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Ma ke ing and T ade
DOI: 10.15240/ ul/001/2017-2-015
In oduc ion
In oday’s compe i i e en i onmen , c ea ing
and main aining cus ome sa is ac ion and
consequen ly cus ome loyal y is o i al
impo ance o he companies. A he same
ime, i is a challenging ask because li le is
known abou how cus ome s di e in hei
ela ional p e e ences (Palma ie e al., 2006)
and because he e a e a lo o a iables ha
in l uence cus ome loyal y. Al hough cus ome s
end o be mo e demanding and less loyal
(Reichheld, 1996), se ice ma ke e s a e
con inced ha building endu ing ela ionships
wi h he cus ome s is inc edibly impo an
because loyal cus ome s a e less cos ly o
se e, buy mo e, pay p emium p ices and
sp ead posi i e wo d-o -mou h (Zei haml, 2000;
O’B ian & Jones, 1995).
Among he a ious ac o s ha di ec ly o
indi ec ly in l uence cus ome loyal y, pe cei ed
se ice quali y and cus ome sa is ac ion
a e equen ly iewed as key de e minan s
o cus ome loyal y (Vildo á e al., 2015;
Se ó-Pamies, 2012; C onin e al., 2000) wi h
a con i med media ing e ec o cus ome
sa is ac ion in he se ice quali y-cus ome
loyal y ela ionship (S i as a a & Rai, 2013;
Ca uana, 2002). Addi ionally, swi ching cos s
and swi ching ba ie s a e also iewed as key
de e minan s o cus ome loyal y (de Ma os
e al., 2009; Lee e al., 2001). Namely, when
swi ching cos s a e high, cus ome s may
s ay loyal e en i hey a e no highly sa is i ed
(San ou idis & T i ellas, 2010). Al hough
he esea ch in e es on pe cei ed se ice
quali y, cus ome sa is ac ion, swi ching cos s,
swi ching ba ie s and cus ome loyal y has
been inc easing egula ly, he numbe o
esea ch s udies in eg a ing all hese a iables
in explo ing cus ome loyal y is a he sca ce.
Recen ly, he e has been an exponen ial
inc ease in esea ch on se ice quali y,
cus ome sa is ac ion and cus ome loyal y
in he mobile se ice indus y. Speci i cally,
a numbe o esea che s ha e a emp ed
o e eal he ela ionship among a ious
independen a iables and cus ome loyal y
as a dependen a iable in he mobile se ice
indus y (San ou idis & T i ellas, 2010;
Ge po e al., 2001). E en hough all hese
esea ch e o s ha e ad anced ma ke e s’
unde s anding o mobile se ice consume
beha iou and pa icula ly o he ela ionships
among pe cei ed se ice quali y, cus ome
sa is ac ion, and cus ome loyal y (Lee, 2013),
ye an in eg a ed model o loyal y in he mobile
se ice con ex wi h swi ching ba ie s and
swi ching cos s as supplemen a y a iables is
s ill a e. This s udy s i es o i ll his esea ch gap
by p oposing and es ing an in eg a ed model o
cus ome loyal y. Mo eo e , he di e en e ec s
o swi ching cos s and swi ching ba ie s on he
sa is ac ion-loyal y ela ionship a e examined,
since he e is a lack o empi ical s udies es ing
hese app oaches simul aneously (de Ma os e
al., 2009).
The esea ch con ex o ou s udy is he
mobile se ice indus y in Macedonia. A p esen ,
h ee mobile se ice p o ide s and one mobile
i ual ne wo k ope a o ope a e in Macedonia,
gi ing use s a choice when conside ing hei
mobile communica ions needs. Wi h a numbe
o ac i e mobile se ice use s highe han he
popula ion, and a low mobile se ice use s g ow h
a e o only 1.05% in he hi d qua e o 2014
compa ed o he hi d qua e o 2013 (Agency
o Elec onic Communica ion o he Republic
o Macedonia, 2014), he Macedonian mobile
se ice ma ke is eaching i s ma u i y. In such
condi ions, he mobile ope a o s a e ocusing
hei ma ke ing e o s on e aining he cu en
cus ome s h ough c ea ing cus ome loyal y. I is
gene ally accep ed ha a high le el o cus ome
sa is ac ion will esul in high le el o cus ome
AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF CUSTOMER
LOYALTY IN THE MACEDONIAN MOBILE
SERVICE MARKET
Nikolina Palamido ska-S e jado ska, Ani a Ciuno a-Shuleska
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Ma ke ing a obchod
loyal y, bu some imes, cus ome s can mani es
high le el o epea pu chases as a esul o
some swi ching ba ie s hey a e acing.
Conside ing ha , o he bes o ou
knowledge, no a icle examining he cus ome
loyal y o he mobile se ice indus y in
Macedonia has been published so a , his
a icle is he i s a emp o analyse he
e ec s o pe cei ed se ice quali y, cus ome
sa is ac ion, swi ching cos s and swi ching
ba ie s on cus ome loyal y. The o e all
esea ch objec i e is o gain insigh in o he
ac o s a ec ing cus ome loyal y, o de elop
a model acco dingly, and o es he model
empi ically. The e o e, he pu pose o his
s udy is o p esen a heo e ical amewo k o
he ac o s ha po en ially in l uence cus ome s
o emain loyal o hei exis ing mobile se ice
p o ide and o i nd he app op ia e model
o measu ing cus ome loyal y in he mobile
se ice ma ke in a de eloping coun y.
Thus, he main objec i es o his s udy a e:
a) o examine he ela ionship be ween se ice
quali y and cus ome sa is ac ion; b) o assess
he ela ionship be ween cus ome sa is ac ion
and cus ome loyal y; c) o explo e he media ing
ole o cus ome sa is ac ion in he ela ionship
be ween se ice quali y and cus ome loyal y; d)
o explo e he di ec , media ing and mode a ing
ole o swi ching cos s and swi ching ba ie s on
he ela ionship be ween cus ome sa is ac ion
and cus ome loyal y; and e) o alida e he
p oposed concep ual model.
The a icle sugges s ha cus ome loyal y
is posi i ely de e mined by se ice quali y,
cus ome sa is ac ion and swi ching ba ie s,
u he explo ing hei addi ional e ec s
on cus ome loyal y. This o ms he basis
o he de elopmen o a esea ch model
and hypo heses, using SEM. The a icle is
s uc u ed as ollows: i s ly, he concep s o
se ice quali y, cus ome sa is ac ion, cus ome
loyal y, swi ching cos s and swi ching ba ie s
a e elabo a ed, and hen hypo heses ega ding
hei ela ionships a e de eloped. Secondly, he
esea ch me hodology is p esen ed ollowed,
by a p esen a ion o i ndings and conclusions.
The las sec ion ou lines he heo e ical and
manage ial implica ions, limi a ions, and
di ec ions o u u e esea ch.
Ou i ndings ha e clea implica ions o
ma ke ing manage s in he mobile se ice
indus y in e es ed in main aining a loyal
cus ome base. The i ndings could se e well
as guidelines when modelling, measu ing
and acking cus ome loyal y in he mobile
se ice indus y, and should be conside ed
when designing ma ke ing s a egies aimed a
building long- e m ela ionships wi h cus ome s.
1. Concep ual Model and Hypo heses
De elopmen
The concep ualiza ion and ope a ionaliza ion
o he main concep s in his s udy is based on
ele an li e a u e, p esen ed below. Addi ionally,
hypo heses ega ding he ela ionships among
he concep s a e de eloped.
1.1 Se ice Quali y
The concep ualiza ion o se ice quali y is
de i ed om he p oduc quali y li e a u e
and cus ome sa is ac ion li e a u e (B ady
& C onin, 2001). Gene ally, he de i ning o
se ice quali y is based on he compa ison
be ween cus ome s’ expec a ions and hei
pe cep ions ega ding he deli e ed se ice
(Leh inen & Leh inen, 1991; Pa asu aman e
al., 1988; 1985; G ön oos, 1984). G ön oos
(1984, p. 37) has de i ned se ice quali y as “ he
ou come o an e alua ion p ocess, whe e he
consume compa es his expec a ions wi h he
se ice he pe cei es he has ecei ed, i.e., he
pu s he pe cei ed se ice agains he expec ed
se ice”. In ha di ec ion, Pa asu aman e al.
(1988, p.16) has de i ned se ice quali y as
“a global judgmen , o a i ude, ela ing o he
supe io i y o he se ice”.
Some au ho s ha e a gued he
concep ualiza ion o cus ome expec a ions
(Teas, 1993,) and he concep ualiza ion
and measu emen o se ice quali y as
a di e ence be ween cus ome pe cep ions and
expec a ions (C onin & Taylo , 1992). Based
on his, some s udies ha e ope a ionalized
se ice quali y as a pe o mance-based
concep (C onin, 2003; B ady e al., 2002;
Dabholka e al., 2000). Al hough hese s udies
a oid cus ome expec a ions in de i ning and
measu ing se ice quali y, hey do no a gue
he implici e ec o cus ome expec a ions
in c ea ing cus ome pe cep ions ega ding
pe o mance o he se ice.
E en hough mos o he s udies sugges
mul i-dimensionali y o he se ice quali y
concep (Kang & James, 2004; Pa asu aman
e al., 1985; 1988), he e a e s udies analysing
i as a uni-dimensional concep (C onin &
Taylo , 1992). Mo eo e , he e is a a ia ion
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Ma ke ing and T ade
o he numbe and na u e o he iden i i ed
dimensions (O el & Ka a, 2014; Ma ko ić &
Raspo Janko ić, 2013; Ciuno a-Shuleska e
al., 2013; Pe idou e al., 2007; Gla eli e al.,
2006; B ady & C onin, 2001), con ingen on he
cul u al and se ice con ex o he s udy. The
mos ecognized a e he concep ualiza ions
p oposed by Pa asu aman e al. (1988;
1985), iden i ying i e SERVQUAL dimensions
( angibles, eliabili y, esponsi eness,
assu ance and empa hy), and he wo-
dimensional concep ualiza ion o se ice quali y
( echnical and unc ional dimension), p oposed
by G ön oos (1984).
Fo he pu pose o his s udy, se ice quali y
is concep ualized and ope a ionalized as an
a i ude esul ing om cus ome pe cep ions
o se ice pe o mance. The dimensionali y o
pe cei ed se ice quali y was u he es ed in
o de o iden i y he unde lying dimensions o
se ice quali y in he mobile se ice sec o .
1.2 Cus ome Sa is ac ion
Al hough cus ome sa is ac ion li e a u e has
e ol ed o e he yea s, he e is inconsis ency
in de nining his concep . Gene ally, cus ome
sa is ac ion is de i ned as a p ocess o
e alua ion (Va a, 1997; Fo nell, 1992) o as
an ou come ( esul ) o his p ocess (Oli e ,
2010; Yi, 1990). While Fo nell (1992, p. 11)
de i nes cus ome sa is ac ion as “an o e all
pos -pu chase e alua ion”, Oli e (2010,
p. 8) sugges s ha cus ome sa is ac ion is
“ he consume ’s ul i llmen esponse”. Oli e
(1997, p. 13) has s a ed ha “sa is ac ion is
a judgmen ha a p oduc o se ice ea u e,
o he p oduc o se ice i sel , p o ided (o is
p o iding) a pleasu able le el o consump ion-
ela ed ul i llmen , including le els o unde - o
o e - ul i llmen ”.
Ini ially, cus ome sa is ac ion esea ch
was ocused on de i ning and measu ing i on
a ansac ional le el as a cus ome ’s expe ience
wi h a p oduc episode o se ice encoun e
(Oli e , 1997; Yi, 1990;). In he ea ly 1990s,
as he ma ke ing pa adigm changed om
ansac ion-o ien ed o ela ional ma ke ing,
cus ome sa is ac ion s udies a e emphasised
he cumula i e pe spec i e o concep ualisa ion
and measu emen o cus ome sa is ac ion
(Ande son & Fo nell, 2000; Fo nell e al., 1996;
Ande son e al., 1994). The ecen na ional
cus ome sa is ac ion index models a e based
on he cumula i e pe spec i e concep ualizing
cus ome sa is ac ion as a cus ome ’s o e all
e alua ion o a p oduc o se ice p o ide o
da e (Fo nell e al., 1996).
In his pape , se ice quali y and cus ome
sa is ac ion a e analysed and measu ed as
di e en concep s a a cumula i e le el, as
his pe spec i e is c ucial in unde s anding
he impo ance o hese wo concep s and
he ela ionship be ween hem (Ande son &
Fo nell, 1994). Te ps a and Ve bee en (2014,
p. 499) assume ha “cus ome sa is ac ion is
e oked by he cus ome ’s en i e expe ience
wi h he company”. In addi ion, measu ing
cus ome sa is ac ion a a cumula i e le el
p o ides be e esul s in p edic ing he e ec on
cus ome loyal y (Yang & Pe e son, 2004) and
p esen s a be e indica o o he pas , cu en
and u u e company’s pe o mances (Ande son
e al., 1994). Ac ually, cus ome sa is ac ion
i sel is o en used as an essen ial ma ke ing
pe o mance indica o (Rego e al., 2013).
1.3 Cus ome Loyal y
Cus ome loyal y is a complex concep
and di e en esea che s p o ide di e en
de i ni ions and ope a ionaliza ions ega ding
his concep . In he pas , cus ome loyal y was
s udied using only he beha io al app oach
(Rus & Zaho ik, 1993), which iden i i es
cus ome loyal y wi h epea pu chases, i.e.
cus ome e en ion (Zei haml e al., 1996).
This concep ualiza ion does no p o ide an
explana ion o he psychological aspec s
and causes o cus ome loyal y. Many imes
cus ome s epu chase he company’s p oduc s
and se ices no because hey ha e s ong
p e e ences, bu because hey a e simply ine ,
hey pe cei e a high le el o swi ching cos s,
o because o some o he swi ching ba ie s. In
ha di ec ion, Dick and Basu (1994) assume
ha ue cus ome loyal y is no based only on
he high le el o epu chasing, bu also on he
posi i e ela i e cus ome a i udes ega ding
a ec i e b and e alua ion. In ac , a i udinal
loyal y is e l ec ed in he p e e ences o he
company, compa ed o hei compe i o s. Dick
and Basu (1994, p. 99) ha e de i ned cus ome
loyal y as “ he s eng h o he ela ionship
be ween an indi idual’s ela i e a i ude and
epea pa onage”.
The concep ualiza ion o cus ome loyal y
as a combina ion o beha io al and a i udinal
dimension is addi ionally suppo ed by many
au ho s (Picón e al., 2014; de Ma os e al.,
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202 2017, XX, 2
Ma ke ing a obchod
2009; Wong & Sohal, 2003; Ganesh e al.,
2000). Some au ho s add a cogni i e dimension
o concep ualizing cus ome loyal y (Bloeme e
al., 1999; de Ruy e e al., 1998), e e ing o
he b and’s a ibu es e alua ion in he buying
decision-making p ocess and o bene i s om
he epea pa onage (Ca uana, 2002; Lee &
Cunningham, 2001). In his s udy, he concep
o cus ome loyal y is ope a ionalized as
a combina ion o a beha io al and a i udinal
app oach, measu ing epu chase in en ions,
in en ions o ecommenda ions o iends, e c.
1.4 Swi ching Ba ie s and Swi ching
Cos s
Swi ching ba ie s makes i mo e di i cul o
cos ly o cus ome s o change p o ide s,
and e e s o in e pe sonal ela ionships
(Colga e & Lang, 2001; Jones e al., 2000);
pe cei ed swi ching cos s ( ime, money and
e o ) (La i iè e, 2008; Jones e al., 2000);
a ac i eness o compe ing al e na i es (Wu,
2011; La i iè e, 2008; Jones e al., 2000), and
se ice eco e y (Colga e & Lang, 2001). Fo
a gi en le el o cus ome sa is ac ion, he le el
o cus ome loyal y can a y depending on he
le el o swi ching ba ie s (Kim e al., 2004;
Colga e & Lang, 2001; Jones e al., 2002; Lee
& Cunningham, 2001). The e o e, companies
should s i e o unde s and ac o s which ha e
a posi i e e ec on cus ome e en ion, and
hus apply a combined s a egy, complemen ing
he e ec s o cus ome sa is ac ion (Tes om &
Bi ch, 2011).
In his s udy, ou ocus is on swi ching cos s,
since hey a e among he mos analysed ac o s
in l uencing he ela ionship be ween cus ome
sa is ac ion and loyal y (de Ma os e al., 2009;
Bu nham e al., 2003; Jones e al., 2002; Lee
& Cunningham, 2001; de Ruy e e al., 1998).
Gene ally, swi ching cos s can be de i ned
“as he pe cei ed economic and psychological
cos s associa ed wi h changing om one
al e na i e o ano he ” (Jones e al., 2002,
p. 441). Recen ly, swi ching cos s a e analysed
as a mul idimensional concep , consis ing o
he ollowing dimensions: economic (Aydin e
al., 2005; Pa e son, 2004; Lee & Cunningham,
2001), i.e. i nancial cos s (de Ma os e al., 2009;
Bu nham e al., 2003); p ocedu al swi ching
cos s (de Ma os e al., 2009; Aydin e al.,
2005; Bu nham e al., 2003), and ela ionship
cos s (Bu nham e al., 2003; de Ma os e al.,
2009), i.e. psychological cos s (Aydin e al.,
2005; Pa e son, 2004). Blu e al. (2014) ha e
sugges ed a wo-dimensional app oach o
swi ching cos s, comp ising he in e nal and
ex e nal pe spec i e o swi ching cos s.
In his s udy, swi ching cos s a e analysed
as di ec de e minan s o swi ching ba ie s.
Fu he mo e, he dimensionali y o swi ching
cos s is analysed in o de o iden i y he
unde lying dimensions o swi ching cos s in he
mobile se ice con ex in Macedonia.
1.5 Hypo heses De elopmen
Se ice quali y is analysed as one o he se ice
ac o s con ibu ing o cus ome sa is ac ion
judgemen s (Gouna is & Boukis, 2013;
Ca uana, 2002). In ac , mos o he s udies
explo ing he ela ionship be ween se ice
quali y and cus ome sa is ac ion ha e p o ed
he exis ence o a s ong posi i e ela ionship
whe e cus ome sa is ac ion is a consequence
o se ice quali y (O el & Ka a, 2014; Rajic
e al., 2013; Pisnik Ko da e al, 2012; Kang
& James, 2004; B ady & Robe son, 2001;
Dabholka e al., 2000; C onin e al., 2000).
Addi ionally, he causal o de o se ice quali y
and cus ome sa is ac ion is consis en ac oss
cul u es (Ma inko ić e al., 2011; Pisnik Ko da
& Snoj, 2010; Kang & James, 2004; B ady &
Robe son, 2001; Dabholka e al., 2000) and
he posi i e e ec o se ice quali y on cus ome
sa is ac ion has been also con i med by se e al
s udies in he mobile se ice sec o (San ou idis
& T i ellas, 2010; Kim e al., 2004; Lee e al.,
2001; Bayol e al., 2000). Based on his, he
ollowing hypo hesis is p oposed:
H1: Pe cei ed se ice quali y has a di ec
and posi i e e ec on cus ome sa is ac ion.
Imp o emen o se ice quali y suppo s
de ensi e ma ke ing s a egies ocused on
e aining cu en cus ome s (Bell e al., 2005).
Al hough cus ome loyal y is implici ly se as an
ul ima e dependen a iable in se ice quali y
models (Fo nell e al., 1996), heo e ical and
empi ical e idence is lacking ega ding his
ela ionship (de Ruy e e al., 1998). Nume ous
empi ical s udies sugges a posi i e ela ionship
be ween cus ome sa is ac ion and cus ome
loyal y (Picón e al., 2014; O el & Ka a, 2014;
Kuo e al., 2013; C onin e al., 2000; Dabholka
e al., 2000) as well as, be ween pe cei ed
se ice quali y and cus ome loyal y (Chen e
al., 2013; Mi al & Lassa , 1998; Zei haml e al.,
1996). Mos o he s udies analyse he in l uence
o se ice quali y on cus ome loyal y as a di ec
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Ma ke ing and T ade
e ec (Wong & Sohal, 2003; Bloeme e al.,
1999; de Ruy e , 1998; Zei haml e al., 1996)
o as an indi ec e ec , media ed by cus ome
sa is ac ion (P en ice & King, 2014; O el &
Ka a, 2014; Kuo e al., 2013; Bee li e al., 2004;
Dabholka e al., 2000). Some au ho s indica e
ha se ice quali y has a simul aneous di ec
and indi ec in l uence on cus ome loyal y, i.e.
on epu chase in en ions (Kim e al. 2014; Bei
& Chiao, 2006; Va ki & Colga e, 2001; C onin e
al., 2000), sugges ing an in eg a ed app oach in
concep ualizing cus ome loyal y. Simila esul s
ha e been ound in he mobile se ice s udies,
sugges ing he posi i e e ec o se ice quali y
on cus ome loyal y, media ed by cus ome
sa is ac ion (San ou idis & T i ellas, 2010; Kim
e al., 2004; Lee e al., 2001). Based on he
p esen ed li e a u e, he ollowing hypo heses
a e de i ed:
H2: Se ice quali y has a di ec and posi i e
e ec on cus ome loyal y.
H3: Cus ome sa is ac ion has a di ec and
posi i e e ec on cus ome loyal y.
H4: Se ice quali y has an indi ec and
posi i e e ec on cus ome loyal y, media ed by
cus ome sa is ac ion.
Since he cus ome sa is ac ion-loyal y
ela ionship is complex, he esea ch goes
u he in explo ing i s na u e and in analysing
o he ac o s ha in l uence cus ome loyal y.
The e ec o cus ome sa is ac ion on cus ome
loyal y and epu chase in en ions depends on
he le el o swi ching ba ie s in he analysed
se ice sec o (Jones e al., 2000). In his s udy,
swi ching ba ie s a e analysed as con ac ual
obliga ions which a ec cus ome loyal y, while
swi ching cos s a e analysed as he mos
impo an ac o and a di ec de e minan o
swi ching ba ie s (Kim e al., 2004). This s udy,
in ac , examines he ole o swi ching ba ie s in
he ela ionship be ween cus ome sa is ac ion
and cus ome loyal y, assuming he di ec
e ec o swi ching cos s on swi ching ba ie s.
The e o e he ollowing hypo hesis is p oposed:
H5: Swi ching cos s has a di ec and
posi i e e ec on swi ching ba ie s.
In he li e a u e, he e is inconsis ency
in analysing swi ching cos s as a di ec
de e minan o cus ome loyal y (Blu e al.,
2014; Pick & Eisend, 2014; de Ma os e al.,
2009; Bee li e al., 2004; Bu nham e al.,
2003; Jones e al., 2002); as a mode a o o
he ela ionship be ween cus ome sa is ac ion
and loyal y (Picón e al., 2014; de Ma os e al.,
2009; Yang & Pe e son, 2004; Pa e son, 2004;
Jones e al., 2000), o as a media o (de Ma os
e al., 2009; Aydin & Öze , 2006).
The gi en a iable (e.g. swi ching cos s)
is a mode a o i , only on ce ain condi ions o
his a iable, he p edic o (e.g. sa is ac ion) is
ela ed o he ou come a iable (e.g. loyal y)
and he mode a o a ec s he o m o he
s eng h o he ela ionship (Walsh e al., 2008).
The i ndings o he mode a ing ole o swi ching
cos s show ha “as swi ching cos s inc ease,
he ela ionship be ween sa is ac ion and
epu chase in en ions (loyal y) dec eases” (de
Ma os e al., 2009, p. 509).
A media o ansmi s he e ec o an
independen a iable o a dependen a iable,
explaining he ela ionship be ween hem
(MacKinnon & Fai child, 2009). A media ing
e ec o swi ching cos s in he sa is ac ion-
loyal y ela ionship is p esen i “ he e is no
di ec e ec be ween sa is ac ion and loyal y,
bu he e is a di ec e ec o sa is ac ion
on swi ching cos s and his one on loyal y
(sa is ac ion-swi ching cos s-loyal y)” (de Ma os
e al., 2009, p. 509). Al hough he ela ionship
be ween cus ome sa is ac ion and loyal y
p o es o be s ong (Picón e al., 2014; O el
& Ka a, 2014; Kuo e al., 2013), i is u he
expec ed swi ching cos s o be de e mined by
sa is ac ion and o di ec ly a ec loyal y (Picón
e al., 2014).
The mobile se ice s udies ha e analysed
he di ec e ec o swi ching cos s on cus ome
loyal y (Aydin e al., 2005; Kim e al., 2004), he
mode a ing ole o swi ching cos s (Aydin e
al., 2005; Kim e al., 2004; Lee e al., 2001), as
well as he media ing ole o his a iable in he
ela ionship be ween cus ome sa is ac ion and
loyal y (Aydin & Öze , 2006). In his s udy, he
in l uence o swi ching cos s on cus ome loyal y
is analysed indi ec ly, h ough swi ching ba ie s
and he di e en e ec s o swi ching ba ie s
(i.e. di ec , media ing and mode a ing) on he
ela ionship be ween cus ome sa is ac ion
and loyal y a e es ed. The e o e, he ollowing
hypo heses a e p oposed:
H6: Swi ching ba ie s has a di ec and
posi i e e ec on cus ome loyal y.
H7: Swi ching ba ie s has a media ing
ole in he ela ionship be ween cus ome
sa is ac ion and cus ome loyal y.
H8: Swi ching ba ie s has a mode a ing
ole on he ela ionship be ween cus ome
sa is ac ion and cus ome loyal y.
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204 2017, XX, 2
Ma ke ing a obchod
Since swi ching ba ie s a e analysed as
a media o in he ela ionship be ween cus ome
sa is ac ion and cus ome loyal y, implici ly,
i is assumed ha cus ome sa is ac ion has
a di ec e ec on swi ching ba ie s. The e o e,
he ollowing hypo hesis is sugges ed:
H9: Cus ome sa is ac ion has a di ec and
posi i e e ec on swi ching ba ie s.
Based on he p e iously e iewed li e a u e,
he au ho s ha e de eloped he concep ual
model (Fig. 1), simul aneously linking se ice
quali y, cus ome sa is ac ion, cus ome loyal y,
swi ching cos s and swi ching ba ie s.
2. Resea ch Me hodology
2.1 Sampling and Measu ing
The ques ionnai e used in his s udy was
designed o collec empi ical da a e e ing o
mobile se ice use s’ pe cep ions o se ice
quali y, cus ome sa is ac ion, cus ome loyal y,
swi ching cos s and swi ching ba ie s. Each o
hese concep s could no be di ec ly measu ed
and he e o e mul i-i em scales we e de eloped
o each la en cons uc . In o de o ensu e
con en alidi y, he p e iously analysed ele an
li e a u e was used o he ope a ionaliza ion
o each cons uc (Kim e al., 2004; B ady &
Robe son, 2001; Bayol e al., 2000; Ganesh e
al., 2000; Bloeme e al., 1999). All o he i ems
we e measu ed on a i e-poin Like scale (1 =
“s ongly disag ee” o 5 = “s ongly ag ee”). The
ques ionnai e also comp ised demog aphic
ques ions. Since he ques ionnai e was
ansla ed in o and adap ed o Macedonian,
a backwa d ansla ion in English was done,
in o de o a oid any misunde s andings. The
ques ionnai e was p e- es ed by 8 mobile
se ice use s and mino e i nemen s o he
wo ding we e made. The i nal esea ch was
conduc ed on unde g adua e s uden s a he
Facul y o Economics – Skopje, collec ing
224 esponses ou o which 209 we e alid.
Al hough modes , he sample size is abo e
he ecommended minimum le el o a leas
en imes as many obse a ions as he numbe
o a iables o be analysed (Hai e al., 2006).
The a e age age o he esponden s is 21.85
and 66.51% o hem a e emales, e l ec ing
he a e age age and gende s uc u e o he
s uden s a he Facul y o Economics – Skopje.
Conside ing ha young people a e he hea ies
use s o mobile se ice (no only o alking, bu
also o ex ing and In e ne usage), hey a e in
ac he mos po en ial ma ke segmen . Wi h
he apid p oli e a ion o sma phones, young
people a e using hei mobile de ices o online
ac i i ies h ee imes longe han he elde s
(McKinsey & Company, 2013). Addi ionally, in
iew o c ea ing long- e m cus ome ela ionship
and building loyal y, young people a e an e en
mo e p ominen segmen which mobile se ice
p o ide s should be ocused on, since hey
and hei upcoming amilies will cons i u e he
cus ome base o mobile se ice p o ide s in
he u u e.
2.2 Measu emen Assessmen
The explo a o y ac o analysis was pe o med
by using SPSS 20, while o pe o ming
con i ma o y ac o analysis s uc u al
equa ion modelling AMOS 20 was applied.
Fi s , he mul iple i ems measu ing he
espec i e cons uc s we e ac o -analysed
in o de o de e mine he dimensionali y
o each cons uc (Chu chill, 1979). The
esul s indica ed uni-dimensionali y o all he
p oposed cons uc s. Fu he mo e, in e nal
consis ency o he i ems ep esen ing each
cons uc was assessed by using C onbach’s
alpha. The eliabili y o each cons uc was as
ollows: pe cei ed quali y = 0.880; cus ome
sa is ac ion = 0.894; cus ome loyal y
= 0.907; swi ching cos s = 0.877 and swi ching
ba ie s = 0.672. All he alues we e abo e 0.6,
exceeding he h eshold alues ecommended
by Hai e al. (2006) and indica ing high in e nal
eliabili y o he da a collec ed. Hence, he i ems
we e sui able o use as e l ec i e indica o s
in u he con i ma o y ac o analysis (CFA)
and s uc u al equa ion modelling (SEM). The
alidi y o he p oposed measu emen model
was assessed by conduc ing CFA (Tab. 1).
I was obse ed ha all he i ems
appea ed o ha e a signi i can ela ionship
wi h he hypo hesized cons uc s. Namely,
he mani es indica o s we e good e l ec ions
o hei espec i e la en cons uc s wi h
mode a e o s ong s anda dized loadings
(0.58-0.899). The - alues we e all signi i can
(p < 0.01). On inspec ion o he ou pu i les,
he pa ame e modi i ca ion indices showed no
need o loosening cons ain s on ce ain model
pa ame e s in o de o imp o e he o e all model
i , p o iding suppo ha he model speci i ca ion
was app op ia e. Mo eo e , because o he la ge
s anda dized esidual co a iances be ween
some o he a iables, disc epancies be ween
he p oposed model and es ima ed model we e
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2, XX, 2017
Ma ke ing and T ade
no ed. Consequen ly, i e i ems we e emo ed
om he model: h ee i ems on se ice quali y
( echnical quali y o he ne wo k; ange o
se ices and p oduc s o e ed; cla i y and
anspa ency o in o ma ion p o ided); one i em
on cus ome loyal y (in en ion o ecommend
he ope a o ); and one i em on swi ching cos s
(cos o eplacing he mobile de ice). The
i nal model consis s o 16 i ems, measu ing
i e cons uc s: pe cei ed quali y, cus ome
sa is ac ion, cus ome loyal y, swi ching cos
and swi ching ba ie s. The con i ma o y ac o
analysis indica ed ha he alidi y e alua ion
s anda ds we e sa is i ed (Tab. 1). In addi ion,
he chi-squa e/deg ees o eedom a io was
well below Ma ch & Hoce a ’s (1985) c i e ion.
The e o e, he p oposed esea ch model can
be ecommended as an accep able model.
Cons uc s/I ems Mean SD
S anda dized
eg ession
coe i cien s
CR
Pe cei ed se ice quali y 0.782
Cus ome se ice and pe sonal ad ice o e ed 3.823 0.833 0.805***
Quali y o he se ices one uses 3.813 0.843 0.765***
Reliabili y and accu acy o he p oduc s and se ices p o ided 3.656 0.864 0.638***
Cus ome sa is ac ion 0.900
Sa is ac ion wi h he decision o be a use o his mobile ope a o 4.038 0.796 0.805***
The choice o be a use o his mobile ope a o was a wise one 4.053 0.873 0.890***
Conside ing he igh hing was done when s a ing o use his
mobile ope a o 4.072 0.877 0.899***
Cus ome loyal y 0.907
Conside ing he mobile ope a o as he i s choice among
mobile ope a o s 3.785 1.196 0.881***
In en ions o use he se ices o his mobile ope a o e en
i i s p ices somewha inc eased 3.297 1.184 0.866***
In en ions o complain o o he cus ome s i a p oblem
is expe ienced 3.646 1.147 0.876***
Swi ching cos s 0.856
Di i cul y o changing numbe 3.474 1.144 0.751***
Loss o bene i s, such as mileage p og am 3.120 1.256 0.672***
Incon enience o ha ing o lea n a new se ice 3.258 1.193 0.810***
Need o sea ch o in o ma ion on a new mobile ope a o
when swi ching 3.459 1.172 0.791***
Subsc ip ion ee o new membe ship 3.297 1.212 0.652***
Swi ching ba ie s 0.701
Economic loss associa ed wi h swi ching mobile ope a o s 2.737 1.153 0.873***
Psychological bu den associa ed wi h swi ching mobile
ope a o s 2.067 1.191 0.580***
Sou ce: au ho s’ calcula ions
Fi indices: x2/d = 1.128; GFI = 0.942; AGFI = 0.916; CFI = 0.993; RMR = 0.042; RMSEA = 0.025, NFI = 0.94
Recommenda ion c i e ia: x2/d < 2; GFI (goodness-o - i -index) > 0.90; AGFI (adjus ed goodness-o - i index) > 0.90; CFI
(compa a i e i index) > 0.90; RMR ( oo mean squa ed esidual) < 0.05; RMSEA ( oo mean squa e e o o app oxima-
ion) < 0.05; NFI (no ma i e i index) > 0.90
*** signi i can a p < 0.01
Tab. 1: I ems, s anda dized loadings and CR
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Ma ke ing a obchod
The composi e eliabili y alues (CR) o
all he cons uc s a e abo e 0.70 ( anging om
0.701 o 0.907), con i ming in e nal consis ency
o he measu es (Tab. 1). Cons uc alidi y
was assessed by examining he con e gen
and disc iminan alidi y o each cons uc .
In he assessed measu emen model, he
a e age a iance ex ac ed alue (AVE) o each
cons uc is abo e he h eshold alue o 0.50
(Fo nell & La cke , 1981), sugges ing adequa e
con e gen alidi y o he cons uc s (see
Tab. 2). Disc iminan alidi y o each cons uc in
he p oposed model is p o ed, by using squa e-
oo s o he AVEs which should be highe han
he squa ed co ela ion coe i cien s o each pai
o cons uc s (Hai e al., 2006) (Tab. 2).
3. Resea ch Findings
In he i nal s age o he analysis, hypo hesised
ela ionships be ween cons uc s we e analysed
h ough s uc u al equa ion modelling (SEM).
The esul s (Tab. 3) con i m mos o he
hypo hesised posi i e and di ec ela ionships,
excep he ela ionship be ween cus ome
sa is ac ion and swi ching ba ie s (H9).
The s onges posi i e ela ionships a e
hose be ween se ice quali y and cus ome
sa is ac ion (0.574***), suppo ing H1 and
be ween swi ching cos s and swi ching ba ie s
(0.535***), suppo ing H5. Addi ionally, se ice
quali y and cus ome sa is ac ion, sepa a ely,
ha e a signi i can in l uence on cus ome loyal y
(0.34*** and 0.333***, espec i ely). These
Squa e oo o AVEs in diagonal cells
AVE Swi ching
cos s
Se ice
quali y
Cus ome
sa is ac ion
Cus ome
loyal y
Swi ching
ba ie s
Swi ching cos s 0.544 0.738
Se ice quali y 0.547 0.123 0.739
Cus ome sa is ac ion 0.749 0.162 0.571 0.866
Cus ome loyal y 0.764 0.199 0.544 0.553 0.874
Swi ching ba ie s 0.549 0.543 0.067 0.132 0.260 0.741
Sou ce: au ho s’ calcula ions
Tab. 2: Con e gen and disc iminan alidi y
Fig. 1: S uc u al model
Sou ce: own
Fi indices: x2/d = 1.113; GFI = 0.941; AGFI = 0.917; CFI = 0.993; RMR = 0.046; RMSEA = 0.023, NFI = 0.939
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2, XX, 2017
Ma ke ing and T ade
esul s suppo H2 and H3. The hypo hesis
e e ing o he posi i e ela ionship be ween
swi ching ba ie s and cus ome loyal y, i.e. H6
was also con i med (0.19**).
As an ul ima e a iable in he model,
cus ome loyal y is s ongly de e mined by
se ice quali y, cus ome sa is ac ion and
swi ching ba ie s. On he one hand, cus ome s
will emain loyal when hey pe cei e a high le el
o se ice quali y and expe ience a high le el
o sa is ac ion, exp essing a i udinal loyal y as
well (Picón e al., 2014). On he o he hand,
he exis ence o swi ching ba ie s could o ce
cus ome s o e ain he cu en se ice p o ide
e en when hey a e dissa is i ed, in o de o
economize on swi ching cos s (Lam e al., 2004).
Cus ome s pe cei e swi ching o an al e na i e
p o ide as a po en ially ime-consuming and
isky ask and he e o e hey a e mo i a ed o
s ay loyal (Woise schläge e al., 2011).
The absence o in l uence o cus ome
sa is ac ion on swi ching ba ie s ( ejec ion o
H9) is con a y o he sugges ions o Picón e
al. (2014) ha a a ce ain le el o cus ome
sa is ac ion, cus ome s pe cei e g ea e
oppo uni y cos s in swi ching he p o ide . This
could be explained by he ela i ely low le el
o swi ching cos s ha cus ome s pe cei e on
he Macedonian mobile se ice ma ke , hus
minimizing he pe cei ed loss o sa is ac ion
when swi ching. Namely, when swi ching
cos s a e low, a ela i ely s ong sa is ac ion-
loyal y ela ionship is expec ed, i.e. cus ome ’s
decision o s ay o lea e is based on he
sa is ac ion le el (Woise schläge e al., 2011).
The hypo heses which e e o he indi ec
e ec o se ice quali y and cus ome sa is ac ion
on cus ome loyal y (H4) and he media ing/
mode a ing e ec o swi ching ba ie s on he
cus ome -loyal y ela ionship (H7 and H8) we e
u he es ed by conduc ing media ion and
mode a ion analysis, app op ia ely.
The media ion analysis p o ed he media ing
ole o cus ome sa is ac ion in he ela ionship
be ween se ice quali y and cus ome loyal y,
suppo ing H4. Since he eg ession coe i cien
declined conside ably ( om 0.529 o 0.34),
bu is s ill signi i can , and he indi ec e ec
is signi i can (0.197**), a pa ial media ion o
cus ome sa is ac ion was p o ed. This esul
sugges s ha besides he di ec in l uence,
se ice quali y has a simul aneous indi ec
in l uence on cus ome loyal y. Ac ually,
pe cei ed se ice quali y ansmi s some o
he e ec s o cus ome sa is ac ion on loyal y,
i.e. in c ea ing cus ome loyal y, mobile se ice
p o ide s should s i e no only o c ea e
cus ome sa is ac ion, bu also o deli e an
adequa e le el o se ice quali y.
Al hough i was p oposed ha swi ching
ba ie s ha e a media ion ole in he ela ionship
be ween cus ome sa is ac ion and cus ome
loyal y (H7), his hypo hesis was no con i med.
S ep 2 ( he co ela ion be ween he causal
a iable and he media o ) p oposed by Ba on
& Kenny (1986) was no comple ed, and also
he indi ec e ec o swi ching ba ie s was
insigni i can , sugges ing ha swi ching ba ie s
do no media e he ela ionship be ween
cus ome sa is ac ion and cus ome loyal y.
Mo eo e , he mode a ing ole o swi ching
ba ie s on he ela ionship be ween cus ome
sa is ac ion and cus ome loyal y was
assessed, by impu ing an in e ac ion cons uc
S anda dized
eg ession
coe i cien
S.E. C.R.
H1: Cus ome s sa is ac ion <--- Se ice quali y 0.574*** 0.108 6.181
H2: Cus ome loyal y <--- Se ice quali y 0.340*** 0.178 3.647
H3: Cus ome loyal y <--- Cus ome sa is ac ion 0.333*** 0.139 3.929
H5: Swi ching ba ie s <--- Swi ching cos s 0.535*** 0.113 6.017
H6: Cus ome loyal y <--- Swi ching ba ie s 0.190** 0.076 2.630
H9: Swi ching ba ie s <--- Cus ome sa is ac ion 0.050ns 0.116 0.687
Sou ce: au ho s’ calcula ions
Whe e ns = non-signi i can ; ***p < 0.00; **p <0.01; *p < 0.05
Tab. 3: S anda dized eg ession coe i cien s wi hin he s uc u al model
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Ma ke ing a obchod
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M. (2008). Iden i i ca ion and Analysis o
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doi:10.1108/03090560810891109.
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E anschi zky, H. (2011). How Habi s, Social
Ties, and Economic Swi ching Ba ie s A ec
Cus ome Loyal y in Con ac ual Se ice
Se ings. Jou nal o Business Resea ch, 64(8),
800-808. doi:10.1016/j.jbus es.2010.10.007.
Wong, A., & Sohal, A. (2003). Se ice
Quali y and Cus ome Loyal y Pe spec i es
on Two Le els o Re ail Rela ionships. Jou nal
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Cus ome Loyal y in he Va ying Le els o he
Zone o Tole ance and Al e na i e A ac i eness.
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Zei haml, V. A., Be y, L. L., & Pa asu aman,
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Nikolina Palamido ska-S e jado ska, Ph.D.
Ss. Cy il and Me hodius Uni e si y in Skopje
Facul y o Economics-Skopje
Depa men o Ma ke ing
[email p o ec ed]
Ani a Ciuno a-Shuleska, Ph.D.
Ss. Cy il and Me hodius Uni e si y in Skopje
Facul y o Economics-Skopje
Depa men o Ma ke ing
[email p o ec ed]
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215
2, XX, 2017
Ma ke ing and T ade
Abs ac
AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF CUSTOMER LOYALTY IN THE MACEDONIAN
MOBILE SERVICE MARKET
Nikolina Palamido ska-S e jado ska, Ani a Ciuno a-Shuleska
The main objec i e o his pape is o de elop and es an in eg a ed model o cus ome loyal y in
he Macedonian mobile se ice ma ke , analysing i s de e minan s and hei in e ela ionships and
e ec s on cus ome loyal y. The p oposed esea ch model in eg a es se ice quali y, cus ome
sa is ac ion, swi ching cos s and swi ching ba ie s as he main de e minan s o cus ome
loyal y, u he analysing hei di e en e ec s (di ec /media ing/mode a ing) on cus ome loyal y.
Con i ma o y ac o analysis (CFA) is used in o de o assess he alidi y o he measu emen
model, and he de eloped s uc u al model is es ed wi h s uc u al equa ion modelling (SEM).
The epo ed esul s indica e ha he p oposed esea ch model as a whole has a sa is ac o y le el
o adequacy and mos o he hypo hesized eal ionships a e con i med. The esul s sugges ha
cus ome sa is ac ion pa ially media es he ela ionship be ween se ice quali y and cus ome
loyal y and also se ice quali y has a di ec and posi i e e ec on cus ome loyal y. The sa is ac ion-
loyal y ela ionship is no media ed no mode a ed by swi ching ba ie s, bu swi ching ba ie s ha e
a di ec and posi i e e ec on cus ome loyal y. The p esen ed esul s would be o g ea impo ance
o manage s o he success ul de elopmen o s a egies o c ea ing mobile se ice use s’ loyal y.
The empi ical e idence ob ained in his s udy sugges ha Macedonian mobile ope a o s should
ha e in mind al e na i e s a egies in c ea ing cus ome loyal y, emphasising he ac ha cus ome
sa is ac ion has a s onge posi i e in l uence in c ea ing cus ome loyal y han swi ching ba ie s.
The p esen esea ch p o ides an in eg a ed app oach in examining cus ome loyal y and explo es
he di e en oles o swi ching ba ie s in he ela ionship be ween cus ome sa is ac ion and loyal y.
In o de o u he de elop he in eg a ed app oach o cus ome loyal y modelling, some addi ional
concep s should be inco po a ed and examined in he u u e.
Key Wo ds: Cus ome loyal y, cus ome sa is ac ion, se ice quali y, swi ching cos s, swi ching
ba ie s, mobile se ice ma ke .
JEL Classi i ca ion: M31.
DOI: 10.15240/ ul/001/2017-2-015
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