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The Service Provider Switching Model (SPSM): A Model of Consumer Switching Behavior in the Services
Industry
Harvir S. Bansal and Shirley F. Taylor
Journal of Service Research 1999 2: 200
DOI: 10.1177/109467059922007

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JOURNAL OF SERVICE
Bansal,
RESEARCH
Taylor / /SERVICE
NovemberPROVIDER
1999 SWITCHING MODEL
The Service Provider
Switching Model (SPSM)
A Model of Consumer Switching
Behavior in the Services Industry
Harvir S. Bansal
University of New Brunswick
Shirley F. Taylor
Queen’s University
Building on Keaveney’s work and using related studies
from the disciplines of marketing and psychology, a model
of service provider switching was developed. It was em-
pirically examined using structural equation modeling
with data from customers of mortgage services of various
Canadian financial institutions. Factors deemed responsi-
ble for switching behavior, along with switching inten-
tions, were measured from mortgage customers. Self-
reports of their actual behavior were also collected via
telephone.
Services organizations contribute to a large portion of
the world economy. Estimates show that the percentage of
all jobs in Canada and the United States, and the percent-
age of GNP, being provided by the service sector are well
more than 70% (Rust, Zahorik, and Keiningham 1996).
Recently, service providers have become increasingly
concerned about the retention of customers because of the
negative effects of customer switching such as reduced
market share, impaired profitability, and increased costs
(Reichheld and Sasser 1990; Rust and Zahorik 1993; Rust,
Zahorik, and Keiningham 1995). Additionally, customer
retention could result in motivational, perceptual, and be-
havioral consequences that are beneficial to the service
Journal of Service Research, Volume 2, No. 2, November 1999 200-218
© 1999 Sage Publications, Inc.
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provider. As suggested by Dick and Basu (1994), loyal
customers are less likely to be motivated to search for in-
formation on alternatives, are more resistant to persuasion
by competitors, and are more likely to engage in word-of-
mouth communications. Given such significant impacts, it
is important, then, to understand why customers switch
service providers. Our research investigates what these
factors are and how they influence the decision to switch
service providers.
We seek to understand the phenomenon of switching
service providers. The terms service provider switching,
customer loyalty, and customer retention are all related.
Whereas loyalty and retention refer to positive outcomes
for the firm, switching refers to a negative outcome. In-
sights from research on loyalty and retention can be
gleaned to help us better understand switching; however,
switching in its own right has generated its own field of
study because, as Keaveney (1995) states, the variables
that lead to positive outcomes (such as retention and loy-
alty) may be asymmetrical to those that lead to negative
outcomes.
Service switching involves replacing or exchanging the
current service provider with another service provider
(Bucklin and Srinivasan 1991; Carpenter and Lehmann
1985; Holland 1984; Kasper 1988; Keaveney 1995; Mor-
gan and Dev 1994; Reichheld and Sasser 1990; Samban-

dam and Lord 1995; Yi 1990). Service switching from the
customer’s perspective has only recently been explored in
the marketing literature. Typically, when investigated, re-
search on service provider switching has been limited to
tests of nomological, measurement, or predictive validity
of service quality-satisfaction models (Bitner 1990;
Boulding et al. 1993; Cronin and Taylor 1992; Kasper
1988; LaBarbera and Mazursky 1983; Zeithaml, Berry,
and Parasuraman 1996). However, there is one published ar-
ticle (Keaveney 1995) that explicitly explores the issue of
service switching behavior, but it was exploratory in nature.
The primary aim of that research was to provide “a founda-
tion for future systematic investigation” in the area of cus-
tomer switching in service industries. Clearly, a theoretical
grounding to study the phenomenon is required if the objec-
tive of systematic investigation is to be accomplished.
Hence, our research builds on Keaveney’s (1995) work and
uses related studies from the disciplines of marketing and
psychology to develop a model of service switching.
Using the critical incident method for 45 different ser-
vice businesses, Keaveney’s (1995) study identified eight
causal antecedents to service switching behavior, namely,
price, inconvenience, core service failure, service encoun-
ter failure, response to service failure, competition, ethical
problems, and involuntary switching. Her results suggest
that basically two variables, service performance (i.e.,
core service failure, service encounter failure, response to
service failure, and ethical problems) and costs of switch-
ing (i.e., price, inconvenience, and competition) are key
determinants of switching behavior. This is consistent
with other indirectly related research (Andreasen 1985;
Crosby and Stephens 1987; Hauser and Wisniewski 1982;
Lubin 1992; Reichheld and Sasser 1990; Schlesinger and
Schulenburg 1995a, 1995b). Because prior research sug-
gests that service quality/satisfaction and switching costs
are important determinants of switching, and also because
it is believed that service quality should be conceptualized
as a “general” attitude (attitude toward the object; Cronin
and Taylor 1992), it seems appropriate to look toward atti-
tude behavior models that incorporate perceived costs and
concern themselves with voluntary switching to see if we
can find a theoretical underpinning to the switching phe-
nomena. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) (Azjen
1991) shows some promise. Specifically,
1. TPB suggests a role of general attitudes (here,
service quality) in the determination of behavior.
2. TPB includes the construct called “perceived be-
havioral control,” which is similar to the switch-
ing costs outlined above.
3. TPB also suggests other variables as potentially
important predictors of behavior, such as attitude
toward switching (attitude toward the act) and so-
cial influences (subjective norms).
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Bansal, Taylor / SERVICE PROVIDER SWITCHING MODEL 201
4. Switching service providers is a deliberative pro-
cess—a situation in which TPB directly applies.
This research has three main objectives. We propose to
be the first to develop a theoretically grounded predictive
model for customer switching in service industries. Our
model uses constructs suggested in prior marketing re-
search, such as service quality and satisfaction. Plus, we
use TPB, a well-known attitude-behavior model, to add to
and integrate with all of the constructs proposed to influ-
ence switching. Our research affords an opportunity to fur-
ther the attitude behavior literature by exploring the
relationships between general attitudes (service quality)
and specific behaviors (switching service providers), a
critical but vastly unexplored area of research. In addition,
this research investigates both behavioral intentions and
actual switching behavior, something that has not previ-
ously been attempted when examining service switching
(see Bitner 1990; Boulding et al. 1993; Cronin and Taylor
1992; Kasper 1988; LaBarbera and Mazursky 1983; Zi-
ethaml, Berry, and Parasuraman 1996). This research also
offers potential for significant managerial implications by
identifying actions that must be taken by the service pro-
vider to reduce switching.
The service provider switching model (SPSM) as de-
scribed above is outlined in Figure 1. Our model incorpo-
rates the following elements:
1. Switching intentions and switching behavior;
these are the ultimate dependent variables.
2. Service quality, suggested as an independent
variable in the marketing literature and TPB as an
attitude toward the object (general attitude) con-
struct (cf. Cronin and Taylor 1994). The rele-
vance of an attitude toward the object (quality)
also is suggested in the attitude/behavior litera-
ture as an independent variable (Snyder 1982).
3. Switching costs, suggested as an independent
variable in the marketing literature and TPB as
the perceived behavioral control construct.
4. Attitudes toward switching, suggested as an in-
dependent variable by TPB.
5. The influence of significant others, suggested as
an independent variable by TPB as the subjective
norm construct.
6. Service satisfaction, suggested as an independent
variable in the marketing literature.
The model, if supported by data, will indicate which
variables service providers should focus on in an attempt
to induce or reduce the incidence of switching. Questions
pertaining to the relative influence of satisfaction versus
quality will be addressed. The importance of attitudes to-
ward switching and switching costs will be examined.
Even the role of significant others will be examined. Iden-
202 JOURNAL OF SERVICE RESEARCH / November 1999
FIGURE 1
The Service Provider Switching Model (SPSM)
tifying the important variables will allow service providers
to focus their efforts in managing switching. The inde-
pendent variables are now discussed.
TPB
TPB provides a useful framework for understanding
how attitudes, subjective norms, and behavioral control
should combine to influence both planned and realized be-
havior. The theory was developed as a response to the criti-
cisms of the theory of reasoned action (TRA) (Ajzen and
Fishbein 1980; Fishbein and Ajzen 1975).1 Ajzen (1985)
proposed it as an alternate theory that enhanced TRA by
incorporating an additional variable—perceived behav-
ioral control—in the prediction of intentions and behav-
iors. In TPB, the construct is defined as one’s perception of
how easy or difficult it is to perform the behavior (Eagly
and Chaiken 1993, p. 186). The inclusion of this construct
extends TPB beyond the boundary condition of pure voli-
tional control specified by TRA (Madden, Ellen, and
Ajzen 1992). TPB suggests that behavior is a direct func-
tion of behavioral intention and perceived behavioral con-
trol and that behavioral intention is formed by one’s
attitude, which reflects feelings of favorableness or unfa-
vorableness toward performing a behavior; subjective
norms, which reflect perceptions that significant referents
desire the individual to perform or not perform a behavior;
1. The theory of reasoned action (TRA) posits that behavioral inten-
tions, which are immediate antecedents to behavior, are a function of nor-
mative and behavioral (salient) beliefs about the likelihood that
performing a particular behavior will lead to a specific outcome. Further-
more, normative beliefs are postulated to be the underlying influence on
an individual’s subjective norm about performing that behavior, whereas
the behavioral beliefs influence one’s attitude to performing that behavior.
Hence, salient beliefs affect intentions and subsequently behavior through
attitudes and/or subjective norms (Madden, Ellen, and Ajzen 1992).
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and perceived behavioral control, which reflects percep-
tions of internal and external constraints on behavior
(Ajzen 1985, 1991). In addition, those determinants of in-
tention (i.e., attitude, subjective norms, and perceived be-
havioral control) are a function of their underlying belief
structures alluded to as attitudinal or behavioral beliefs,
normative beliefs, and control beliefs, respectively.
The theory further suggests that to the extent the behav-
iors are easily executed, TRA may suffice. However, for
behaviors that are difficult to execute, one’s control over
the resources, opportunities, and skills need to be taken
into account, and hence TPB should be a better predictor.
Given that service switching behavior is a complex behav-
ioral process (Srinivasan 1996) forged of a combination of
variables involved in the customer’s decision to switch
services (Keaveney 1995), which may not be easily exe-
cuted, TPB should provide an effective framework for un-
derstanding such a process. Discussion and hypotheses
related to the TPB now follow.
Predicting Behavior
From Intentions
A critical factor in TPB is an individual’s intention to
perform a particular behavior. The evidence for prediction
of behavior from intentions can be found in the applications
of TRA and TPB in several behavioral contexts (e.g., Ajzen
and Driver 1992; East 1993; Fishbein and Ajzen 1981;
Manstead, Proffitt, and Smart 1983; van den Putte 1991).
The effect of intentions to switch service providers on
the switching behavior has not previously been empiri-
cally tested. Indeed, in giving directions for future re-
search in the context of service industries, Zeithaml,
Berry, and Parasuraman (1996) suggest that “the associa-
tion between behavioral intentions and remaining with or
defecting from the company merits study” (p. 27). Here,
we test the hypothesis that
Hypothesis 1: Switching behavior can be expected to be
influenced by the intention to switch service provid-
ers. That is, the stronger the consumer’s intention to
switch the service provider, the more likely they are
to engage in switching behavior.
Predicting Intentions
From Attitude Toward Behavior
and Subjective Norms
Similar to the role of switching intentions in predicting
switching behavior in the services industry, the role of
one’s attitude toward switching and one’s subjective
norms in predicting intentions to switch remain unex-
plored. However, evidence for the direction and strength of
such relationships can again be found in the various appli-

cations of TPB. Generally, the more favorable the attitude
and subjective norm with respect to the behavior in ques-
tion, the stronger an individual’s intention to perform the
behavior should be (Ajzen 1991; Ajzen and Fishbein
1980; Fishbein and Ajzen 1975). Meta-analytic tech-
niques have found support for these relationships (Shep-
pard, Hartwick, and Warshaw 1988; van den Putte 1991).
Others also have found similar results (Ajzen and Driver
1992; East 1993; Taylor and Todd 1995). Given the evi-
dence above, we hypothesize the following:
Hypothesis 2: Switching intentions can be expected to be
influenced by the consumer’s attitude toward
switching. That is, the more favorable the attitude to-
ward switching, the stronger should be the con-
sumer’s intention to switch service providers.
Hypothesis 3: Switching intentions can be expected to be
influenced by the consumer’s subjective norms.
That is, the more favorable the subjective norms, the
stronger should be the consumer’s intention to
switch service providers.
Predicting Attitudes Toward
Behavior From Subjective Norms
Eagly and Chaiken (1993) argue that subjective norms
also could be seen as influencing behavior indirectly
through their impact on attitude toward behaviors. This
can happen in addition to a direct impact of subjective
norms on behavioral intentions, which is discussed in the
previous section. Hence, the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 4: Attitudes toward switching can be ex-
pected to be influenced by the consumer’s subjective
norms. That is, the more favorable the subjective
norms, the more favorable should be the consumer’s
attitude toward switching service providers.
Predicting Intentions and Behavior
From Perceived Behavioral Control
Beliefs about the likelihood that one possesses the re-
sources and opportunities are thought to influence inten-
tions and behavior (Eagly and Chaiken 1993). Hence, an
individual’s assessment of the resources and opportunities
needed to perform a behavior, or alternatively, the con-
straints that she or he faces in the immediate situation that
might prevent the performance of behavior, are equivalent
to the construct of perceived behavioral control (Ajzen
1985, 1991; Ajzen and Driver 1992; Ajzen and Madden
1986; Eagly and Chaiken 1993; Madden, Ellen, and Ajzen
1992). According to Taylor and Todd (1995), this notion of
perceived behavioral control includes two components,
with the first component being the idea of self-efficacy es-
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Bansal, Taylor / SERVICE PROVIDER SWITCHING MODEL 203
poused by Bandura (1977, 1982). Bandura (1982) defined
the construct as the one that “is concerned with judgments
of how well one can execute courses of action required to
deal with prospective situations” (p. 122), or it is “the con-
viction that one can successfully execute behavior” (Ban-
dura 1977, p. 193). In the stream of research by Albert
Bandura and his associates, self-efficacy has been shown
to influence strongly one’s behavior (Bandura 1977, 1982;
Bandura, Adams, and Beyer 1977; Bandura et al. 1980).
The second component of perceived behavioral control
is the idea of facilitating conditions proposed by Triandis
(1977). Facilitating conditions reflect the availability of
such resources as time, money, and so forth required to
perform a behavior. One such source of constraints that
consumers face in the case of switching related behaviors
are perceived switching barriers/switching costs, which
make it costly for the customer to switch to another sup-
plier (Andreasen 1985; Fornell 1992; Fornell and Werner-
felt 1987). The abstract notion of switching cost has been
viewed in the literature as the “difficulty” or “disutility”
involved in changing over or switching (to a new prod-
uct/service/system) (Gilbert 1989), which is highly sub-
jective and even emotional and difficult to assess (Weiss
and Anderson 1992). Search costs, transactions costs,
learning costs, loyal customer discounts, customer habit,
emotional cost, and cognitive effort, coupled with finan-
cial, social, and psychological risks on the part of the
buyer, all add up to perceived switching barriers/costs
(Fornell 1992). A number of marketing studies have ex-
plored the notion of switching costs in consumer decision
making, such as Heide and Weiss (1995), Jackson (1985),
and Weiss and Anderson (1992).
According to TPB, perceived behavioral control can ef-
fect behavior in two ways. It can indirectly influence be-
havior through the intention to perform behavior, and it
may have a direct influence on the behavior. Hence, Hy-
potheses 5 and 6:
Hypothesis 5: Switching intentions can be expected to be
influenced by the consumer’s perceived behavioral
control. That is, the lower the switching costs and
higher the self-efficacy, the stronger should be the
consumer’s intention to switch service providers.
Hypothesis 6: Switching behavior can also be expected
to be influenced by the consumers’perceived behav-
ioral control. That is, the lower the switching costs
and higher the self-efficacy, the more successfully
they are predicted to engage in switching behavior.
CONSUMER SATISFACTION
Consumer satisfaction has been recognized as a key
concept in marketing thought and practice. This has re-
204 JOURNAL OF SERVICE RESEARCH / November 1999
sulted in various definitions of consumer satisfactions be-
ing proposed in the literature (e.g., Hunt 1977; Oliver
1981; Tse and Wilton 1988). Westbrook and Oliver (1991,
p. 84) suggest that the most recognized view of consumer
satisfaction is from Day (1984): “Consumer satisfaction
has been variously defined in the literature, but the concep-
tualization that appears to have the greatest support is the
view that satisfaction is a postchoice evaluative judgment
concerning a specific purchase selection.”
Predicting Switching
Intentions From Satisfaction
Satisfaction as an antecedent of switching intentions
has been suggested in earlier research. Oliver (1981) and
Bearden and Teel (1983) did not conduct empirical tests of
the association between satisfaction and intentions to
switch but did propose a causal relationship between the
two.
In a product purchase context, Oliver and Swan (1989)
specifically showed that satisfaction was very strongly re-
lated to the intention to repatronize. Support for such a re-
lationship between customer satisfaction and switching
intentions can be found in several other studies, including
Andreasen (1985), Fornell (1992), Fornell and Wernerfelt
(1987), and Oliva, Oliver, and MacMillan (1992). In the
services context, there also is empirical evidence that con-
sumer satisfaction judgments are immediate antecedents
to switching intentions (c.f. Anderson 1993; Cronin and
Taylor 1992; Gotlieb, Grewal, and Brown 1994; Rust and
Zahorik 1993; Woodside, Frey, and Daly 1989). These re-
sults strongly suggest that dissatisfaction leads to a
greater likelihood that a customer will switch. Hypothe-
sis 7 results:
Hypothesis 7: Switching intentions can be expected to be
influenced by the consumer’s perceived satisfaction
with the service provider. That is, the lower the per-
ceived satisfaction with the service provider, the
stronger should be the consumer’s intention to
switch service providers.
SERVICE QUALITY
The construct of service quality has been recently de-
fined as “The consumer’s overall impression of the relative
inferiority/superiority of the organization and it’s ser-
vices” (Bitner and Hubbert 1994, p. 77). This is consistent
with the conceptual definition of service quality first pro-
posed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988), which
represents service quality as “the consumer’s judgment
about an entity’s overall excellence or superiority” (p. 15).
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Service Quality
as a General Attitude
The conceptual definition of attitude that we refer to is
the one offered by Eagly and Chaiken (1993) in which atti-
tude is a psychological tendency that is expressed by
evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or
disfavor. Here, psychological tendency refers to a state that
is internal to the person, and evaluating refers to all classes
of evaluative responding, overt or covert, cognitive, affec-
tive, or behavioral. Further entities that are evaluated are
called attitude objects. Particular entities, classes of enti-
ties, behaviors, and classes of behaviors can all function as
attitude objects.
Service quality is defined as the consumer’s judgment
about a firm’s overall excellence or superiority, similar in
many ways to the consumer’s general attitude toward the
firm (Bitner 1990; Bolton and Drew 1991; Oliver 1993;
Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry 1988). Some research-
ers view this stand as hesitancy to call perceived service
quality an attitude (Cronin and Taylor 1992) and seek to
establish equivalence rather than just similarity in the con-
ceptualization and operationalization of the perceived
service quality construct to a general attitude (Cronin and
Taylor 1992, 1994). Support for such a conceptualization
and measurement is forthcoming in the literature (Dabhol-
kar 1993).
Service Quality
Versus Satisfaction
Emerging literature suggests that although service
quality and satisfaction are closely related, they are dis-
tinct constructs (c.f. Bitner 1990; Cronin and Taylor 1992;
Oliver 1993; Rust and Oliver 1994). Hence, it seems plau-
sible that service quality and satisfaction should be differ-
entiated at both the conceptual and measurement levels.
Taylor and Baker (1994) espouse similar sentiments: “evi-
dence in the services literature supports the position that
service quality and satisfaction are best conceptualized as
unique constructs that should not be treated as equiva-
lents2 in models of consumer decision making” (p. 165).
Consistent with this emerging convergence on the distinc-
tion between these two constructs, we examine service
quality and satisfaction distinctly in our model.
Predicting Satisfaction
From Service Quality
Past literature has conceptualized service quality and
satisfaction as distinct constructs, and recently research
2. Underscored for emphasis. Not underscored in the original.

has been investigating a causal relationship between the
two (Dabholkar 1995). These attempts have provided con-
flicting results. Studies by Bitner (1990) and Bolton and
Drew (1991) proposed service quality as a subordinate
concept, and hence satisfaction was seen as an antecedent
of service quality. However, these results have been ques-
tioned on measurement issues (Oliver 1993).
Woodside, Frey, and Daly (1989) and Cronin and Tay-
lor (1992) provide empirical results that suggest that service
quality is indeed an antecedent to customer satisfaction,
which in turn influenced behavioral intentions. To give a
theoretical underpinning to the debate, Gotlieb, Grewal,
and Brown (1994) use Lazarus’s (1991) appraisal-emotional
response-coping theoretical framework. Based on the de-
velopments to this framework proposed by Bagozzi (1992),
Gotlieb, Grewal, and Brown (1994) seek to explain the na-
ture of the relationship between service quality, satisfaction,
and behavioral intentions:
definitions of perceived quality (a consumer’s ap-
praisal of a product’s overall excellence or superior-
ity, Zeithaml, 1988) and empirical evidence (Bolton
and Drew, 1991; Brown and Swartz, 1989; Parasura-
man et al., 1988) indicate that it is an appraisal con-
struct. . . . Therefore, consumers are likely to make
an appraisal (i.e., judge perceived quality). Bagoz-
zi’s (1992) framework then suggest that perceived
quality (i.e., appraisal) will be followed by satisfac-
tion (i.e., an emotional response). In addition, his
theoretical framework indicates that satisfaction has
a direct effect on behavioral intentions (i.e., a coping
response). (p. 877)
This lends support to Oliver’s (1993) argument that quality
is a superordinate concept to satisfaction. Hence, follow-
ing this rationale,
Hypothesis 8: Satisfaction with the service provider can
be expected to be influenced by the consumer’s per-
ception of the service quality. That is, the more fa-
vorable the perceptions of service quality, the higher
should be the consumer’s perceived satisfaction
with the service provider.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SERVICE
QUALITY (GENERAL ATTITUDE) AND
ATTITUDES TOWARD SWITCHING
In the research on the impact of attitudes on behavior,
two distinct streams have emerged over the years. One
school adheres to expectancy-value models in which atti-
tudes toward a particular behavior, specified in terms of ac-
tion, target, context, and time, are deemed predictors of the
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Bansal, Taylor / SERVICE PROVIDER SWITCHING MODEL 205
behavioral choices at hand. TRA and TPB are classic ex-
amples of such an approach. The other stream of thought
focuses entirely on predicting behavior from more general
attitudes. Hence, it is recognized that both attitude toward
a particular behavior and the general attitude toward the
target have significant influence on behavior. Although
both schools add to our knowledge on the impact of atti-
tudes on behavior, each misses out on the critical insights
offered by the other. Hence, a more integrative approach is
needed to understand the attitude-behavior relationships.
Fazio’s (1990) MODE model and a composite model by
Eagly and Chaiken (1993) have been the recent efforts in
such a direction. Eagly and Chaiken offer a causal se-
quence that takes into account both a general attitude to-
ward the target and, more specifically, attitude toward
behavior. This is consistent with the external variable ar-
gument in TRA and TPB, in which attitude toward targets
is assumed to influence attitude toward behavior (see also
Berger 1993). Despite some efforts at the theoretical level
(e.g., Eagly and Chaiken’s 1993 composite model and
work by Berger 1993 on environmental behaviors), “there
remains uncertainty about the psychological processes
that account for the influence that attitudes towards targets
have on behavior” (Eagly and Chaiken 1993, p. 206).
However, work by Mark Snyder and his associates pro-
vides insights into processes that intervene between the
activation of attitudes toward targets and the elicitation of
attitude relevant behaviors (Eagly and Chaiken 1993).
Predicting Attitude Toward
Switching From Service Quality
The above discussion has critical implications in the
context of service switching. Perceived service quality has
been conceptualized as a general attitude, and the attitude
toward behavior has been expressed as attitude toward
switching. Because the relationship between attitude to-
ward switching and switching behavior has been estab-
lished earlier in the article, our interest here is restricted to
the relationship between service quality and attitude to-
ward switching. In his work on consistency between atti-
tudes and behavior, Snyder (1982) proposed a related
principle of relevance, which posited that before one could
act on one’s (activated/available) attitudes, one must de-
fine those attitudes as relevant and appropriate guides to
the behavioral choices at hand. Thus, an activated attitude
may not effect a “seemingly” relevant behavior if one did
not perceive its relevance for the particular behavior (Ea-
gly and Chaiken 1993). How perceived service quality will
affect one’s attitude toward switching, which in turn may
translate into switching behavior, will depend on the influ-
ence exerted by the perceived relevance of service quality
attitude. In other words, the relationship between service
206 JOURNAL OF SERVICE RESEARCH / November 1999
quality and attitude toward switching will be moderated by
perceived relevance of service quality in guiding the deci-
sion to switch service providers. This is consistent with
Eagly and Chaiken’s (1993) assertion that a subjective as-
sessment of relevance is required to link attitude toward
targets to attitude toward behavior. Such is the understand-
ing behind Hypothesis 9.
Hypothesis 9: Attitude toward switching can be expected
to be influenced by the consumer’s perceptions of
service quality of the service provider. However, the
effect can be expected to be moderated by the con-
sumer’s perceived relevance of the service quality
attitude.
Specifically,
Hypothesis 9(a): At higher levels of perceived relevance,
perceptions of service quality can be expected to be
positively associated with the consumer’s attitude
toward switching service providers.
Hypothesis 9(b): At lower levels of perceived relevance,
perceptions of service quality can be expected not to
be associated with the consumer’s attitude toward
switching service providers.
RESEARCH DESIGN, METHODOLOGY,
AND RESULTS
Research Setting
The service examined in the present context was a
mortgage, available from a wide variety of Canadian
banks and trust agencies. For an empirical examination of
the SPSM, two factors were responsible for the choice of
mortgages as the “service.” First, mortgages are well de-
fined in terms of the four major characteristics that are
used to differentiate services from goods. Second, mort-
gages have a fixed renewal date, and hence there is an op-
portunity for the collection of actual behavioral data along
with behavioral intentions—an undertaking not feasible in
many service settings.
Pretest Study
A pilot study was conducted with a convenience sample
comprising staff, faculty, and graduate students at a
medium-sized university. The primary aim of this pretest
was to test and validate the various scales that would be
used for the final test of the SPSM model. Out of the 100
questionnaires administered, 52 usable responses were
received.
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Measures
The measurement of the study concepts involved a
combination of new and existing scales. Overall service
quality was measured using the three-item scale used by
Taylor and Baker (1994). Perceived satisfaction was mea-
sured by adapting the six-item satisfaction scale used by
Oliver and Swan (1989), which is derived from the bipo-
lar adjective scale of satisfaction tested by Westbrook and
Oliver (1981).
Perceived switching costs were conceptualized earlier
as being equivalent to the construct of perceived behav-
ioral control in TPB. Perceived behavioral control further
encompasses two components: facilitating conditions/
switching costs and self-efficacy. To measure such a con-
struct, items that reflected both an individual’s belief re-
garding access to resources and opportunities as well his or
her self-confidence for engaging in a behavior of switch-
ing were required. Consistent with that notion, the scale
for perceived switching costs was developed by adapting
items from the perceived behavioral control scale used by
Heide and Weiss (1995); Madden, Ellen, and Ajzen
(1992); Taylor and Todd (1995); and Weiss and Anderson
(1992).
The scale for attitude toward switching was adapted
from the attitude toward the act scale used by Ajzen and
Driver (1992). Seven of the original 12 bipolar adjective
items considered pertinent in the present context were cho-
sen.3 The scale for subjective norms was adapted from
Taylor and Todd’s (1995) scale of the same name. For
measuring switching intentions, items were derived from
Oliver and Swan’s (1989) scale of behavioral intention and
Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman’s (1996) propensity to
switch scale.
A new scale had to be developed for measuring per-
ceived relevance of the service quality attitude for a couple
of reasons. First, earlier studies that had used the concept
of perceived relevance had done so in an experimental de-
sign in which perceived relevance was treated as an exoge-
nous variable and was manipulated rather than measured
(e.g., Borgida and Campbell 1982; Snyder 1982; Snyder
and Kendzierski 1982). Second, lack of manipulation
checks in any of the three studies yielded no measure for
the construct. However, Snyder (1982) very clearly identi-
fies the manifestations of this relevance principle in an in-
dividual: “One type of situation that ought to promote such
a ‘believing means doing’ orientation [increase perceived
relevance] is the one that induces individuals to adopt an
‘advocacy’role” (p. 117). This advocacy role manifests it-
3. For example, an item with poles as ugly-beautiful for measuring
one’s attitude toward switching from one bank to another was not consid-
ered suitable.

self in the form of an individual seeking every opportunity
to say or do things that reflect and communicate those atti-
tudes, to attempt to influence others, and to share those at-
titudes with others. Measures were developed to reflect
this.
Results from the pretest showed that the reliability of all
scales was adequate given Nunnally’s (1978) standard. No
item, except one from the scale of switching intentions,
warranted exclusion from their respective scales in the
light of high corrected item-total correlations. An explora-
tory principal component analysis yielded some insight
into the dimensionalities of different scales. The scales of
switching costs and perceived relevance implied a two-
dimensional structure, whereas all other scales exhibited
unidimensional structures. Some questions, which from
their comments appeared to be problematic for the pretest
respondents, were reworded.
Main Study
A database of approximately 50,000 mortgage custom-
ers of varied Canadian banks and trust agencies was pur-
chased from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corpora-
tion (CMHC) (the CMHC, however, is not associated with
this study in any form). The database included names, ad-
dresses, and the mortgage renewal4 date of customers
whose 1- to 5-year mortgages were up for renewal between
July 1996 and October 1996. Customers whose mortgages
were up for renewal in October made up the sampling
frame. Surveys measuring service quality, satisfaction, at-
titude toward switching, subjective norms, perceived
switching costs, perceived relevance, and switching inten-
tions were mailed to 4,000 customers in early July 1996.
Prepaid reply mail envelopes were included with the sur-
veys for the respondents to return the completed surveys,
and a usable sample of 416 was obtained. Surveys that
were filled out after the mortgage renewal dates, and sur-
veys for which mortgage renewal dates fell after October
15, 1996, were not a part of this usable sample. Data on the
dichotomous variable of actual behavior—that is, whether
the respondent renewed the mortgage from their bank or
switched to another bank—were then collected from re-
spondents via telephone in late October 1996. Each tele-
phone interview lasted for an average of 3 minutes. Of the
416 questionnaires, a final sample of 371 completed sur-
veys, with all independent variables and behavior data,
4. In Canada, mortgage customers can renegotiate a mortgage loan at
the end of a term for a new term. Here, term stands for the length of time
the interest rate is fixed. It also indicates when the principal balance be-
comes due and payable to the lender. At the end of the term, a customer
could renegotiate principal balance with the same lender or negotiate that
loan with another lender.
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Bansal, Taylor / SERVICE PROVIDER SWITCHING MODEL 207
was obtained. Missing data in these surveys, except for
demographic variables, were replaced with the series
mean.
Respondent demographics were measured by sex, age,
education levels, personal income, and household income.
A total of 68.5% of the respondents were male, and the ma-
jority of respondents were between the ages 26 and 45 (ap-
prox. 80%). Approximately one fourth of the sample were
high school graduates, one third had either a technical or a
community college diploma, and one third had an under-
graduate or postgraduate degree. Approximately three
fourths of the sample had personal incomes between
$20,000 and $59,999.
Nonresponse Bias
Because only an approximately 10.0% response rate
was obtained, there was a need to assess nonresponse bias.
Two analyses were conducted. First, an independent two-
sample t test was conducted to determine if the respon-
dents differed from the nonrespondents in terms of a key
factor in mortgages—amount of loan mortgaged. Results
suggest that at α = .05, there is little evidence to infer that
respondents differ from nonrespondents in terms of the av-
erage amount of loan that each group mortgaged (t =
–0.937, df = 4,000). Second, similar to one of the methods
employed by Dorsch, Swanson, and Kelley (1998), mea-
sured variables were regressed on the date when the survey
was completed by the respondent (self-reported). This is
done to assess whether respondents who respond later are
different than respondents who responded early (assuming
late respondents are similar to nonrespondents). In our
analysis, of the 31 individual items measured, only 4 re-
lated significantly (α = .05) to the date of completion of
surveys. Hence, approximately 87% of the measured vari-
ables showed no statistically significant relation to the sur-
vey completion date. Therefore, if there was a nonresponse
bias present in a study, it could be detected via comparison
of data obtained from late versus early respondents. Be-
cause a substantial majority of data do not relate to the time
of response, this suggests that nonrespondents are not
likely to be different in their responses on the measured
variables than the people who responded. In light of the
above results, nonresponse bias is not likely to be a critical
issue in this study.
Measurement Model
A three-stage analysis was performed for the measure-
ment model. In the first stage, exploratory factor analyses
(principal component analysis, varimax rotation) and reli-
ability analyses were performed to refine the scales. In the
208 JOURNAL OF SERVICE RESEARCH / November 1999
second stage, the scales obtained as a result of analyses in
the first stage were subjected to a confirmatory factor analy-
sis using LISREL8 to assess convergent validity and inter-
nal consistency. Discriminant validity for all possible pairs
of constructs was performed in Stage 3 of the analysis.
For all constructs except perceived switching costs and
perceived relevance, unidimensional structure was found
with exploratory principal component analysis. For the
perceived switching cost scale, exploratory factor analysis
suggested two distinct factors. The first set of items re-
flects the notion of switching costs (Triandis 1977), deal-
ing primarily with one’s belief regarding access to
resources and opportunities in performing a behavior,
whereas the second set of items reflects the notion of self-
efficacy (Bandura 1977, 1982), dealing primarily with
one’s self-confidence for engaging in a behavior. Hence,
the perceived behavioral control scale was divided into
two scales.
For the perceived relevance construct, exploratory fac-
tor analysis suggested two factors. Perceived relevance
manifests itself in an individual in terms of an advocacy
role that she or he adopts in reflecting and communicating
some attitude(s) (here, service quality). Three items re-
flected the notions of advocacy in communicating their at-
titudes to the employees of a bank, and three items
reflected the notions of advocacy in communicating their
attitudes to people important to the respondents. The latter
variable was deemed a more appropriate indicant of the
perceived relevance construct, and thus it was the only one
retained for further analyses. Table 1 contains the survey
items, their reliabilities, and the corrected item total corre-
lations for each item of the scale.
A confirmatory factor analysis was performed on the
scales (excluding behavior) involving the measures that
were retained for analysis after an exploratory examina-
tion in the earlier section. The confirmatory factor analysis
was conducted with LISREL8 with maximum-likelihood
(ML) estimation (Jöreskog and Sörbom 1993). For the as-
sessment of the model, multiple fit indices are reported,
and the traditional χ2 is reported. However, because χ2 may
be an inappropriate measure to assess the fit of models
with large sample sizes (Browne and Cudeck 1993, Marsh
1994), five additional fit indices are also reported: chi-
square/degrees of freedom (χ2/df ) (Wheaton et al. 1977),
adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI) (Jöreskog and Sör-
bom 1993), relative noncentrality index (RNI) (McDonald
and Marsh 1990), root mean square error of approximation
(RMSEA) (Steiger 1990), and comparative fit index (CFI)
(Bentler 1990). Acceptable model fits are indicated by
the values of χ2/df less than 5.00, AGFI exceeding 0.80
(Taylor and Todd 1995), RNI values exceeding 0.90
(Marsh 1994), CFI values exceeding 0.90, and RMSEA
values less than 0.10, with values less than 0.80 suggesting
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an adequate fit (Browne and Cudeck 1993). Standardized
data were used for all subsequent analysis. Standardiza-
tion of data is desirable when several variables are being
used in an analysis because the measures may be sensitive
to differing scales. The process of standardization “elimi-
nates the bias introduced by the difference in the scales of
the several attributes or variables used in the analysis”
(Hair et al. 1995, p. 435).
The overall model fit indices indicated that the model
was reasonably consistent with the data, with all the fit in-
dices at or better than the recommended values (χ2 =
1203.85 [ p < .01], df = 491, χ2/df = 2.45, AGFI = 0.80, RNI =
0.94, RMSEA = 0.063, and CFI = 0.94).
To further assess the validity of the measures, Bollen
(1989) suggests a scrutiny of factor loadings as well as the
squared multiple correlations between the items and the
constructs. Factor loadings of 0.60 are generally consid-
ered the minimal level at which convergent validity could
be suggested (Bagozzi and Yi 1988). For the squared mul-
tiple correlations, values greater than 0.40 are suggestive
of a substantial shared variance with their hypothesized
constructs (Taylor and Todd 1995). In addition to assess-
ing validity of the measures, internal consistency mea-
sures (Fornell and Larker 1981) were calculated for each
scale/construct, with factor loadings obtained from the
confirmatory factor analysis. Table 2 provides the factor
loadings and the squared multiple correlations for indi-
vidual items in addition to the internal consistency mea-
sures for each construct. All measures, with the exception
of one item for the perceived relevance (PREL) scale, ex-
hibited substantive convergent validity with their respec-
tive constructs.
Discriminant validity tests were performed on all possi-
ble pairs of constructs. If the correlation between two con-
structs is significantly different from 1.0, discriminant
validity is established. For all pairs, this clearly was estab-
lished by looking at their bivariate correlations. In addition,
divergent validity also can be statistically demonstrated
using a chi-square difference test. Salisbury, Gopal, and
Chin (1996) suggest one such procedure in which a chi-
square difference test is performed between two models:
one in which the correlation between the constructs is
freely estimated, known as the free model, and the other in
which the correlation is fixed to be 1.0, known as the fixed
model. A chi-square difference greater than 3.84 (α = .05)
would suggest that the two constructs are statistically dif-
ferent. The results clearly demonstrated the discriminant
validity of constructs in all possible pairings.
Structural Models
Hypothesized paths in the SPSM model proposed ear-
lier (see Figure 1) were tested using LISREL8 (Jöreskog
 Bansal, Taylor / SERVICE PROVIDER SWITCHING MODEL 209

TABLE 1
Results for the First Stage: Reliability Analysis
Corrected Item
Construct Reliability Items Total Correlations

Service quality 0.8744 Overall, I consider “our bank’s” service to be excellent. (SD . . . SA) 0.8193
I believe that the general quality of “my bank’s” service is low (SD . . . SA) 0.7139
The quality of “my bank’s” service with respect to my mortgage is generally
(very poor . . . excellent) 0.7488
Satisfaction 0.9721 Overall, how do you feel about the service provided to you by “my bank” with respect
to your mortgage?
Displeased . . . Pleased 0.9310
Disgusted . . . Contented 0.9289
Dissatisfied . . . Satisfied 0.9486
They do a poor job . . . They do a good job 0.9080
Unhappy . . . Happy 0.9474
Attitude toward 0.9682 For me, switching my mortgage from “my bank” to a “new bank” would be
switching A bad idea . . . A good idea 0.9146
Useless . . . Useful 0.9036
Harmful . . . Beneficial 0.8987
Foolish . . . Wise 0.9194
Unpleasant . . . Pleasant 0.8516
Undesirable . . . Desirable 0.9202
PBC_2 0.8238 For me, switching my mortgage from “my bank” to a “new bank” is an idea that I
(dislike . . . like) 0.8120
For me, switching my mortgage from “my bank” to a “new bank” would be
(very difficult . . . very easy) 0.6899
If I wanted to, I could easily switch my mortgage from “my bank” to a “new bank”
(SD . . . SA) 0.6800
I believe that switching my mortgage from “my bank” to a “new bank” would take a lot
of time and effort (SD . . . SA) 0.5814
All things considered, switching my mortgage from “my bank” to a “new bank” is not
a difficult proposition for me (SD . . . SA) 0.6456
PBC_1 0.7736 How much control do you have over switching your mortgage from “my bank” to a
“new bank”? (absolutely no control . . . complete control) 0.6996
The number of events outside my control that prevent me from switching my mortgage
from “my bank” to a “new bank” are (very few . . . numerous) 0.5918
I believe that I have the resources and the ability to switch my mortgage from “my bank”
to a “new bank” (SD . . . SA) 0.5579
I face very high barriers in switching my mortgage from “my bank” to a “new bank”
(SD . . . SA) 0.5009
Switching intentions 0.9623 Rate the probability that you would switch your mortgage from “my bank” to a
“new bank” at your renewal date
Unlikely . . . Likely 0.8979
Improbable . . . Probable 0.9187
No chance . . . Certain 0.9035
PREL 0.7715 I have communicated my opinions about the quality of service of “my bank” to
people who are important to me (SD . . . SA) 0.5897
If I switched my mortgage from “my bank” to a “new bank,” I would take the
opportunity to communicate my opinion on the quality of service provided by
“my bank” to people important to me (SD . . . SA) 0.6152
If I switched my mortgage from “my bank” to a “new bank,” I would take the
opportunity to communicate my opinion on the quality of service provided by the
“new bank” to people important to me (SD . . . SA) 0.5271
Subjective People who influence my behavior would approve of my switching my mortgage
from “my bank” to a “new bank” (extremely unlikely . . . extremely likely) 0.6061
Norms 0.7534 Most people who are important in my life would approve of switching my mortgage
from “my bank” to a “new bank” (extremely unlikely . . . extremely likely) 0.6061

NOTE: SD = strongly disagree; SA = strongly agree; PBC_1 = switching costs; PBC_2 = self-efficacy; PREL = perceived relevance scale.

and Sörbom 1993) with ML estimation. For the SPSM the paths were considered. R2 for each dependent construct
model, overall fit, predictive power, and the significance of was examined to assess explanatory power, and the signifi-

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210 JOURNAL OF SERVICE RESEARCH / November 1999

TABLE 2 Estimating Interaction Effects

Results for the Second Stage:
Confirmatory Factor Analysis Because Hypothesis 9 suggests that the constructs of
Squared service quality and perceived relevance interact in their ef-
Internal Factor Multiple fect on the construct of attitude toward switching, proce-
Construct Consistency Itema Loadingsb Correlations dures for estimating this interaction effect using structural
equation modeling were employed. To assess the main ef-
Service quality 0.86 1 0.83 0.68
2 0.69 0.47 fects and the interactive relationship between service qual-
3 0.94 0.89 ity and perceived relevance in predicting attitude toward
Satisfaction 0.98 1 0.94 0.88 switching, the procedure suggested by Ping (1995) was
2 0.94 0.89 used. A linear-terms-only measurement model was esti-
3 0.97 0.94
4 0.92 0.85
mated for all constructs. Appropriate loadings and error
5 0.97 0.94 estimates for the constructs of service quality and per-
Attitude toward ceived relevance were used to construct the loading and er-
switching 0.96 1 0.93 0.87 ror terms for the interaction construct. As opposed to the
2 0.92 0.85 Kenny and Judd (1984) approach of creating multiple non-
3 0.93 0.86
4 0.94 0.88
linear indicants of the interaction construct, Ping suggests
5 0.86 0.74 creating a single indicant for the interaction construct.
6 0.93 0.86
7 0.83 0.69 Estimating Direct Paths to the
PBC_2 0.83 1 0.80 0.65 Switching Behavior Construct
2 0.80 0.64
3 0.63 0.39
4 0.71 0.50
In the SPSM model, three direct paths to switching be-
PBC_1 0.79 1 0.82 0.67 havior had to be estimated: (a) switching intentions ⇒
2 0.68 0.47 switching behavior, (b) switching costs ⇒ switching be-
3 0.69 0.47 havior, and (c) self-efficacy ⇒ switching behavior. To ac-
4 0.61 0.37 complish this, parameters from the factor score
Switching
intentions 0.96 1 0.97 0.93
regressions procedure in LISREL8 were used to compute
2 0.97 0.95 factor scores for switching intentions, switching costs
3 0.91 0.82 (PBC_1), and self-efficacy (PBC_2). These estimated fac-
PREL 0.79 1 0.55 0.31 tor scores were used as inputs to a logit model in which fac-
2 0.88 0.78 tor scores for switching intentions, switching costs, and
3 0.77 0.59
Subjective
self-efficacy were regressed on the dichotomous dependent
norms 0.78 1 0.77 0.60 variable of switching behavior. The logistic regression pro-
2 0.79 0.62 cedure in SPSS for Windows was used to analyze the data.
The results of the logistic regression are generally as-
NOTE: PREL = perceived relevance scale; PBC_1 = switching costs;
PBC_2 = self-efficacy. sessed in a three-step fashion. First, the goodness of fit of
a. The number of each item corresponds to items listed (in the same order) the model is assessed using the model χ2 and the classifica-
in Table 1. tion results. The model χ2 tests that the hypothesized
b. The analysis indicated significant loadings for each item on its latent
construct (p = .05 in all cases). model is not statistically different from a model with only
a constant term. Alternatively, the statistic tests the null hy-
pothesis that all model parameters are 0. Obviously, for a
cance of individual paths was assessed. In conducting the model to be robust, the model χ2 needs to be significant. In
analysis, all hypothesized paths, except those leading di- other words, the goal is to reject the null hypothesis. In ad-
rectly to switching behavior, were estimated. Because dition to the model χ2, overall fit of the model also may be
LISREL is incapable of analyzing data in which the de- assessed by how well the model can classify the data on the
pendent variable is a binary variable, an alternative tech- predicted binary variable. After the goodness-of-fit
nique was used to estimate direct paths to the switching evaluation, the second step is to assess the directionality
behavior constructs. In addition to the complexity of esti- and the strength of the regression parameter coefficients.
mating the direct effects to a dichotomous endogenous Besides interpreting the sign of the coefficients for direc-
variable, this study also involved estimating interaction ef- tionality, Wald’s statistic is employed to test the null hy-
fects in each of the three models. Thus, the analysis pro- pothesis that the coefficient is not different from 0. Finally,
ceeds in two stages. some conclusion about the predictive power of the models

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 Bansal, Taylor / SERVICE PROVIDER SWITCHING MODEL 211

can be made by computing its pseudo-R2 (Aldrich and TABLE 3

Nelson 1990). Model Results
Model SPSM
The SPSM
Panel A: Results for structural models with PREL
df 410
Overall, the fit statistics of the LISREL analysis indi- χ
2
1044.97
cate that the SPSM provides a good fit to the data (χ2 = 2
χ /df 2.54
1044.97 [p < .01], df = 410, χ2/df = 2.54, AGFI = 0.81, RNI = AGFI 0.81
0.95, RMSEA = 0.065, and CFI = 0.95). Although the χ2 RMSEA 0.065
value is significant, all other fit measures are within the RNI 0.95
CFI 0.95
range suggestive of a good model fit. The model accounts 2
R Satisfaction 0.90
for 90% of the variance in satisfaction, 80% of the variance R2 Attitude toward switching 0.80
2
in attitude toward switching, and 76% of the variance in R Switching intentions 0.76
switching intentions. Table 3 (Panel A) presents a sum-
mary for the structural part of the full model. Panel B: Results for logistic regression model
df 3
As indicated in Figure 2, most path coefficients were as 2
χ (significance) 101.608 (0.00)
hypothesized. The paths from satisfaction, attitude toward Pseudo R
2
0.30
switching, and switching costs to switching intentions βSwitching intentions 0.8963
were significant, as were the paths from service quality to SESwitching intentions 0.1153
satisfaction and attitude toward switching. The path from βPBC_1 0.2474
SEPBC_1 0.1924
subjective norms to attitude toward switching also was sig- βPBC_2 –0.3068
nificant, but the path from self-efficacy to switching inten- SEPBC_2 0.2102
tions was nonsignificant. This model also exhibits the WaldSwitching intentions (significance) 60.4228 (0.00)
nonsignificance of the interaction between service quality WaldPBC_1 (significance) 1.6193 (0.20)
and perceived relevance in predicting one’s attitude toward WaldPBC_2 (significance) 2.1299 (0.14)
switching. The results show a direct significant effect of Panel C: Classification results for logistic regression models
perceived relevance on one’s attitude toward switching. In Predicted
brief, we found support for Hypotheses 2, 4, 7, and 8. Partial Observed No Switch Switch
support for Hypothesis 5 was found, because only the
switching costs component of switching costs had a signifi- No switch 274 22
cant effect on switching intentions. Self-efficacy failed to Switch 24 51
Percentage of cases correctly classified 74.12
show any significant effect on switching intentions, and we
could not find any statistical support for Hypotheses 3 and 9. NOTE: SPSM = service provider switching model; PREL = perceived
Based on the significant model χ2 of the logistic regres- relevance scale; AGFI = adjusted goodness-of-fit index; RMSEA = root
mean square error of approximation; RNI = relative noncentrality index;
sion model, it is plausible that we reject the null hypothesis CFI = comparative fit index.
that all model parameters are 0. Because the null is re-
jected, it provides evidence for the goodness of fit of the
model. The goodness of fit could be further determined by
examining the classification tables. Clearly, a very high classification results, and Figure 2 summarizes the full
percentage of the total cases were correctly classified model.
(74.12%), providing further evidence of the goodness of fit
of the model. Examining the standard errors and Wald’s
statistic for variables of interest in the logistic regression DISCUSSION
model, a significant effect of switching intentions on
switching behavior was detected. However, switching Summary
costs and self-efficacy failed to have a significant effect in
predicting switching behavior. The logistic regression This research was aimed at developing a better under-
model also accounts for 30% of the variance in switching standing of how and why customers switch service provid-
behavior. Panel B in Table 3 presents a summary of the lo- ers. Specifically, the research involved identifying factors
gistic regression part of the full model. We found statistical that influenced customers’ decision to switch service pro-
support for Hypothesis 1; however, Hypothesis 6 could not viders and how these factors influenced the decision-
be statistically supported. Panel C in Table 3 presents the making process. These issues were investigated within the

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212 JOURNAL OF SERVICE RESEARCH / November 1999
FIGURE 2
Path Coefficients for the Service Provider Switching Model (SPSM) (t ratios)
*p < .05.
framework of the SPSM, a model developed using litera-
ture from marketing and a theoretical model—the TPB.
An empirical investigation tested the proposed model with
data from different bank customers on only one type of
service.
THE SPSM
Determinants of Attitude
Toward Switching Behavior
This study hypothesized that service quality and per-
ceived relevance would have an interactive effect on one’s
attitude toward switching. However, the empirical results
indicate the main effects of both service quality and per-
ceived relevance on one’s attitude toward switching ser-
vice providers and no interactive effect. Higher levels of
both factors result in a lower level of one’s attitude toward
switching service providers. The relationship between
service quality and one’s attitude toward switching is con-
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sistent with the external variable argument of Fishbein and
Ajzen (1975) as well as Eagly and Chaiken’s (1993) argu-
ment regarding the impact of attitudes toward a target
(service quality) on attitudes toward the behavior (atti-
tudes toward switching). Thus, both attitudes should be re-
tained in any causal models that involve an attitude-
to-behavior sequence (Eagly and Chaiken 1993). For the
nonsignificant interaction effect, it can be argued that al-
though an individual might have to perceive some link
(perceived relevance) between the general attitude and the
behavioral possibilities at hand, at a minimum, the general
attitude (service quality) might have a significant effect on
a specific attitude (attitude toward switching) (Eagly
1992). The results suggest that Snyder’s (1982) relevance
strategy may not work across a broad spectrum of behav-
iors. Even Snyder and Kendzierski (1982) suggest that the
relevance strategies might work only when they can in-
duce a “believing meaning doing” orientation in individu-
als (p. 181). Because the only construct measured was
perceived relevance, and no measure was taken to ascer-
tain whether their perceived relevance indeed induced a

believing-meaning-doing orientation, a nonsignificant in-
teraction effect could possibly indicate a lack of induce-
ment of such an orientation.
However, it is not very clear why higher levels of per-
ceived relevance might lower one’s attitude toward switch-
ing to a different service provider. It is uncertain how
adopting an advocacy role in communicating and reflect-
ing a general attitude (service quality) could have an im-
pact on a specific attitude (attitude toward switching
service providers). Adopting an advocacy role may influ-
ence the individual to perceive it as a coping mechanism
for alternative behavioral choices at hand. In the present
context, a customer might see her or his advocacy role as a
means of either reinforcing the service providers’ good ef-
forts or as a way of informing service providers of their
lapses in performance (service quality) (Ping 1993). In
such cases, one is likely to find a significant negative rela-
tionship between perceived relevance and attitude toward
switching, because the customer sees the advocacy role as
a viable alternative to indulging in a switching behavior.
As hypothesized, subjective norms have a significant
effect on one’s attitude toward switching service provid-
ers. The more favorable perceptions of approval from the
significant others in relation to switching behavior, the
more favorable the attitude toward switching from that
service provider, reinforcing the relationship suggested by
Eagly and Chaiken’s (1993) composite model of the
attitude-behavior relation.
Determinants of Behavioral Intentions
Summarily, the results were sufficiently consistent with
the hypothesized relationships in the SPSM. Although
service quality and satisfaction were closely related, a sig-
nificant distinction between the two could be established.
Furthermore, service quality was significant as a superor-
dinate construct to satisfaction. This result is consistent
with the current understanding of the relationship between
the two constructs in the literature (Cronin and Taylor
1992; Gotlieb, Grewal, and Brown 1994; Oliver 1993). In
addition, satisfaction with the service provider was a sig-
nificant predictor of one’s intention to switch from that
service provider. The more satisfied customers are with a
service provider, the lesser are their propensities to switch
to a competing service provider.
A customer’s attitude toward switching appears to be an
important determinant of a customer’s intention to switch
service providers, with higher levels of this factor being as-
sociated with a higher propensity to switch service provid-
ers. Although this relationship has not been explicitly
studied in the marketing literature, the results are consis-
tent with many studies of the TPB (cf. Ajzen 1991).
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Bansal, Taylor / SERVICE PROVIDER SWITCHING MODEL 213
Interestingly, subjective norms only have an indirect ef-
fect on one’s intention to switch service providers. Subjec-
tive norms appear to have a significant effect on one’s
attitude toward switching and a nonsignificant direct ef-
fect on intentions to switch. However, the interesting case
is the nonsignificance of its effect on switching intentions.
This nonsignificant effect remains even when the path be-
tween subjective norms and attitude toward switching is
eliminated in the structural models. It is possible that re-
spondents perceived other people’s preferences/approval
for their actions in terms of behavioral beliefs rather than
normative beliefs. In such a case, subjective norms also
could be seen as a determinant of one’s attitude toward the
behavior (Eagly and Chaiken 1993; Smetana and Adler
1980) and not that of intentions. Because the present study
did not explicitly measure normative beliefs, the control
over interpretation of subjective norms in terms of behav-
ioral or normative beliefs might have been lost.
Self-efficacy did not appear to have any significant ef-
fect on one’s intention to switch service providers. How-
ever, switching costs did have a significant effect on one’s
intention to switch service providers. A possible explana-
tion for the nonsignificant effect of self-efficacy on inten-
tion to switch service providers may lie in the customer’s
evaluation of the behavior. If a behavior is positively
evaluated, one might find a significant effect of self-
efficacy on behavioral intention. However, this “causal
link seems less reasonable for negatively evaluated behav-
iors” (Eagly and Chaiken 1993, p. 189). In the present con-
text, switching behavior might have been evaluated as a
negative behavior and, hence, a nonsignificant effect.
Determinants of Behavior
Although customers’ intentions to switch service pro-
viders has a significant impact on their switching behavior,
neither self-efficacy nor switching costs had a significant
direct effect on switching behavior, showing that both
components of perceived behavioral control failed to in-
fluence the behavior directly. However, it has been argued
that a direct effect of perceived behavioral control can only
be observed under a certain type of behaviors. As East
(1993) suggests,
it is argued here that this [a direct influence of per-
ceived behavioral control] happens when people are
trying to do something that they cannot easily do but
cannot easily escape from doing, for example to pass
an exam or give up cigarettes. In the case of more
discretionary actions such as financial investment
people who doubt their ability to do something elect
not to try; thus PBC changes intention and only in
this way affects behavior. (p. 365)
214 JOURNAL OF SERVICE RESEARCH / November 1999
Hence, in case of a discretionary behavior such as switch-
ing service providers for mortgage services, we are more
likely to see only an indirect influence of perceived
switching costs on switching behavior through switching
intentions.
Theoretical Implications
This research adds significantly to the field of services
marketing by bringing an attitude conceptualization of
service quality and thus bringing in an attitude-behavior
framework to the domain of services literature. The impli-
cations of this are clear, because the SPSM clearly suggests
distinct and significant contributions to our understanding
of the switching phenomenon offered by both fields (ser-
vices literature and the attitude-behavior literature). Re-
sults from this empirical study support Keaveney’s (1995)
qualitative work that suggests the importance of evaluative
and cost variables (here, service quality, satisfaction, atti-
tude toward switching, and switching costs) in the study of
customer switching behavior in services. Although TPB
has been studied in consumer settings, this is the first study
to relate it to a service setting and to directly assess its ap-
plicability to this area.
Managerial Implications
The model helps identify important factors that affect
customers’ decision-making processes when they are
faced with the decision of whether to switch their current
service provider. Such diagnosis can act as a guide to the
actions that may be taken by the service provider to reduce
tendencies to switch on the part of it’s customers and avoid
the negative outcomes associated with customer switching.
The results show that service quality and satisfaction do
play important roles in the switching decision. These results
are not surprising. They indicate to the service provider that
every effort must be made to ensure that high levels of qual-
ity are delivered to result in increased satisfaction.
This study shows that although service quality and sat-
isfaction are important, attitude toward switching is the
most influential determinant of switching intentions. This
variable has not even been studied in previous research.
This is a rather important implication for service market-
ers. These attitudes reflect how favorable or unfavorable
the customer feels the outcomes of switching will be. Note
how important subjective norms are in affecting this atti-
tude. How a customer’s significant others feel about him or
her switching plays a very important role in affecting this
attitude. Thus, the service provider can directly affect atti-
tudes toward switching by focusing on the relative advan-
tages/disadvantages of switching, or the service provider
can indirectly affect attitudes by stressing the role of sig-
nificant others in the decision. For example, promotional
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efforts of the service providers could establish possible
consequences of switching such as stress, inconvenience,
and so forth to people significant to the decision maker in a
service switching context.
Another variable, which plays a more important role in
the switching intention than customer satisfaction, is
switching costs. Keaveney (1995) found that even satisfied
customers switched service providers because of factors
such as inconvenience and occasional competitive actions.
Switching costs can encompass factors such as monetary
costs but also these issues of inconvenience and effort. Be-
cause costs of switching inhibit customers from engaging
in switching behavior, it may be an appropriate strategy for
the service provider to increase the costs associated with
switching. In the mortgage services contexts, banks and
trust companies already have monetary penalties in place
to discourage people from switching to a different service
provider. Careful management of policies is needed when
service firms consider increasing switching costs, such as
penalties (Keaveney, 1995). In committing to such activi-
ties, a service provider may run the risk of discouraging
switching behavior on the part of the customers from its
competitors. This policy might be successful in reducing
defection among the present customer base of a service
firm, but it might discourage potential customers from
purchasing their services from this service provider. These
potential customers might find these penalties prohibitive
in the likelihood that they need to switch to a different
service provider in the future. In essence, increasing
switching costs for current customers may translate into
increasing entry barriers for potential customers.
In sum, service providers can best affect intentions to
switch by influencing the attitude toward switching. This
can be done directly or indirectly by influencing service
quality perceptions or, more important, influencing the
customers’ perceptions of significant others’ views. Less
important routes to influencing switching intentions in-
volve affecting customer satisfaction and switching costs.
Limitations and Avenues
for Future Research
First, it is important to realize that the setting only al-
lowed for an understanding of directional relationships
among factors of interest and not causal conclusions.
Causal inferences for the hypothesized relationships will
probably be best made under controlled experiments with
subsets of the SPSM.
An area of concern is a very high correlation between
service quality and customer satisfaction. Although statis-
tically divergent validity was established, the high correla-
tion may be an indication of the fact that respondents saw
little difference between the two. Alternatively, service

quality could have been perceived as a cognitive evalua-
tion and satisfaction as an affective evaluation of the ser-
vice. Although the respondents might have perceived the
two constructs as different, they might have felt pressure to
respond consistently. In either case, the pencil or paper
measures employed in this study are limited in their ability
to tease out such differences. Experimental methods may
be best suited for such purposes.
Given that this is one of the first attempts at understand-
ing the phenomenon of customer switching in the services
industry, it is plausible that there are additional variables to
be investigated. The percentage of variance explained in
switching intentions, and more important in switching be-
havior, suggests that there still is a substantial deal of vari-
ance that remains unexplained in these factors. Factors
such as price considerations (Mazursky, LaBarbera, and
Aiello 1987; Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman 1996), re-
lationship with the service provider (Crosby and Stephens
1987), variety-seeking behavior (McAlister 1982), and al-
ternative attractiveness (Ping 1994) might be responsible
for such unexplained variance.
The nonsignificance of the interactive relationship be-
tween service quality and perceived relevance in predict-
ing attitudes toward behavior is surprising. Perhaps more
surprising is the unexplained significant relationship be-
tween perceived relevance and attitudes toward switching.
Because this was the first study in which perceived rele-
vance was measured via a scale, the unexpected results
may be an indication that further construct development of
perceived relevance is needed. An additional confound
could be the use of a proxy for measuring perceived rele-
vance. These concerns may be partly answered if per-
ceived relevance was manipulated in a controlled
experiment and then the effects between service quality
and attitudes were noted. If the results from the experiment
turn out to be as hypothesized in this study, there is a strong
likelihood that the measure of perceived relevance em-
ployed in this study was a poor one. In such a case, direct,
rather than proxy, measures of perceived relevance need to
be developed and examined.
Clearly, an empirical examination of the proposed
models in only one service setting is a limitation. Conse-
quently, the reliability of the results from this study could
be enhanced by empirically examining other settings of
service switching. Lovelock’s (1983) classification of
services might offer some potential in this regard. The
classification has important implications for researchers in
the area of services marketing. Research efforts directed at
any area of services marketing should explicitly incorpo-
rate the nature of the service that is being researched. For
example, results may vary by the degree to which we can
classify a service as high credence. Intuitively, one would
suspect that variables such as self-efficacy and subjective
Downloaded from jsr.sagepub.com at Scientific library of Moscow State University on February 13, 2014
Bansal, Taylor / SERVICE PROVIDER SWITCHING MODEL 215
norms might play a more important role in high credence
services.
These avenues for future endeavors are but a few exam-
ples of the types of research that can follow from this
study. This attempt at understanding the phenomenon of
customer switching in the services industry offers the po-
tential for a sustained stream of research. It is hoped that
subsequent research on this phenomenon will ultimately
result in a full-fledged theory of customer switching in the
services industry. Because world economies are increas-
ingly becoming service based, and because customer re-
tention is the key to the survival of service organizations,
pure and applied research is increasingly needed to en-
hance our understanding of this phenomenon.
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Harvir S. Bansal is an assistant professor of marketing in the
Faculty of Business Administration at the University of New
Brunswick, Canada. He earned his Ph.D. in management from
Queen’s University, Canada, in 1997. His research interests are
focused on the areas of service quality, satisfaction, consumer
switching in services, as well as analysis of interactions with
structural equation modeling techniques. He has presented pa-
218 JOURNAL OF SERVICE RESEARCH / November 1999

pers and published conference proceedings of the Atlantic
Schools of Business conference as well as the Academy of Mar-
keting Science Conference.
Shirley F. Taylor is an associate professor at the Queen’s School
of Business in Kingston, Ontario. Her research is primarily in the
area of services marketing with special emphases on service pro-
vider switching and on managing the wait experience. She has
published in numerous marketing journals including the Journal
of Marketing, the Journal of the Academic of Marketing Science,
the International Journal of Research in Marketing, and the
Journal of Public Policy and Marketing.

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