An empirical assessment of customer switching behavior in the Nigerian telecom industry

The aim of this paper is to explore the switching attitudes of young mobile phone users in Nigeria. To explore this research aim, two sets of studies were conducted. The first study was purely descriptive wherein 160 respondents randomly selected from Abakaliki, a Southeastern city in Nigeria. In the second study, a quantitative approach was employed, using 17-item, 5-point Likert scaled questionnaire administered to 60 participants randomly drawn from the 160 participants of the first study. Data was analyzed using exploratory factor analysis, Cronbach a internal consistency and Chi-square analysis for scale suitability, usability, reliability and test of association respectively. Though findings reveal that within the young mobile phone users segment, switching costs and customer switching are inversely related and as such the later diminishes as the former increases, this relationship is context-specific. It was also found that customer satisfaction is a prime but not a sufficient condition for customer retention. The study therefore reinforces that a potential entrant into the mobile phone market must be ready to integrate unique and innovative acquisition and retention strategies into its marketing scheme of policies. It will also make great marketing sense if existing mobile phone services providers can embrace customer retention strategies rather than undue emphasis on short-term promotional programmes. Finally, an agenda for further research on customer switching was set.