5.2 Future research
The finding that time and argumentation are important factors for stability in
customer relationships raises some interesting questions for future research. This
study has mainly examined triggers. Future studies could pay greater attention to
customer-expressed reasons for switching, which would enable the service provider to
communicate effectively with customers in influencing the stability of customer
relationships.
The insight that conscious and unconscious processes work independently and in
parallel implies that the processes might influence each other during an evaluation. It
would therefore be interesting to undertake a longitudinal study that follows
customers that do not switch when communication is based on both conscious and
unconscious principles in customer relationships.
5.3 Limitations
A limitation of the study is that the data were obtained from only one industry in one
country. However, the fact that the study was longitudinal compensates (at least to
some degree) for this limitation. It would nevertheless be useful to have the effects of
active and passive behavior on loyalty examined in other industries and socio-cultural
contexts.