TY - JOUR
T1 - Strengthening the satisfaction loyalty link
T2 - the role of relational switching costs
AU - Evanschitzky, Heiner
AU - Stan, Valentina
AU - Nagengast, Liane
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/6/1
Y1 - 2022/6/1
N2 - The extant retail research has placed much emphasis on understanding customer switching and the concept of switching costs (SCs). However, the empirical evidence is inconclusive with respect to the moderating role of SCs in general and relational switching costs (RSCs) in particular. Therefore, this research focuses on the moderating role played by SCs on the satisfaction-loyalty link. Specifically, our study attempts to clarify the nonlinear moderating effect of RSCs. Furthermore, we investigate RSCs in greater depth, considering their two dimensions, brand relationship loss costs (BRLCs), and personal relationship loss costs (PRLCs). We find that there is an optimal level of BRLC whereas increasing PRLCs decreases the impact of satisfaction on loyalty in a linear manner, calling for a more nuanced assessment of this type of SC in future studies. Our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the effectiveness of SCs as a retention strategy.
AB - The extant retail research has placed much emphasis on understanding customer switching and the concept of switching costs (SCs). However, the empirical evidence is inconclusive with respect to the moderating role of SCs in general and relational switching costs (RSCs) in particular. Therefore, this research focuses on the moderating role played by SCs on the satisfaction-loyalty link. Specifically, our study attempts to clarify the nonlinear moderating effect of RSCs. Furthermore, we investigate RSCs in greater depth, considering their two dimensions, brand relationship loss costs (BRLCs), and personal relationship loss costs (PRLCs). We find that there is an optimal level of BRLC whereas increasing PRLCs decreases the impact of satisfaction on loyalty in a linear manner, calling for a more nuanced assessment of this type of SC in future studies. Our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the effectiveness of SCs as a retention strategy.
KW - Customer satisfaction
KW - Loyalty
KW - Relational switching costs
KW - Switching costs
UR - https://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=pure_starter&SrcAuth=WosAPI&KeyUT=WOS:000690333000001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=WOS
U2 - 10.1007/s11002-021-09590-8
DO - 10.1007/s11002-021-09590-8
M3 - Article
SN - 1573-059X
VL - 33
SP - 293
EP - 310
JO - Marketing Letters
JF - Marketing Letters
IS - 2
ER -