The Divergent “Loyalty” Behaviors of a Captive Consumer |
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Authors: | Birgit Leisen Pollack |
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Institution: | Department of Marketing, College of Business, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wisconsin |
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Abstract: | This research investigates situations where consumers display divergent loyalty behaviors. Study I qualitatively identifies and classifies word-of-mouth spreading behaviors of captive loyalists. The results reveal that, despite repurchase behaviors, captive loyalists spread mostly negative word-of-mouth. Study II quantitatively investigates four separate loyalty behaviors of captive loyalists. The results confirm that these consumers are likely to stay when dissatisfied, and allocate a significant share of their wallet to the provider whilst spreading negative word-of-mouth. The simultaneous existence of opposing loyalty behaviors has significant implications for erecting switching barriers and for applying customer loyalty metrics. |
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Keywords: | Loyalty repurchase share of wallet word-of-mouth satisfaction switching costs |
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