“Corporate brand image and switching behavior: case of mobile telecommunications customers in Zimbabwe”

Mobile telecommunication service providers in Zimbabwe are using a brand image to market their products and minimize brand switching, resulting from increased market competition. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among a convenience sample of 385 participants in Zimbabwe. The sample size was determined using Rao software sample size calculator to extract an acceptable sample from apopulation of 1,973,906 inhabitants. Data were collected using a five-point Likert scale questionnaire and were also tested for reliability and validity using SPSS version 20. It was ascertained that 70% of the respondents’ switched SIM cards, 20% never switched, and 10% were in-different to the different providers. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) showed that mobile network service providers’ brand image positively affects customer satisfaction, a positive relationship exists between mobile network service providers’ brand image and consumer brand switching behavior, customer satisfaction positively affects their loyalty. Corporate brand image indirectly affects customer loyalty through customer satisfaction. The researchers recommend marketers to consider the findings when designing strategies for marketing mobile network services.


INTRODUCTION
Globalization has led to technological advancements, especially in the mobile telecommunications sector, which has resulted in increased competition, such that service providers resort to using the brand image to market their products (Zhang, 2015). Marumbwa (2013) argues that several brands exist in the mobile telecommunications global village, and consumers make their purchase decision depending on their perception of the brand image. Competition is also high among three mobile service providers in Zimbabwe, namely, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, Netone, and Telecel Zimbabwe (Karombo, 2017). Telecommunications companies in Zimbabwe are governed by the Postal and Telecommunications Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), which was formed under the Postal and Telecommunications Act in 2000 (POTRAZ Report, 2012).
According to POTRAZ Report (2016), there are 20,239,805 mobile telecommunication subscribers in Zimbabwe, and 12,696,303 are active. However, although Zimbabwe has a total population of 15 million, the number of mobile telecommunication subscribers exceeds this total, thus supporting the view of Marumbwa (2013) that subscribers pur-

Mobile network operators in Zimbabwe
The telecommunications industry's deregulation in the 1990s led to the entry of three big mobile operators into Zimbabwe registered with POTRAZ, namely, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, Telecel Zimbabwe, and NetOne (Viriri & Phiri, 2017). Mobile network operators are the owners of a network structure, and they are also the retailers of airtime to the consumers (Van Der Merwe, 2015). Nhundu (2017) argued that the companies in the telecommunications sector of Zimbabwe are slow in adopting advanced technologies; hence, there is low innovation, poor service quality, and high prices.
There are over 20 million mobile telecommunications subscribers registered with POTRAZ (POTRAZ Report, 2016). The growth of the mobile telecommunications industry in Zimbabwe has been hampered by the harsh economic conditions prevailing in Zimbabwe, and the annual revenue is reported to be falling steadily (Karombo, 2017). The mobile telecommunications industry of Zimbabwe is difficult to penetrate because of the high license fees and high capital requirements, which is a big barrier of entry (Nhundu, 2017). This researcher further added that there might be new competitors in the long run since POTRAZ is encouraging the sharing of infrastructure amongst the competing companies.
According to Marumbwa (2013) and Karombo (2017), there has been stiff competition among the three mobile network operators in Zimbabwe in the past few years, and the companies have been employing aggressive promotional activities like free calls, free short messages (SMS), and reduced tariffs at chosen time frames, to gain a large market share. The mobile sector is the main driver of the economy of Zimbabwe; it has contributed to about 77% of the growth of the economy (Karombo, 2017). High competition in the telecommunications sector is forcing the operators to lower prices and provide better packages as they fight for customers in the difficult economy of Zimbabwe (Nhundu, 2017).
There are many promotional activities and intense competition in the telecommunications sector, and subscribers can easily switch network providers (Nhundu, 2017). This researcher further added that it is cheaper and simpler to switch network providers in Zimbabwe, and subscribers are allowed to retain their mobile telephone numbers when they switch service providers.

Brands and brand switching
A brand is a term or any symbol that distinguishes the sellers' goods and services from the goods and services of other sellers (Kotler & Keller, 2015), and the brands directly impact consumers' buying behavior. According to Lee, James, and Kim (2014), brand image is avital element of branding. Zhang (2015) highlighted that customers make their buying decisions based mainly on the image of a brand, and branding is an important concept in understanding consumer behavior. According to Kotler and Keller (2012), consumer behavior is when consumers select, buy, or consume goods and services to satisfy their needs and wants. Romani, Grappi, and Dali (2012) argue that consumers display different behaviors towards different brands, and it is important to study their behavior.
Das, Prakrash, and Khattri (2016) postulated that consumers face a big challenge when choosing a mobile service provider, and the brands have a direct impact on their behavior. Rahman, Haque, and Hussain (2013) indicated that brand image is the most important factor used by consumers in choosing their preferred goods and services, after getting information about a certain brand and other available alternatives. Today's consumers have much information, which affects their brand choices and preferences, and they face a di-lemma in choosing a specific network provider or the best brand (Marumbwa, 2013). According to these researchers, brands are being used as a selection criterion; consumers base their decisions on the brand image. Das et al. (2016) added that the brand image is the main driver of consumer's perceptions and thoughts of the product, and this also has a great impact on their consumption behavior.
Sultama (2012) defines brand switching as the process whereby consumers change from buying one brand to another. Sultama (2012) and Nimako (2012) reported that switching from one brand to another is very easy in the telecommunications sector. Nimako (2012) further reported that due to the proliferation of mobile devices at cheap costs, consumers can use the same number on different mobile telecommunication networks, and can easily switch networks. Thus, there is a need to investigate how corporate brand image affects consumer behavior in the mobile telecommunications sector, where consumers are overwhelmed with choices.

Corporate brand image and customer satisfaction
According to Srivastava and Sharma (2013), apositive corporate brand image can improve sales through increased customer satisfaction. Lahap, Ramli, Saed, and Zain (2016) argued that corporate brand image has a great impact oncustomer satisfaction. Ene and Ozkaya (2014) argued that a positive relationship exists between corporate brand image and customer satisfaction. Therefore, it is hypothesized that: H1: The mobile telecommunication network service providers' brand image has a positive impact on customer satisfaction.

Corporate brand image and customer loyalty
According to Richard and Zhang (2012), a corporate brand image has an impact on customer loyalty. Srivastava and Sharma (2013) argue that favorable corporate brand image increases sales through improved customer loyalty. Corporate brand image stimulates customer loyalty, and customer loyalty plays a big role in building a positive corporate brand image (Kariuki, 2015). This researcher further added that an organization's brand image has a great effect on customer loyalty. Rahman et al. (2012) argued that brand image positively impacts customer loyalty in three sectors: telecommunications industry, retail industry, and education industry. Neupane (2015) and Ranjbarian, Sanayel, Kaboli, and Hadadian (2012) agree that there is a strong relationship between an organization's brand image and customer loyalty. According to Yu and Ramathan (2012), a corporate brand image plays a big role in maintaining customer loyalty. Therefore, it is hypothesized that: H2: In the mobile telecommunications sector, the corporate brand image positively affects consumer loyalty.

Corporate brand image and consumer switching
Srivastava and Sharma (2013) argue that a favorable organization's brand image reduces consumer switching behavior. Saeed and Azmi (2015) argued that any corporate brand image element that touches on religion influences consumers' switching to another brand. Therefore, it is hypothesized that: H3: In the mobile telecommunications sector, corporate brand image positively affects consumer brand switching.
1.6. Customer satisfaction and loyalty Sekyere (2015) and Richard and Zhang (2012) agree that customer satisfaction positively affects customer loyalty. According to Seto-Pamies (2012), customer satisfaction is a vital element in customer loyalty. Srivastava and Sharma (2013) further added that customer satisfaction directly affects customer loyalty. Adonyeva (2012) argued that dissatisfied customers could move to another company. Martins, Hor-Meyll, and Ferreira (2013) argued that customer satisfaction is a powerful sign of customer loyalty. Therefore, it is hypothesized that: H4: In the mobile telecommunications industry, customer satisfaction positively affects customer loyalty.

Customer satisfaction and switching behavior
According to Seto-Pamies (2012), high levels of customer satisfaction reduces consumer brand switching. Satisfied customers are most likely to urge other customers to buy, and they may not move to other brands (Kariuki, 2015). Therefore, it is hypothesized that: H5: In the mobile telecommunications industry, customer satisfaction affects consumer brand switching.

Corporate brand image, customer satisfaction, and consumer switching behavior
According to Kariuki (2015), if customers are satisfied by the company's products and services, and there is a positive corporate brand image, there is less probability of consumer switching. Thus, it is hypothesized that: H6: In the telecommunications industry, a corporate brand image has an impact on consumer brand switching behavior through customer satisfaction.

Corporate brand image, customer loyalty, and customer satisfaction
According to Ekorn and Khan (2014), corporate brand image and satisfaction of customers have a positive impact on customer loyalty. Richard and Zhang (2012) argued that an organization's brand image affects customer loyalty, and they are mediated by customer satisfaction. Kariuki (2015) also argued that the corporate brand image indirectly affects consumer loyalty through customer satisfaction. Therefore, it is hypothesized that: H7: In the mobile telecommunications industry, corporate brand image has a positive impact on customer loyalty through customer satisfaction.
The study aimed to investigate the relationship between corporate brand image and customer loy-alty, customer satisfaction, and consumer switching in Zimbabwe's mobile telecommunications industry.

Research design
Quantitative research approach was adopted to determine the relationship between the research variables and test the hypotheses. A cross-sectional survey research approach was used since itallowed the researcher to use AMOS (on SPSS) to test the hypotheses (Cresswell, 2014).

Target population
The target population comprised of mobile telecommunication subscribers registered with POTRAZ.

Research Instruments
Questionnaires with closed-ended questions were used, and the questions were structured on a seven-point Likert scale, and divided into eight sections.

Reliability
The corporate brand image measurement scales with 23 items produced an alpha value of 0.870, customer satisfaction measurement scale with 23 items produced an alpha value of 0.922, customer loyalty measurement scale with 18 items produced an alpha value of 0.948, and consumer switching behavior with 20 items also produced an alpha value of 0.908. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients of measurement scales were above 0.7, which showed internal consistency (Cresswell, 2014).   and its factor (Field, 2005), and the standardized loadings should be.5 or.7 or higher (Hair et al., 2014). If loadings are less than.7, they are considered significant (Hair et al., 2017). According to Hair et al. (2017, p. 694), critical ratios (CRs) for items should be large and above 2, at a significant level, p-values of less than 0.001 (p < 0.001). Table 1 showsthe standardized factor loadings (λ), critical ratios (CRs), and p-values.

Validity
The results in Table 1show that the standard factor loadings of all the factors are above 0.5, which means that all the items are abovethe minimum cut off point of ((λ = 0.5), and are all considered significant (Hair et al., 2014). Critical ratios for all the items are high enough (CR > 2), and p-values are all significant (p < 0.001) (Field, 2005).

Discriminant validity
Discriminant validity is the degree to which two similar concepts are distinct conceptually (Hair et al., 2014 Table 2 show that all the AVEs were greater than the SICs, and in this study, the condition for discriminant validity was practically satisfied (Arkkelin, 2014). Table 3 summarizes the results of hypotheses testing using standardized regression weight (SRW), critical ratio (CR), and probability (P). Higher positive weights are recommended for observations as they provide reliable information on the functions of regression (Hair et al., 2014). Acceptable SRW values should not be above one (1), although values which are greater than 0.09 are also preferred (1 < SRW > 0.09) (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2016). According to Hair et al. (2017), CR values should be higher than 2, and the significant p-value should be less than 0.001 (p < 0.001). For the hypothesis to be accepted, it should fulfill more than one of the mentioned statistics (Saunders et al., 2016).
The results show a positive relationship between corporate brand image and customer satisfaction  Note: *Diagonal elements in bold represent AVE, numbers below diagonal elements represent SICs, numbers above diagonal elements represent correlations, M represents mean, and SD represents standard deviation.

CONCLUSION
The research aimed to discover the impact of corporate brand image on customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and consumer switching behavior. The results showed a positive relationship between the mobile network's corporate brand image and customer satisfaction. Companies with a good corporate brand image tend to satisfy their customers in the mobile telecommunications industry. The mobile network service providers should put more emphasis on enhancing their corporate image, for example improving the shopping environment, having a better reputation and providing fast and smooth service, etc., to improve satisfaction of customers. The results also showed that the mobile network service providers' image positively affects consumer switching behavior. A good corporate brand image has a great impact on consumer switching behavior. Consumers will not switch service providers if the organisations are offering good services and also have a good brand image. There is also significant relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. This implies that, when there is customer satisfaction, customers tend to be loyal. Loyal customers make repeat purchases and bring in more revenue to the company. The results also showed that customer satisfaction plays a mediating role in corporate brand image and consumer switching behavior. It, therefore, means that good corporate brand image has a positive effect on customer satisfaction which in turn causes consumers to stop switching mobile network service providers and remain loyal. Switching of brands has a huge negative impact on the rev- enues of the company. The results also revealed that corporate brand image indirectly impactson customer loyalty through customer satisfaction in Zimbabwe's mobile telecommunications industry. The companies in the mobile telecommunications sector are recommended to implement good corporate brand image strategies which can improve the levels of customer satisfaction, which in turn help to improve customer loyalty. It is cheaper to maintain a relationship with an existing customer than to look for a new one. However, there is an insignificant relationship between the corporate brand image and customer loyalty, and customer satisfaction does not affect consumer switching behavior in the mobile telecommunications industry. The companies in the mobile telecommunications sector of Zimbabwe are, therefore, recommended to improve the overall brand images of their companies to improve customer satisfaction and reduce consumer switching from one mobile network operator to another.