DETERMINANTS OF CUSTOMER SWITCHING BEHAVIOUR IN RETAIL BANKING

There are many studies that highlight the significant benefits of building long-term relationships with customers (Reichheld & Sasser, 1990; Dick & Basu, 1994 and Clayton-Smith, 1996). Hence, understanding the reasons why customers switch service providers becomes an important business imperative in ensuring profitability. The objective of the study was to establish the factors which influence customer-switching behaviour in retail banking, identify if any differences exist based on the service relationship customers had with their retail banks, and then determine the influence of loyalty programmes on these factors.The research indicates that Keaveney‟s (1995) exploratory model into switching incidents in service industry found support in the current study. Seven of the eight incidents postulated by Keaveney (1995) were highlighted as factors influencing customer-switching behaviour in retail banking. Further analysis on the relationship these customers had with their banks indicated that certain factors impacted more strongly on some groups than others. The respondent perceptions of seven of the eight factors did not differ across whether they subscribed to a loyalty programme or not. Only competitive attractiveness, illustrated that there was a significant difference in the response of the respondents.By understanding these relationships or corroboration, retail banks would be able to better understand the reasons for customer defection and institute strategies, which would curb a customer‟s tendency to switch