Consumer Switching Costs: A Typology, Antecedents, and Consequences

The management of customer switching costs has been hampered by the lack of a comprehensive typology for conceptualizing, categorizing, and measuring consumers' perceptions of these costs. A switching cost typology is developed that identifies 3 types of switching costs: 1. procedural switching...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 2003-04, Vol.31 (2), p.109-126
Main Authors: Burnham, Thomas A., Frels, Judy K., Mahajan, Vijay
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brand loyalty
Consumers
Costs
Customer relationship management
Customer retention
Customer satisfaction
Customer services
Market entry
Marketing
Statistical analysis
Studies
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Summary:The management of customer switching costs has been hampered by the lack of a comprehensive typology for conceptualizing, categorizing, and measuring consumers' perceptions of these costs. A switching cost typology is developed that identifies 3 types of switching costs: 1. procedural switching costs, primarily involving the loss of time and effort, 2. financial switching costs, involving the loss of financially quantifiable resources, and 3. relational switching costs, involving psychological or emotional discomfort due to the loss of identity and the breaking of bonds. The antecedents and consequences of switching costs are examined. The results suggest that consumers' perceptions of product complexity and provider heterogeneity, their breadth of product use, and their alternative provider and switching experience drive the switching costs they perceive.
ISSN:0092-0703
1552-7824
DOI:10.1177/0092070302250897