Abstract
It examines the effectiveness of goal attainment (i.e. a value enhancement strategy) and switching costs (i.e. a defensive retention strategy) in enhancing customers' staying intentions, where the service type is a key boundary condition. The data was collected using a survey design and analyzed using a multi-group SEM approach. Goal attainment played a stronger role in influencing staying intentions in services with passive customer participation and a low degree of customization (i.e. retail banking) than in services with active customer participation and a high degree of customization (i.e. stock brokerage). Different switching costs varied in importance across the two service industries.