Determinants of Consumers' Mobile Network Continuance Intention: The Mediating Effects of Cognitive and Affective Inertia

ABSTRACT Despite extensive research on customer continuance intention, few studies have explored the mediating roles of cognitive and affective inertia in shaping continuance intention, particularly in emerging markets. We address this gap in an empirical study, grounded in the SOR (Stimulus‐Organism‐Response) framework, that investigates how trust, satisfaction, and switching barriers influence mobile network users' continuance intention, with cognitive and affective inertia as mediators. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS‐SEM), we analyzed primary data from 407 mobile phone users in Bangladesh, an emerging economy. The findings indicate that trust, satisfaction, and switching barriers have a significant influence on continuance intention. Moreover, cognitive inertia mediates the relationship between trust and continuance intention, as well as between switching barriers and continuance intention, while affective inertia mediates the link between customer satisfaction and continuance intention. The study's novelty lies in empirically separating cognitive and affective inertia as mediators within SOR, broadening external validity to an emerging‐market telecom context and providing a clearer theoretical and managerial roadmap for sustaining continuance.