Latest paper on online switching barriers and loyalty

Really delighted that our paper titled 'Constructing Online Switching Barriers: Examining the Effects of Switching Costs and Alternative Attractiveness on E-Store Loyalty in Online Pure-Play Retailers' (Yes, it is a really long title), has been published in 'Electronic Markets: - The International Journal on Networked Business'.

I co-wrote this paper with Ghazali, E., Nguyen, B. and Mohd Any, A. A.

It has been published online and should be is now out in print as well. Here is the abstract of the paper.

Abstract

Developing switching barriers to retain customers has become a critical marketing strategy for online retailers. However, research on the role of switching barriers in e-retailing is still limited. Recent trends show that when competitors are just one click away, it is questionable if customer loyalty can be achieved at all in online environments. This leads to the research question on whether switching barriers have any impact on e-loyalty in pure-play retailers. The paper examines the influence of switching barriers on customer retention (i.e., e-store loyalty) and further investigates the moderating effects of switching costs and alternative attractiveness. Data were gathered via a survey of 590 shoppers of online pure-play retailers in the UK. Findings show that customer satisfaction and the two dimensions of switching barriers (perceived switching costs and perceived attractiveness of alternatives) significantly influence customer loyalty. Contrary to findings in earlier studies, it was found that switching costs did not moderate the relationships between satisfaction and loyalty nor between perceived attractiveness of alternatives and loyalty. The paper makes imperative recommendations to develop switching barriers and to foster loyalty along with suggestions for future research.

Please let me know if you would like a soft copy of the paper: dilip.mutum@nottingham.edu.my

To cite:

Ghazali, E., Nguyen, B., Mutum, D. S. and Mohd Any, A. A. (2016). Constructing Online Switching Barriers: Examining the Effects of Switching Costs and Alternative Attractiveness on E-Store Loyalty in Online Pure-Play Retailers, Electronic Markets: - The International Journal on Networked Business. 26(2), 157-171.
DOI: 10.1007/s12525-016-0218-1

Article on online loyalty published

One of my papers has finally been published in the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services (ABS 1* / ABDC A). With co-authors Ezlika Mohd Ghazalib, Bang Nguyen and David Arnott, the paper titled 'Online loyalty and its interaction with switching barriers', expands on Oliver׳s 4 stage loyalty model to include online switching.

The abstract is given below:

The results of empirical research on online retail switching tendencies is quite mixed and only a few have specifically examined the presence, frequency or impact of switching barriers and switching inducements in the context of online services. Empirical evidence shows that there is “stickiness to certain sites” experienced by online customers and that they do less comparative shopping than might be expected. This paper conceptualises online switching behaviour as the interaction of barriers and inducements (both real and perceived) using Oliver׳s four-stage loyalty model. It also highlights the need to re-examine the concept of online loyalty and its interaction with switching barriers and inducements in the online context.

To access the article click the link below:

Mutum, D. S., Ghazali, E.M., Ngyun, B. and Arnott, D. (2014). Online loyalty and its interaction with switching barriers, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 21(6), 942-949.