The effect of word of mouth on handphone switching

Abstract

Switching behaviour is one of the topics that have been chosen in recent years, it is not only damage the company profit but also decrease the loyalty of customer. WORD OF MOUTH (WOM) has been chosen to use as one of the strategies in influencing customer-purchasing decision. The sender credibility such as expertise, trustworthiness and opinion leader has been determined in many researches. In this research, the author has built on the previous researches and broadens it by including receiver expertise and loyalty. Tie strength and similarity are also part of the studied independent variables, which influence on consumer switching behaviour. The purpose of this study is to systematically analysis all the variables and how it impact the WORD OF MOUTH. The result shows that WORD OF MOUTH sender, receiver and their relationship have influenced on receiver switching behaviour. However, the respondents are restricted to students in campus, which may subject to bias. The author hopes that this research would help hand phone industries or managers to explore the strategies of WORD OF MOUTH in marketing their products.