A Model for Customers Switching from National Bank by Applying Structured Equations (Case Study: National Bank Branches in Ilam Province)

Regarding the competitiveness of banking industry in recent years and entry of private sector in to this area, customer retention has assumed particular importance. Consumer switching means the end of customer's relationship with the bank and his turning to other banks as a result of a number of factors. The present research aims at preserving the present customers by identifying the reasons for customer switching in National bank of Iran, branches administration. The research method applied in this study is both qualitative and quantitative (mixed). To extract a conceptual research method; ideas, theories, models, approaches and frameworks related to churning on the one hand, and in previous researches on the other hand were analyzed, the viewpoints of elites and experts were also used to identify the sample size. In qualitative method, in order to obtain the statistical population by network sampling, 35 elites (academics and professional churning customers and expert managers and National bank headquarter) in Ilam province were identified and they were directly interviewed or open-ended questionnaires were used. And through quantitative method, the present research includes all customer switching with outstanding balance of 10 million Rials in branches of National bank located in Ilam province and stratified random sampling method was used. And questionnaires were used in gathering data which ended up in analyzing 395 questionnaires; findings showed that two variants of external (organizational) and internal (environmental) factors were recognized as effective factors in customer switching. Then applying operational analytic factors and structural equations, this model was finally verified doing several rectifications. According to the results achieved from this work, it became clear that managerial factors are the most effective factor among internal factors and ethnic considerations are the most effective factor from among external factors (environmental) and is the exploratory subject of this study. This indicates that the bank under study should set on the agenda with a consideration of these factors.