Loyalty also might result from strong dependence
(Ryans and Wittink, 1977) or switching costs. That
is, factors that make it more difficult or expensive to
switch from a previous supplier (or product) to a
new one increase the dependence of the consumer
(Jones et al., 2000). However, the ease with which
consumers may buy one coffee brand instead of
another makes this concept seemingly irrelevant for
our study context, so we do not consider this factor.