Factors Influencing Customers' Repurchase Intentions in the Greek Mobile Telephony Sector

This study examines the factors influencing customers' repurchase intentions in the Greek Mobile Telephony sector. The main factors, such as service quality, price, risk, service value, customer satisfaction and their relationships were closely examined. The motivation for this research derived from the fact that customer retention is very important for company profitability, which is particularly true in mature markets. The mobile telephony market in Greece has reached its mature stage and in such markets, companies with an established customer base, achieve higher profitability when they pursue retention strategies rather than strategies to attract new customers. The main results of this study were based on the analysis of a model using cross-sectional data and eight research hypotheses were proposed. The hypothetico-deductive approach was used and quantitative research was conducted using survey methodology. A pilot research survey was carried out and qualitative focus group research was also conducted. The SERVQUAL instrument was selected for measuring service quality, which included expectations, perceptions and importance weights. This was adapted for the mobile telephony sector on the basis of in-depth interviews with top marketing executives of the three Greek mobile operators, the pilot research survey and the focus group research. Thus, this study also led to the development of an adapted SERVQUAL tool for measuring quality in the mobile telephony sector. The statistical analysis of the results generally supported the research hypotheses. The results showed that there were relationships between, service quality, service value, customer satisfaction, and repurchase intention. In addition, the results showed that Greek mobile operators did not meet respondents' expectations in any of the SERVQUAL attributes. This study has contributed to the customer satisfaction and service quality literature by examining empirically the relationships between service quality, service value, customer satisfaction and their influence on customers repurchase intentions and shedding some light on these relationships. It is also one of the few studies to have empirically examined the concept of value, which is widely recognized as of significant importance. In addition, it has contributed to the service sector literature and in particular to the mobile telephony sector, a sector of continually increasing importance, where up to now, little investigation has taken place and there is little insight concerning these issues since no such references can be found in the literature. Furthermore, it is the first to provide an adapted and tested version of SERVQUAL for mobile telephony. Thus, it provides an important addition to the international literature on mobile telephony as it is the only study so far that has gathered knowledge concerning these issues in the Greek market, where very limited research has taken place in the service sector and where there has been no research in the mobile telephony sector. Finally, in strategic terms, this study with the adapted SERVQUAL will provide important new information and can be a valuable tool for the mobile telephony operators' policymakers and marketing managers and enable them to better define their strategy to achieve customer retention and company growth and profitability. Further research based on these findings can add to the present pool of knowledge by investigating the extension of the proposed model including additional factors and developing a further refinement of SERVQUAL as a tool for measuring service quality in the mobile telephony sector.