Customer Trust And Switching Cost As Determinants Of Customer Loyalty In Telecommunication Industry: A Partial Least Square Approach

Earning customer loyalty through customer trust, switching cost among others has been one of the E major issues facing service providers in the telecommunication industry in Nigeria. This study therefore examines the effect of customer trust and switching cost on customer loyalty in telecommunication industry. A survey research design was used and data were collected by using instruments adapted from past studies. A sample of 451 customers of the telecommunication firms in Nigeria was used. The study utilized partial least square structural equation modeling PLS-SEM through Smartpls 3 software. The results of the structural model revealed that customer trust and switching cost have significant positive effect on customer loyalty. The study recommends that companies must focus on1 those attributes of trust which consumers rely on in order to judge the trustworthiness of the services provided. To improve customer loyalty level and develop loyal customers, the telecommunication operators should ensure customer satisfaction and lower cost of switching as they are good predictors of future purchase behavior, an indication of behavioral loyalty of the customer. Satisfied loyal customers generate profit as they are responsible for a large percentage of sales and are less costly to develop than new customers.