Factors influencing consumer loyalty towards 3G mobile data service providers: evidence from Ghana

With the mobile industry dramatically scaling over the last decade, this paper provides an empirical service and marketing model on the determinants of customers’ decision to stay loyal to their 3G mobile data service (MDS) providers in an emerging market in sub-Saharan Africa. The introduction of fourth-generation MDS into the Ghanaian telecommunications industry has brought intense competition among industry players. As a result, we examined factors that influence 3G customers’ loyalty towards their service provider in an emerging market using data collected from 235 third-generation MDS users. Findings from our partial least square–structural equation modelling analysis indicated that the effects of service quality on trust and satisfaction were significant, subsequently impacting loyalty. Interestingly, our results showed a significant effect of corporate image on trust, but not on satisfaction and loyalty. Our results should help MDS providers by improving strategies on customer retention and loyalty in order increase their market share and profitability.