Switching barriers and customer retention : Why customers dissatisfied with online service recovery remain loyal

Purpose – By expanding on the work of White and Yanamandram (2007), the purpose of this paper is to examine the direct and indirect influences of switching barriers on the relationship between recovery satisfaction and repurchase intentions in an online auction environment. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 272 customers who had experienced online service recovery in the past six months. Partial-least squares and mediated moderation analysis are employed to test the research model. Findings – The interrelationships among recovery satisfaction, relationship quality, and repurchase intentions are confirmed. Both lost benefit switching costs and inertia moderate the relationship between recovery satisfaction and repurchase intentions. Attractiveness of alternatives mediates the moderating effect of inertia on the relationship between recovery satisfaction and repurchase intentions. Originality/value – Unlike previous studies, which have treated switching cost as a switching barrier, or used various components to represent switching barriers, this study incorporates switching cost, relationship quality, inertia, and attractiveness of alternatives as four switching barrier factors. This study further examines the direct and indirect effects of switching barriers on the relationship between recovery satisfaction and repurchase intentions.