Hypotheses concerning effects of content, concealment instructions, and sex of partner upon willingness to engage in mutual glances were tested in a 2X2X2X2 factorial design. 40 male and 40 female students (Ss) were interviewed by 1 graduate student of each sex (E). Interviewers gazed steadily at S while asking very personal or innocuous questions. Mutual glances were recorded and results showed: (a) Ss, when speaking, looked at E significantly more during the innocuous interview; (b) female Ss looked significantly more regardless of E's sex; (c) only sex differences were found in a postexperimental discussion; and (d) female Ss were more affectionate and inclusion oriented. Results are discussed in terms of motives to conceal, cathect, and/or reduce distractions. Mediating effects of personality variables are suggested.

Purpose 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.

Australia is one of the highest per capita emitters of carbon dioxide in the world, therefore improving energy conservation efforts is important to Australia's economic, social, and environmental well-being. In such an environment, long-term policy changes to energy conservation are likely to be contentious, complex, and costly. In this context the use of a complementary social marketing segmentation framework to guide the intervention process could provide additional leverage for policy makers to facilitate short-term improvements, which are aligned with their longer-term goals. This article focuses on the application of market segmentation techniques as potential motivators to electricity conservation efforts in the existing context of residential users of electricity in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It investigates the impact of a range of hypothetical consequence incentive packages (i.e., financial reward and feedback frequency) on attitudes toward energy conservation using a cross-sectional survey of 188 respondents from metropolitan NSW residents. It is proposed that incentive packages for energy conservation campaigns will be most effective when targeted specifically to each of the environmental attitudes and beliefs segments.

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