David Gray | Macquarie University (original) (raw)

Papers by David Gray

Journal of Services Marketing, 2017

urpose This paper aims to examine the antecedents of customer inertia (i.e. knowledge, confusion... more urpose

This paper aims to examine the antecedents of customer inertia (i.e. knowledge, confusion, perceptions of competitor similarity and switching costs) and their relationship to customer satisfaction, service providers’ switching intentions and actual switching behavior. Customer inertia is said to reduce the incidence of service provider switching; however, little is known about the antecedent drivers of inertia.
Design/methodology/approach

The conceptual model was tested by a longitudinal/discontinuous panel design using an online survey research of 1055 adult (i.e. +18 years old) subscribers to cell phone services. Partial least squares (PLS) path modeling was used to simultaneously estimate both the measurement and structural components of the model to determine the nature of the relationships between the variables.
Findings

Findings of the PLS structural model provide support for the direct relationship between customer inertia and its antecedents (i.e. knowledge, confusion, perceptions of competitor similarity and switching costs). The results show that customer inertia has a moderate negative effect on the intention to change service providers but had no measurable effect on the actual behavior of changing service providers, other than indirectly, by influencing the perception of difficulty in switching some 11 months later. Further results from an analysis of indirect pathways of the antecedents to inertia show that switching costs are the only variable which indirectly reduce intentions to change service providers. The results also show that the effect of satisfaction on switching service providers is partially moderated by inertia. Importantly, these relationships are reasonably robust given past switching behavior and contract status of consumers.
Research limitations/implications

The authors find evidence which explains some of the causes of inertia, and show that it has both direct and moderating effects on service provider switching intentions, though not necessarily the behavior of changing service providers. However, support was found for its indirect role through intent as an influence on switching behavior. Importantly, the authors find that inertia has lingering effects, in that it influences the perception of switching difficulties and, hence, behavior up to 11 months in the future.
Practical implications

Managerial implications are that service firms can profit from customer inertia through a reduction in churn. However, high levels of customer inertia over the longer term may increase the level of customer vulnerability to competitor offers and marketing activities, as satisfaction with the provider does not in itself explain switching intentions or behavior.
Originality/value

This study is the first study to contribute to an understanding of the antecedent drivers of customer inertia with respect to service provider switching and to empirically evaluate a variety of antecedent factors that potentially affect switching intentions. Importantly, the long lasting latent effect of inertia in indirectly influencing service switching behavior was found to persist some 11 months later.

The Marketing Review, 2011

Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2015

Differences in difficulty of participating in the community at various sites are compared among m... more Differences in difficulty of participating in the community at various sites are compared among mobility device users (n=135) in this report. The respondents reported their primary mobility devices (PMD) as power wheelchair (34), manual wheelchair (37), scooter (29), and cane/crutch/walker (35). An instrument, the Community Participation and Perceived Receptivity Survey (CPPRS), was developed to measure factors that influence the participation

We study regional differences in family income inequality employing the Theil entropy measures, w... more We study regional differences in family income inequality employing the Theil entropy measures, which are decomposable into a between-regions element and an element representing inequality within each of five regions in Canada, from 1991-1997. A bootstrapping technique is applied in order to draw statistical inferences from our findings. We do not find significant between-region differences in the overall degree of

We study Canadian national and provincial family income inequality from 1991-1997. We use special... more We study Canadian national and provincial family income inequality from 1991-1997. We use special cases of generalized entropy measures, the Theil measures of inequality, since they are decomposable into between provinces inequality and within provinces inequality. We draw statistical inferences from our findings by using the bootstrapping technique. We find that Canadian provinces have experienced differential trends in family income

Research in Immunology, 1993

Journal of agricultural safety and health, 2015

In the U.S. and Australia, agriculture is consistently ranked as one of the most hazardous indust... more In the U.S. and Australia, agriculture is consistently ranked as one of the most hazardous industries. The cost of injuries and deaths on Australian farms is significant, estimated to be between AU$0.5 billion and AU$1.2 billion per year. Death and injury in agriculture also place a significant financial and social burden on the family and friends of the injured, the community, and the health system. This article proposes that if farmers were to employ coaching in their businesses, they would benefit from advances in safety practices, resulting in associated improvements in overall farm productivity and a reduction in injury costs to the wider community. A coaching model is presented to demonstrate what an effective coaching process would need to include. An agenda for future research areas is also provided.

This paper examines income inequality between cohorts of immigrant workers and native workers in ... more This paper examines income inequality between cohorts of immigrant workers and native workers in the Canadian labour force. The degree of inequality is measured by the decomposable Theil generalized entropy measures. We provide comparisons of the patterns of inequality among immigrant status groups and a treatment of trends realized over the 1990s. The primary results indicate that the degree of income inequality between natives and immigrants is positive but not important in magnitude, and it remained stable over much of the 1990s. The structure of income differentials associated with education levels and age groups appear to be roughly similar within immigrant groups and for Canadian-born workers. The findings also indicate that the degree of income equality within the cohort of immigrants that arrived after 1981 is much higher than the degree within the Canadian-born labour force or within the cohort of immigrants that arrived before 1981.

European Journal of Immunology, 1996

Science, 1996

The molecular mechanism behind affinity maturation is the introduction of point mutations in immu... more The molecular mechanism behind affinity maturation is the introduction of point mutations in immunoglobulin (Ig) V genes, followed by the selective proliferation of B cells expressing mutants with increased affinity for antigen. An in vitro culture system was developed in which somatic hypermutation of Ig V genes was sustained in primed B cells. Cognate T cell help and cross-linking of

European Journal of Training and Development, 2013

for refereed paper submission to the Innovation, sustainability and HRD stream

For the South African bituminous coals studied so far the following conclusions can be made: (1) ... more For the South African bituminous coals studied so far the following conclusions can be made: (1) Conversion data obtained from coal liquefaction under dry hydrogenation conditions and in the presence of anthracene oil show good correlations with the H/C ratio, the volatile matter and the reactive maceral content of the coals. (2) For dry hydrogenation, excellent correlations are obtained between

Policy Research Working Papers, 1999

The development of a process to emplace a refractory metal liner inside a gun tube is described. ... more The development of a process to emplace a refractory metal liner inside a gun tube is described. The process consists of filling the liner with an elastomeric material and then slipping this arrangement into the gun tube. The ends of the liner are plugged with plastic disks and pressure is applied to the elastomeric material by a load frame. The original clearance between the liner and gun tube is small, so the action of the pressure expands the liner slightly until it contacts the steel gun tube wall. At that point, greater pressure can produce residual internal stresses within the steel gun tube. Pressures in excess of 250 ksi have been achieved with this simple arrangement. The stresses provide an autofrettage to the steel tube as well as forces retaining the liner inside the tube. Initial efforts have resulted in bond strengths over 3 ksi. In addition, by tailoring the degree of lubrication between the elastomeric material and the liner, a graded autofrettage can be produced in ...