The negative consequences of customer switching behaviour in the banking industry cannot be underestimated. Since there are limited studies addressing customer switching intentions and actual switching behaviour in the banking sector of Tanzania, this study intended to bridge the knowledge gap by addressing factors influencing customer switching intentions in the context of Tanzanian commercial banks. The study followed a positivism research paradigm out of which a deductive research approach was adopted. In the same line, an explanatory research design was used. The study was conducted in the city of Dar es Salaam with 400 respondents who were customers from NMB Bank Plc, TPB Bank Plc and NBC Bank Ltd. Multi-stage sampling method was used to generate sample size for this study. Multiple linear regression was employed to analyze the collected data. The findings of Thé study indicated that subjective norms were insignificant in influencing customer switching intentions in commercial banks. These findings suggested that commercial banks customers in the city of Dar es Salaam are not under robust social pressure that requires a vital social group to approve their switching intentions. Further findings revealed that perceived control of bank charges, attitude toward service quality and convenience significantly influenced customer switching intentions in commercial banks.

Intense competition causes Tanzanian banks to experience the threat of customer switching. Customers are sensitive to quality in their access to and use of banking services; hence, they are prone to switching to other banks since the services offered are similar. This study assesses how service quality influences customer switching behaviour among commercial banks in Dar es Salaam. The data constitute 400 randomly sampled customers at NBC Bank Ltd, TPB Bank Plc and NMB Bank Plc, collected using a structured questionnaire and analysed using multiple regression analysis. The main findings are that customers’ switching behaviour is significantly influenced by service reliability, assurance, tangibility and empathy, whereas responsiveness was found to be insignificant. These findings may help policymakers and commercial bank institutions in understanding the dimensions of service quality that may influence customer switching behaviour for the successful enhancement of quality services of the banks.

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