Customer Switching Behavior in Service Industries: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Customer switching behavior damages market share and profitability of service firms yet has remained virtually unexplored in the marketing literature. The author reports results of a critical incident study conducted among more than 500 service customers. The research identifies more than 800 critical behaviors of service firms that caused customers to switch services. Customers’ reasons for switching services were classified into eight general categories. The author then discusses implications for further model development and offers recommendations for managers of service firms.