Acquisition and retention · Empirical panel/archival customer-level analysis using multinomial logit models to test a framework integrating experiential learning and social exchange theory.
Disentangling the effects of lock-in and affective customer experience on retention
Marc-Andre Danatzis, Klaus-Peter Wiedmann, Stefan T. B. Baumgarth, Peter Kenning (2023). Disentangling the effects of lock-in and affective customer experience on retention. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-022-00898-z.
Plain-English take
When affective experience is poor, lock-in reduces churn by about 49.03%–47.86%; its effect becomes insignificant above an acceptable experience level. Both strategies matter more at low relationship depth and less in heavy relationships. For your marketing: Use it to frame a lifecycle hypothesis and define customer-level outcomes; compare its market and retention horizon with yours.
How much weight to give this
3/5 Moderate evidence for a specific setting
The 1–5 evidence-check score is a practical reading aid, not a formal peer review or a probability that a conclusion is true. It combines design strength (2 points), sample reporting (1), comparison/control clarity (1), and how much of the paper could be checked (1). Access affects how confidently this directory can assess a study, not the study's underlying quality. Blinding is reported separately because it is not relevant to every design.
Empirical panel/archival customer-level analysis using multinomial logit models to test a framework integrating experiential learning and social exchange theory.
13,761 customers covering all firms in one telecommunications market and two services (mobile and broadband), with retention/churn decisions and customer-experience measures.
Based on the publisher-described design and comparison; see the article for complete analysis.
Publisher record was fetched directly; full text was not assumed open.
Double-blind? Blinding was not established from the retrieved publisher record.
Research question
What the authors investigated
How do lock-in and affective customer experience separately and jointly affect retention, and how does relationship depth moderate those effects?
Design
Empirical panel/archival customer-level analysis using multinomial logit models to test a framework integrating experiential learning and social exchange theory.
Sample and setting
13,761 customers covering all firms in one telecommunications market and two services (mobile and broadband), with retention/churn decisions and customer-experience measures.
Reported result
What the study found
When affective experience is poor, lock-in reduces churn by about 49.03%–47.86%; its effect becomes insignificant above an acceptable experience level. Both strategies matter more at low relationship depth and less in heavy relationships.
This is a paraphrase of the source. Check the original paper for definitions, estimates, statistical uncertainty and analysis details.
Scope and transfer
Limitations to keep in view
Affective customer experience is measured with a single item and annually (December), and the study is confined to one telecom market and two services; the authors recommend richer measures and additional settings/frequencies.
Possible founder application
Use it to frame a lifecycle hypothesis and define customer-level outcomes; compare its market and retention horizon with yours.
Evidence access
Publisher abstract/metadata retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
Springer Nature's publisher page labels it 'Original Empirical Research' and reports a sample of 13,761 customers, multinomial-logit testing, and the thresholded lock-in/churn and relationship-depth findings. Direct publisher-page retrieval was recorded on 2026-10-09; profile summarizes the accessible record and does not claim independent review of inaccessible full text.
If only an abstract or metadata was available, the profile is limited to claims supported there. A paper's paywall does not change its evidentiary status, but it limits what we can substantiate from accessible text.