eService Customer Retention: The Roles of Negative Affectivity and Perceived Switching Costs

This paper examines the relationships between key drivers of e-service customer’s intention to continue to use an eservice. From expectancy confirmation theory (ECT) in consumer behavior literature and technology acceptance model (TAM) in IS, we hypothesize that e-service customers’ intention to continue to use an e-services is determined by the degree of customer satisfaction with e-service use and perceived usefulness of e-service. We also attempt to illustrate that perceived switching costs moderate the effect of perceived usefulness and satisfaction on continuance intention. Furthermore, negative affectivity, a dispositional affective stable broad trait measure, is hypothesized to affect the level of customer satisfaction with an e-service. Understanding the effect of customer predisposition on satisfaction and the effect of perceived switching costs allows practitioners and researchers in IS to have better knowledge of e-service discontinuance behavior.