The impact of switching costs on long-term relationships.

Abstract

Creating, developing and maintaining successful long-term relationships is considered a key step in the process of achieving a competitive advantage. Loyal customers constitute the key source of profitability and they are the most valuable asset of firms. In order to optimally manage customer assets it is necessary to identify the antecedents of the process. To fulfil this purpose our paper theoretically explores both the direct and indirect (through its effect on satisfaction and trust) impact of switching costs on the development of long-term relationships.