International Journal of Information Management 31 (2011) 7179

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International Journal of Information Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijinfomgt

The effects of relationship quality and switching barriers on customer loyalty

Chung-Tzer Liu a, , Yi Maggie Guo b,1 , Chia-Hui Lee a,2
a
Department of Business Administration, Soochow University, 56 Kuei Yang St., Sec. 1, Taipei 100, Taiwan, ROC
b
Department of Management Studies, University of Michigan Dearborn, 19000 Hubbard Dr., Dearborn, MI 48141, USA

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Keywords: Because the cost of attracting new customers is much higher than the cost of retaining old customers,
Loyalty keeping customers loyal is a crucial issue for service rms. This research explores how relationship
Relationship quality quality and switching barriers inuence customer loyalty. Relationship quality consists of two aspects:
Switching barrier
satisfaction and trust. Antecedents of satisfaction and trust are explored. To test the proposed research
Mobile telecommunication service
model, a survey research methodology was used. Paper survey was distributed to mobile phone users
in Taiwan. A total of 311 valid questionnaires were returned. Structural equation modeling was used to
test hypotheses. Satisfaction, trust, and switching barriers have positive effects on loyalty. In terms of
antecedents, it was found that playfulness and service quality impact satisfaction while service quality
and intimacy affect trust. From a managerial perspective, this research suggests that practitioner should
not only keep improving service quality, but also provide playfulness to ensure customer satisfaction.
Service providers should also build relationship quality and switching barriers to reduce the possibility
of defection and enhance customer loyalty.
2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction are issues with mobile telecommunication. The push-back force

Customer loyalty is not a new research question and prior
research has studied an array of factors leading to customer loy-
alty, such as service quality, customer trust, satisfaction, and
switching barriers. Retaining current customers is imperative for
saturated service industries such as mobile telecommunications.
Thus customer loyalty is an extremely important issue for mobile
service providers. However, in mobile marketing consumer behav-
ior research, excessive attention has been paid to initial adoption
and acceptance while little has to post-purchase constructs, such
as satisfaction and loyalty (Varnali & Toker, 2009). In this research,
we focus on customer loyalty in mobile communications.
From the perspective of the customer, two aspects of service
affect the decision to remain or defect: what makes a customer
want to stay, and the tangible and intangible costs of switching
to another provider. The rst is a pull-in force, while the second
is a push-back force. The pull-in force in the model is relation-
ship quality, including satisfaction and trust. Satised and happy
customers normally have no reason to leave. Customer trust is
important in that customer privacy and data exchange security
Corresponding author at: Department of Business Administration, Soochow Uni-
versity, 56 Kuei Yang St., Sec. 1, Room 2438, Taipei 100, Taiwan, ROC.
Tel.: +886 2 23111531x3605; fax: +886 2 23822326.
E-mail addresses: kevinl@scu.edu.tw (C.-T. Liu), magyiguo@umich.edu
(Y.M. Guo), as8573@yahoo.com.tw (C.-H. Lee).
1 done in business-to-business markets and products use contexts
Tel.: +1 313 593 5578.
2
Tel.: +886 2 23111531x2691.
explored is switching barriers. Although prior research has inves-
tigated the effects of relationship quality on loyalty (e.g., Lin &
Wang, 2006; Rauyruen & Miller, 2007) and that of switching bar-
riers on loyalty (e.g., Hu & Hwang, 2006; Jones, Mothersbaugh, &
Beatty, 2000), less often they are studied at the same time. Our
approach is to examine their relative effects on customer loy-
alty.
Two-factor theory of customer satisfaction adapted from Fred-
erick Herzbergs two-factor theory of motivation into marketing
research (Herzberg, 1968, 1987; Naumann & Jackson, 1999) is
applied to help identify and theorize antecedent factors of rela-
tionship quality. Two categories of factors are identied in the
two-factor theory, hygiene factors and satisers. Hygiene fac-
tors are those attributes that are expected by the customers as
minimum requirements. Lack of hygiene factors will lead to dissat-
isfaction while having them will not necessary enhance customer
satisfaction. Some general hygiene factors are credibility, delivery,
and accuracy. On the other hand, satisers are those attributes that
are little extra, such as courtesy and empathy. Service quality
is a hygiene factor for both customer satisfaction and trust since
it is the bare minimum and expected. Playfulness of services and
intimacy with the provider are considered satisers that provide
customers with something above normal expectations. This study
investigates the relative strength of these factors as antecedents
of satisfaction and trust, which has been rarely done in prior
research. Furthermore, relationship quality research has mostly
(Athanasopoulou, 2009). The current study uses data collected from

0268-4012/$ see front matter 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2010.05.008
72 C.-T. Liu et al. / International Journal of Information Management 31 (2011) 7179
mobile communication users to expand our understanding of rela-
tionship quality in a consumer service setting.
2. Research framework
2.1. Customer loyalty
Loyalty has been dened as a deeply held commitment to
rebuy or repatronize a preferred product/service consistently in the
future (Oliver, 1999, p. 34). Customer loyalty has two meanings:
long-term and the short-term loyalty (Jones & Sasser, 1995). Cus-
tomers with long-term loyalty do not easily switch to other service
providers, while customers with short-term loyalty defect more
easily when offered a perceived better alternative.
This study focuses on long-term loyalty. It is benecial for
service providers to establish a relationship with customers that
customers would like to retain. In Taiwan, the mobile service mar-
ket is highly saturated and prot margins are stagnant. In this
situation, it is better to retain existing customers than recruit new
ones (Ahmad & Buttle, 2002; Fornell, 1992).
2.2. Relationship quality
To create long-lasting customer relationships, relationship mar-
keting, include marketing activities that attract, develop, maintain,
and enhance customer relationships, has been utilized in a wide
variety of industries (Berry, 1995). Customers care about the
relationship as a whole and judge the relationship using past expe-
rience, expectations, predictions, goals, and desires (Crosby, Evans,
& Cowles, 1990). Relationship quality has been positively linked to
customer loyalty (Hennig-Thurau & Klee, 1997; Roberts, Varki, &
Brodie, 2003). There is no unied denition of relationship quality
(Rauyruen & Miller, 2007; Robie, Ryan, Schmieder, Parra, & Smith,
1998). Relationship quality has been conceptualized as a construct
consisting of several components. These components include sat-
isfaction (Crosby et al., 1990; Dwyer & Oh, 1987), trust (Dwyer
& Oh, 1987; Hennig-Thurau & Klee, 1997), commitment (Hennig-
Thurau & Klee, 1997), and overall quality (Hennig-Thurau & Klee,
1997) among others. In the prior studies, satisfaction, trust, and
commitment are the most examined aspects of relationship qual-
ity (Athanasopoulou, 2009; Bejou, Wray, & Ingram, 1996; Crosby
et al., 1990; De Canniere, De Pelsmacker, & Geuens, 2009; Lagace,
Dahlstrom, & Gassenheimer, 1991; Rauyruen & Miller, 2007; Wray,
Palmer, & Bejou, 1994). In this study, we propose that relationship
quality consists of satisfaction and trust while commitment aspect
belongs to customer loyalty in our conceptualization.
2.3. Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is an overall attitude formed based on
the experience after customers purchase a product or use a ser-
vice (Fornell, 1992). It is a reection of being content with such a
product or a service. Satisfaction is the assessment of the experi-
ence of interacting with a service provider up to the present time,
and is used by customers to predict future experience (Crosby et al.,
1990). Satisfaction is a broad feeling, which is affected by service
quality, product quality, price, and contextual and personal factors
(Zeithaml & Bitner, 2000). Satisfaction is one of the antecedents
of customer loyalty. In prior studies, satisfaction positively affects
customer loyalty (de Ruyter & Wetzels, 2000; Deng, Lu, Wei, &
Zhang, 2009; Dick & Basu, 1994). Although the reason that cus-
tomers remain loyal may not always be satisfaction (Gerpott, Rams,
& Schindler, 2001), it is safe to say that satised customers are more
loyal. Thus, the following hypothesis is tested.
H1. Satisfaction has a positive effect on loyalty.
2.4. Trust
Trust has been studied extensively in literature. Trust has been
dened as one party believing that the other party will fulll his or
her needs. In terms of services, trust is the belief held by a customer
that the service provider will provide the service that meets cus-
tomer needs (Anderson & Weitz, 1989). A more general denition of
trust is that a party has condence in the honesty and reliability of
his partner (Morgan & Hunt, 1994). This denition can be applied
in different contexts, including exchanges of goods and services.
Doney and Cannon (1997) argue that trust consists of two aspects:
perceived credibility and benevolence.
There are two levels of trust, according to Rauyruen and Miller
(2007). At the rst level, the customer trusts one particular sales
representative while at the second level, the customer trusts the
institution. In mobile data service, customer trust exists more at
the second level. Customers trust the service provider as a whole
because during the process of signing up for services, changing ser-
vices, and customer support, it is possible that sales representatives
are different. Further, many services can be obtained via the Web
and there is often no need to interact with a real person at all. Thus
customer trust in a mobile data service provider is less related to
one particular sales representative.
Trust is an important mediating factor between customer
behavior before and after purchasing a product. It can lead to
long-term loyalty and strengthen the relationship between the two
parties (Singh & Sirdeshmukh, 2000). As with loyalty, trust is a
special psychological state that can only occur in certain relation-
ships. When a customer trusts an organization, he or she has the
condence in service quality and product quality of the organiza-
tion. Customers who trust an organization are more than likely to
be loyal to the company (Garbarino & Johnson, 1999). It is also
true in contexts of e-commerce (Liao, Palvia, & Lin, 2006) and e-
Government (Lean, Zailani, Ramayah, & Fernando, 2009). It is found
that trust leads to customer loyalty in Chinese mobile instant mes-
sage users (Deng et al., 2009). Reichheld and Schefter (2000) point
out that the precondition of customer loyalty is customer trust. In
prior research, trust has been conceptualized as antecedent of sat-
isfaction (e.g., Palvia, 2009). In this research we are interested in the
direct effects of satisfaction and trust, as components of relation-
ship quality, on customer loyalty. Thus, the following hypothesis is
proposed.
H2. Trust has a positive effect on loyalty.
2.5. Switching barriers
Switching barriers are factors that make it difcult for a cus-
tomer to change service providers (Jones et al., 2000). Even when
customers are not satised with the current service provider,
customers may still remain with the provider because of poten-
tial nancial and social loss and/or psychological burden (Fornell,
1992). If relationship quality is a pull-in force, switching barriers
are a push-back force. Switching barriers are dened as economic
and psychological incontinences which consumers have to endure
during switching to a new service provider (Kim, Park, & Jeong,
2004). Some of the factors that can increase switching barriers
are search costs, transaction costs, learning costs, loss of loyal cus-
tomer discounts, loss of established habits and relationships, and
risk of the unknown (Fornell, 1992; Kuisma, Laukkanen, & Hiltunen,
2007). The positive impact of switching barriers on repurchase
intention has been widely conrmed (Aron, 2006; Colgate & Lang,
2001; Hellier, Geursen, Carr, & Rickard, 2003; Jones et al., 2000;
Rosenbaum, Massiah, & Jackson, 2006; Tsai, Huang, Jaw, & Chen,
2006). If switching barriers such as the troublesomeness of switch-
ing or loss of special treatment are high, customers are likely to
 C.-T. Liu et al. / International Journal of Information Management 31 (2011) 7179
stay with the same service provider to avoid potential costs and
losses, even if the customers are not satised (Jones et al., 2000; Lee,
Lee, & Feick, 2001; Ping, 1993). In prior research of mobile services,
switching barriers have been found to lead to customer retention
and customer loyalty among Korean mobile users (Kim et al., 2004;
Kim & Yoon, 2004). It would be useful to explore this relationship in
other contexts, such as in Taiwan, which shares a number of simi-
larities with Korean markets. Based on the literature, the following
hypothesis is proposed.
H3. Switching barriers have a positive effect on loyalty.
2.6. Playfulness
In addition to the basic services, something extra can make
customer surprisingly satised. These things extra are called
satisers (Naumann & Jackson, 1999). One example is service play-
fulness in mobile communications. In the past, mobile services
are thought to be highly utilitarian. Hedonic values provided by
fun features might not be the priority of a user. Since then more
and more entertainment features have been added, such as games
and music. We are particularly interested in this aspect of mobile
services since technologies increasingly provide hedonic values
(Pihlstrm & Brush, 2008; Pura, 2005). However it was still less
explored than utilitarian-oriented constructs, such as perceived
usefulness and ease of use in technology adoption and acceptance
(Varnali & Toker, 2009).
Playfulness has two aspects (Barnett, 1991a, 1991b). First, it is
a trait of an individual. It is more stable and less inuenced by
context. The second meaning of playfulness is a state that an indi-
vidual experiences. It is the result of the interaction between the
individual and the situation. It can be achieved in a short period
of time and change over time. Moreover, it is inuenced more
by external, contextual factors. We focus on the second meaning
in the research. When interacting with information technology,
including mobile devices/services, people sometimes experience
an intense engagement, totally focusing on the activity, losing track
of time, and feeling heightened enjoyment (Chen, Wigand, & Nilan,
1999; Csikszentmihalyi, 1975). Playfulness can be affected by situ-
ational factors, such as design complexity (Guo & Poole, 2009). In
electronic commerce, playfulness, or a construct similar to it, has
been demonstrated to lead to desirable outcomes, such as positive
perceptions of and attitudes toward websites and virtual stores
(Agarwal & Karahanna, 2000; Huang, 2003; Moon & Kim, 2001;
Oh et al., 2009), satisfaction (Lin, Wu, & Tsai, 2005), exploratory
behavior with increased learning (Novak, Hoffman, & Yung, 2000;
Skadberg & Kimmel, 2004), and future intentions to revisit and pur-
chase (Koufaris, 2002). Based on the prior research, the following
hypothesis is proposed.
H4. Playfulness has a positive effect on satisfaction.
2.7. Service quality
Discussion of service quality has resulted in the realization of the
intangible, heterogeneous, and inseparable nature of the concept
(Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1988). Thus it is hard to mea-
sure it with the same measurement for product quality. Quite a
few conceptualizations and measurements of service quality may
be found in the literature. For example, it has been dened as
consisting of two aspects: technical quality and functional quality
(Gronroos, 1984). Service quality is also dened as the difference
between customer expectation and the perception of service qual-
ity (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1985). It is measured by ve
constructs: reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and
tangibility (Parasuraman et al., 1988). A third conceptualization of
service quality includes interaction quality, physical environment
73
quality, and outcome quality (Brady & Cronin, 2001). Interaction
quality includes attitude, behavior, and expertise. Physical envi-
ronment quality includes ambient conditions, design, and social
factors. Outcome quality includes waiting time, tangibles, and
valence.
Research into service quality in the mobile telecommunications
industry extends the traditional denition of service quality and
incorporates aspects particularly relevant to mobile services. For
example, in a study of Turkish mobile services, it has been measured
by coverage of calling area, value-added services, advertisement,
services in campaigns, the suppliers services of the operator, ven-
dor services, and customer support services (Aydin & zer, 2005).
These aspects are geared toward the service practice of GSM net-
works in Turkey. In another study of service quality of Korean
telecommunication services, call quality, value-added quality, and
customer support are the three sub-constructs of service quality
(Kim et al., 2004). In an investigation of Canadian mobile ser-
vices, service quality is dened as the difference between perceived
expectations and perceived quality (Turel & Serenko, 2006). In
this study, service quality is dened as the whole service qual-
ity perceived by customers after using the service. In contrast to
playfulness, service quality is long thought to be very important to
customer satisfaction and trust. It is also one of the often studied
antecedents of relationship quality (Athanasopoulou, 2009). Ser-
vice quality represents basic customer expectations, thus, a hygiene
factor.
In a study of service quality in banking, hospitals, and photo
development, service quality was found to have a positive effect on
relationship quality, which includes satisfaction and trust (Hsieh &
Hiang, 2004). Herrmann, Huber, and Braunstein (2000) discovered
that service quality is an important factor affecting customer sat-
isfaction. In a study of Korean mobile services, improving service
quality is found to positively affect customer satisfaction (Kim et
al., 2004). Same is found for mobile instant message usage in China
(Deng et al., 2009). Thus, the following hypothesis is proposed.
H5. Service quality has a positive effect on satisfaction.
Caceres and Paparoidamis (2007) indicate the increase in cus-
tomers perceptions of service quality will inuence aspects of
relationship quality such as satisfaction and trust. It is also found
that service quality has a signicant effect on consumer trust
towards a nancial institution (Cho & Hu, 2009). In studying the 3C
(computer, communication, and consumer electronic) retail indus-
try in Taiwan, service quality has been shown to have a signicant
impact on trust (Jih, Lee, & Tsai, 2007). Thus, the following hypoth-
esis is proposed.
H6. Service quality has a positive effect on trust.
2.8. Intimacy
Customer intimacy is recommended as one of the three value
disciplines that are available to companies for delivering values
to their customers. It requires companies understand their cus-
tomers and meet their special needs (Treacy & Wiersema, 1993).
From customers perspective, normally, it embodies care from the
service provider, mutual conding, and communication, and even
a feeling of trust (Kellogg & Chase, 1995). Through interaction
between service providers and customers, overtime, the feeling
is strengthened and evolves into a long-term bond (Gwinner,
Gremler, & Bitner, 1998). Intimate ties can be established during
face-to-face contacts or in technology-mediated contexts (Froehle
& Roth, 2004). Intimacy is a salient component of customer affec-
tion toward a service provider and affection towards staff transfers
to customer-rm level (Yim, Tse, & Chan, 2008). In our study, we
dene intimacy as the perceived psychological closeness a cus-
74 C.-T. Liu et al. / International Journal of Information Management 31 (2011) 7179

Table 1
Measurement properties.

Construct Item Loading t-value

Loyalty Cronbachs = .75, AVE = .61

1 I intend to stay with the carrier. 0.76 13.47
2 I intend to recommend the carrier to others. 0.80 14.19

Satisfaction Cronbachs = .90, AVE = .74

1 How satised are you with your mobile service provider? 0.85 18.21
2 How satised are you with the relationship with your mobile service provider? 0.85 18.19
3 Overall, I am satised with my mobile service provider. 0.88 19.11

Trust Cronbachs = .88, AVE = .74

1 My mobile service provider can be relied upon to keep promises. 0.89 19.37
2 My mobile service provider is trustworthy. 0.93 20.87
3 I have full condence in my mobile service provider. 0.75 14.99

Switching barriers Cronbachs = .77, AVE = .63

1 Switching to other providers will bring economic loss. 0.75 11.04
2 Switching to other provider will bring psychological burden. 0.83 11.85

Service quality Cronbachs = .89, AVE = .68

1 Overall, Id say the quality of my interaction with the providers employees is excellent. 0.86 18.30
2 I would say that the quality of my interaction with the providers employees is high. 0.84 17.91
3 I always have an excellent experience when I interact with my service provider. 0.80 16.42
4 I feel good about what my service provider provides to its customers. 0.79 16.23

Playfulness Cronbachs = .87, AVE = .71

1 Using mobile services gives enjoyment to me. 0.84 17.49
2 Using mobile services is fun for me. 0.76 15.22
3 Using mobile services keeps me happy. 0.92 20.24

Intimacy Cronbachs = .80, AVE = .57

1 My mobile service provider cares for its customers. 0.77 14.88
2 I like to communicate with my mobile service provider. 0.75 14.47
3 I feel intimacy toward my mobile service provider. 0.75 14.45

tomer has with the service provider. Companies want to establish
this kind of rapport with their customers, and customers also
want to develop and maintain a worthwhile and convenient con-
nection with the company (Berry & Parasuraman, 1991; Soteriou
& Chase, 1998; Turnbull & Wilson, 1989). Intimacy may share
some similarities with empathy, a dimension of service quality.
They are two different constructs in that empathy focuses more
on individual care and attention (Soteriou & Chase, 1998). We
consider intimacy a satiser. Customers do not need to feel inti-
mate with a service provider to nd it trustworthy in terms of
competence and benevolence. However, once a customer invests
in and establishes a closer relationship with a service provider,
the relationship can increase the trust the customer has in the
company (Jones et al., 2000). Thus, the following hypothesis is
tested.
H7. Intimacy has a positive effect on trust.
The research model is depicted in Fig. 1.
3. Research methodology
To test the proposed research model as shown in Fig. 1, a survey
research methodology was used. In this section, details of survey
design questionnaire distribution and procedures are reported.
3.1. Questionnaire design
Validated items from prior research were the basis for measures
of the various constructs. To facilitate appropriate measurement,
the items were translated into Chinese from the original English
version. The common practice of consulting bilingual domain
experts was used to ensure consistency in meaning, proper use of
terminology in Chinese, and understandability of the survey. The
measurement items used in this study are listed in Table 1.
Measures for service quality consisted of four items based on
Brady and Cronin (2001) and Hsieh and Hiang (2004). A three-
item scale adapted from Moon and Kim (2001) was used as the
measure of playfulness. Measures for intimacy consisted of three
items, which were adapted from Kim et al. (2004). Satisfaction was
measured by a three-item scale based on Hsieh and Hiang (2004).
The three items were formatted using 1 = very unsatised; 5 = very
satised. Trust was measured by a three-item scale adapted from
Hsieh and Hiang (2004). Both satisfaction and trust scales were
based on measures of relationship quality (Crosby et al., 1990). The
two-item scale for switching barriers and the two-item scale for
loyalty were adapted from Kim et al. (2004). Except items related
to satisfaction, the items were constructed using a 5-point Likert-
Scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree (1 = strongly
disagree; 5 = strongly agree).

3.2. Sampling and respondent prole

Paper survey was distributed to mobile phone users. A con-

venient sample was used. Paper surveys were distributed on the
Fig. 1. Research model. campus of a major Taiwan university to students and their families.
 C.-T. Liu et al. / International Journal of Information Management 31 (2011) 7179 75

Table 2 this research used Cronbachs . For all constructs in the measure-
Demographics of respondents.
ment model, each Cronbachs is above .70. Thus, all constructs in
Demographic Category Sample Percentage the measurement model had adequate reliability.
variables To assure convergent validity, all factor loadings of items should
Gender Male 157 50.5 be signicant (their t-values should exceed 1.96) and the value
Female 154 49.5 of average variance extracted (AVE) should exceed .50 (Fornell &
Education Level High school and below 97 31.2 Larcker, 1981). A value of AVE exceeding .50 demonstrates that
College and associate degree 175 56.3 more than 50% of the variance of the construct is due to its indi-
Graduate school and above 39 12.5 cators. In this study, the t-values ranged from 11.04 to 20.87,
Age 25 118 37.9 signicant at the p < .001 level as shown in Table 1. The AVE of
2635 136 43.7 all constructs exceeded .50, indicating constructs had acceptable
3645 35 11.3 convergent validity overall.
46 22 7.1
Table 3 shows intercorrelations and share variances among
Profession Student 106 34.1 constructs. The cells on the diagonal are constructs Cronbachs
Services and nance 75 24.1 (in italic). The cells on the bottom left corner are intercorre-
Manufacture and IT industry 66 21.2
Other 64 20.6
lations while the cells on the upper right corner (in bold) are
shared variances. The values of AVE are listed too. As evidence
of discriminant validity, all the intercorrelations are smaller than
A total of 440 questionnaires were distributed and 311 valid ques- reliability Cronbachs (Campbell & Fiske, 1959). In addition, the
tionnaires were returned. The response rate was 70.68%. ANOVA of explained variance (i.e., AVE) of constructs in the measurement
groups based on individual characteristics (gender, education level, model exceeds all combinations of shared variances of correspond-
age, and profession) found no differences in responses to key con- ing construct (Straub, 1989). Discriminant validity of measures was
structs (service quality, playfulness, intimacy, satisfaction, trust, also assessed by examining the condence interval around corre-
switch barriers, and loyalty), except gender and education level on lation (two standard errors) of two constructs. The condence
Trust. Table 2 shows the demographics of the respondents. interval should not include 1.0, indicating the two constructs are
not the same (Anderson & Gerbing, 1988). In our study, condence
4. Data analysis and results intervals around correlations of paired constructs range from .13
to .79. Results of the three tests support the discriminant validity
This research followed a two-stage approach to data analy- of the studied model.
sis (Anderson & Gerbing, 1988). First the construct validity of
the measurement model was assessed using conrmatory factor 4.2. Structural model
analysis (CFA); then the proposed theoretical model (Fig. 1) and
research hypotheses were tested by structural equation analysis. Maximum-likelihood-estimation procedures were used to
Both phases used the LISREL 8.54 program. examine the hypothesized relationships in the research model.
Based on the model performance statistics (2 = 320.36, df = 157,
4.1. Measurement model 2 /df = 2.04, GFI = .91, AGFI = .87, CFI = .99, NFI = .97, NNFI = .98,
RMSEA = .058), it can be concluded that the hypothesized model
When testing the validity of the measurement model, the had a reasonable t. The next step involved testing the speci-
Chi-square statistic was signicant. The ratio of 2 /df was 1.97 ed paths for hypotheses. The path coefcients and t-values are
(2 = 293.51, df = 149). Further, the Goodness-of-Fit Index (GFI) reported in Table 4. All proposed paths were signicant. Therefore,
was .91, Adjusted Goodness-of-Fit Index (AGFI) was .88, Normed- all hypotheses were supported. In this research, the total model
Fit Index (NFI) was .98, Nonnormed-Fit Index (NNFI) was .98, explained 48% of the variance in customer loyalty. Playfulness and
Comparative-Fit Index (CFI) was .99, and the Root Mean Square service quality accounted for 61% of the variance in satisfaction.
Error of Approximation (RMSEA) was .056. All were in acceptable Service quality and intimacy accounted for 53% of the variance in
ranges, indicating a reasonable t. trust.
The next step was to examine the measures of the four aspects: The researchers further tested which direct antecedent con-
individual reliability, construct reliability, convergent validity, and struct had a greatest inuence on Loyalty. Three models, one in
discriminant validity. The individual reliability of each item was which 12 and 13 were constrained to be equal, one in which 12
evaluated by examining the loadings with their respective con- and  14 were constrained to be equal, and one in which 13 and  14
structs. Following recommendations (Hair, Anderson, Tatham, & were constrained to be equal, were compared to the unconstrained
Black, 1998), a factor loading was considered signicant when model in which the paths were estimated freely. The results showed
greater than .50. All items in the measurement model had loadings that there existed a signicant difference between 12 (=.42) and
above .50 as shown in Table 1. To examine the construct reliability,  14 (=.21) (2diff = 3.84, df = 1, p < .05). There were no difference

Table 3
Scale analysis results.

Loyalty Satisfaction Trust Switching barrier Playfulness Service quality Intimacy AVE

Loyalty .75 .40 .31 .16 .29 .32 .25 .61

Satisfaction .63 .90 .38 .11 .50 .52 .42 .74
Trust .56 .62 .88 .06 .25 .36 .49 .74
Switching barrier .40 .33 .25 .77 .08 .12 .18 .63
Playfulness .54 .71 .50 .28 .87 .52 .34 .71
Service quality .57 .72 .60 .34 .72 .89 .45 .68
Intimacy .50 .65 .70 .42 .58 .67 .80 .57

Intercorrelations are included in the lower triangle of the matrix. Shared variances in % are included in the upper triangle of the matrix. The construct reliability estimates
are underlined and positioned on the diagonal.
76 C.-T. Liu et al. / International Journal of Information Management 31 (2011) 7179
Table 4
Structural parameter estimates.
Paths Hypothesis Symbol
Satisfaction loyalty H1 12
Trust loyalty H2 13
Switching barriers loyalty H3  14
Playfulness satisfaction H4  21
Service quality satisfaction H5  22
Service quality trust H6  32
Intimacy trust H7  33
**
p < .05.
between 12 (=.42) and 13 (=.26) (2diff = 2.86, df = 1, p > .05) and
between 13 (=.26) and  14 (=.21) (2diff = .06, df = 1, p > .05).
To test which antecedent (hygiene factor or satiser) had
a statistically greater inuence on satisfaction and trust, similar
comparisons were conducted between constrained models (with
equated path coefcients) and the unconstrained model (the paths
were estimated freely). If the 2 statistic of the unconstrained
model differs signicantly from that of a constrained model, then
one factor has a greater inuence on the dependent construct than
the other factor. In the case of satisfaction, the results showed
that there was no signicance difference between the inuence of
playfulness and service quality (2diff = .01, df = 1, p > .05) although
 21 = .38 and  22 = .47. In regard to trust, there was no signi-
cant difference between service quality ( 32 = .27) and intimacy
( 33 = .52) (2diff = 2.87, df = 1, p > .05).
5. Discussion
In this research, a model that investigates the effects of relation-
ship quality and switching barriers on customer loyalty is tested
in the context of mobile telecommunication services. Both rela-
tional qualities, including satisfaction and trust, and switching
barriers have signicant effects on customer loyalty. In terms of
antecedents, it is found that playfulness and service quality impact
satisfaction while service quality and intimacy affect trust.
5.1. Implications for research
Customers stay with a service provider because they want
to and/or they have to. In this research, we took an integrated
approach to examine both aspects by include a pull-in force (rela-
tionship quality) and a push-back force (switching barrier). Good
relationship quality makes customers want to stay with the current
service provider while switching barriers make customers feel that
they have to stay. When both are presented in a model, both have
demonstrated signicant effects on customer loyalty. However, sat-
isfaction component of relationship quality has a stronger effect
than switching barrier. This integrated approach shows that nei-
ther should be left out in order to have a more complete picture of
drivers to customer loyalty. More importantly, this approach gives
us the opportunity to investigate relative effects among factors. The
relative effects may be more revealing and useful. In our study, rela-
tionship quality, especially satisfaction, is more critical to customer
loyalty in mobile service industry. This approach provides a com-
plete and detailed way to study factors relevant and of interest to
marketing scholars. In prior research that includes both pull-in and
push-back aspects, the relative effects of the two are not tested sta-
tistically. For example, trust, satisfaction, and switching costs are
found to impact customer loyalty in Chinese instant message users
(Deng et al., 2009) and satisfaction and switching barriers are found
to impact loyalty among Korean mobile users (Kim et al., 2004).
Neither tests the relative strength of the relationships. Although
Standardized coefcient t-value Conclusion
.42 5.81**
Supported
.26 3.75 Supported
.21 3.05** Supported
.38 5.25** Supported
.47 6.33** Supported
.27 3.49** Supported
.52 6.15** Supported
absolute values of path coefcients can be informative, a statistical
test of difference would be more conclusive.
At the level of antecedents of relationship quality, the principle
of two-factor theory was applied. According to the two-factor the-
ory of satisfying customers (Naumann & Jackson, 1999), attributes
of products or services are classied into two categorieshygiene
factors and satisers. Since hygiene factors are a must for busi-
nesses to maintain relationship quality while satisers are extra
feel-good features, hygiene factors should have had a stronger
effect on customer satisfaction and trust. In our model, service qual-
ity can be thought as a hygiene factor while playfulness is a satiser
for customer satisfaction. For trust, service quality is a hygiene fac-
tor while intimacy is a satiser. Service quality is chosen as the
baseline for comparison because it represents the basic customer
requirement and it is a universal concept across different services
and technologies. Compared to service quality, playfulness and inti-
macy are as strong as factors to customer satisfaction and trust. This
nding has profound implications to practitioners, which are dis-
cussed below. To research, the two-factor theory is a useful lens
to systematically study factors related to customer satisfaction and
other constructs of interest. For example, in online retailing, busi-
nesses strive for customer satisfaction and continued use of their
website. In this situation, what are hygiene factors and what are
satisers? Quite a few factors are linked to online customer satisfac-
tion, such as system quality, media richness, and usability. Among
them, we may think a reliability and security are a must and a taste-
ful design and multimedia may be a satiser. Relative impacts of
these factors can be studied using an approach similar to ours. On
the other hand, the nding that playfulness and intimacy are as
important seems to suggest that the two ceased to be just some-
thing extra that is nice to have and, to some degree, became hygiene
factors in mobile services. Although the nding does not call the
two-factor theory into question, it at least suggests that the line
between hygiene factors and satisers is not as clear as originally
thought to be. Future research is needed to study the dynamics of
hygiene factors and satisers in both similar and different contexts.
5.2. Implications for practice
The ndings indicate that both pull-in (relationship quality in
the model) and push-back (switching barriers in the model) are
important when companies are trying to keep customers. Compa-
nies should look into methods that enhance customer satisfaction,
build customer trust, and make switching harder. On the other
hand, satisfaction has a stronger effect than switching barriers. In
mobile telecommunication industries, it becomes harder to erect
switching barriers because of erce competition and regulatory
policies. Among these methods, investments aiming to build rela-
tionship quality, especially improving customer satisfaction, may
be superior strategies.
Service quality is found to be an important factor to both sat-
isfaction and trust in this study, which is in consistent with prior
research (Aydin & zer, 2005; Hsieh & Hiang, 2004; Zeithaml &
 C.-T. Liu et al. / International Journal of Information Management 31 (2011) 7179
Bitner, 1996). It is still true in mobile telecommunication services
that improving service quality brings the benets of increased
customer satisfaction and trust. Service providers should really
consider ways to improve their services in order to maintain the
basic strength to compete. In the past, playfulness has rarely been
included in research on customer loyalty of mainly utilitarian
services, such as a mobile device. However, more and more enter-
tainment features have been added, meaning that these services
now contain both utilitarian and hedonic values. The nding that
playfulness affects satisfaction and there was no signicance dif-
ference between the inuence of playfulness and service quality
on satisfaction suggests that it cannot be ignored. Similar result
that perceived enjoyment impacts continued intention to use was
found with short message users in Korea (Kim, Park, & Oh, 2008).
The mobile services industry in Taiwan is highly saturated; compe-
tition is erce, as all rms provide reliable and high-quality service.
Playfulness offers another avenue for increasing customer satis-
faction. Companies can provide more value-added options with
entertainment to differentiate themselves from other providers
with standard services.
In addition to service quality, intimacy is also a signicant fac-
tor to trust. That means, customers trust service providers more
and remain loyal if they feel intimate with the company. Compa-
nies can cultivate intimacy with customers to increase customer
trust and enhance customer loyalty. It is interesting to see that
satisers (playfulness and intimacy) are no less important than
hygiene factors (service quality) in mobile telecommunication ser-
vices. Hygiene factors are critical in a sense to maintain the basic
ability to remain and compete in the market; extra things like play-
fulness and intimacy are enhancers that act as the true pulling
forces.
In sum, for companies in a highly competitive market, the better
strategy is to provide high service quality and to implement meth-
ods aiming to provide added value to customers, such as intimacy or
playfulness in mobile telecommunications. Switching barriers are
still a viable technique to prevent customer defection, but compa-
nies should not count on it as the sole strategy to retain customers.
5.3. Limitations and future research
The major limitation of this study is the potential for common
source biases (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Lee, & Podsakoff, 2003), which
is a normal concern for studies using one questionnaire. Although
all the variables were obtained from self-reports, in some situations
self-reports might be the only viable source to assess the respon-
dents internal states, such as attitudes and perceptions (Spector,
2006). Other methodological concerns include measures for highly
correlated constructs although they showed adequate discriminant
validity. Better item and survey design will be utilized in future.
In the current study, users with 3G services were not separated
from regular 2G users. It is possible that the needs of the two groups
of users may be different given their different technologies. In the
future, comparison of the two groups will enable a better under-
standing of consumer behavior in mobile services. Furthermore,
the integrated model with both pull-in and push-back forces can
be applied to contexts with other characteristics to study the rel-
ative strength of both drivers. This study reported an interesting
observation that both hygiene factors and satisers are important.
More studies can explore this phenomenon in depth.
6. Conclusion
This study investigates the factors leading to customer loyalty in
mobile telecommunication services. It showcases a more integra-
tive approach with two opposite forces to loyalty and two classes
77
of antecedents of satisfaction and trust. Findings suggest both pull-
in and push-back forces are useful techniques that companies can
implement to retain customers. Pull-in forces, such as relationship
quality (customer satisfaction and trust), focus on long-term cus-
tomer relationships, while push-back forces are akin to short-term
tactics, such as switching barriers.
Taiwans highly saturated telecommunications market is a chal-
lenge for its mobile services rms. Mere provision of basic services
is insufcient. Companies need to maintain a high level of service
quality and strive to excel in supplying added value to their cus-
tomers. For example, in this study, intimacy and playfulness are
two satisers which the customers strongly value when they make
decisions about their mobile service provider.
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Chung-Tzer Liu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Business Adminis-
tration at Soochow University, Taiwan. He obtained his DBA degree from Cleveland
State University and MS degree from Case Western Reserve University, USA. Dr.
Lius primary research interests are in management information systems, customer
 C.-T. Liu et al. / International Journal of Information Management 31 (2011) 7179 79

relationship management, and their impact on individual and organizational per-
formance. He has published papers in many international journals.
Yi Maggie Guo is an Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems at
University of Michigan Dearborn. She received her Ph.D. from Texas A&M Univer-
sity and her MS from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Her research interests
include ow theory, online consumer behaviors, and business education. Her work
has appeared in many international journals, conference proceedings and edited
books.
Chia-Hui Lee received an MBA degree from Soochow University, Taiwan in 2007.
Her research interests include e-commerce and management science applications.