Key determinant factors for retail bank switching in Ghana

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors that influence retail bank switching in the Ghanaian banking sector.

Design/methodology/approach – A detailed review of the extant literature and focus group discussions was used to identify 31 variables which were used to survey 419 customers of 18 retail banks in Ghana. Descriptive statistics and factor analysis were used to identify the main retail bank switching factors.

Findings – The result of the study indicates that service encounter failures, pricing failures, electronic banking failures, service recovery failures and core service failures accounted for retail bank customer's decision to switch banks in Ghana.

Research limitations/implications – The focus of the study on Ghana limits the generaliseability of the findings. Moreover, the five factor structure identified in the study could be replicated in other countries, thereby setting the stage for cross-country studies on retail bank switching.

Originality/value – The study concludes that factors that account for retail bank switching in developed economies are not essentially different from the factors accounting for retail bank switching in Ghana. The study is thus significant especially to foreign banks entering the Ghanaian banking industry as it provides insight into how to satisfy and retain customers.