Mobile Service Users’ Switching Decisions: Case of Libya

Efficient Customer Relationship Management is important to ensure long-term customer retention in the telecommunication sector, specifically in Mobile Service Sector. Therefore, it’s important to understand the switching behavior of consumers in regards to their decision to switch from one Mobile Service Provider to another. The analysis of the switching behavior, taking into account multiple factors like quality of the service, network coverage, and more, is crucial to determine the churn decision of the customers. Equally important is to identify potential switching barriers, like switching costs, which deter or delay the switching decision of customers from one service provider to another. This study takes into account Mobile Service Providers and their customers in Libya. The sample size includes individuals from all ages, occupation, and classes. There are 3 main Mobile Service Providers in Libya named Almadar, LTT, and Libyana. There are various factors like price rates, network quality and coverage, quality of customer service which have a significant impact on the switching decision of customers in Libya. These various factors which have been taken into consideration have revealed that the the level of satisfaction among the mobile service users in Libya is low. Moreover, the paper identifies six potential switching barriers like search costs, attractiveness of alternatives, loss of social bonds, functional risks, setup costs and loss of special treatment benefits which force the customers to stay with their existing Mobile Service Provider in Libya. The study intends to enlighten the Mobile Service Providers on how they can ensure effective customer relationship management to control customer retention or churn rate by helping these providers understand the switching behavior of their customers. Keywords: Switching Behavior, Switching Decision, Mobile Service Providers, Switching Barriers, Customer Retention, Level of Satisfaction.