The moderating effect of relationship termination costs in the link between relationship commitment and intention to stay: An empirical study of self-financed tertiary education institutions in Hong Kong

Abstract

Commitment of students to the education institutions where they are studying has been traditionally regarded as a key determinant of students' loyalty to their institutions. A higher commitment implies greater loyalty. The cost of terminating the relationship plays an important role in determining the linkage between relationship commitment and intention to stay. Commitment can sometimes be deceptive as seemingly loyal students may be actually less committed, i.e. they do not leave not because they are loyal but because of high relationship termination costs. Thus, relationship termination costs moderate the impact of relationship commitment on intention to stay. The research model developed in this study has two features. First, it examines the effects that relationship commitment and relationship termination costs have on intention to stay. Second, the moderating effect of relationship termination costs on the correlation between relationship commitment and intention to stay is also examined. The collected data is of associate degree or higher diploma students of ten self-financed tertiary education institutions in Hong Kong. The results support that relationship commitment and relationship termination costs have significant effects on intention to stay. The study also finds support for the moderating role played by relationship termination costs on the relationship commitment-intention to stay linkage. Copyright © 2018 International Business Information Management Association (IBIMA).