Antecedents of Industrial Customers’ Supplier Switching Intentions – An Empirical Study on Taiwanese Electronic Industry

• Main Authors: Yu-Shiang Yen, 顏于翔
• Other Authors: Der-Juinn Horng
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/06406720673120213405

博士 === 國立中央大學 === 企業管理研究所 === 97 === The dissertation explores the issues on the antecedents of customers’ supplier switching intention in a business-to-business context. There were two parts included in this dissertation—study 1 and study 2. Few studies have examined the drivers of supplier switching intention in industrial customers, particularly in relation to the alternative attractiveness effect. The contribution of study 1 lies in bridging this research gap, and presents a causal model. This model is tested using 260 questionnaires collected from Taiwanese electronics firms. Structural equation modeling techniques were applied for measurement model assessment and hypothesis testing. The findings reveal that effective communication and customer satisfaction significantly and positively impact customer trust, which has negative effect on customer switching intention. Reduced customer satisfaction directly increases switching intention. Furthermore, alternative attractiveness negatively affects customer satisfaction and positively influences switching intention. While recent research increasingly recognizes switching cost as a driver of supplier switching intention, study 2 proposes a model to analyze the influences of perceived supplier’s willingness of customization, effective communication, and trust on switching cost, which issues previous study neglects. Research data of 281 questionnaires are collected from electronics firms in Taiwan. Results show that trust positively influences perceived switching costs. The perceived willingness of a supplier to customize for a buyer can indirectly impact perceived switching costs by way of trust toward the supplier. Furthermore, effective communication has a positive influence on trust and perceived switching costs. Finally, implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.