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Investigating Customer Resistance to Change in Transaction Relationship with an I nternet Vendor
Author(s) -
Kim HeeWoong,
Gupta Sumeet
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
psychology and marketing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.035
H-Index - 116
eISSN - 1520-6793
pISSN - 0742-6046
DOI - 10.1002/mar.20519
Subject(s) - vendor , business , customer retention , marketing , context (archaeology) , transaction cost , loyalty business model , customer equity , attractiveness , customer profitability , empirical research , customer delight , profitability index , resistance (ecology) , database transaction , loyalty , advertising , service quality , psychology , computer science , service (business) , paleontology , ecology , philosophy , finance , epistemology , psychoanalysis , biology , programming language
Many academics and practitioners have reiterated the importance of online customer retention to ensure long‐term profitability. Consequently, a number of studies have identified various means of customer retention. These studies lay significant emphasis on creating customer loyalty. However, retaining customers, especially in the context of I nternet shopping, is very difficult because of the low costs in comparison and switching. Most of the loyalty programs have also shown disappointing results. This study suggests that by tapping on an individual customer's inclination to resist changes in a transaction relationship, an I nternet vendor can achieve customer retention. Using status quo bias theory, this study examines customer resistance to change ( CRC ) as a means of retaining customers in a transaction relationship with the I nternet vendor. The empirical study of an I nternet bookstore reveals that trust, relative attractiveness, and switching costs together influence CRC . The empirical results also show that CRC and switching costs have positive effects on willingness to pay more. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.