David L. Mothersbaugh

Switching barriers and repurchase intentions in services

Abstract The current study moves beyond satisfaction and proposes that switching barriers are important factors impacting a customer’s decision to remain with a service provider. Switching barriers make customer defection difficult or costly and include interpersonal relationships, perceived switching costs, and the attractiveness of alternatives. We propose and find support for a contingency model between core-service satisfaction and switching barriers. The results indicate that the influence of core-service satisfaction on repurchase intentions decreases under conditions of high switching barriers. Although switching barriers had no influence on repurchase intentions when satisfaction was high, switching barriers positively influenced repurchase intentions when satisfaction was low. Implications of the results are discussed.

Why customers stay: measuring the underlying dimensions of services switching costs and managing their differential strategic outcomes

Abstract Although switching costs are increasingly finding their way into models of customer loyalty, a lack of consistency and clarity exists regarding the appropriate conceptualization and measurement of this critical strategic construct. To address this deficiency, the following six dimensions of switching costs were proposed: (1) lost performance costs; (2) uncertainty costs; (3) pre-switching search and evaluation costs; (4) post-switching behavioral and cognitive costs; (5) setup costs; and (6) sunk costs. Support for these six dimensions was obtained across two studies and two service industries (banks and hairstylists). The multidimensional scale (24 items) evidenced reliability, discriminant validity, and convergent validity. In addition, individual dimensions related to various constructs in predictable and sometimes differential ways. For example, while all switching cost dimensions were positively and significantly associated with repurchase intentions in the overall sample, the association was strongest with lost performance costs. Industry differences also emerged both in the mean level of perceptions across switching cost dimensions, as well as in the strength of relationships between switching costs and outcomes such as repurchase intentions. For example, perceptions of setup costs and pre-switching search and evaluation costs were higher for hairstylists than banks and were also more strongly associated with repurchase intentions for hairstylists than banks. Strategic implications and areas for future research are discussed.

Consumer Knowledge Assessment

The results of studies reported in this article suggest that product-related experience has a greater influence on self-assessed knowledge judgments than does stored product class information and that this greater influence is due to greater accessibility in memory. In addition, stored product class information was found to be a more important determinant of objective than self-assessed knowledge, while product-related experience was a more important determinant of self-assessed than objective knowledge. We discuss implications of these results for the relationship between self-assessed and objective knowledge and for future research involving consumer knowledge constructs. Copyright 1994 by the University of Chicago.

The Positive and Negative Effects of Switching Costs on Relational Outcomes

Research increasingly suggests the importance of switching costs in customer retention strategies. However, research on the downstream effects of different types of switching costs is lacking. This study seeks to address this issue by proposing and testing a framework for examining the alternative routes through which different types of switching costs (i.e., procedural, social, and lost benefits) operate in affecting relational outcomes. Consistent with our hypotheses, social switching costs, and lost benefits costs appear to bolster affective commitment, which subsequently increases positive emotions and repurchase intentions and decreases negative word of mouth. Furthermore, and again consistent with our hypotheses, procedural switching costs appear to bolster calculative commitment, which subsequently increases repurchase intentions in some instances but also increases negative emotions and negative word of mouth. Overall, this studys findings suggest that service firms should use caution when utilizing procedural switching costs as a retention strategy.

Combinatory and Separative Effects of Rhetorical Figures on Consumers' Effort and Focus in Ad Processing

Previous research demonstrates that rhetorical figures differentially affect the extent of ad processing. Specifically, tropes (a type of figure) deviate more from expected language use than schemes, with the greater deviation yielding more extensive ad processing. We extend previous research in two ways by focusing on the incongruity differences that exist between schemes and tropes. Study 1 uses syndicated data (Starch readership scores) to test how figures combine to affect the extent of processing. Results show that when figures leverage unique mechanisms (i.e., schemes and tropes), their combination yields incremental processing gains. Alternatively, when figures leverage redundant mechanisms (e.g., multiple tropes), their combination yields no incremental processing. Study 2 is an experiment that tests how figures separate in affecting the focus of ad processing. Results show that schemes generate a generalized focus on the entire ad, including both ad-stylistic and message-related aspects, while tropes generate a more selective focus on message-related aspects.

The effects of locational convenience on customer repurchase intentions across service types

Location has long been touted as an important competitive factor in retailing and services. However, since convenient, high‐traffic locations are costly, an examination of conditions under which locational convenience is more important and those in which it is less important is critical. Supplements the logic of prior research to examine the importance of location as a function of both customer satisfaction with the core service and service type. Finds that a convenient location is critical in more standardized, less personalized services when satisfaction falters, but is not important for less standardized, more personalized services regardless of satisfaction levels. Thus, a convenient location can act as a barrier to defection in more standardized, less personal services such as banks, making it an important strategic factor in minimizing defection when satisfaction with the core service drops. However, contrary to conventional wisdom, locational convenience appears less important to repurchase intenti...

Peer versus Self Assessment of Oral Business Presentation Performance.

Pedagogical practice related to oral business presentations has received little research attention despite the pervasiveness of oral presentations in business class rooms and their perceived importance to workplace success. This study collected data on three groups (self, peers, and instructor) to address four research ques tions related to (a) the usefulness of self and peer ratings as substitutes for instruc, tor evaluation of oral business presentations and (b) the relationship between vari ous content and non-content factors on overall perceptions of presentation quality. Data from this study suggest that (1) both holistic and analytical peer assessments are reasonable substitutes for instructor assessment when raters are trained; (2) self assessment does not closely reflect either peer or instructor assessments; and (3) peer assessment of delivery characteristics, command of material, and content strongly predict peer ratings of overall presentation quality.

Spokesperson Fame and Vividness Effects in the Context of Issue-Relevant Thinking: The Moderating Role of Competitive Setting

Primarily on the basis of research from noncompetitive settings, it is generally believed that nonsubstantive advertising features are ineffective when consumers engage in issue-relevant thinking. Experiment 1 of the current study replicated prior research. Neither spokesperson fame nor the vividness of advertising copy influenced attitudes in noncompetitive settings. However, these same features proved effective in the context of balanced competition. When brands were homogenous (experiment 2) or characterized by large price-quality trade-offs (experiment 3), nonsubstantive features improved attitudes and choice probabilities despite issue-relevant thinking. When trade-offs were small, however, nonsubstantive features were again ineffective. The results suggest that balanced competition can neutralize the effects of substantive features, increase indecision, and promote perceptual contrast. These effects then empower nonsubstantive features to serve as heuristics and/or reduce the risk of postpreference regret.

Disclosure Antecedents in an Online Service Context: The Role of Sensitivity of Information

The authors propose and find that the mixed results of prior research regarding disclosure antecedents are due in part to a failure to account for information sensitivity. Using prospect theory to examine willingness to disclose in an online service context, the authors propose and find that greater sensitivity of information requested produces weaker effects of customization benefits but stronger effects of information control and online privacy concern. The authors also find that customization benefits can overcome the negative effects of sensitive information requests when concern is lower or control is higher, and that perceived risk and firm trust are mechanisms through which disclosure antecedents operate. For theory, this research suggests that online disclosure models need to include sensitivity of information as a moderator. Moreover, the privacy paradox (consumers voice concerns but still disclose) may result from a failure to account for information sensitivity, since the authors find no effect of privacy concern on overall disclosure but find the predicted negative effect for higher sensitive information. For practice, our research suggests actionable strategies to aid online marketers in matching information requests with the needs and concerns of consumers by providing greater control and customization, enhancing firm trust, and adapting information requests to the situation.

Asymmetric Competition in Choice and the Leveraging of Competitive Disadvantages

Studies of grocery sales show that consumers of store brands switch to (price) discounted national brands more than consumers of national brands switch to discounted store brands. Such asymmetric price competition can be explained with numerous mechanisms proposed here and elsewhere. We report a choice experiment that replicates asymmetric price competition favoring higher‐quality competitors and demonstrates asymmetric quality competition favoring lower‐quality competitors. Also demonstrated are multiple mechanisms contributing to competitive asymmetries, where dominance involving the otherwise preferred brand is particularly potent (e.g., when a higher‐quality competitor matches the price of an otherwise preferred lower‐quality brand). The findings implicate modifications to (1) theories of decision making when extended to repeat choice, (2) empirical models of secondary purchase data, and (3) strategies for positioning and attacking brands. Whereas improving competitive disadvantages often attracts consumers from competitors more than does improving competitive advantages, this benefit must be weighed against the differentiation sacrificed by improving competitive disadvantages (improving competitive advantages, in contrast, increases differentiation).