Using a sample of 151 banks over the period 2003 to 2010, this paper estimates a model that examines the effect of switching costs in the Chinese loan market on banking profitability. In keeping with the extant empirical literature it reports a positive relationship between bank profitability and switching costs. Furthermore it reports the estimation of a systems model of switching costs and pr...

O software poses a serious challenge to proprietary software vendors. “Lock in customers” seems a tempting strategy for proprietary software vendors, who attempt to lock in customers by creating switching costs. This paper examines whether such a lock-in strategy will indeed benefit proprietary software vendors facing competition from open-source software, who can credibly commit future prices....

This demo explains methodology of the Route Occlusion Method (ROM) and Improved Route Occlusion Method (IROM) work. The main idea of IROM is an independent protection system which embedded in the basic wayside signal system. It’s mainly function is checking and confirming each train’s position. The fundamental workflow of ROM is as follows, Firstly, a train stops at the platform and waits for p...

A customer experiences “lock-in” when the extra value it might obtain from a new supplier’s products or services is exceeded by the cost of switching from its current vendor. Customers may regret this state of affairs if they would have been better off having secured the alternative product from the start, or more simply, if the switching costs are substantially lower than the incremental value...

in this paper, an adaptive rule based controller for an anti-lock regenerative braking system (arbs) of a series hybrid electric bus (sheb) has been proposed. the proposed controller integrates the regenerative braking and wheel anti-lock functions by controlling the electric motor of the hybrid vehicle, without using any conventional mechanical anti-lock braking system. the performance of the ...

Switching costs, the real or perceived cost of changing product providers, has become increasingly important in information-intensive businesses. Reduced search and transactions costs have made it possible for customers to more readily evaluate alternative suppliers, increasing switching. At the same time, the high fixed cost structure of customer acquisition and operations in information-inten...

This paper uses a sample of matched data of firms-banks in China over the period 1999-2012 to determine the drivers of firms switching behaviour from one bank relationship to another. The findings conform to the extant literature and therefore indicate that the switching behaviour of Chinese firms is no different to firms elsewhere. The results show that the principal driver of a switching acti...