FACTORS INFLUENCING THE CONSUMER SWITCHING BEHAVIOR - Case Study of Vietnam Airlines

Abstract

Over time, airplanes have been transformed to be more modern in order to serve for transporting passengers overseas conveniently. At first, this kind of transport was seen as a “rich transportation” as the price was extremely expensive and only those who had high income afford to pay. However, in recent years, the innovation of low-cost carriers helps consumers have opportunities to travel by planes. Also due to its convenience, transportation by air is more and more popular. Our research arms to explore the insight factors that influence the consumer switching behavior with specific case is VNA. Our main goals are to determine what the factors are and items of each factors to clarify their effect. After that, we rank the level of the factor affecting by SPSS analysis. With results, we give suitable recommendation for the top highest factors, particularly is a program to train the staff skill and attitude. The research framework will be based on the model of Susan M. Keaveney (1995) to investigate the eight elements that cause customers to switch and how significant these elements are. To obtain objectives, we used the exploratory research method. Firstly, we conducted the in-depth interviews with customers who have used at least two different airlines in Vietnam, including Vietnam Airlines. Then, a survey was carried out in the large-scale at Noi Bai Airport with 250 valid samples. To analyze the data collected, the quantitative method with SPSS 22.0 software was used to achieve the result. The empirical findings of exploratory factors indicated that there are five factors affecting the Vietnam Airlines consumer behavior. These are service encounter failure, core service failure, the ethical problems, inconvenience and response to service failure. Besides, customers often consider carefully before changing in the case of Vietnam Airlines. Despite having problems in service, customers can forgive the mistakes for the first or second time. It is entirely reasonable in comparison with reality. Although dissatisfying with any errors in service, it is eligible enough for customers to switch to other airlines for their future travels. The major contribution of the study is to seek out the factors influencing the consumer switching behavior in the aviation industry. This is an interesting marketing research field, especially in the aviation industry of Vietnam