Abstract:
The research focuses on analyzing the impact of celebrity endorsement on brand switching behavior (BSB) within the telecommunication industry in Sri Lanka. The competition in the mobile telecommunication sector in Sri Lanka has rapidly increased, not only in terms of subscriber numbers but also in the diversity of service providers. Celebrity endorsement has emerged as a prominent marketing strategy to attract customers. However, there is limited evidence regarding the impact of celebrity endorsement on brand switching behavior in this industry. Primary data were collected using a structured questionnaire, employing the judgmental sampling technique, from a total of 395 responses. The analysis was conducted using a quantitative approach. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the demographic information of the respondents, while inferential analysis was performed using mean values, correlation, and regression techniques. The results indicated that trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness were positively correlated with brand switching behavior, suggesting that celebrity endorsement has a positive influence on this behavior. Regression analysis revealed that expertise had a positive and significant impact at the 1% level, implying that an increase in expertise leads to an increase in brand switching behavior. It is recommended that decision-makers place greater emphasis on the characteristic of expertise when selecting endorsers to enhance market success.
