Influence of Service Quality, Corporate Image, Perceived Value, Switching Costs and Culture on Customer Behavioural Responses in the Nigerian Banks

The study aims to explore the influence of functional quality, technical quality, perceived value and corporate image on customer behavioural responses with the moderating effect of switching costs and culture. To this end, a conceptual model was developed based on the extant literature to test the relationship. Theories of Planned Behaviour, Expectation-Disconfirmation and Subjective Expected Utility were employed to explain the relationship among the constructs in the conceptual model. Using a survey research design, a sample of 555 retail bank customers was drawn through multistage cluster sampling. Combinations of descriptive and inferential statistics were performed aided by Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) using Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS). The findings revealed that technical quality, perceived value and corporate image have a significant positive relationship with behavioural intention. However, functional quality does not have a significant relationship with behavioural intention. Similarly, as expected, it was found that customer behavioural intention is positively and significantly related to the actual customer behaviour. Further investigation using multigroup analysis revealed that switching costs, individualism and uncertainty avoidance have a significant moderating effect on the paths between technical quality, perceived value and corporate image, on the one hand, and behavioural intention, on the other hand. In contrast, switching costs, individualism and uncertainty avoidance do not have any significant moderating influence on the paths between functional quality and behavioural intention. As managerial and policy recommendations, managers should emphasise more on “what” is actually delivered to customers rather than the “how” or the process of delivery. Similarly, bank policy makers should deliver their services appropriately in such a way that customers perceive greater benefits than the sacrifices they made. Additionally, the policy makers should strive to gain a positive image in the customers’ minds. Finally, directions for future research were discussed