Using Agency Theory in Understanding Switching Behavior in B2B Service Industries “Iâ€

Ehab Abou Aish (), Wael Kortam and Salah Hassan
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Ehab Abou Aish: Faculty of Management Technology, The German University in Cairo
Wael Kortam: Cairo University, Cairo - Egypt
Salah Hassan: George Washington University, USA

No 6, Working Papers from The German University in Cairo, Faculty of Management Technology

Abstract: Understanding switching behavior is a cornerstone in sustaining customer led marketing efforts especially in services which depend on long-term relationships with the customers and where the switching process is compound and costly for both the customer and the service provider. The issue of understanding the motives and barriers behind agency-brand switching behavior still needs further conceptual support and empirical investigation in service industries context, where the emphasis placed on investigating the actual switching motives without trying to conceptualize the issue, which if done will result in better understanding for the whole switching process. In this paper, the authors attempt to bridge this gap in the literature by examining the criterion validity of the switching behavior model using the agency theory, as the relation between the business company (principle) and an Advertising agency (the agent) could be described as agency relationship. Furthermore, this approach helps in supporting the efforts for retaining the business-to-business customers, strengthening the relationship with them, developing and adopting globally integrated customer led strategies in different countries, a trend which is expected to dominate the marketing field in the future due to the increasing role of the agency brand selection and switching in today’s world markets.

Keywords: Brand switching; agency theory; business to business marketing; service marketing; international advertising research (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L82 M31 M37 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 15 pages
Date: 2008-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mkt
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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