Factors Affecting Airline Customers’ Green Switching Behavior: A Comparison between Full-Service Carriers

The importance of going green continues to receive attention, and as part of this recent trend, green practices have become important managerial and operational issues in the airline industry. This study proposes a conceptual framework to examine the causal relationships of green perceived value, green image, green corporate reputation, green experiential satisfaction, green experiential loyalty, and green-switching intentions. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), the responses of 358 airline customers were empirically analyzed. These responses were gathered through an online self-administered questionnaire. It was found that green image and corporate reputation have a significant effect on green experiential satisfaction, but green perceived value does not. The results also show that green experiential satisfaction has a significant effect on green experiential loyalty and that both satisfaction and loyalty have a negative relationship with switching intentions. In addition, this study verified the moderating effect between rival FSCs (full-service carriers) and found significant causal relationships, except for the influence of loyalty on switching intentions. The study results provide theoretical and practical implications for airlines by presenting strategic directions for effective green customer communication.