Factors Influencing on Customer’s Switching Behavior of Mobile Service Providers in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The mobile telecommunications industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors in Sri Lanka. Due to the highly competitive market environment, service providers need to sustain their customers and attract new ones. Consequently, customer switching behavior has become frequent. This study focused on identifying the factors influencing customers' switching behavior among mobile service providers in Sri Lanka. Six independent variables were identified from the previous literature: pricing, inconvenience, core service failure, service encounter failure, attraction by competitors, and switching cost, which influence customers' switching behavior in the mobile telecommunications industry. According to the Morgan formulation, the sample size for the study was determined to be 384. Therefore, 384 questionnaires were distributed to mobile telecommunications customers in Sri Lanka, with a response rate of 75%. The convenience sampling method was used. The questionnaire contained 33 items measured on a seven-point Likert scale. Data analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The study revealed that all independent variables: pricing, core service failure, service encounter failure, attraction by competitors, and switching cost had a significant effect on the switching behavior of mobile telecommunications customers, except for inconvenience. Strategies were proposed for service providers, and suggestions were offered for future researchers to obtain more reliable outcomes in their studies.