Factors Influencing the Switching Behavior of Mobile Telecommunication Service Consumers in Sri Lanka (Colombo District)

Abstract

Consumer switching is a major issue for mobile telecommunications service providers, and marketers must understand why customers want to switch from one mobile telecommunications provider to another. Alongside, this study addresses the main requirement of investigating the factors that influence mobile telecommunications consumers' switching behavior in the Western Provinces of Sri Lanka. A conceptual framework was developed to investigate the impact of independent variables on switching behavior with empirical evidence, and the questionnaire was the main research tool. The study was based on 360 respondents from the Western Province, followed by the convenience sampling method, which falls under non-probability sampling. It employed SPSS -23 software to analyze the data. Analysis was done by using regression analysis. According to the results, mobile telecommunication service providers have a high level of switching behavior, and drivers such as network quality, technology changes, switching cost, core service failure, and attraction towards competitors influence the switching behavior of mobile telecommunication consumers in Sri Lanka. Finally, the paper presents the managerial implications considering factors that cause consumers to switch mobile telecommunications providers.