positively moderated the push effects on traveler switching intention, while the social influence positively moderated the pull effects on traveler switching intention.
Research limitations/implications
Recommendations of future SAP participation research to consider the competing platforms, the unique experiences of SAPs and mooring factors. Examining the factors of different sources is also useful for practitioners to better understand travelers’ demands and to improve the overall welfare of travelers.
Originality/value
This paper embraces an extended PPM framework to explore traveler switching intention in online travel platforms. Moreover, this paper provides unique insights into the switching behavior from the hotel reservation platforms to the SAPs.
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Inger Roos and Margareta Friman
This study aims at deepening understanding of the role of emotion in customer switching processes and identifying the relative frequency of negative discrete emotions in terms of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims at deepening understanding of the role of emotion in customer switching processes and identifying the relative frequency of negative discrete emotions in terms of different triggers.
Design/methodology/approach
Customers of Swedish telecommunications services were interviewed about their switching processes. The interviews were analyzed according to switching path analysis technique, which divides relationships into different stages in accordance with their relevance to the relationship strength. The ultimate focus is on self‐reported emotions embedded in the switching process.
Findings
The main finding was that the identified emotions were located in the trigger part of the relationship, and was expressed by the respondents during the switching process in form of annoyance, anxiety, disappointment, dissatisfaction, distress, depression, rage, stress and tension.
Research limitations/implications
The empirical study is conducted within the telecom industry which may influence the switching frequency because of the deregulations in the beginning of this decade. This interpretation of valence and activation was based on theoretical assumptions about where various discrete emotions are located on a continuum.
Originality/value
The paper offers insight into the role of emotion in customer relationship.
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Kurt Matzler, Andreas Strobl, Norbert Thurner and Johann Füller
Stabilizing business in highly competitive and volatile business-to-business (B2B) markets is a strategic imperative for many companies. In such a context, customer retention…
Abstract
Purpose
Stabilizing business in highly competitive and volatile business-to-business (B2B) markets is a strategic imperative for many companies. In such a context, customer retention through the creation of switching barriers (i.e. by increasing switching costs) is a common strategy. The purpose of this paper is to develop a network of relationships among customer switching experience, customer satisfaction, perceived switching costs, and behavioral loyalty intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were collected from 327 business customers (very small enterprises with fewer than nine employees; customers included physicians, lawyers, tax advisors, consultants, civil engineers, etc.) of an information and communications technology (ICT) company. The research model was tested using partial least square structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results show that switching experience negatively influences customer satisfaction and behavioral loyalty intention. Furthermore, the influence of customer satisfaction on behavioral loyalty intentions is partially mediated by financial and relational switching costs.
Practical implications
In saturated markets, companies often try to grow by acquiring customers from competitors. This study reveals that this strategy can backfire. The customers that can be most easily acquired may be those that are the most difficult to retain because customers experienced in switching are difficult to satisfy – and low satisfaction means lower perceived financial and relational switching costs and, in turn, lower loyalty.
Originality/value
This research contributes to theory and practice by shedding further light on the satisfaction-loyalty link by investigating the often widely neglected role of switching experience. Furthermore, the study seeks to add to the discussion of how to specify the role of switching costs: as a mediator or as a moderator.
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The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of staged customer experiences on customer switching costs in the banking industry.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of staged customer experiences on customer switching costs in the banking industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Brand touchpoints in the banking industry are identified by exploratory research using focus group sessions with bank customers and staff and refined by exploratory factor analysis using an independent sample of bank customers to form the staged customer experience construct. The proposed research model is then validated by confirmatory factor analysis with an independent sample using structural equation modeling.
Findings
Customer experience in the banking industry consists of four related but distinct stages (i.e. pre-touch, in-touch, post-touch and service failure). The first three stages have direct and indirect effects on switching costs that are partially mediated by relationship quality.
Research limitations/implications
Customer experience is an industry-specific construct with complicated effects on switching costs. Thus, the staged customer experience construct should be examined in different industries and applications to understand its implications.
Practical implications
Bank customers demand experiences that achieve desirable results in everyday situations and switch to other service providers easily if this demand is not met. Banks should focus on brand touchpoints that are both important to customers and increase switching costs to keep customers from defecting.
Originality/value
This research expands upon findings in the customer experience literature by exploring factors that link staged customer experiences with switching costs in the banking industry. In addition, a paradox is identified in the staged customer experience model that requires managers’ attention in order to design an effective customer experience strategy.
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Yong Liu, Hongxiu Li, Xiaoyu Xu, Vassilis Kostakos and Jukka Heikkilä
The purpose of this paper is to model the effect of alternative products in motivating consumers’ e-service switching behavior in the context of the social network game (SNG…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to model the effect of alternative products in motivating consumers’ e-service switching behavior in the context of the social network game (SNG) industry. In particular, the effects of both alternative attractiveness and change experience on switching behavior are quantified.
Design/methodology/approach
With the aid of a leading e-service provider in China, 220,000 questionnaires were distributed to the players of a SNG. Valid responses from potential switching users are included in the data analysis. Structural equation modeling technique is utilized to test the research framework.
Findings
The study found that alternative attractiveness negatively affects both the perceived service quality and individual users’ satisfaction with their current SNG. Additionally, alternative attractiveness has a strong and positive impact on both switching intention and behavior. The results show that users’ satisfaction and perceptions on service quality deteriorate significantly when faced with the presence of attractive SNG alternatives. The effect is stronger for the customers used to switching.
Originality/value
The study is among the first to introduce cognitive dissonance theory to explain e-service switching behavior. A number of new hypotheses are proposed, tested and supported. The results of the study illustrate the use of cognitive dissonance as an alternative perspective of understanding users’ switching behavior in a real-world free-choice situation.
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Hung-Che Wu, Chiou-Fong Wei, Li-Yu Tseng and Ching-Chan Cheng
The purpose of this paper is to explore the structural relationships among skepticism, experiential risk, cognitive dissonance, experiential quality, brand experience and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the structural relationships among skepticism, experiential risk, cognitive dissonance, experiential quality, brand experience and experiential satisfaction, switching intentions and switching behavior from the perspective of green branding.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire survey was used to collect data from consumers who had purchased environmental shampoos, obtaining 613 valid samples which were analyzed with structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results indicate that green brand experiential risk, green brand cognitive dissonance, green brand experiential quality and green brand experience influence green brand experiential satisfaction. In addition, green brand experiential satisfaction has an impact on green brand switching intentions, which, in turn, positively influence green brand switching behavior.
Practical implications
To decrease the perceptions of green brand skepticism, green brand experiential risk, green brand cognitive dissonance, green brand switching intentions and green brand switching behavior and increase the perceptions of green brand experiential quality, green brand experience and green brand experiential satisfaction, the findings will help environmental organizations develop and implement market-orientated product strategies.
Originality/value
The results provide a better understanding of the relationships among skepticism, experiential risk, cognitive dissonance, experiential quality, brand experience, experiential satisfaction, switching intentions and switching behavior in an environmental context.
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Jianming Wang, Tan Vo-Thanh, Yi-Hung Liu, Thac Dang-Van and Ninh Nguyen
On the basis of the approach-avoidance motivation theory, this study aims to examine the role of information confusion in influencing consumer switching intention among social…
Abstract
Purpose
On the basis of the approach-avoidance motivation theory, this study aims to examine the role of information confusion in influencing consumer switching intention among social commerce platforms, with the mediating effect of emotional exhaustion and the moderating role of social overload.
Design/methodology/approach
This study applied a multi-method quantitative approach including a survey and two experiments. Data were obtained from consumers on popular social commerce platforms in China. The survey's sample size was 327 respondents, whereas a total of 1,621 consumers participated in the two experiments.
Findings
Findings from the survey reveal that information confusion affects switching intention directly and indirectly via emotional exhaustion. Moreover, social overload moderates the emotional exhaustion–switching intention relationship and the indirect impact of information confusion on switching intention. Results of the two experiments further confirm the relationships found in the survey.
Originality/value
This study develops and validates a mediation and moderation model which expectedly serves as a framework to better explain consumer switching intention on social commerce platforms. The study also offers fresh insights into consumer switching intention in the unique context of social commerce in an emerging market (i.e. China), which has been largely ignored in the prior literature.
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Angela Danielle Carter and Stephanie Sisco
This case study, within the context of boundaryless and protean career development frameworks, investigates linguistic profiling and how code-switching is used to mitigate its…
Abstract
Purpose
This case study, within the context of boundaryless and protean career development frameworks, investigates linguistic profiling and how code-switching is used to mitigate its impact on Black leaders during their careers. The experiences of Black women coaches and the coaching support they offered Black women clients in code-switching, leadership and career advancement are described. The value of leadership coaching when used to navigate these career progression challenges is emphasized.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employed a multiple-case study approach of two Black women leadership coaches.
Findings
The findings of this study illustrate the understanding of code-switching and the coaching techniques employed by two Black women leadership coaches. Sage focused on educational strategies, offering historical contexts and resources, while Khadijah leaned on empathy-driven methods, using storytelling to evoke reflection. Both coaches emphasized creating safe spaces for open dialog, encouraged clients to reconsider their actions and values regarding code-switching challenges and sought to prompt clients towards authenticity while navigating career spaces effectively.
Practical implications
Additional strategies for coach practitioners include cultivating trust and a safe environment; active listening; challenging biases and assumptions; contextual understanding; empowering authentic self-expression; fostering skill development; challenging stereotypes; promoting autonomy and flexibility and adopting cross-cultural sensitivity, humility and competence. These practical coaching strategies bridge the gap in career development research by demonstrating how race-conscious strategies can promote workplace inclusivity and promulgate career development.
Originality/value
The study underscores the problem of linguistic profiling, the complexity of code-switching and implications for Black women navigating their career journey within professional spaces. It highlights the significance and value of tailored leadership coaching strategies to promote career advancement. This study addresses the gap in career development research related to linguistic profiling avoidance strategies for workplace inclusivity.
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Avus C.Y. Hou and Wen-Lung Shiau
Emerging social networking sites (SNSs) are less advantageous than leading SNSs in attracting users. They might stand a better chance if they know what users want. The purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
Emerging social networking sites (SNSs) are less advantageous than leading SNSs in attracting users. They might stand a better chance if they know what users want. The purpose of this paper is to study factors that urge Facebook users to switch to Instagram to reveal how latecomers in the SNSs circuit can win the hearts of users.
Design/methodology/approach
This study proposes an SNS switching framework that is adapted from the demographic Push-Pull (PP) migration model to investigate users’ switching intention. Structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the data collected from 260 Instagrammers who all had experience using Facebook before moving on Instagram.
Findings
Results show that socializing and system quality of the SNS negatively affect users’ switching intention, while attractiveness of the alternative, peer influence and critical mass do the opposite. Surprisingly, enjoyment is not associated with switching intention.
Research limitations/implications
SNSs switching may not mean a complete abandonment of previous SNSs. In many occasions, users simply become less active in one SNS and more active in other SNSs. The PP migration model provides a useful tool to understand the patterns as well as competing forces that influence the migration of SNS users, pushing them away or pulling them to new alternative sites. Specifically, pulling demonstrates to be a stronger influence than pushing.
Practical implications
This study suggests that SNS operators should satisfy users’ needs for socializing, maintain high system quality, provide peer influence tools and create their own attractive features, in order to retain existing customers or induce new users to switch.
Originality/value
This is one of the earlier empirical studies to investigate users’ switching intention from Facebook to Instagram with a valid sample. In addition, the present study approaches pull and push effects by multiple constructs, providing a clearer picture of what constitutes the pull and push forces.
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Celso Augusto de Matos, Jorge Luiz Henrique and Fernando de Rosa
The purpose of this study is to test the effects of satisfaction, satisfaction with service recovery (SSR) and switching costs (SC) on loyalty and positive word-of-mouth (PWOM) of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to test the effects of satisfaction, satisfaction with service recovery (SSR) and switching costs (SC) on loyalty and positive word-of-mouth (PWOM) of bank customers in a service recovery context, taking into account the interaction among latent variables and the effects of contextual factors.
Design/methodology/approach
A theoretical model is proposed based on previous studies and tested using structural equation modeling technique and bootstrapping estimates. A survey was conducted with 1,878 bank customers of a large Brazilian bank.
Findings
Results supported the positive effects of satisfaction and SC on loyalty, while PWOM was influenced mainly by SAT. In addition, SC significantly interacted with satisfaction, reducing the effects of satisfaction on loyalty. Finally, relationship time, gender and age were the most relevant contextual factors.
Practical implications
This study highlights the importance of switching costs in the banking industry. Although satisfaction is a relevant predictor of loyalty, this influence is contingent on the customer's SC. Hence, investment on marketing strategies and campaigns should be oriented to better convert switching perceptions into effective loyalty.
Originality/value
Despite recent investigations on the roles of SC in customer loyalty, results have indicated mixed findings and most of the studies do not consider interactions between latent constructs. This study addresses this issue using the orthogonalization procedure.
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