Interrogating and redefining the concept of consumer inertia

Abstract

Through a historical analysis of the concept of inertia about its origination, definitions, and interpretations in the marketing context, this article presents the disagreements and debates on consumer inertia. In response, the authors redefine it by proposing clear definitions for two types of consumer inertia (CI1 and CI2). The reconceptualization clarifies the scope of consumer inertia and the role it plays in repeat purchase behavior. The conceptual models indicate the determinant and moderating factors of CI1 and CI2. The sequential development conceptual model of CI2 based on four dimensions (Cognitive Inertia, Affective Inertia, Conative Inertia, Action Inertia) deconstructs its mechanism. As for its relationship with loyalty, while type one inertia (CI1) leads to Spurious Loyalty, type two consumer inertia (CI2) can lead to either Loyalty, Latent Loyalty, Spurious Loyalty or No Loyalty. This study contributes to a better understanding of how consumer inertia works in repeat purchase behavior and provides some implications for future research and marketing practice.

Exploring the switching intention of patients to e-health consultations platforms: blending inertia with push–pull–mooring framework

“…In the context of switching from offline to online services, if users are habitual of using a particular offline service, then they are less likely to compare the benefits of the available alternatives and remain committed to their ongoing behavior. Past studies in various contexts have found a positive relationship between habit and inertia (Cui et al, 2020;Gounaris and Stathakopoulos, 2004;Nel and Boshoff, 2019;. Thus, we posit:…”

How does Identity Theory contribute to the Continuance Use of E-learning: The mediating role of Inertia and moderating role of computer Self-efficacy

“…In addition, inertia mediates the relationship between psychological characteristics such as attitude and continuance use (Polites & Karahanna, 2012;Park et al, 2017;Amoroso et al, 2017;Wang et al, 2019b). Inertia originated from Newton's first law of motion in physics (Cui et al, 2021). The conceptualization of inertia originates in the Status Quo Bias perspective (Seth et al, 2020).…”

“…The conceptualization of inertia originates in the Status Quo Bias perspective (Seth et al, 2020). The marketing literature mainly uses the term inertia as one of the aspects of the notion of brand loyalty (Jeuland, 1979;Bawa, 1990;Greenfield, 2005;McMullan, 2005;Seth et al, 2020;Cui et al, 2021). That means inertia can potentially lead to loyalty (Seth et al, 2020).…”

“…The literature shows that the interaction quality (Wang et al, 2019b) and access convenience (Cheng et al, 2011) affect inertia. Also, Cui et al, (2021) showed that individual attributes affect inertia. Thus, the following five hypotheses were proposed: H3 Inertia has a positive influence on CUEL.…”

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