DETERMINANTS OF CUSTOMER LOYALTY IN THE TELECOMMUNICATION INDUSTRY IN GHANA

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinant of customer loyalty in the telecommunication industry of Ghana. Deliberations on literature discussed issues on the concept of customer loyalty, classification of customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, service quality, empirical studies of loyalty among mobile phone users and outline on the profile of telecommunication companies in Ghana. On the basis of literature materials, a list of factors were extracted as determinants of customer loyalty (call quality, switching cost, connectivity/coverage, network charges, value added services, promotional efforts). A sample of 700 respondents (customers of mobile phone operators) was used and convenience sampling method was conducted and data was analyzed through exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression. The research found that among the factors or determinants used to examine customer loyalty in the telecommunication, call quality, and switching cost was identified as highly significant in determining customer loyalty. The findings suggests that mangers of these mobile operators should put more focus on improving call quality and analyze more carefully the reason for customers to switch brands in this industry in order to increase loyalty among these customers.