organizationalsns

H.
Lietal.
(Eds.
):I3E2014,IFIPAICT445,pp.
79–90,2014.
IFIPInternationalFederationforInformationProcessing2014E-LoyaltyBuildinginCompetitiveE-ServiceMarketofSNS:Resources,Habit,SatisfactionandSwitchingCostsYongLiu1,*,ShengliDeng2,andFengHu31ChairofMarketingandInnovation,UniversittHamburg,Hamburg,GermanyYong.
Liu@wiso.
uni-hamburg.
de2CenterforstudyofInformationResources,WuhanUniversity,Wuhan,Chinavictorydc@sina.
com3XingzhiCollege,ZhejiangNormalUniversity,Jinhua,Chinahufeng@zjnu.
cnAbstract.
Despiteconsiderableeffortshavebeendevotedtostudyconsumerloyalty,thereisalackofknowledgeconcerninghowonlineserviceloyaltyisorcanbeestablishedinacompetitivee-servicemarket,inwhichseveralmajorserviceproviderscoexisttocompeteforcustomers.
Inthisstudy,weattempttoexploretheindustryenvironmentofChinesesocialnetworkingservice(SNS),andexaminetheassociationbetweenconsumersatisfactionandswitchingcostsinbuildingserviceloyalty.
Fromaresource-basedview,uniqueserviceresourcesofSNS(criticalmassandsupplementalentertainment)areexaminedregardingtheirpotentialsinenhancingconsumersatisfaction,habitandswitchingcosts.
TheresultsshowthathabitandtheinteractioneffectofsatisfactionandswitchingcostarethekeydeterminantsofSNSloyalty.
Criticalmassandsupplementalentertainmentdirectlyorindirectlyaffecthabitandswitchingcosts.
Thisstudyattemptstobringthethoughtofcompetitiveenvironmentintoe-serviceloyaltyresearchwhilenewinsightsfore-serviceloyaltybuildingindifferentmarketenvironmentsarediscussed.
Keywords:Socialnetworking,serviceloyalty,habit,criticalmass,switchingcost,satisfaction,supplementalentertainment,SNS.
1Introduction"Eventhoughtheresultsofcustomer-satisfactionsurveysareanimportantindicatorofthehealthofthebusiness,relyingsolelyonthemcanbefatal[17,p.
4].
"Today'senterprisesarecontinuallylookingforwaystoenhancecustomerloyaltymainlythroughimprovingconsumersatisfaction.
Loyalcustomersarevitaltothelong-runprofitabilityofanybusinessasacquiringanewcustomermaycostasmuchasfivetimesmorethanretaininganextantcustomer[23].
Consequently,itisnotastonishingthatbuildingcustomerloyaltyhasbeenacknowledgedasanintegralpartofdoingbusinessorthe'businessback-bone'[14].
Incurrentlyincreasinglyservice-*Correspondingauthor.
80Y.
Liu,S.
Deng,andF.
Hubasedeconomies[11],agrowinginteresthasbeendedicatedtoconsumerloyaltybuildinginane-serviceorInternetenvironment.
Aconsiderablenumberofstudiesone-serviceloyalty(e-loyalty)havebeenconductedinrecentyears,mostofwhichsuggestthatconsumerloyalty,asaresultofconsumersatisfaction,ismainlygainedthroughimprovingservicequality.
However,previousworkshaveclaimedthattheeffectofsatisfactiononconsumerloyaltyvariesgreatlyundertheconditionofdifferentlevelsofswitchingcostsin,i.
e.
varioushuman-mediatedphysicalserviceenvironments[18].
Thereislackofrelevantknowledgeandresearchesinthecontextsofe-servicecommunity.
Forinstance,littleknowledgeisavailableconcerninghowe-loyaltyisalteredalongwiththeevolutionofbusinessenvironment,inparticularwhenthemarketbecomeshighlycompetitivewithseveralcompetentserviceproviders.
Inaddition,websitedesigntoolsareunderrapiddevelopmentwiththeadvancesininformationandcommunicationtechnology(ICT),whichhasmadeitaneasytasktodeveloporeven'duplicate'newwebsitefunctionalityorapplications.
Asaresult,itbecomesmoredifficultytodayfore-serviceproviderstogainadvantagesincompetitionsimplyrelyingonawell-workingservicewebsite,inparticularwhencompetitorsstartto'learn'fastfromeachother.
InanInternetenvironment,wherecompetitionmaybeonlyoneclickaway[36],arisingconcernishowtomaketheirservicedistinguishing,i.
e.
throughofferinguniqueresources.
Fromaresource-basedview,thestudysoughttoinvestigatetheinterdependenciesbetweenuniquee-serviceresource,habit,consumersatisfactionandswitchingcostsinbuildingconsumerloyaltyinahighlycompetitiveservicemarket—thesocialnetworkingservice(SNS)marketinChina.
Inthismarket,severalcompetentSNSsupplierscoexisttocompeteforconsumerswhileofferingsimilarwebfunctionalitiesandpresentation.
TwouniqueresourcesunderlyingSNS—criticalmassandsupplementalentertainment,arediscussedandexaminedregardingtheirrolesinfacilitatingconsumerhabit,satisfactionandswitchingcosts.
2TheoreticalBackground2.
1DeterminantsofE-Loyalty:ServiceQualityandSatisfactionCustomerloyaltyhaslongbeenahotresearchtopicforbothbusinessandmarketing.
Thelastseveraldecadeshavewitnessedaparadigmshiftfromtangibleproducts(i.
e.
brandloyalty)tohuman-mediatedservice(i.
e.
hotelandrestaurant)andtorecentcomputer-mediatedservice(ore-service)inthisfield,alongwiththeadvanceofinformationtechnologies.
Accordingtovariousresearchesoncustomerloyalty,theframeworkofservicequality—satisfaction—consumerloyaltyoritsextensionhasbeenwidelyemployedintangibleproductsandhuman-mediatedservicecontexts[6,14].
Apparently,e-serviceloyaltyhasbeenmainlyassumedtobearesultofsatisfaction,whichisenhancedbyadiversityofservicequality.
Despitethewidespreademphasisofsatisfactionone-loyaltyestablishment,recentresearchonswitchingbehaviorofe-serviceseemstoofferadifferentpicture.
"NewITchoicesareonlyaclickawayontheInternet,andswitchingtoacompetingITisalmostaseasyasdownloadingandinstallingit,orcompletinganonlineregistrationE-LoyaltyBuildinginCompetitiveE-ServiceMarketofSNS81formtosignupforadifferentservice"[5].
Asaresult,itbecomesincreasinglyeasierforonlineconsumerstoswitchtootherserviceproviderswhooffersimilarservices[36].
Incertaine-servicemarket(i.
e.
onlinegamingindustry),itseemstobeespeciallydifficulttobuildcustomerloyalty,whilesatisfiedconsumersmayeasilyswitchtootherserviceproviders[c.
f.
25].
Arecentstudyonmassivelymultiplayeronlineroleplayinggames(MMORPGs)foundthathighattractivenessofalternativesandlowswitchingcostsignificantlymotivategameplayers'switchingintention[16].
SteenkampandBaumgartner(1992)notedthatswitchingbehaviorsmayoccuramongsatisfiedcustomersduetotheirattempttotrysomethingnovelordifferentforfunorthrill[30].
Customersmaybesatisfiedwiththeirchoices,butmaystillswitchtoalternativesowingtoadesirefornoveltyorcomplexityinbrandconsumptionorcuriosity,orgettingbored,fedup,onrepetitivelydoingthesamething[12,15,28].
Balabanisetal.
(2006)foundthatsatisfactionisasignificantpredictorofe-loyaltyonlyforthoseconsumerswhohavealowlevelofsatisfaction[3].
Bhattacherjeeetal.
(2012)reportedthatsatisfactionwithpriore-serviceprovideronlyhasasmallandmarginalnegativeinfluenceonswitchingbehavior[5].
2.
2BusinessEnvironmentandConsumerCategoriesTheinconsistenceinpreviousresearchfindingsbetweene-serviceloyaltyandswitchingbehaviormaybeinterpretedfromtheperspectiveofbusinessenvironment.
Byaninvestigationofadiversityoftangibleproductsandphysicalservices,astudyofJonesandSasser(1995)notedthataconsumer'sperceivedsatisfactionaffectsloyaltyinadifferentwayindifferentindustrysettings[18],asshowninFigure1.
Anconsumermaybeloyaltoaspecificservicewithalowdegreeofsatisfaction,butalsobetrayaserviceproviderinspiteofahighdegreeofsatisfaction[c.
f.
17].
Asaresult,basedontheinteractionpatternsbetweensatisfactionandloyalty,Jones&Sasser(1995,p.
11)suggestedthat"consumersbehaveinoneoffourbasicways:asloyalists,asdefectors,asmercenaries,orashostages",asshowninTable1.
Fig.
1.
Howthecompetitiveenvironmentaffectsthesatisfaction-loyaltyrelationship(Source:adaptedfrom[18,22])82Y.
Liu,S.
Deng,andF.
HuInahighlycompetitiveandlowdifferentiationmarket,consumersaremorelikelytobelowloyalwhilsthavingahighlevelofsatisfaction,thereforebeingmercenary.
BasedontheworkofJones&Sasser(1995),moremercenaryconsumerswillappearine-servicemarketsasaresultofincreasedcompetitionanddecreaseddifferentiation[18].
Forinstance,Hsiao&Yang(2011)notedthatacriticalissueinonlineretailingresearchishowtoidentify,attract,andretaincustomerssinceonlineshoppersaretypicallyregardedaslessloyal[17].
Table1.
Individualcustomersatisfaction,loyalty,andbehavior(adaptedfrom:Jones&Sasser,1995)SatisfactionLoyaltyBehaviorLoyalistHighHighStayingandsupportiveDefectorLowtomediumLowtomediumLeavingorhavingleftandunhayppyMercenaryHighLowtomediumComingandgoing;lowcommitmentHostageLowtomediumHighunabletoswitch;trapped2.
3AResource-basedViewofE-LoyalBuildingFromaresource-basedview,afirm'sperformanceisfoundedonacollectionofphysicalandintangibleresources(assetsorcapabilities)thatenableittocompetewithotherfirms[34].
Differentindustrymayfeaturedifferentsortsofresources.
Forinstance,Barney(1991,p.
101)definedresourcesas"allassets,capabilities,organizationalprocesses,firmattributes,information,knowledge,etc.
controlledbyafirmthatenablethefirmtoconceiveofandimplementstrategiesthatimproveisefficiencyandeffectiveness"[4].
Agoodfirmresourceshouldbevaluable,heterogeneous,immobile,andnon-substitutable,andthereforeleadtosustainablecompetitiveadvantageofthefirm[24].
Previousworkssuggestthatuniqueserviceresourcesmaycontributetoimportantdimensionsofservicequality,whichfurtherenhancesconsumersatisfactionandthereforeloyalty.
Theseresourcesmaybeexternalinnature,suchasgoodlocationandtransportationconvenienceofahotel[20,32],orinternal,suchaspersonalfriendshiptocustomer,routesavailabilityinonlineflightbookingservice[c.
f.
7].
Sincethemethodofaresource-basedviewhasbeenwidelyappliedtoinvestigatephysicalbrandandtangibleservice,thismethodshouldbeapplicabletoe-servicecontexts.
Inotherwords,e-serviceprovidersshouldseektoexploreanddevelopuniqueserviceresourcesinordertomaketheirservicesdistinguishingandtoachievecompetitiveadvantages.
Itisnotedthat,pertainingtodifferentnaturesofe-servicecategories,previousstudieshaveidentifiedanumberofuniqueservicecharacteristicsthataffectserviceacceptance[19,29],manyofwhichcanberegardedasasortofe-serviceresources.
2.
4HighlyCompetitiveE-ServiceMarket:NewChallengestoLoyaltyResearchOfvariousInternetservicesinChina,TencentQQ(QQ),afreeinstantmessagingcomputerprogram,isobviouslyoneofthemostsuccessfulapplications.
InSeptember2011,theactiveQQuseraccountsforQQIMamountedto711.
7millionwhileitspeakconcurrentusersreached145.
4million(Tencent,2011).
NotethefactthatthereE-LoyaltyBuildinginCompetitiveE-ServiceMarketofSNS83were513millionInternetusersinChinain2011[10]1.
WhilstQQisinitiallydevelopedforinstantcommunication,thecompanyseekstointegrateadiversityofvalue-addedservicestotheQQanddevelopsittobeacustomized"onestopforall"application.
AnincreasingamountofInternetserviceshavebeenintegratedtothesimpleinterfaceofQQ(likeMSN).
Asaresult,throughsimplyclickingoniconsinitsinterface,QQuserscanaccessadiversityofvariousInternetservices,suchasemail,onlinemusic,games,webTV,onlineshopping,Internetdisk,SNSandmanyothers.
OnestopforallapplicationstrategyoffersQQuniqueadvantagescomparedtootherserviceproviders,asthereisnomoreneedforuserstomakeadditionalregistrationandtorememberadditionalaccountandpasswordinformationtowardsanewservicesupplier.
Inaddition,friendslistofinstantmessagingservicecanbeeasilymigratedtoSNS,whichsavesQQusers'lotsofeffortstoestablishanewnetworkforSNS.
Alsoasanintegratedfunction,newupdatesfromSNS(i.
e.
comments,newposts)willbepresentedtousersthroughthesimpleinterfaceofQQ.
ConsideringvariousinherentadvantagesofSNSatQQ,itseemsthatitshouldbeeasytoconvertloyalQQinstantmessaginguserstobeloyalSNSusersalike.
However,asoneoftheearliestSNSproviders,marketshareofQQ'sSNS(orQzone)hasbeeneatenawaybymorerecententrantstotheindustry.
ManyusersshifttootherSNSprovidersdespitetheirloyaltytoQQIMandgiveupvariousbenefitsoffered.
TheyarewillingtouseotherSNSservices,eveniftheyhavetospendadditionaleffortstoopenthebrowser,tofillinaccountandpasswordinformationandtosearchpeopleforreconstructingtheirnewnetwork.
Currently,thereare190millionactiveSNSusersforQzone,96millionforRenren.
comand40.
1millionforKaixin001.
com[31].
TheSNSmarketinChinaisdominatedbyseveralsuppliersthatprovidesimilarservices.
Afterseveralyearsofdevelopmentandcompetition,SNSsuppliersshareconsiderablesimilaritiesintheirwebsitepresentationandfunctionalitiesdespitelimiteddifferences.
Inthisregard,itwouldbeinterestingtoscrutinizewhatareuniqueservicefeatures(orresources)todistinguishaSNSsupplierfromauser'sperspective.
3ResearchFrameworkandHypothesesDevelopmentToevaluateSNSserviceloyalty,aresearchframeworkisproposed.
Fivehypothesizeddeterminantsofloyaltyareincluded,whicharehabit,satisfaction,switchingcosts,supplementaryentertainmentsandcriticalmass.
Satisfactioncanbedefinedasapersonal'sfeelingofpleasureordisappointmentresultingfromcomparingaservice'sperceivedperformance(oroutcome)inrelationtohisorherexpectations[21].
Previousliteratureprovidesunambiguoussupportsforthepositiveinfluenceofsatisfactiononcustomerloyalty.
Consistentwithpreviousstudies,itisexpectedthatthesameinfluenceworksinSNSalike.
Hence,wehypothesized:H1:Satisfactionpositivelyrelatestoconsumerloyalty.
Inserviceloyaltyresearch,switchingcostsmeasureaconsumer'sperceiveddifficultyinswitchingtoanewservicesupplier,whichrepresentsanythingthat1SomeInternetusermayactivelyusetwoormoreQQaccounts.
84Y.
Liu,S.
Deng,andF.
Humakesitmoredifficultorcostlyforconsumertochangeproviders[8].
Switchingcostsarenotonlyeconomicinnature,butalsocanbeemotionalorpsychological,suchasinterpersonalrelationshipsandspecialtreatment[8,36].
Manystudiessuggestswitchingcostsexertadirectinfluenceonserviceloyalty,arguingthatifconsumersencounterahighswitchingcosts,theyaremorelikelytostaywiththeservicesupplier[2,8,35,36].
Therefore,wehypothesized:H2:Switchingcostspositivelyrelatetoconsumerloyalty.
JonesandSasser(1995)pointedoutthatthedegreeofswitchingcostsdifferalotindifferentservicesectors,whichmayaltertheeffectsofsatisfactiononserviceloyalty[18].
Balabanisetal.
(2006)classifiedsatisfactiontobehigh,moderateandlowlevels,andhypothesizedthatinfluenceofperceivedswitchingbarriersone-storeloyaltyisgreaterwhensatisfactionislow[3].
YangandPeterson(2004)dividede-serviceuserstobetwosubgroupsofunsatisfiedandsatisfiedusers,andreportedasignificantinteractioneffectsofswitchingcostsandsatisfactiononcustomerloyaltyinsatisfiedusergroup[36].
Leeetal.
(2001)studiedmobilephoneserviceloyaltyandreportedapositiveinteractioneffectofswitchingcostsandsatisfactiononloyalty[22].
Jones&Sasser(1995)suggestedthat,inahighcompetitiveandlowdifferentiationmarket,peoplebecomemercenaryandhavealowcommitment.
Therefore,itisimportanttobuildswitchingcoststoretaincustomers[18].
Therefore,wehypothesized:H3:Interactioneffectsbetweensatisfactionandswitchingcostspositivelyrelatetoconsumerloyalty.
Habitcanbedefinedasthe"learnedsequencesofactsthatbecomeautomaticresponsestospecificsituations,whichmaybefunctionalinobtainingcertaingoalsorendstates"[33].
Theconceptandfunctionofhabithasbeenbroadlyinvestigatedacrossadiversityofdisciplines,likesocialpsychology,healthsciences,marketing/consumerbehavior,ITuserbehaviorandorganizationalbehavior[9].
Frequentlyperformedbehaviorstendtobecomehabitualandhenceautomaticovertime[26].
Habitualbehaviorisdifficulttoresistandsubstantialconsciouseffortsareneededforindividualsinordertoaltertheirhabits.
Therefore,alteringhabitinordertoswitchtoanotherserviceprovidemayexerttobeasortofswitchingcost.
Furthermore,consumersmayexpresstheirloyaltytoane-serviceprovidersimplyasaresultofhabit.
Inotherwords,theyare'lazy'tomakeachangeorfeeldifficulttochangetheirhabitofbeing'loyal'toexistentserviceprovider.
Accordingly,thefollowinghypothesisismade:H4a:Habitpositivelyrelatestoswitchingcost.
H4b:Habitpositivelyrelatestoloyalty.
Fromaresource-basedview,uniqueresourcesorcapabilityofacompanymeanstheuniqueserviceattributeshelptodiscriminateaserviceproviderfromotherstoenhancecompetitiveness.
Uniqueresourcescanbeinternal,accumulatedwithtimesandco-createdwithcustomers,i.
e.
hotelstuff'spersonalrelationshiporfriendshiptocustomers[7].
ConcerningSNS,supplementaryentertainmentscanberegardedasasortofinternalresources.
Specifically,itreferstotheentertainments/gamesofferedbySNS;theseentertainments/gamesarenotspecificallydesignedforinformationsharingorcommunicationpurpose,buttoofferentertainmentthatausercanplaytocompetewithpeersevenwhenpeersareoffline.
ThestrategyofprovidingE-LoyaltyBuildinginCompetitiveE-ServiceMarketofSNS85supplementaryentertainmentshasbeendominantlyappliedbytoday'sSNSproviders.
Taking'HappyFarm'socialgameforinstance,itisoneofthemostpopularsocialnetworkinggamesinChina.
Attheheightofitspopularity,therewere23milliondailyactiveuserswhologintothegameatleastevery24hours2.
Asavalue-addedelementforSNS,aprovisionofsupplementaryentertainmentspotentiallybringsaboutmorepleasuretoSNSuser,makingconsumersmorelikelytofeelsatisfied.
Therefore,itisproposed:H5a:Supplementaryentertainmentspositivelyrelatetosatisfaction.
Furthermore,frequentlyinteractingwiththesupplementaryentertainmentsmaycontributetoamotivatorofforminghabitualbehaviortoaccessSNS.
Inotherwords,supplementaryentertainmentsmaycontributetotheestablishmentofhabitualuseofSNS.
Therefore,itisproposed:H5b:Supplementaryentertainmentspositivelyrelatetohabit.
Externalresourcesrefertotheserviceattributes,whicharenotgeneratedbytheserviceprovider,butcontributetobeanimportantaspectofservice,suchasthetransportationconveniencetoahotelcustomer.
ConcerningSNS,criticalmassisproposedtoaffectconsumerserviceexperienceasakindofexternalresources.
ItreferstoanimportantsegmentofpopulationthatchoosestotakepartintheSNS[1,25].
Criticalmassmakesmajorcontributionstothecollectiveactionaswellastolatersubscribers[1,25].
Anewnetworkbyitsnaturerequiresagroupofsubscribersifitistostartup;thenetworkbecomesmaturetomovebeyondthatpointinitsdevelopmentwhereacriticalmasshasinitiallyassembled[1].
Asaresult,newsubscriberstoamatureSNScanjoinoneafteranotherinsteadofasagroup[1].
Forinstance,ausersubscribestoaSNS,forthathis/herfriendsaretherealready;asaresult,s/hesubscribestotheSNSbyjointhealreadyexistedcircleofhis/herfriendswithnoneedtoestablishanewnetworkbyhis/herownefforts.
Hence,usersmaydecidetobeloyaltoaspecificSNSsothattheycanconnecttothepeoplewhoareimportanttothem,suchasfriendsandrelatives.
ThepossibilitytocommunicatewithimportantothersinsidethenetworkshouldbeanimportantpurposeofusingSNS,whichenhancetheirsatisfactiontotheservice.
Furthermore,whenusershavelotsoffriendsusingtheSNS,itismorelikelyforthemtocommunicatewiththeirfriendsviaSNSandthereforemaketheSNSusetobehabitual.
Therefore,weproposed:H6a:Criticalmasspositivelyrelatestohabit.
H6b:Criticalmasspositivelyrelatestoswitchingcosts.
4ResearchMethodology4.
1SurveyandQuestionnairesAstherearemanySNSoperatorsinChina,Qzone,thebiggestsocialnetworkingserviceproviderinChina,isselectedasthesubjectforsurvey.
Afive-pointLikert-scalerangingfromdisagree(1)toagree(5)wasusedtomeasureeachitemofthemodel.
Thequestionnairesurveywasconductedonline.
Weprovidedahyperlinkto2See.
http://game.
dayoo.
com/200911/20/68602_100420554.
htm86Y.
Liu,S.
Deng,andF.
Huthesurveywebpageandpostedittodifferentforums,whiletherespondentswouldbedirectedtotheonlineversionofthequestionnairebyclickingonthehyperlink.
Finally,228completesampleswerecollected,sevenofwhichhavenoprioruseexperienceandwerethereforeomittedfromtheanalysis.
Thefinalsamplesconsistof99males(44.
8%)and122females(55.
2%).
Mostrespondentsareunder25yearsold(n=175)andhaveusedcomputersforover3years(n=194).
73.
3percent(n=162)ofparticipantshaveanexperienceofusingQzoneforover3yearswhile44respondents(19.
9%)has1-3yearsuseexperience.
Only15participants(6.
8%)haveauseexperienceoflessthan1year.
4.
2ReliabilityandValidityofMeasurementPartialLeastSquares(PLS)pathmodelingtechnologieswereutilizedtoanalyzethedatausingSmartPLS2.
0.
Convergentvalidityindicatesthedegreestowhichtheitemsofascalethatareassumedtobetheoreticallyassociatedarealsorelatedinreality.
AsshowninTable3and4,allvaluesofCronbach'salpha,factorloadingsandCRareovertheirthresholdsof0.
5and0.
7respectively.
Discriminantvalidityreferstowhethertheitemsofascalereflecttheconstructinquestionorreflectanotherrelatedconstruct.
Itcanbeverifiedifthevariancesoftheaveragevarianceextractedforeachconstructarehigherthananysquaredcorrelationbetweenthisconstructandanyotherconstruct,thediscriminantvalidityissupported[13].
Table2.
ReliabilityandconvergentvaliditystatisticsConstructαCRMinim.
factorloadingSatisfaction0.
9410.
9570.
907Switchingcosts0.
8710.
9120.
817Supplementaryentertainments0.
8200.
9170.
917Criticalmass0.
8830.
9440.
944Habit0.
9690.
9800.
961Loyalty0.
9230.
9510.
904Table3.
Discriminantvalidity(ThebolddiagonalsaretheAVEsoftheindividualconstructs;offdiagonalvaluesarethesquaredcorrelationsbetweenconstructs)ConstructMeanSaScSeCmHaLoSatisfaction(Sa)3.
260.
850Switchingcosts(Sc)2.
600.
1490.
722Supplementaryentertainments(Se)3.
190.
2470.
1990.
847Criticalmass(Cm)3.
450.
1680.
1270.
0980.
895Habit(Ha)2.
960.
5650.
5960.
3830.
5610.
942Loyalty(Lo)2.
450.
3040.
5440.
1650.
2020.
7500.
868E-LoyaltyBuildinginCompetitiveE-ServiceMarketofSNS874.
3DataAnalysisandModelAssessmentFigure2depictstheresultsofmodeltesting.
AsshownintheFigure,bothsatisfactionandswitchingcostalonehavenosignificanteffectonloyalty.
Instead,theinteractioneffectofsatisfactionandswitchingcosthassignificantinfluenceonloyalty.
Furthermore,habitexertsasubstantialandstronginfluenceonbothloyaltyandswitchingcost.
Criticalmassexertsasignificantinfluenceonhabit,butnotonswitchingcost.
Supplementaryentertainmentssignificantlyaffectbothhabitandsatisfaction.
Criticalmassandsupplementalmaterialshaveindirectinfluencesonswitchingcost,whicharemediatedbyhabit.
Themodelinterprets35.
6percentofvarianceofswitchingcost,36.
3percentofhabit,24.
9percentofsatisfactionand72percentofloyalty.
Fig.
2.
Results5DiscussionandImplicationsFigure2showsthat,inthiscompetitiveSNSmarket,consumerstendtobemercenary,whereasahighsatisfactionofSNSusersdoesn'tguaranteeahighloyaltytowardserviceprovider.
Inaddition,satisfactionalonecannotbringaboutloyaltyaswell.
ConsistentwiththeworkofJones&Sasser(1995),weproposethatconsumersatisfactionmaynotbesuchareliableindicatorofloyaltyfore-servicemarket,inparticularwhenthemarketbecomesmorecompetitivewithlessdifferentiation.
Consumersbehavedifferentlyinresponsetodifferentindustryenvironments.
Inotherwords,thechangeofindustryenvironmentitselfmayeffectivelyalterthewaythatconsumerschoosetobeloyaltoacompany,i.
e.
mercenaryversushostageconsumers.
TheresultsshowastronginteractioneffectbetweensatisfactionandswitchingcostsonSNSloyalty.
Inotherwords,itisreallydifficulttoestablishuserloyaltyinSNS:onlywhenconsumersaresatisfiedwithserviceproviderandarefeelingdifficultytoswitch,theybecomeloyal.
Thisalsosuggeststhatsatisfactionisanecessaryconditionofserviceloyalty.
Satisfiedconsumerscanbeeitherloyalornotloyaltoserviceproviderbasedonthelevelofswitchingcost,butdissatisfiedconsumersdefinitelyDashline:Insignificantinfluence***:pSNSloyalty.
Thisimpliesthat,inChineseSNSmarket,consumerloyaltyismorelikeasortofhabitualbehavior.
Inotherwords,thereisahighriskofconsumerswitch,iftheyarestronglymotivatedtochangetheirhabit,e.
g.
bytheirpeers(criticalmass).
Furthermore,criticalmassandsupplementaryentertainmentsarefoundtobeimportantresourcesthatsignificantlyenhanceconsumerhabit,satisfactionandswitchingcostsonSNS.
Thisindicatesthat,ifaSNSmaintainedanindividual'snetworkbyhostingthepeoplewhoareimportanttohim/her,theuserislesslikelytoswitchbecauseitwillcausealossofconnectionstothoseimportantpeople.
Alsothetimeandeffortsspentonsupplementaryentertainment,suchassocialnetworkinggames,appearstobevaluabletotheconsumers.
Theyfeelmoresatisfiediftheyengageinsupplementaryentertainment,inparticularwhentheyplaytogetherwiththeirfriends.
6ConclusionInthisstudy,wesoughttointroducearesource-basedviewintothefieldofe-serviceresearch,andtointerprethowuniqueserviceresourceshelpestablishbothsatisfactionandswitchingcosts.
Whilsttheresource-basedviewhasbeendominantlyutilizedtostudythecompetitivenessofdifferentcompaniesandorganization,thisapproachisnoveltothefieldofe-serviceresearch.
Basedontheresearchfindingsofthisstudy,wearguedthatitisimportanttorecruitanddevelopuniqueservicecapabilitiesinordertomakethee-servicedistinguishingandtoachievecompetitiveness.
Whilepreviousworkshaveexaminedtheinfluenceofindustrysettingsinaffectingsatisfaction—loyaltyrelationshipmainlyconcerninghuman-mediatedserviceindustries[18],ourstudyinvestigatestheloyaltybuildinginacompetitivee-servicemarketwithseveralcompetentsuppliers.
Theresultsofthisstudyillustratethat,inChineseSNSmarket,despiteofahighsatisfaction,consumerloyaltycannotbeestablishedwithoutaproperlevelofswitchingcosts.
InInternetenvironment,thechoiceofwebsitesisalreadyhugeandincreasing.
Therefore,itisessentialforwebsitestofocusmoreonincreasingswitchingcoststhaneliminatingalternatives.
Inthisregard,ourresultsfacilitatesamorecompleteunderstandingone-serviceloyaltybuildingincontextandseekstoraisetheresearchinterestsinuniqueserviceresourcesfordevelopingdistinguishinge-service.
Previousstudiesshowthatswitchingcostsvaryindifferentindustrysettingswhiletheeffectsofsatisfactiononcustomerretentionwillbedeterioratedincaseofhighswitchingcosts[22].
Simplyconsideringe-serviceloyaltyfromtheviewofsatisfaction,importantinformationmightbeunderexplored,inparticularifindustryenvironmentandswitchingcostsbecomeamatterofimportance.
Thereisadearthofrelevantwisdominthee-servicefieldconcerningsomenewandemergingbusinessphenomena,suchasthepredicamentfacedbyQzone.
Acknowledgements.
ThisresearchispartlysupportedbyWuhanUniversityAcademicDevelopmentPlanforScholarsafter1970sfortheprojectResearchonInternetUserBehaviorandtheNationalFundsofSocialScience(No.
14BTQ044),E-LoyaltyBuildinginCompetitiveE-ServiceMarketofSNS89theNationalPlanningOfficeofPhilosophyandSocialScienceinChina(No.
13CTQ029)andtheZhejiangProvincePlanningProjectofPhilosophyandSocialSciences(No.
11JCGL04YB).
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