We present structural properties of optimal policies for the problem of scheduling a single server in a forest network of N queues (without arrivals) subject to switching penalties. In addition to linear holding costs, we impose either lump sum switching costs or batch setup delays which are incurred at each instant the server processes a job in a queue diierent than the previous one. We use re...

Customer interface quality, perceived security, and customer loyalty are critical factors for success of an e-commerce website; however, the relationships among them are not fully understood. We proposed a model for testing the relationships among them and the important outcomes of the site: switching costs and customer loyalty. Data was collected to test the model using a web-based survey, and...

This paper develops and estimates a dynamic model of consumer behavior with switching costs in the market for paid television services. It is hypothesized that consumer choices of cable versus satellite providers are affected by the presence of switching costs, which in turn justifies forward-looking consumer behavior. The model allows for persistently heterogeneous consumer preferences. I esti...

While the IT outsourcing market is growing, outsourcing vendors are being replaced more frequently by firms. Since replacing vendors can affect the stability and quality of the IT services a firm receives, it is important to understand the drivers behind the decision to replace/retain vendors. This paper examines the impact of switching costs on this decision. We classify the various examples o...

Response-time and accuracy costs as assessed in the context of the task-switching paradigm are usually thought to represent processes involved in the selection of abstract task sets. However, task sets are also applied to specific stimulus and response constellations, which in turn may become associated with task-set representations. To explore the consequence of such associations, we used a ta...

In this paper we study the preemptive assignment of a single server to two queues. Customers arrive at both queues according to Poisson processes, and all service times are exponential, but with rates depending on the queues. The costs to be minimized consist of both holding costs and switching costs. The limiting behavior of the switching curve is studied, resulting in a good threshold policy....

Research shows vendors manipulate open standards for physical products such as routers and switches to introduce positive switching costs. This article explores the possibility of manipulating vertical standards, purely abstract compatibility standards based on the eXtensible Markup Language (XML). Vertical standards use XML to formalize and codify business processes and data formats unique to ...

2 This study examines the reasons for customers engaging in long-term relational exchanges with service firms, as well as the impact of attractive alternatives and switching costs on such relationships in Eastern culture. The sample comprised respondents in Bangkok, Thailand who each completed a series of five questionnaires over a period of two weeks pertaining to their relational behaviour (t...

In this paper, I examine the existence and roles of state dependence and switching costs in the mass transition from MySpace to Facebook during the 2007-2008 time period. Using a dataset that compiles individual browsing behavior and a discrete multinomial logit model, I find precise, yet extremely small amounts of state dependence for users of only MySpace, of only Facebook, and users of both ...

A customer experiences “lock-in” when switching costs exceed the potential incremental value of alternative suppliers’ products over its current supplier’s product. Customers may regret this state of affairs if they would have been better off having secured the alternative product from the start, or more simply, if the switching costs were substantially lower than the incremental value of the a...