Switching Behavior

Int. J. Electronic Marketing and Retailing, Vol. 8, No.
3, 2017 185
Switching behaviour model in the Jordanian internet

sector: an integration of the TPB and customer
loyalty
Husam Al Naimi*
Marketing Department,
Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan, Jordan
Email: husam.alnuaimi@gmail.com
*Corresponding author
Mohammad Hamdi Al Khasawneh

Department of E-Marketing and Social Media,
Princess Sumaya University For Technology (PSUT),
Khalil Al Saket St 112, 11941, Amman, Jordan
Email: m.alkhasaawneh@psut.edu.jo
Abstract: While consideration has been given to the traditional model of

relationship marketing, the current research is concerned with advancing our
understanding of customer switching behaviour by exploring the influence of
customer loyalty on customer switching behaviour. In order to provide a more
comprehensive clarification of the switching behaviour of Jordanian internet
users, a more in-depth study of the switching behaviour model was conducted
by including customer loyalty as the main outcome of the relationship
marketing model. The current research is designed to explore the TPB and
investigate the influence of including customer loyalty in switching behaviour
model in order to present a more comprehensive model of switching behaviour
in Jordan. As such, a conceptual model along with four hypotheses are tested
with a sample of 464 internet users, and then analysed quantitatively using
structural equation modelling – partial least squares (SEM-PLS) method. The
findings of the current research provided support for the research model as well
as for most of the hypotheses regarding the relationship among the model
variables. Particularly, in this paper, the research model presented is distinctive
in that it synergistically combines the TPB variables along with customer
loyalty in evaluating the switching behaviour of the Jordanian internet users.
Keywords: switching behaviour; TPB; customer loyalty; Jordan.
Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Al Naimi, H. and

Al Khasawneh, M.H. (2017) ‘Switching behaviour model in the Jordanian
internet sector: an integration of the TPB and customer loyalty’,
Int. J. Electronic Marketing and Retailing, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp.185–211.
Biographical notes: Husam Al Naimi is an Assistant Professor in the

Department of Marketing at Al Zaytoonah University of Jordan, Amman,
Jordan. His research interests include customer relationship marketing, ethics in
marketing, consumer switching behaviour, social marketing, public relations,
and internet marketing.
Copyright © 2017 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

186 H. Al Naimi and M.H. Al Khasawneh
Mohammad Hamdi Al Khasawneh is an Assistant Professor in the Department

of E-Marketing and Social Media at the Princess Sumaya University for
Technology Amman, Jordan. His research interests include internet advertising,
search engine advertising, social media marketing, viral marketing, mobile
marketing, mobile banking, consumer behaviour and corporate social
responsibility.
1 Introduction
Customers switching behaviour is becoming an area of interest in marketing research.

Various studies (Bansal and Taylor, 1999; Chiu et al., 2005; Ganesh et al., 2000;
Keaveney, 1995; Keaveney and Parthasarathy, 2001; Li et al., 2007; Lopez et al., 2006;
Malhotra and Malhotra, 2013; Ranganathan et al., 2006; Roos, 1999; Roost et al., 2004;
Rust and Zahorik, 1993; Vigolo and Cassia, 2014) have investigated the potential
antecedents of customers switching behaviour. Other studies have shown that loyal
customers are less likely to display switching intentions (e.g., Zikiene and Bakanauskas,
2009). However, there has been only a handful of switching behaviour studies which
discuss the vital role of customer’s loyalty to explore the behaviour of customers when
deciding to switch their service providers. Thus, there is an urgent and essential need to
improve our understanding of this field. Bansal and Taylor (1999) argue that actual
customers switching behaviour is predicted by switching intention, and that switching
intention is predicted by customers attitude towards switching, subjective norms and
perceived behavioural control (PBC). However, this argument has not been empirically
investigated, particularly in exploring the influence of customer loyalty on their switching
intention. Hence, the current research examines the important role of customer loyalty
within the switching behaviour domain from the internet user’s perspectives. The
research also addresses the linkage between customer’s loyalty and their intention to
switch service provider, as well as the importance of such a linkage in understanding the
development of the relationship between the two parties in order to develop a
comprehensive model of switching behaviour.
2 Significance of the study
In light of the scarcity of data on customer’s loyalty within the switching behaviour area,
the current research addresses the importance of the relationship between attitude towards
switching subjective norms, PBC, and switching intention, as well as the relationship
between customer’s loyalty and their intention to switch their service provider. The
following research questions elicit such information:
Question 1 How, and to what extent, does customers attitude toward switching,
subjective norms and PBC predict the switching intention of internet
customers?
Question 2 How, and to what extent, does customer loyalty influence switching
intention?
Switching behaviour model in the Jordanian internet sector 187
Significantly, switching behaviours can vary according to the customer base. Indeed,
these behaviours can also be influenced by loyalty levels (see Chiu et al., 2005; Ganesh
et al., 2000; Keaveney and Parthasarathy, 2001; Li et al., 2007; Lopez et al., 2006).
However, because of the difficulties in examining the results in other contexts and other
countries, little research has been undertaken in regards to relationship marketing
development. The current study seeks to improve our understanding in of this area, while,
at the same time, presents internet companies with a range of strategies they can use to
focus on loyal customers who are most valuable to the company. In addition, the study
provides vital information on the role of customer’s loyalty in the development of
switching behaviour model. Furthermore, as applied in the Jordanian context, the study
provides significant switching behaviour information within a developing country.
3 Literature review and hypotheses development
To provide a comprehensive base for the current research, literature related to switching
behaviour, customer’s attitude towards switching subjective norms, PBC, switching
intention and customer’s loyalty were reviewed with a particular focus on identifying the
variables affecting customers switching behaviour within context of the Jordanian
internet services.
3.1 Customers switching behaviour

Customers switching behaviour has been included in the relationship marketing model
since it is an important component in buyer-seller relationship development (Roos, 1999).
Additionally, there is a limited amount of empirical data examining this concept within
the relationship marketing context (Chiu et al., 2005; Ganesh et al., 2000; Roos, 1999).
The importance of investigating the role of customers switching behaviour is reflected
within the long-term relationships literature, as well as within the telecommunications
literature (Roos and Gustafsson, 2007; Xavier and Ypsilanti, 2008). According to Ganesh
et al. (2000), switching behaviour influences the profitability and validity of companies;
thus, only some customers should be targeted for retention and loyalty strategies, as most
satisfied and loyal customers may sometimes switch for unknown reasons.
Indeed, the longer the customers stay in a relationship with the service providers, the
more value they will generate (Reichheld, 1996a). Therefore, maintaining a long
relationship with a customer is a fundamental factor used to determine the value that the
customer provides to the company (Berger and Nasr, 1998). A serious threat to achieving
this long-term relationship is customers switching behaviour (Ganesh et al., 2000), which
reduces market share, impairs profitability and increases costs. For these reasons,
marketing literature has increased attention to this topic (Bansal and Taylor, 1999; Chiu
et al., 2005; Ganesh et al., 2000; Keaveney, 1995; Keaveney and Parthasarathy, 2001; Li
et al., 2007; Lopez et al., 2006; Ranganathan et al., 2006; Roos, 1999; Roos et al., 2004;
Rust and Zahorik, 1993).
Within the marketing literature, there is a debate about identifying one particular
definition of switching behaviour. An early example is the study by Reichheld and Sasser
(1990, p.106) who defined switching as customer defection. Later, Keaveney (1995)
defined switching as the loss of a continuing service customer, while Bansal and Taylor
(1999, p.212) conceptualised switching as the act of replacing or exchanging the current
service provider with another that is available to the consumer in the market. Clearly, the
central idea of switching revolves around arising customer’s subsequent needs and their
moving away from the current service provider.
Interestingly, in the switching behaviour literature, most attention has been drawn to
the various factors that motivate customers switching behaviour (Bansal and Taylor,
1999; Burnham et al., 2003; Gerrard and Cunningham, 2004; Jones et al., 2003;
Keaveney, 1995; Keaveney and Parthasarathy, 2001; Ranganathan et al., 2006; Rust and
Zahoric, 1993; Swinyard and Whitlark, 1994). For example, Keaveney (1995) argued that
marketing research has focused on service quality, satisfaction and service encounter
more than on service switching. Therefore, she introduced a grounded model of
customers switching in the service industry, which distinctly addresses service switching
as related to behavioural intentions.
In the late 1990s, Bansal and Taylor (1999) introduced the service provider switching
model (SPSM). By using this model, they developed a better understanding of how and
why customers switch service providers, and identified three factors that influence
customer’s decisions to switch service provider: service quality, satisfaction, and PBC
(switching costs). They investigated the influence of these factors on the decision-making
process. Their results showed that both service quality and perceived relevance of service
quality affected customers attitudes toward switching service providers. Furthermore,
four variables were identified as determinants of switching intentions: satisfaction,
attitude towards switching, PBC and subjective norms (social influences).
Customer’s attitudes towards switching were seen as important determinant of
customer’s intention to switch service provider, with a higher level of intention to switch
a service provider being associated with a higher level of customer’s actual switching
behaviour. Bansal and Taylor (1999) argued that actual customers switching behaviour is
predicted by switching intention, while switching intention is predicted by attitude
towards switching, subjective norms and PBC. Significantly, in terms of the current
study, this area has not been explicitly studied in the marketing literature.
A well-known attitude behaviour model, theory of planned behaviour (TPB), was
introduced by Ajzen (1991, 2002b). TPB is one of the most important and well-supported
social psychological theories for predicting human behaviour. The central premise of the
theory is that behavioural decisions are not made unexpectedly, but are the result of a
reasoned process in which behaviour is influenced indirectly by attitudes, norms, and
perceptions of control over the behaviour. The model proposes that attitude, subjective
norms, and PBC influence behaviour, mainly through their impact on behavioural
intention. However, as Ajzen (1991) posited, both behavioural intention and PBC can be
used directly to predict actual behaviour. Hence, intention and PBC are seen as
determinants of behaviour. Further, behaviour appears to be a direct function of
behavioural intention, with behavioural intention formed by a customer’s attitudes
towards this behaviour, subjective norms and PBC. Within the context of the current
research, attitude towards switching, subjective norms and PBC are investigated as
important determinants of switching intention, as well as customer loyalty (Figure 1).
Figure 1 Proposed research model
PBC
+
Attitudes
+ Switching - Loyalty
towards
intention
switching
+
Subjective
norms
Note: PBC = perceived behavioural control

Source: Developed for this research
3.2 Attitude toward switching

Attitude towards switching has received considerable attention within the marketing
literature. Indeed, consumer’s attitudes towards switching are an important indicator of
consumer’s intention to switch their service provider (Ajzen, 1991; Bansal and Taylor,
1999; Smith et al., 2008). However, to gain a better understanding of consumer’s
attitudes towards switching, consumer’s behaviour and broader marketing literature
related to attitudes is explored.
Within the consumer’s behaviour literature, the concept of attitudes towards
switching seems to play an important role in predicting and understanding consumer
intention and behaviour (Ajzen, 1991, 2002b, 2005; Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980; Bansal
and Taylor, 1999; Smith et al., 2008). Although there is some debate regarding a precise
definition of attitude, there is a general agreement that attitudes towards switching can be
viewed as “…a learned predisposition to respond in a consistently favourable or
unfavourable manner to switching in general” [Bansal and Taylor, (1999), p.201]. Thus,
the current research reveals that a negative attitude towards switching is vital to the long-
term success of companies and the sustainability of their customers. Indeed, Bansal and
Taylor (1999) suggested customer’s attitude towards switching may enhance their
intention to switch. For this reason, the current research extends this perspective by
exploring the relationship between customer’s attitudes towards switching and customers
intention to switch their internet service provider.
3.3 Subjective norms

Within the marketing literature, subjective norms were considered as an important
element in predicting customers switching intentions (Bansal and Taylor, 1999; Smith
et al., 2008; Spence and Townsend, 2006). This prediction is a social factor; it refers to
the perceived social pressure to perform behaviour or not (Ajzen, 1991). That is,
subjective norms are the perceptions of the social judgements on performing certain
behaviours, and the motivations to comply with this social pressure. Ajzen and Timko
(1986) posited that subjective norms are a combination of peoples’ (or customers)
perceptions that important others think they should or should not make the behaviour
(switching).
Subjective norms have been identified as a vital factor in predicting switching
intentions, based on the customers way of thinking, particularly in terms of the difference
between normative (injunctive) and informational (descriptive) social influence (Ajzen,
2002a). Injunctive norms are considered to reveal perceived social pressures in relation to
performing or not certain behaviours (such as switching). On the other hand, descriptive
norms reflect customer’s perceptions of other peoples’ behaviour. The attractive force is
the expectancy that, if most others are doing it, then most likely it will be a wise thing to
do. Hence, an estimation of the occurrence of the behaviour may help to eliminate our
uncertainty about what behaviours are most suitable. However, it may appear logical to
suppose that not each ‘other’ person or group is equally important to a customer. For this
reason, it is appropriate to consider where and why customers find themselves in some
groups rather than in others.
In terms of the role of subjective norms and the acting out of behaviours, some
researchers have suggested that subjective norms have an influence on customer’s
attitude and intention to switch service providers (e.g., Ajzen, 1991, 2002b, 2005; Bansal
and Taylor, 1999). Importantly, and in accordance with Bansal and Taylor’s (1999) view
that subjective norms enhance customers intention to switch their service provider, the
current research explains the association between subjective norms, customer’s attitude
towards switching and customers intention to switch their internet service provider.
3.4 Perceived behavioural control

According to the TPB, PBC is influenced by one’s beliefs about his opportunities, and the
existing resources necessary for engaging in the behaviour (Ajzen, 1991); it is also an
essential predictor of an individual’s intention (Ajzen, 1991, 2002b, 2005; Bansal and
Taylor, 1999, 2002). Thus, customer’s belief about the chance they have to control both
resources and opportunities influence their intention to switch service providers (Bansal
and Taylor, 1999). Such PBC refers to “peoples’ perception of the ease or difficulty of
performing the behaviour of interest” [Ajzen, (1991), p.183]. Furthermore, according to
Taylor and Todd (1995), the idea of PBC includes two components. The first component
is the notion of self-efficacy, also advocated by Bandura (1977, 1982). Self-efficacy is
defined as being “concerned with judgments of how well one can execute courses of
action required to deal with prospective situations” [Bandura, (1982), p.122]. The second
component of PBC is the idea of facilitating conditions, advocated by Triandis (1977).
Facilitating conditions reveal the availability of time, money, and so forth that are
required to perform certain behaviours. One limitation that consumers face is switching
costs, which can make it too costly for the customers to switch to another service
provider (Andreasen, 1985; Fornell, 1992). However, PBC plays an important element in
the TPB. Furthermore, other studies within the marketing literature considered the
position of the PBC in the prediction of switching intentions (Bansal and Taylor, 1999;
2002; Keaveney, 1995; Smith et al., 2008). Hence, the current study considers PBC as an
important determinant of customer switching intention.
3.5 Switching intention

Behavioural intention refers to an individual’s willingness to perform (Ajzen, 2002b), or
not a specific future behaviour (Konerding, 1999). It has been considered as an important
predictor of an individual’s behaviour (Ajzen, 2002b; Bagozzi et al., 2000; Castañeda
et al., 2007; Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). For this reason, behavioural intention has often
been examined within the framework of TPB (Ajzen, 1991), which identified the best
predictor of behaviour as behavioural intention. Such intentions are largely influenced by
consumer’s attitudes, subjective norms, and PBC (Ajzen, 1991). Therefore, these
antecedents (including attitudes towards switching, subjective norms and PBC) of
intention have received considerable attention in the marketing literature (Bagozzi et al.,
2000; Bansal and Taylor, 1999; Keaveney, 1995; Smith et al., 2008).
In particular, intention to switch is defined as the likelihood that a customer will
engage in actual switching behaviour from the current service provider to another (new)
provider (Bansal and Taylor, 1999). However, only a few studies have touched on
customer’s intention to switch service provider (Bansal and Taylor, 1999; Keaveney,
1995; Smith et al., 2008), or internet service provider, specifically. These studies suggest
that switching intention is influenced by customer’s attitudes towards switching,
subjective norms and PBC. Therefore, the current study considers switching intention as
an important determinant of actual switching behaviour by the customers. Congruent with
these findings, the current research investigates these factors as important determinants of
switching intention, and establishes the following hypotheses to test such a relationship:
H1 Consumers attitudes towards switching will positively affect consumer’s intention to
switch service provider.
H2 Subjective norms will positively affect consumer’s intention to switch service
provider.
H3 Consumers PBC will positively affect consumer’s intention to switch service
provider.
3.6 Customer loyalty

Several studies have indicated that loyalty is a phenomenon related to relationships (e.g.,
Sheth and Parvatiyar, 1995). In addition, with a stronger customer relationship,
companies can increase their sales, decrease their operating expenses and achieve
predictable profit streams (Biong, 1993; Dowling and Uncles, 1997; Ostrowski et al.,
1993; Reichheld, 1996b). Therefore, customers loyalty is considered as the central (Hart
et al., 1999), and the most important part (Palmer, 1994), of relationship marketing. The
importance of this concept starts with the idea that the acquisition of new customers is a
far more expensive process than the retention of current customers (Berry, 1995). The
cost of serving loyal customers is more economical, they are less price sensitive and
spend more (Berry and Parasuraman, 1991; Dowling and Uncle, 1997; Roos et al., 2005;
Tepeci, 1999).
In the internet sector, customer’s loyalty is a major driver of success, as well as being
the key to success for many services, particularly those in the telecommunication setting
(Khatibi et al., 2002). Fullerton (2005) postulated that a small increase in loyal customer
numbers can result in a substantial increase in profitability. Importantly, Serkan and
Gökhan (2005) found that loyal customers are more profitable for internet companies, as
they are easier to serve than non-loyal customers. From a customer perspective, it appears
that they are willing to invest their loyalty in companies that can deliver superior values
when compared to the competition (Reichheld, 1996b). Also, according to Yang and
Peterson (2004), customers have a tendency to avoid locating, searching and evaluating
purchase alternatives, which reinforces their loyalty to one service provider. Thus,
customers tend to avoid such processes that consume their time and effort. They would
rather stay with the familiar than go to a new service provider.
Relationship marketing authors have defined and/or measured the construct of
customer loyalty differently. For instance, De Wulf et al. (2001, p.37) described customer
loyalty from a behavioural perspective, viewing customers loyalty as “a composite
measure based on a customers purchasing frequency and amount spent at a retailer
compared with the amount spent at other retailers from which the consumer buys”.
Indeed, their definition of loyalty was based on Sharp and Sharp’s (1997) idea that the
success of relationship marketing tactics should be evaluated through the behavioural
changes they create. More recently, Liang and Wang (2005) examined and defined
customer’s loyalty as a behavioural construct, although the items they used to measure
customers loyalty also reflect the attitudinal dimension. Behavioural measures were used,
including repurchasing intentions, recommendations to others, and intersecting purchase
intentions. Hennig-Thurau et al. (2002) also defined customer loyalty from an attitudinal
perspective by including WOM as a separate variable in their model. In summary,
customer’s loyalty is a critical outcome of relationship marketing efforts, especially in the
context of the internet. In the current research, consistent with previous studies,
customer’s loyalty is viewed from three common approaches: behavioural, attitudinal and
a composite of behavioural and attitudinal (two-dimensional approach). Because of the
deficiency in defining customer loyalty, and from a single perspective of either behaviour
or attitude, relationship marketing researchers have empirically supported the use of the
composite approach to conceptualising loyalty. The strongest conceptualisation of
customer loyalty is a multi-faceted construct which takes into account both attitudinal and
behavioural aspects (Too et al., 2001).
Thus, this multi-dimensional view of customer’s loyalty has been adopted in the
current research. Within the relationship marketing literature, there is limited research
about the impact of customer’s loyalty on their intention to switch a service provider.
However, Zikiene and Bakanauskas (2009) postulated that by building loyalty programs,
companies can decrease the willingness of customers to switch to another product or
service provider. Also, from the analysis of literature, and the earlier discussions,
different factors appear to affect customer intention to switch. These factors are often
dependent on industry, individual sectors or business specifics (Berry and Parasuraman,
1993; Keaveney, 1995). An original approach was presented by Nordman (2004) towards
the factors that support customers switching behaviour. The resulting loyalty repressing
factors were defined as the capability of generating attitudinal disloyalty in the first place,
while also directly affecting behavioural disloyalty. Thus, attitudinal and behavioural
disloyalty seems to stimulate customer switching behaviour. From the above discussion,
customer’s loyalty has a negative effect on customer switching behaviour. That support
(Zikiene and Bakanauskas, 2009), who concluded that loyal customers are less likely to
display switching intentions. The relationship between loyalty and switching intention
was explored in the current study. The following hypothesis was established as a way to
explore such relationship:
H4 Customer loyalty has a significant negative effect on switching intention.
4 Research methodology
4.1 Sample
A total of 600 customers, subscribing to different Jordanian internet companies, were
selected on the basis of an intercept interview outside companies offices. Of these,
466 customers completed the self-administered survey forms, a very good response rate
of 77.67%. The sample was collected from different internet companies located in
different geographical regions in Jordan. Hence, the research data can be described as
representative of Jordanian internet customers.
4.2 Data collection

The quantitative data collected using surveys provided a numeric description of the
trends, attitudes and opinions (Graziano and Raulin, 1997) of the respondents (Creswell,
2003). The information, statistical in nature (Neuman, 2006), reveals unnoticed patterns
and tests the relationships between variables (Graziano and Raulin, 1997). In the current
study, survey was the most appropriate tool because of its ability to collect quantitative
data for further statistical analysis (Zikmund, 2003). Furthermore, the survey had the
advantage of providing quick, inexpensive, efficient and precise quantitative data (Burns
and Bush, 2003; Kumar et al., 2002; Neuman, 2003; Zikmund and Babin, 2007). Also, as
the purpose of survey-based research is to describe the characteristics of a set of cases or
respondents, in terms of particular phenomena or variables of interest (De Vaus, 1995), it
enabled an understanding of the causes of those phenomena by looking at the variation
across the different respondents, as well as across several groups of cases or respondents
(De Vaus, 1995). Hence, the survey method is the most suitable approach to test the
research hypotheses developed for the current research.
To increase content validity, it was indicated that the survey should be filled out by a
respondent who is subscribing with Jordanian internet service provider. In addition, the
questionnaire was created in English and reviewed for content validity. Since it was
administered to the Jordanian internet users, the English version of the instrument was
then translated to Arabic. The translation and back-translation procedures of the
instrument ensured that the participating respondents are from both non-English and
English speaking backgrounds (e.g., Frazer and Lawley, 2000; Malhotra, 2003).
According to Frazer and Lawley (2000), this procedure is important since cultural
differences can result in non-equivalence, which may confound the results. To test the
instrument, pilot study has been implemented; this required the draft questionnaire to be
administrated to a sample of the target population (Churchill, 1995, 1999). The purpose
of this stage of pilot testing was to measure the validity and reliability of the survey
instrument. Therefore, the draft questionnaire was administrated to 75 respondents, who
were not included in the main survey, chosen by a convenience sampling basis.
Consequently, the wording of some questions was modified. Preliminary evidence
showed that the scales were reliable and valid.
Following the pre-test, the researcher intercepted respondents who were leaving
internet company offices and were asked if they would be willing to participate in the
research. A qualifying question was asked first to ensure that the prospective respondent
fell within the sample population. Then, the three page questionnaire, which included the
covering letter, was given to the respondents. Once the respondents have completed the
surveys they posted them to a secured box before being collected by the researcher. The
common method bias was examined using Harman’s one-factor test (Kline et al., 2000;
Podsakoff et al., 2003). No significant common method bias was found in the dataset.
4.3 Measurement and scaling

In marketing research, the Likert (summated-rating or additive) scale is the most
commonly used (Neuman, 2006). It consists of a sequence of complete statements
pertaining to the given object, which present evaluative response categories ranging from
strongly agree to strongly disagree (Kumar et al., 2002), with which the respondents are
asked to point out their level of agreement or disagreement (Kumar et al., 2002; Malhotra
et al., 2004; Neuman, 2006). A good Likert type scale has items that make clear
statements of opinions, attitudes or beliefs, while the response choices represent a range
of relative strength of agreement with the statements (De Vaus, 1995, 2002). The scores
of the individual statements are summed to produce a single score (Kumar et al., 2002;
Neuman, 2003, 2006). In the current research, consideration was given to the criteria for
selecting a scaling technique, such as information needed by the study, the characteristics
of the respondents and the mode of administration (Hair et al., 2008). As a consequence,
the Likert scale was considered to be appropriate in finalising items for the scale to
measure the constructs under study, especially due to its simplicity, ease of construction
and administration via self-completion questionnaires (Hair et al., 2008; Neuman, 2006).
The conceptualisation and development of the questionnaire was based on the
existing literature, resulted in total of 31 items. The questionnaire instrument was
developed based on the constructs of attitude toward switching, subjective norms, PBC,
loyalty and switching intention. The scale used for customer’s attitudes towards
switching was adopted from Bansal and Taylor’s (1999) scale, which had originally
adapted these items from Ajzen and Driver’s (1992) items. The six items were considered
relevant because for their applicability to the business-to-customer domain. The items
used to measure the subjective norms were also adapted from Bansal and Taylor’s (2002)
two-item measure of subjective norms, which were originally adapted from Taylor and
Todd’s (1995) items. The scale for PBC was adopted from Bansal and Taylor’s (2002)
scale, which were originally adapted from Madden et al. (1992), and Taylor and Todd’s
(1995) items. The four items were considered appropriate for their applicability to the
business-to-customer domain. To measure the loyalty construct in the current research,
12 items were adopted from Too et al. (2001), three items reflect behavioural customer
loyalty, while the other nine items reflected attitudinal customer loyalty. Their measures
of loyalty were also based on previously well-established scales, such as Schijns and
Schroder (1996), Selnes (1998) and Sirohi et al. (1998). To assess the strength of
respondents intentions to switch their internet service provider, three items were used.
These items were constructed in accordance with the recommendation of Ajzen (2002a)
and Ajzen and Driver (1992). The scale was deemed appropriate for the current research
because it reflected the definition of switching intention used in the current study.
Furthermore, the scale was improved utilising a variety of earlier studies (e.g., Ajzen and
Driver, 1992; Bansal and Taylor, 1999; Smith et al., 2008). Additional four items were
included for capturing demographic information (gender, age, educational level, and
income).
4.4 Demographic profile of the respondents
Table 1 outlines the participants’ demographic profiles for gender, age, educational
qualification, and income. Male participants accounted for the majority of the sample
(67.6%), while the average age of the participants was 38 years (SD 9.38). The highest
educational level was 92.7%, of them had a university degree; the remaining 7.3% had
completed secondary education. The average monthly income of the respondents was
626.5 JD, (SD 267.62). Nevertheless, the average income of the participants can be said
to represent the average income as a whole in Jordan.
Table 1 Demographic profile of the sample (N = 466)
Variable Number (n) Frequency (%)

Gender
Male 315 67.6
Female 151 32.4
Age
Range 22 yrs to 63 yrs
Mean 38.1 yrs
SD 9.38 yrs
Education level
Did not finish high school 11 2.4
High school 23 4.9
Diploma 58 12.5
Undergraduate degree 237 51
Postgraduate degree 136 29.2
Income (optional)
Range 189 to 2,000 JD
Mean 626.65 JD
SD 267.62 JD
Note: SD = standard deviation
5 Research results
To test the model, a two-step method was used beginning with the measurement model to
examine the reliability and validity of the instrument, and then analysing the structural
model using a regression analysis to check the effects among various constructs
(Anderson and Gerbing, 1988). The regression analysis method used in this research is
structural equation modelling – partial least squares (SEM-PLS). SEM-PLS is a
second-generation comprehensive statistical data analysis approach which is more
powerful than other first-generation multivariate techniques that can measure single
relationships one at a time (Hair et al., 2014). PLS approach was appropriate considering
the size of the model, enabling us to obtain meaningful results from the number of
responses obtained. The rule of thumb for determining the smallest sample size required
to perform PLS analysis is that the sample must comprise ten times the number of items
present in the largest construct (Hair et al., 2014). SmartPLS 2.0 was used to perform
inner and outer model regression analysis. Findings are shown in the scenario below.
5.1 Measurement model results

Tables 2 and 3 present the measurement model results. Composite reliability (CR) is
above 0.80 indicating that the scales have internal consistency (Table 2). To evaluate the
indicator reliability, loadings above 0.65 were considered. Thus, no items were
eliminated. Item-to-total correlation for each item should be more than 0.50 which is
matching the results in the current study. As seen in Table 2, the instrument presents
good indicator reliability as the loadings are above 0.65. Average variance extracted
(AVE) was used to test convergent validity. AVE should be higher than 0.50 so that the
latent variables explain more than half of the variance of its indicators (Fornell and
Larcker, 1981; Hair et al., 2014; Henseler et al., 2009). As shown in Table 2, all
constructs meet these criteria. The AVE, CR, and alpha values are higher than the
recommended thresholds of 0.500, 0.700, and 0.770, respectively (Bagozzi and Yi, 1988;
Gefen et al., 2000; Nunnally, 1978). It is important also to consider that a small item-
correlation’s score provides that the item is not measuring the same construct measured
by the other items included. A correlation value less than 0.2 or 0.3 indicates that the
corresponding item does not correlate very well with the scale overall and, thus, it should
be dropped. Thus, items were retained as they loaded 0.4 or more on a factor and the
reliability analysis indicated an item-total correlation of more than 0.4. This demonstrates
convergent validity and validity indicating that the constructs can be used to test the
conceptual model.
This demonstrates convergent validity and validity indicating that the constructs can
be used to test the conceptual model.
Lastly, discriminant validity was tested based on the square root of AVE for each
construct which should be greater than the correlations with all constructs (Boudreau
et al., 2001; Fornell and Larcker, 1981). In Table 3, it is shown that the square root of
AVE (in bold) is higher than the correlation between constructs.
The measurement model results indicate that the model has good internal consistency,
indicator reliability, convergent validity and discriminant validity. Hence, the constructs
from our model are statistically distinct and can be used to test the structural model.
Table 2 Individual item reliability and construct validity
Composite Cronbach’s
Construct Factor Loadings AVE
reliability alpha
PBC PBC01 0.807 0.54 0.816 0.721
PBC02 0.657
PBC03 0.804
PBC04 0.672
Attitude ATT01 0.915 0.809 0.962 0.952
ATT02 0.896
ATT03 0.898
ATT04 0.904
ATT05 0.877
ATT06 0.903
Subjective SN01 0.955 0.916 0.956 0.909
norms SN02 0.956
Switching SW01 0.912 0.833 0.937 0.899
intention SW02 0.930
SW03 0.894
Loyalty LOY01 0.807 0.698 0.970 0.968
LOY02 0.824
LOY03 0.773
LOY04 0.838
LOY05 0.846
LOY06 0.866
LOY07 0.823
LOY08 0.729
LOY09 0.855
LOY10 0.854
LOY11 0.872
LOY12 0.786
Table 3 Latent variable correlations
PBC 0.728
ATT 0.145 0.899
SN –0.0439 0.319 0.954
SW 0.159 0.720 0.362 0.912
LOY –0.069 –0.436 –0.349 –0.475 0.835
Source: Developed for the current research
5.2 Structural model

An assessment of the structural model was undertaken to determine the significance of
the paths and the predictive power of the model through the PLS algorithm, then by
considering a bootstrapping process that involved 5,000 random re-samples from the
original dataset to determine the significant levels of path coefficients (Hair et al., 2014).
Firstly, a systematic assessment of the structural model was conducted to assess
the significance of path coefficients by examining the standard error; t-statistics
R-squared value and confidence interval (Chin, 1998). The amount of variance
explained by R2 provides an indication of the model fit (Hair et al., 1998) as well as
the predictive ability of the endogenous variables (Chin, 1998). Hair et al. (2014)
suggest that the minimum level for an individual R2 should be greater than a minimum
acceptable level of 0.10.
Table 4 highlights the hypotheses of the study and shows the path coefficient between
the exogenous and endogenous variables, the average variance accounted for, R2 and
bootstrap critical ratios. The bootstrap critical ratios (T-statistics) determined the stability
of the estimates and were acceptable at ranges between –1.96 and +1.96 (Chin, 1998).
The R2 value of ‘switching behaviour intention’ was found equal to 56.4% indicating that
it was greater than the Hair et al.’s (2014) recommended level of 0.10. Therefore, it was
appropriate to examine the significance of the paths associated with these variables. All
of the paths and variables had bootstrap critical ratios as shown in Table 5.
Table 4 Partial least squares results for the theoretical model
Predicted Predictor Critical Hypotheses

Hypotheses Path R-squared
variable variable ratio results
Switching PBC H1 0.066 .822 Not
intention supported
Attitude H2 0.601 8.673 Supported
Subjective H3 0.115 2.057 Supported
norms
Loyalty H4 –0.167 0.564 3.816 Supported
Source: Developed for the current research
The PLS results, as shown in Table 4, indicate that customers PBC did not significantly
affect customers switching behavioural intention (β = 0.066, t = 0.822, p < 0.01),
implying that PBC is not an important predictor of customers switching behavioural
intention, thereby rejecting H1. As proposed in H2, a significant strong positive
correlation between customers attitudes and customers switching behavioural intention
was found (β = 0.601, t = 8.673, p < 0.01), providing support for H2. Furthermore,
subjective norms are statistically significant in explaining customers switching
behavioural intentions (β = 0.115, t = 2.057, p < 0.01), thus, supporting H3. As proposed
in H4, a significant negative correlation between loyalty and customers switching
behavioural intention was found (β = –0.167, t = 3.816, p < 0.01), providing support for
H4. Overall, within the four hypotheses formulated, only one hypothesis is disconfirmed
by the data.
6 Discussion and implications
This research aims to identify how, and to what extent, attitudes towards switching,
subjective norms, PBC and customers loyalty can predict switching intention. Hence,
customers loyalty was included in the switching behaviour model since it had been
considered an important component in buyer-seller relationship development (Roos,
1999), and because of the limited empirical investigations examining this concept within
the switching behaviour context (Chiu et al., 2005; Ganesh et al., 2000; Roos, 1999). The
importance of investigating the role of customer’s loyalty had been underscored within
the customer switching behaviour literature, as well as being strongly suggested within
the telecommunications literature as an issue needing more exploration (Roos and
Gustafsson, 2007; Xavier and Ypsilanti, 2008). Such information provided a better
understanding of the relationship development between internet customers and their
service providers. In this context, the current investigation fills an existing gap in the
customer switching behaviour literature. To achieve this outcome, four hypotheses (H1,
H2, H3, and H4) were posited, representing the correlation between PBCs, attitudes
toward switching, subjective norms, customer’s loyalty and switching intention,
respectively, within the Jordanian internet domain from the customers’ perspectives.
Significantly, the study findings were the first to provide an empirical insight into the role
of customer’s loyalty as an important element within the switching behaviour context.
The findings also expand our knowledge of the internet users’ perspectives in relation to
switching behaviour.
Customer’s attitudes towards switching had a significant positive influence on
customer’s intention to switch their service provider. The findings provided support for
this hypothesis (H1). The results show that an individual’s attitude towards switching was
the best predictor of customer intention to switch. Therefore, the behavioural response to
switching intention appears dependent upon the overall attitude that the internet customer
holds towards switching. This means that a more positive attitude towards switching will
lead to a higher intention to switch.
In contrast, customers who hold a negative attitude towards switching will be less
likely to switch their current internet provider. This finding supports the accepted view
that attitudes are a predictor of switching intentions (Bansal and Taylor, 1999). Although
this relationship has not been explicitly studied in the relationship marketing literature,
the results are consistent with many studies of the TPB (e.g., Ajzen, 1991); the
relationship was also examined and confirmed in various contexts, for example: mobile
advertising (Xu, 2007), online shopping (Shim et al., 2001; Van Der Heijden et al.,
2003), and offline media advertising (Brown and Stayman, 1992). Thus, the relationship
between customers attitudes towards switching, and their switching intention (confirmed
by the current research) appears to have substantial support in the marketing literature,
but not in the relationship marketing literature.
In regards to subjective norms on customer’s intention to switch, hypothesis H2 was
found to have a significant positive influence on switching intention. Therefore,
subjective norm was a predictor variable in the TPB model that explained how an
individuals perceptions of social pressure influences their intention to switch a service
provider. The results indicate that, as the consumers subjective norms score increases,
their intention to switch from their current internet service provider tends to increase.
These findings support previous studies (Ajzen, 2002a; Smith et al., 2008; Spence and
Townsend, 2006). However, prior research, such as that by Bansal and Taylor (1999),
found that subjective norms only have an indirect effect on customer’s intention to switch
service providers. Their results revealed that subjective norms appear to have a
significant effect on customer’s attitude towards switching and a non-significant direct
effect on their intention to switch. They argued that such non-significant relationships
could arise due to the fact that their respondents perceived others preferences or approval
for their actions in terms of behavioural beliefs, rather than normative beliefs. The lack of
evidence for subjective norms within (Bansal and Taylor’s, 1999) study may reflect a
poor conceptualisation of this construct within the framework of the TPB. In addition,
differences between the significant influence of subjective norms in the current study and
the less substantial influence of subjective norms, in their study, may have arisen due to
the different cultural backgrounds of the respondents in their study, that is respondents
from Jordan (the current study), and respondents from Canada (the Bansal and Taylor
study).
Within the standard TPB model, PBC is one construct that explains or predicts
intentions behaviour. PBC represents customer’s perceived control over specific
behaviour, such as switching their service provider. Furthermore, PBC in the TPB model
has a direct effect on intention (Ajzen, 1991; 2002b; 2005; Bansal and Taylor, 1999,
2002). The current study examined this effect in the internet sector from the customer’s
perspectives. It was hypothesised (H3) that PBC has a significant positive influence upon
customers to switch their service provider However, Ajzen and Driver (1992) postulated
that the relative importance of attitude, subjective norms and PBC, in the prediction of
the intention, was expected to vary across behaviours and populations.
Therefore, in some applications, attitudes toward behaviour had a significant impact
on intentions, whereas in others applications, all the three factors were sufficient to
account for the intention. Furthermore, Taylor and Todd (1995) identified two elements
of PBC (self-efficacy and facilitating conditions). Additionally, one of the main
limitations that customers face in relation to switching related behaviours are switching
costs (Andreasen, 1985; Fornell, 1992). The effect of these elements on the Jordanian
internet customers perception of the difficulty (little control) of performing switching was
expected, as customers have to pay early charges if they want to switch (or exit from)
their service providers. Thus, it was expected that PBC would not affect Jordanian
internet customers intention to switch service provider.
Interestingly, in the current study, the relationship between PBC and switching
intention was not significant. One possible explanation for the non-significant effect of
PBC on intention to switch service providers may be due to the customer’s evaluation of
the behaviour. If the behaviour is positively evaluated, the customer might find a
significant effect of PBC on behavioural intention. In the current context, switching
behaviour might be evaluated as a negative behaviour, because of the limitations of
self-efficacy and facilitating conditions and, hence, a non-significant effect. Another
explanation may rest with the effect of switching cost and other elements of PBC on
internet customer’s perception of switching. Thus, if customers believe that they have to
pay extra charges to switch, while having little control on switching, then their intention
to switch will be low. This behaviour is expected if they believe that they do not have the
resources, or the ability, to switch their current internet service to a new internet service
provider. Overall, the findings did not support hypothesis H3.
The Jordanian convenience sample, in the current research, was tested for the TPB.
Importantly, Jordanians are considered to have cultural traits of high uncertainty
avoidance and low individualism (Akour et al., 2006). Thus, they have perceptions of
other people’s behaviour, which are more resistant to change, less risk taking and conflict
avoidance (Akour et al., 2006). For this reason, Jordanians are unlike people from
individualist cultures, who prefer to act as individuals and are not afraid of changing their
service providers. Thus, in Jordan, if most customers switch their provider company, it is
perceived as being a wise thing to do, so others switch as well. Similar research
investigating food choice in Africa found that cultural factors or subjective norms exert a
strong influence on intention to avoid sugared snacks (Astrom and Rise, 2001). Taken
together, it is understandable that the effects of subjective norms on switching intention
are significant in Jordan, whereas they are not in Western (individualistic) societies (see
Bansal and Taylor, 1999). Hence, the current research confirms that the relationship
between subjective norms and switching intention exists, but that it cannot be universally
applied across all cultures.
The negative influence of customer loyalty on switching intention was examined in
the current study. The literature review identified a lack of knowledge about this
relationship. Thus, it was assumed that, when loyalty levels of Jordanian internet
customers were high; their intention to switch the service provider was at a lower level.
The presentation of these two constructs in one single model provides a deeper
understanding of the relationship development between customers and service providers
than previously available. It was for this purpose that hypothesis H4 was proposed.
Customer’s loyalty was hypothesised to have a significant negative influence on
customers switching intention. The increase in customer loyalty, within the relationship
marketing development, was expected to decrease the level of customer’s intention to
switch from their current internet service provider. Although previous research had not
investigated the impact of customer loyalty on switching intention, earlier relationship
marketing research had identified that loyalty was perceived as more important and more
relevant to customers; thus, such customers were less interested or had a low level of
intention to switch their service providers (Zikiene and Bakanauskas, 2009).
However, few empirical examinations have been conducted with respect to the
relationship between customer loyalty and switching intention, with no comprehensive
switching behaviour model available. Hence, the current study was undertaken to gain an
understanding of the development of switching behaviour of Jordanian internet
customers. From such knowledge, the model of switching behaviour was expanded to
include the addition of customer loyalty. Therefore, the current research fills an important
gap in the literature. The findings support this hypothesis (H4), particularly in terms of
building and securing high levels of loyalty. Hence, within relationship development, that
loyalty negatively influenced the switching intention of the internet customer. The results
show that customers with stronger attitudinal and behavioural loyalty to their current
service provider were less likely to switch provider. The link between customer loyalty
and switching intention had not been established by the earlier research.
However, most relationship marketing literature indicated that, when associating
customer loyalty with switching intention, it is necessary to make a distinction between
behavioural and attitudinal dimensions. Thus, customers switching intention can be
directly expressed through behavioural, but not attitudinal, loyalty (e.g., Nordman, 2004).
Nevertheless, according to Zikiene and Bakanauskas (2009), behavioural and attitudinal
disloyalty appears to stimulate customers switching intention. In the current research, a

number of these customer-specific factors appear to repress loyalty, including cost issues,
inconvenience, and core service failures. These factors reduce behavioural and attitudinal
loyalty, so that customers can intend to switch their service provider. Indeed, the current
research argues that customer’s loyalty impacts customer switching intention; in this case
customer’s intention will be at a lower level. Congruent with Zikiene ad Bakanauskas
(2009) conclusion, the results also confirm that the concept of customer loyalty
comprises both behavioural and attitudinal components; these elements had a negative
influence on customer’s intention to switch. Thus, customers who recommended the
current service provider to others, (behavioural loyalty) and who were motivated to
repeatedly buy from their current internet company (attitudinal loyalty), were most
unlikely, or never intended to switch their service provider for another internet company.
6.1 Theoretical implications

An area of advancement in our understanding, from the current study, has centred on how
customers perform the switch from their service providers. The research revealed that the
constructs of customer’s attitudes towards switching, subjective norms, and loyalty are
important in determining customers switching intention. In contrast, their PBC was found
to be unimportant. Furthermore, while TPB had been previously studied in consumer
settings, this is the first study to assess its value in the service setting. Thus, the results
identified that customer’s loyalty works well in preventing customers from switching
their current service providers, which is the purpose of relationship marketing. While the
linkage between customer’s loyalty and switching intention was examined before
(Garbarino and Johnson, 1999; Jonsson and Zineldin, 2003; Nordman, 2004; Palmatier
et al., 2006; Price and Arnould, 1999; Smith, 1998; Wang et al., 2006; Zikiene and
Bakanauskas, 2009), these have focused on the business-to-business context. The current
study enriches the existing literature by providing significant knowledge on switching
behaviour and relationship marketing in the business-to-customer and service context.
Importantly, there has been a strategic and tactical shift from the transactional approach,
of marketing tangible goods, to one based on the creation of intangible value (Vargo and
Lusch, 2004) through customer-service provider relationships. Hence, society is moving
into a service dominant logic where ordinary marketing relationships are increasingly
defined as service relationships (Vargo, 2009). Thus, this study provides valuable
background information to assist in the transformation.
In summary, the current findings have advanced our understanding of the
development of the relationships between Jordanian internet customers and their service
providers. The empirical testing validates the theory, from the customers’ viewpoint,
within the context of switching behaviour. As such, the research is significant in that it
integrates earlier relationship marketing research (associated with customers’ switching
behavioural aspects). Thus, the new switching behaviour model becomes a valuable
theoretical example (from the customer’s perspective) by highlighting the determinants
that affect customer intention to switching. Furthermore, the outcomes of attitudes
towards switching, loyalty and subjective norms (characterised by the customer’s
intention to switch their current service providers) is an important revelation. For these
reasons, the new model offers a broad perspective on how internet customers develop
their switching behaviour with their service provider. Such knowledge greatly advances
our understanding of the switching behaviour domains.
6.2 Practical implications

Significantly, the new model of switching behaviour helps identify important factors that
affect customer decision-making processes, especially when they are faced with the need
to decide whether or not to switch their current service provider. Such a diagnosis can act
as a guide to the actions that may be taken by the service provider to reduce a customer’s
tendency to switch and, thus, avoid the negative outcomes associated with customers
switching. The results also show that customer’s attitudes towards switching, subjective
norms and customer loyalty are playing important role in switching intention. The
subjective norms (e.g., how a customer’s significant others feel about him or her
switching) are important in influencing this intention. Also, customer’s loyalty has a
significant negative impact on their intention to switch the internet service provider.
Thus, the service provider can, for example, stress the role of the significant others in
the decision-making process. Such outcomes can be achieved through promotional efforts
that highlight the inconvenience, etc., in switching. While not surprising, the attitude
towards switching is the most influential determinant of switching intentions. These
attitudes reflect how favourable or unfavourable the customer feels the outcomes of
switching will be. Hence, the service provider can affect attitudes towards switching by
focusing on the relative advantages (or disadvantages) of switching.
Interestingly, the customers did not perceive behavioural control as a significant
predictor of switching intention in this Jordanian internet context. The finding was
expected, as Jordanian internet customers are acutely aware of the difficulty of
performing switching due to the cost of switching (early exit charges). Switching costs
can also encompass factors such as inconvenience and effort. Indeed, Keaveney (1995)
had previously found that even satisfied customers switched service providers because of
factors such as inconvenience and occasional competitive actions. Nevertheless, since the
cost of switching inhibits customers from engaging in switching behaviour, service
providers may increase their switching costs as a tactic to prevent switching. In the
Jordanian internet services context, some internet companies have already used monetary
penalties to prevent their current customers from switching to a different service
provider.
However, careful management of the policies is needed when service providers
consider increasing switching costs (Keaveney, 1995; Matzler et al., 2015). In
committing to such activities, a service provider may run the risk of performing switching
by paying financial penalties. This policy might be successful in reducing defection
among the present customer base, but it might depress potential customers from
purchasing their services in the first place. Hence, increasing switching costs for current
customers may translate into increasing entry barriers for potential customers.
Another influencing factor is customer loyalty. However, customer loyalty plays a
more important role in switching intention than that of the subjective norms, but less than
attitudes towards switching. Few previous studies have investigated the role of customer
loyalty on switching intention. The current study addressed this gap. The results show
that once customers become more behaviourally and attitudinally loyal to their
relationship with a service provider, it becomes harder for them to switch their service
providers. This has a rather important implication for service marketers who wish to
maintain their competitive edge and customer base. The findings are congruent with
those of Zikiene and Bakanauskas (2009), namely, that high level behavioural and
attitudinal loyalty leads to decreased customer intentions to switch service provider.
This conclusion can be drawn, as no significant effects were found of the customers
PBC on their intention to switch service provider. Importantly, however, this outcome
could be another indicator of the efficient mechanism of using switching penalties (early
financial charges) by the Jordanian internet companies to discourage their customers
from switching to another service provider. Hence, managers should be aware of the
value of using such penalties, while also being aware of the negative consequence of too
high a penalty, which may have the ability to frighten away potential customers.
7 Limitations and future research
In the current study, the first limitation relates to the realisation that the setting only
allowed for an understanding of directional relationships among factors of interest, and
not causal conclusions. Unlike the research undertaken here, controlled experiments with
subsets of the Relationship Marketing Model are the most appropriate way to identify
causal inferences for the hypothesised relationship. The second limitation relates to the
cultural context, and how that may influence the way customers view the relationships
(Sheth and Partivayar, 1995; Arnold and Bianchi, 2001). As a consequence, generalising
the results from this study may be inappropriate as the outcomes reflect the views of
participants from a low individualist culture, namely, the Jordanian customers in the
context of the internet industry. The third limitation relates to the use of self-reported
behavioural measures, which can produce less valid outcomes than the actual behavioural
measures. In the current study, the respondents were asked to report their switch through
behavioural intention, instead of through a recording of their actual switching behaviour.
As a result, there could be some error reporting. This self-reported behavioural measure
approach was taken, however, because of the time and cost implications from recording
the customer’s actual switching behaviours, and the settings needed to record these
patterns. Despite this limitation, the study reported good validity results, indicating that
the use of the self-reported measure of switch through intention was acceptable.
The current study focused on Jordanian internet customers. Additional research,
therefore, is needed into other cultural groups. Hence, a cross-cultural survey would
discover if other internet customers consider their switching behaviour in the same way
as the Jordanian customers. Thus, the model could be tested in both developed and
developing countries, for example, the United States of America and India, respectively.
If the findings hold true in other cultures, then the generalisability of the current findings
are proven. As culture is an important element in consumer-business relationships (Sheth
and Partivayar, 1995; Arnold and Bianchi, 2001), this aspect becomes even more
important for global services in their targeting of customers. In addition, further research
is needed to replicate the study to confirm the findings using other research designs, such
as longitudinal surveys or experimental settings. These parameters would allow for
further examination of the causal relationship among the variables in the model. For
example, longitudinal surveys allow the tracking of customer behaviour, which may
change and vary over time, while experimental research design provides the tools to
investigate and record, more precisely, customer’s actual behaviour. The current cross-
sectional study serves as an important starting point for later longitudinal and
experimental studies.
The proposed model could also be assessed in terms of the business-to-business

context. The results may reveal big differences in contexts where relationships are
founded on formal agreements and contracts (Hutt and Speh, 1997), for example, in
professional services (see Smith, 1998).
As noted earlier, this study is one of the few studies undertaken to increase our
understanding of the development of customers switching behaviour by the inclusion of
customer loyalty. The percentage of variance explained by customer switching intentions
suggests that there are still variables that can help explain such behaviour, such as service
quality (Bansal and Taylor, 1999), price considerations (Zeithaml et al., 1996), alternative
attractiveness (Ping, 1994), and variety-seeking behaviour (McAlister, 1982). Further
research on customer switching behaviour will ultimately result in a full-fledged theory
of customer switching in the services industry. In today’s world, research plays an
essential role in expanding the knowledge of managers, especially in economies that are
becoming increasingly service based, particularly as customer retention is the key to
business survival, as well as success.
8 Conclusions
Although Roos (1999) observed that many marketing practitioners were keen to
understand the development of buyer-seller relationships, few had paid explicit attention
to the role played by switching behaviour in this process. In the current study, customers
switching intention was found to be influenced by their attitudes towards switching and
subjective norms, but not their perceived behaviour control. The study examined the
elements of the TPB in order to develop a model of switching behaviour from the
Jordanian internet customers’ perspectives.
Furthermore, the current research is the first study to identify a significant
relationship between consumer’s loyalty (combining behavioural and attitudinal aspects)
and customers switching intention. Additionally, the findings support previous findings
(e.g., Zikiene and Bakanauskas, 2009) that loyalty, as a two-dimensional construct
(comprising behavioural and attitudinal), is crucial in shaping the relationships between
Jordanian internet customers and their service providers. Thus, the current investigation
into switching behaviour has provided a greater understanding of relationship
development. These findings are important and useful for both academics and
practitioners in the services industry, especially internet service providers.
Lastly, the current research findings have enriched and expanded our understanding
of switching behaviour development in the context of Jordanian customers and the
internet sector. Our knowledge now includes recognition of the importance of the
association between attitudes towards switching, subjective norms, PBC, customer
loyalty and switching intention, namely, that these elements are key factors in switching
behaviour context.
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Int. J. Electronic Marketing and Retailing, Vol. 8, No.

Switching behaviour model in the Jordanian internet

Mohammad Hamdi Al Khasawneh

Abstract: While consideration has been given to the traditional model of

Keywords: switching behaviour; TPB; customer loyalty; Jordan.

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Al Naimi, H. and

Biographical notes: Husam Al Naimi is an Assistant Professor in the

Copyright © 2017 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Mohammad Hamdi Al Khasawneh is an Assistant Professor in the Department

Customers switching behaviour is becoming an area of interest in marketing research.

2 Significance of the study

3 Literature review and hypotheses development

3.1 Customers switching behaviour

Figure 1 Proposed research model

Note: PBC = perceived behavioural control

3.2 Attitude toward switching

3.3 Subjective norms

3.4 Perceived behavioural control

3.5 Switching intention

3.6 Customer loyalty

4.2 Data collection

4.3 Measurement and scaling

4.4 Demographic profile of the respondents

Table 1 Demographic profile of the sample (N = 466)

Variable Number (n) Frequency (%)

5.1 Measurement model results

Table 2 Individual item reliability and construct validity

Table 3 Latent variable correlations

5.2 Structural model

Predicted Predictor Critical Hypotheses

6 Discussion and implications

disloyalty appears to stimulate customers switching intention. In the current research, a

6.1 Theoretical implications

6.2 Practical implications

7 Limitations and future research

The proposed model could also be assessed in terms of the business-to-business

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