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Relationship breadth
Even though the literature has mostly focussed on relationship length and depth, understanding the customer‟s motivation to purchase additional services from the same service provider is also important (Soureli et al., 2008:6). The purchase of additional services is an indication that a customer would like to pursue a relationship with an organisation (Lopez et al., 2006:561). Liang and Chen (2009:227) found that satisfied customers maintain the existing relationship, but that committed customers are more likely to expand their relationship. Furthermore, bundling products to better meet customer needs can lead to a competitive advantage, since customers will perceive unique bundles as a differentiating variable of the service offering (Burnham et al., 2003:119).
The breadth of the consumer–organisation relationship refers to additional products or services purchased over time (Bolton et al., 2004:273; Liang & Chen, 2009:219; Polo & Sesé, 2009:124). Relationship breadth can be described as the “expansion of the customer relationship” with the organisation (Bolton et al., 2004:274) or the purchase of additional service offerings. Alternative terms to describe relationship breadth are “crossbuying” or “add-on buying” (Bolton et al., 2004:273). Another facet of relationship breadth entails modification of the service offering that is currently in use (Burnham et al., 2003:113), in other words, an “upgrade” to a more suitable service offering (Bolton et al., 2004:273).
When customers purchase complimentary services, relationship breadth is deepened, since the core service is enhanced with extra benefits and the service offering will most likely be more tailored to the customer‟s specific needs (Lopez et al., 2006:561). The wider the variety of service offerings purchased from one organisation, the more costly switching becomes for the customer (Polo & Sesé, 2009:124; Vasudevan et al., 2006:346). Evaluation of alternatives becomes more complicated, since the customer will have to evaluate a wider variety of competitor service offerings before switching (Burnham et al., 2003:114; Polo & Sesé, 2009:124). Lopez et al. (2006:568) strongly advise organisations to extend the range of services on offer. Complimentary services have been shown to increase relationship enhancement and maintenance, because switching costs increase as the number of items in the service bundle increase (Klemperer, 1995:534).
Customers‟ cross-buying approaches differ. Some customers prefer to purchase additional service offerings from a variety of service providers, either because they do not want to be tied to one service provider for a long time, or because they prefer to diversify their risks. Other customers prefer to purchase several different products from one service provider because of the convenience of a “one-stop shopping” experience (Soureli et al., 2008:7). Intuitively, the expectation exists that, as relationship breadth increases, switching propensity would decrease. Lopez et al. (2006:564) found that relationship breadth is negatively correlated to switching intention. Similarly, Ranganathan et al. (2006:274) found that service bundling and switching intention have a negative relationship. Thus, as the number of items in the service bundle increase, the customer lock-in effect becomes greater (Ranganathan et al., 2006:272), implying that switching costs are increased and thereby switching intention is decreased. However, Maicas et al. (2009a:169) found a positive relationship between relationship breadth and switching behaviour, implying that customers who purchase additional services from the service provider (that is, services over and above the core service) are more likely to switch. Ahn et al. (2006:564) reported similar results, explaining that heavy users with an accumulation of service experiences may explore more advanced services offered by other service providers. The above findings are similar to the counterintuitive results found for relationship depth (Ahn et al., 2006:564; Madden et al., 1999:205) and relationship length (Keramati & Ardabili, 2011:352; Maicas et al., 2009a:168) which suggest that long relationship duration and high service usage increase switching propensity, because customers with high usage rates and high expenditures seek the best value-for-money (Ahn et al., 2006:564).
As with the two previous relationship characteristics, there are opposing results as to whether relationship breadth has a positive or negative influence on switching intention. Despite the conflicting literature, the findings of Lopez et al. (2006:564) and Ranganathan et al. (2006:274) were considered to formulate the hypotheses for relationship breadth. Thus the following hypotheses are proposed: H9a: There is a negative relationship between relationship breadth and switching intention. H9b: There is a negative relationship between relationship breadth and switching behaviour.
Research methodology
Quantitative research uses surveys consisting of a combination of measurement scales to measure psychological behaviour or characteristics (Leedy & Ormrod, 2010:94). All respondents are asked the exact same set of questions, so that answers can be changed into a numeric format and summarised using percentages, averages, or a wide variety of statistical techniques (Lamb et al., 2010:162). In contrast, qualitative research collects descriptive data using open-ended questions, to examine the complexities and nuances of a particular phenomenon to gain an in-depth understanding thereof (Cooper & Schindler, 2014:146; Lamb et al., 2010:162; Leedy & Ormrod, 2010:94). All respondents are not necessarily asked the same questions. Quantitative research was used to collect the primary data, because the study intended to collect numeric data which could be statistically analysed. Quantitative research commonly uses the survey method in the form of a structured questionnaire for data collection.
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 BACKGROUND
1.3 RESEARCH PROBLEM
1.4 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES, HYPOTHESES AND CONCEPTUAL MODEL
1.5 RESEARCH DESIGN
1.6 PROPOSED CONTRIBUTION
1.7 DEMARCATION
1.8 CHAPTER OUTLINE
1.9 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 2 MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS, SERVICES MARKETING AND RELATIONSHIP MARKETING
2.1 INTRODUCTION
2.2 MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS
2.3 SERVICES MARKETING
2.4 RELATIONSHIP MARKETING
2.5 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 3 SWITCHING IN THE MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 THE PURCHASE PROCESS
3.3 SWITCHING INTENTION IN PERSPECTIVE
3.4 ANTECEDENTS OF SWITCHING INTENTION
3.5 TOWARD A MODEL OF SWITCHING INTENTION
3.6 RELATIONSHIP CHARACTERISTICS
3.7 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 PHASE 1: RESEARCH PROBLEM AND OBJECTIVES
4.3 PHASE 2: RESEARCH DESIGN STRATEGY
4.4 PHASE 3: SAMPLE DESIGN
4.5 PHASE 4: MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENT DESIGN
4.6 PHASE 5: DATA COLLECTION AND PREPARATION
4.7 PHASE 6: DATA ANALYSIS
4.8 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 5 RESEARCH RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION
5.1 INTRODUCTION
5.2 SAMPLE PROFILES
5.3 MOBILE NETWORK OPERATORS
5.4 MEASUREMENT SCALE DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS AND INTERPRETATION
5.5 MEASUREMENT SCALE VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
5.6 RO1: TESTING THE SWITCHING INTENTION MODEL
5.7 RO2: COMPARISON OF SWITCHING INTENTION AND SWITCHING BEHAVIOUR
5.8 RO3: THE ROLE OF RELATIONSHIP CHARACTERISTICS IN SWITCHING INTENTION AND SWITCHING BEHAVIOUR
5.9 HYPOTHESIS TESTING OF SECONDARY OBJECTIVES
5.10 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 6 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1 INTRODUCTION
6.2 SYNOPSIS OF THE STUDY
6.3 SUMMARY OF THE EMPIRICAL RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
6.4 CONTRIBUTION OF THE STUDY
6.5 MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS
6.6 LIMITATIONS
6.7 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
7.1 VALIDATION OF THE SWITCHING INTENTION MEASUREMENT SCALES (N1)
7.2 TESTING ASSUMPTIONS FOR THE STEPWISE REGRESSIONS (SWITCHING INTENTION SAMPLE, N1)
7.3 TESTING ASSUMPTIONS FOR THE STEPWISE REGRESSIONS (SWITCHING BEHAVIOUR SAMPLE, N2)
7.4 VALIDATION OF THE SWITCHING BEHAVIOUR MEASUREMENT SCALES (N2)
7.5 VALIDATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP CHARACTERISTICS
MEASUREMENT SCALES
