• The Journal of Information Systems
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.183-200
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• 2016

Purpose Although many users change their smartphone, most may be inclined to continue using incumbent smartphone series instead of switching to new brands. Brand loyalty and switching costs are major determinants of inclinations toward incumbent smartphones. This study addresses the research question, "what roles brand loyalty and switching costs play in the purchase of new smartphones?". Design/methodology/approach A research model consisting of six hypotheses for explaining purchase intentions toward new smartphone was proposed considering inclinations toward incumbent brands. The research model was empirically tested based on purchase intentions toward the LG smartphone brand G4, employing a sample of 177 university students in Korea. The data were analyzed using the PLS technique. The results provide support for all hypotheses. Findings First, perceived inclinations toward incumbent smartphone, brand loyalty and switching costs, explained the purchase of new smartphones as well as the perception of new smartphone. Second, brand loyalty was found to play the role of moderator between switching costs and relative advantage in the purchase of new smartphone. Third, perceived aesthetics and price value had considerable influence on the purchase of brand-new smartphone.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.10 no.11
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• pp.79-88
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• 2012

Purpose - The objective of this paper is to suggest that a company's CRM activities have an effect on customer loyalty in the Korean retail industry. Typically, Korean customers use large local marts with convenience in the absence of any other choice. Therefore, this study aims to shed light on the fact that customers do not break away from their preferred retail stores, either owing to their stringent loyalty (the lie loyalty) or difficulty in turning to alternative choices. Research design, data, methodology - By surveying a sample of 200 hyper-markets through a questionnaire, and excluding dubious and missing responses, I obtained 181 samples to be included in the empirical analysis. The survey was conducted for two weeks during October 2011. AMOS and SPSS18 statistical packages were used for conducting statistical analysis for this study. This paper was developed using the concept of customer equity on CRM, which is known to have a positive impact on customer loyalty through the satisfaction and switching-barrier parameters. The hypothesis of this paper is that customer equity is composed of relationship equity, value equity and brand equity, and that the relationship equity variable has positive effects on the value equity and brand equity amongst other types of customer equity. Moreover, customer equity influences customer loyalty through parameters including customer satisfaction and switching costs in the Korean retail industry. Results - According to the results of the analysis, it was confirmed that relationship value had a positive effect (+) on all variables, including the perceived QoS (Quality of Service), store brand images, economic value, and store convenience. It was also confirmed that the assumption that the perceived QoS (Quality of Service), economic value, and store convenience had a positive effect on customer satisfaction was shown to be statistically significant, with a p-value below 0.05. Only the store brand value variable had an effect on the switching-cost variable with respect to the causal sequence of the variables, including the perceived QoS, store brand value, economic value, and store convenience. The remaining variables did not seem to influence the switching-cost variable. On the other hand, another effect showed that customer satisfaction had a statistically significant influence on the switching-costs variable. Moreover, the customer satisfaction and switching-cost variables also had a statistical influence on customer loyalty. Conclusions - The CRM activities had an influence on various variables (including perceived QoS, perceived economic value, store brand value, and store convenience) pertaining to customer values. Customer satisfaction and switching-cost had some effects on customer loyalty as a parameter. This confirms that stringent loyalty exists with respect to customer loyalty in the retail industry. The fact that the variable had such a statistically significant influence on the switching-cost and store brand equity variables means that consumers react to the reputation of a brand, confidence about the store, and quality confidence. The implications of this study in the retail industry should be further extended to devise strategies for customer retention.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.21-43
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• 2013

Internet vendors are gradually realizing the importance of "locking-in" online customers in order to ensure profitability. Erection of switching barriers increases customers'lock-in and in turn may result in their willingness to pay price-premium for the same service. However, raising customer lock-in online is difficult because search costs are very low. Therefore, this study examines the effect of switching barriers (customer satisfaction, perceived value and relative advantage) on switching costs and the effect of switching costs on customer's willingness to pay more. Since switching costs and consequent relationships may depend upon the type of product therefore the research model in this study is examined for both search products and experience products. Data is collected through an online survey from two websites (one each for search product and experience product). The empirical results show the key role of switching costs in customers' willingness to pay more and the relationships among the four constructs. The theoretical and practical implications of this study are also discussed.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.1173-1184
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• 2012

This study estimates a structural model to examine the causal relationships among web browsing, switching cost, and site retention in the context of apparel shopping website. A total of 499 usable questionnaires were obtained from consumers aged from 20 to 49 years. For data analysis, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural model were used. The result showed that consumer's perceived switching costs consisted of three factors: relationship cost, search cost and benefit loss cost. In estimated structural model, the relationship cost was influenced by leisure browsing; the search cost was influenced by informational browsing and leisure browsing; the benefit loss cost was influenced by leisure browsing. Especially, the leisure browsing was the most highly related to the benefit loss cost, and followed by relationship cost and search cost. However, hedonic browsing was not significantly related the factors of switching costs. The search costs significantly affected customer's intentions for site retention. A managerial implication was discussed for e-retailers in order to develop strategic switching costs in building long-term relationships with web browsers on the apparel shopping websites.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.65-76
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• 2015

This study investigates predictors of continuance intention and purchase intention in mobile application(App) stores. This study identifies the structural relationships among app store quality, user habit, switching costs, user loyalty, continuance intention, and purchase intention in mobile application stores. The results indicate that user loyalty increases continuance intention and purchase intention and that user habit positively affects perceived switching costs and user loyalty. App store quality is a formative construct including quality of content, ease of use, and security. App store quality affects user habit positively. This study theoretically and practically contributes to the integration of influential factors for continuance intention as well as purchase intention.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.139-153
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• 2011

The study is a hotel firm's brand evidence on the switching and relational performance by identifying a causal relationship to the differentiated and competitive was to provide useful information. Units of samples for evidence of brand switching hotels in Seoul participated in surveys customers in 2011, from June 10 to 20 July 2011 for a total of 500 copies for distribution and the Department of dual 408 with SPSS 18.0 and AMOS 18.0 Using factor analysis and reliability verification carried out, and presented research in order to test the hypothesis covariance structure analysis was performed. Analysis, employee services switching barriers and switching costs showed no significant affect. Switching barriers and switching costs, brand name, image congruence transition castle wall and switching costs, alternative attractiveness showed no significant visible results. And perceived price on switching barriers to conversion rates showed was significant affect. Second, switching barriers, switching costs, alternative attractiveness and that the relationship, to help conversion of non-financial performance showed no significant affect. Third, the practitioner services, brand names, images, match the castle there, and non-financial performance of the transition showing a statistically significant result was found.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.153-161
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• 2020

The present study aimed to investigate the relationships among consumers' personality trait, brand tribalism, and brand commitment through brand trust and perceived switching cost. Data were collected from a convenience sample of three-hundred and ninety-four undergraduate students at a large Korean university. The participants consisted of 54.1% female (N = 213) and 45.9% male (N = 181). The results indicated that extraversion, conscientiousness, and emotional stability traits are directly related to brand tribalism. Also, brand commitment was directly associated with brand tribalism, brand trust, and perceived switching cost. In particular, our results showed the relationship between brand tribalism and brand commitment was mediated by brand trust, but not perceived switching cost. Therefore, our findings suggest that strong emotional connection of brand tribes may increase perceived switching costs and, consequently, affect brand commitment.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.185-209
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• 2004

The purpose of this study is to propose and test a model of customer retention in Internet shopping malls when switching barriers and comprehensive customer value exist in terms of economic and experiential aspects. The literature about customer retention propose that switching barriers are important factors other than satisfaction influencing customers' intention to remain with a specific supplier. The switching barriers mean anything that makes customers' defection difficult or costly and are consisted of perceived switching costs, attractiveness of alternatives and virtual relationships. The Customer Value Scale by Mathwick(2001) is applied to this study as economic value, shopping efficiency, service excellence, aesthetic appeal and playfulness(Zeithaml, 1988; Holbrook, 1994). The analyses showed partial support for the affirmative effect of customer values and switching costs and full support for the affirmative Influence of satisfaction on repurchase intention in the Internet shopping mall environment. But the attractiveness of alternatives and virtual relationship did not have a significant Influence like the result of Jones(1998)'s study of the service industry.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.25-36
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• 2011

This paper examines user's loyalty to social network sites (SNS) from switching costs (SC) incurred by both technology and social factors. We propose a research model specifying that the perceived values of resources of the factors affect the SC and the SC determine user's loyalty. Empirical results show that technology variables of ease of use and privacy controllability, and social variables such as network size, usefulness of SNS activities, and awareness of network status have significant effect on SC. In particular, ease of use is negatively associated with SC. Since it is shown that in overall the impact of social factors is stronger than that of technology factors, we can interpret that technological superiority itself does not lead to the success of SNS. Contributions of this paper are: 1) application of SC in SNS research from the resource based perspective, which can be used for developing strategies of sustainable SNS, and 2) provision of different perspective toward the variable of ease of use, which has been considered an important factor of technology acceptance.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.224-239
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• 2022

Despite an impressive growth of online sales, the bricks-and-mortar bandwagon still remain high-profile in the realm of consumer channel switching behavior. Different from the existing research exploring the consumer switching behavior from the offline to the online retailer, this study is an effort to investigate why and when do consumers switch from the online to the offline channel by applying the push-pull-mooring framework. Thus, structural equation modeling and SPSS were used to test the established hypotheses. The results, as expected, show that both push factors (i.e., perceived risk and dissatisfaction) and pull factors (alternative attractiveness and perceived ownership) are positively related to a consumer's intention to switch from the online to the offline channel. Moreover, all of expected interactions between push factors and mooring factors (i.e., switching costs, variety seeking, and subjective norms), and between pull factors and mooring factors are supported, except for the interactions between push factors and switching costs as well as between pull factors and subjective norms. Finally, implications and limitations are discussed.