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Switching Barriers in Online Travel Agencies: The Impact on Positive Word of Mouth

This research attempts to clarify the different approaches followed in the literature to describe switching barriers. It helps identify and shed light on the wide variety of barriers that firms must manage. The study evaluates the role of switching barriers in online environments, distinguishing between positive and negative barriers, and examines the factors that favor positive recommendations to other customers. To test the causal relationships between switching barriers, trust, affective commitment, and positive recommendations, a model was constructed and estimated using the SEM methodology. The findings show that positive switching barriers affect positive recommendations both directly and indirectly through their effect on trust. Negative switching barriers, in contrast, only have a direct and negative effect on positive recommendations. It is fundamental for virtual travel agencies to be trained to recognize when their customers are staying willingly and when they feel locked into their relationships.