This essay examines Lionsgate’s viral marketing campaign for The Hunger Games (Gary Ross, 2012) and the marketing teams’ use of new marketing techniques and the online fan base. The essay also asks the question to what extent the fans’ participation in Lionsgate’s marketing campaign can be called fan labor. The study is based on a film industrial perspective and academic literature that deals with film marketing, the film industry, fandom and digital labor. The material used for the analysis of The Hunger Games marketing campaign is collected from newspaper articles and news interviews with Lionsgate’s marketing personnel. The study shows that although Lionsgate used many new marketing strategies associated with viral marketing, it is problematic to depict these strategies as a wholesale movement from older marketing techniques. It points to the importance of a nuanced understanding of how producers and consumers operate in the digital age with a holistic view on film marketing practices. The study also shows that Lionsgate’s use of the online fan base correspond with many characteristics of fan labor on the internet. It is, however, problematic to establish that this necessarily means that the fans’ contributions to the marketing campaign were exploited or that it demands compensations. The essay argues that the popularity of viral marketing among film studios and their use of fans and fan created content for promotional purposes calls for further investigations.

本研究主要探討「旅遊目的地意象」、「口碑」與「滿意度」之關係。 「旅遊目的地意象」主要分為3種狀況：期待之旅遊目的地意象（體驗前之旅遊目的地意象）、實際體驗後之旅遊目的地意象，以及旅遊目的地意象之落差。 本研究也探討旅客對旅遊目的地之資訊收集方式及其可靠度，與體驗前之旅遊目的地意象、旅遊目的地意象之落差，和旅遊滿度的相關性。旅客資訊收集的方式，共分為：（1）傳統口碑傳播、（2）傳統媒體傳播、（3）電子口碑傳播、（4）電子媒體傳播四種。 旅遊目的地意象量表的內容由兩大部份組成，第一部份借用Florida(2012) 所提出的創意城市4T條件，發展出創意城市量表，本研究不在討論創意城市，而是借用4T的條件來衡量旅客對目的地的意象。第二部份則根據Pine II & Gilmore(1998) 體驗經濟的4大領域，作為另一個測量旅客對旅遊目的地意象的體驗知覺量表。分別跑出創意城市意象和體驗知覺意象兩個因素，前者的Cronbach’ s α值為.658，後者的Cronbach’ s α值為.881。 旅遊滿意度量表，包括整體滿意度、重遊意願、推薦意願和移居意願的內容，共7個題目，得出一個因素，Cronbach’ s α值為.790。 所有量表評分之方式皆採用 Likert 5點量表，從「非常不同意」、「不同意」「普通」、「同意」到「非常同意」，分別給予1至5分。 本研究的對象為宜蘭的旅客，於2013年6月2日，及6月9日，下午5時至晚上11時，在宜蘭縣羅東鎮之火車站及客運站發放問卷。總共收集208個有效樣本，25歲以下占74%；學生占73.6%；台北人占55%、宜蘭人占11％、台北及宜蘭以外地區占34%。 在旅客旅遊現況方面： 旅遊資訊收集方式之採用狀況（複選題），「電子媒體傳播」（96.2%）為最多，「傳統口碑傳播」（90.4%）第2多， 「傳統媒體傳播」（88.5%）為第三， 「電子口碑傳播」（81.7%）人數最少。採用百分比均超過81.7％，表示大部份旅客會同時採用多種旅遊資訊收集方式。 旅遊資訊收集方式之可靠程度，由高至低之排序為「傳統口碑傳播」（4.02）、 「電子口碑傳播」（3.35）「電子媒體傳播」（3.41）、「傳統媒體傳播」（3.18）。 實際體驗前，旅客期待之旅遊目的地意象，創意城市意象為3.426，旅客體驗意象為3.7139。 實際體驗後之旅遊目的地意象，創意城市整體印象為3.4875，旅客整體體驗為3.90064。 旅遊目的地意象之落差雖然很小（旅遊目的地意象之落差 = 體驗後之旅遊目的地意象－期待之旅遊目的地意象），但各項數值基本都有所提升，創意城市整體印象之落差為0.0615，旅客整體體驗之落差為0.1867，可見旅客實際體驗後之旅遊目的地意象皆比期待稍為好。 旅遊滿意度由7個題目構成整個量表，分數為3.8482，接近同意。細部分為三個構面來看，平衡分數依序為：(1)包括重遊意願的整體滿意度(4.1995)，(2)推薦意願(平均分為3.881)，(3)移居意願(3.0144)。從各構面的狀況，可見旅客對宜蘭的整體滿意度及重遊意願很高，也願意透過各種資料收集方式推薦宜蘭，但是移居宜蘭的意願只有普通。 在假設驗證方面： 1. 旅客對各類已收集之旅遊資訊的信任度與期待之旅遊目的地意象具有顯著的正相關，大部份假設成立。 2. 旅客期待之旅遊目的地意象與實際體驗後之旅遊目的地意象具有顯著的正相關，假設皆成立。 3. 旅客實際體驗後之旅遊目的地意象與旅遊滿意度具有顯著正相關，假設皆成立。 4. 旅客期待之旅遊目的地意象與旅遊滿意度具有顯著的正相關，假設皆成立。 5. 旅客對各類已收集之旅遊資訊的信任度與目的地意象之落差具有顯著的負相關，只有旅客對以電子媒體傳播方式收集之旅遊資訊信任度與目的地意象之落差(以旅客體驗角度) 具有顯著的負相關，假設成立。 6. 目的地意象之落差與旅遊滿意度具有顯著的相關，假設皆不成立。 7. 旅客對各類已收集之旅遊資訊的信任度與旅遊滿意度具有顯著的正相關，結果大部份假設成立。 / The major purpose of this research was to explore the relationship among Destination Image, Word-of-Mouth, and Satisfaction. Destination Image includes 3 situations: Expected Destination Image (期待之旅遊目的地意象), Destination Image After Visiting (實際之旅遊目的地意象), and Gap between Expected and Actual Destination Image (旅遊目的地意象之落差). This research also explored how travelers collect tourist information, including: (1) traditional word-of-mouth dissemination (傳統口碑傳播), (2) traditional advertising dissemination (傳統媒體傳播), (3) electronic word-of-mouth dissemination (電子口碑傳播), and (4) electronic advertising dissemination (電子媒體傳播). The Destination Image Scale is composed of two parts, which include the Traveler Experience Scale from Pine II & Gilmore (1998), and the concepts of Creative City Scale from Florida (2012). The reliability of the scales are .658 and .881. The Satisfaction Scale includes three parts: Total Satisfaction (including willingness to revisit) (整體滿意度和重遊意願), Willingness to Recommend (推薦意願) and Willingness to Migrate (移居意願). The reliability of the scales is .790. All measurement used a 5-point Likert-scale, from 5 (strongly agree) to 1 (strongly disagree). The subjects of this research were travelers to Yilan on June 2 and June 9, 2013, from 5pm to 11pm. 208 questionnaires were collected at bus stations and the train station in Luodong Township of Yilan County. 74% of respondents were under 25 years old; 73.6% were students; 55% were from Taipei, 11% from Yilan, and 34% from other cities. The current traveler information gathering situation: Regarding travelers collecting tourist information, most travelers use electronic advertising dissemination (96.2%), followed by traditional word-of-mouth dissemination (90.4%), traditional advertising dissemination, and finally electronic word-of-mouth dissemination (81.7%). With all four information collection rates above 80%, it is clear that travelers use more than one way to the gather tourist information. The degree of dependence for the methods of collecting information (旅遊資訊收集方式之可靠程度) from high to low is traditional word-of-mouth dissemination, (4.02), electronic word-of-mouth dissemination (3.35), electronic advertising dissemination (3.41), and finally traditional advertising dissemination (3.18). Before visiting the destination (Expected Destination Image) the overall image of a creative city (創意城市整體印象) was 3.426, and overall traveler experience (旅客整體體驗) was 3.7139. Regarding Destination Image After Visiting, the overall creative city image was 3.4875, and overall traveler experience was 3.90064. The Gap between Expected and Actual Destination Image (旅遊目的地意象之落差) was very low, but all evaluations showed an increase from pre- to post-visit. The same method of comparison showed that the gap between the overall image of creative city was 0.0615, and the gap between overall traveler experience is 0.1867. From this, we can see that for the se travelers, the reality was better than the expectation. The Satisfaction Scale included 3 items, from high to low, and Total Satisfaction included willingness to revisit (4.1995), willingness to recommend (3.881), and willingness to migrate (3.0144). Hypothesis testing: 1. Most correlations between the trustworthiness of collected information (旅客對各類已收集之旅遊資訊的信任度) and Expected Destination Image (期待之旅遊目的地意象) were significant and positive. 2. All correlations between Expected Destination Image (期待之旅遊目的地意象) and Destination Image After Visiting (實際之旅遊目的地意象) were significant and positive. 3. All correlations between Destination Image After Visiting (實際之旅遊目的地意象) and Satisfaction (旅遊滿意度) were significant and positive. 4. All correlations between Expected Destination Image (期待之旅遊目的地意象) and Satisfaction (旅遊滿意度) were significant and positive. 5. Only one hypothesis had a significant negative correlation between the trustworthiness of collected information (旅客對各類已收集之旅遊資訊的信任度) and Gap between Expected and Actual Destination Image (旅遊目的地意象之落差). 6. There was no significant correlation between Gap between Expected and Actual Destination Image (旅遊目的地意象之落差) and Satisfaction (旅遊滿意度). 7. Most correlations between the trustworthiness of collected information (旅客對各類已收集之旅遊資訊的信任度) and Satisfaction (旅遊滿意度) were significant and positive.

隨著網路平台的蓬勃發展，消費者得以從網路上進行各種消費經驗的搜尋及分享，網路平台上流傳的口碑資訊成為了消費者更深入評判產品及服務的參考資訊，相對而言，過去傳統廣告浮誇、隱惡揚善的包裝手法對於產品行銷以及消費者態度的提升效果則日漸趨弱。本研究旨在探討網路口碑、單雙面廣告以及情境涉入對於消費者態度的影響。更重要的是，本研究期望能針對雙面廣告是否具有降低負面評價之傷害的能力做一主題性的探討。 本研究採用了2（情境涉入程度：高涉入、低涉入）×2（廣告訊息：雙面、單面）×2（網路口碑：正面傾向、負面傾向）的三因子實驗設計。實驗結果有幾項發現：首先，正面傾向的網路口碑對受測者對於廣告信任、廣告觀感、產品觀感、產品喜好、購買意願有顯著的正面影響。其次，受測者對廣告的信任程度，會因情境涉入程度和單雙面廣告而有所差異。高情境涉入者對單面和雙面廣告的信任程度並沒有顯著差異，而低情境涉入者則對單面廣告的信任程度較高、對雙面廣告的信任程度較低。再來，在廣告觀感的部分，受測者則會受單雙面廣告和網路口碑正負面傾向的交互影響。當受測者閱讀的是單面廣告，其對單面廣告的觀感會因網路口碑的正負面傾向而有顯著差異；而當受測者閱讀的是雙面廣告，其對雙面廣告的觀感則不會因網路口碑的正負面傾向而有顯著差異。最後，在網路口碑觀感的部分，受測者亦會受單雙面廣告和網路口碑正負面傾向的交互影響。當受測者閱讀的是單面廣告，其正面及負面傾向網路口碑之觀感的評分上有顯著的差異；而當受測者閱讀的是雙面廣告，其正面及負面傾向網路口碑之觀感的評分上則沒有顯著的差異。 整體而言，本研究點出網路口碑對於不同涉入程度消費者的態度皆具有深度影響力，提醒廠商必須採取更積極的作為，同時也討論了雙面廣告的利益與風險，比方預防網路口碑對消費者態度造成波動的可能性等正面效益，以及使廣告及產品觀感降低等風險，給予廠商一個兼具正反面探討的參考策略。 / With the rapid development of the network platform , consumers are able to search and share a variety of consumption experiences through the Internet. Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) has become a more reliable reference information of products and services. In contrast, those traditional pompous advertising has weaker marketing effects for products and service. This study aimed to explore the influence of eWOM, one or two -sided advertisement, and situational involvement toward consumer attitudes . More importantly , this study expect to explore if two-sided ad has the ability to reduce the damage of negative eWOM. The study used a 2 ( situational involvement : high, low ) × 2 ( ad message: one-sided, two-sided ) × 2 ( eWOM : positive tendency, negative tendency ) three-factor experimental design. The result has several findings : First , the positive-tendency eWOM has a significant positive impact on ad-trust, ad-recognition, product- recognition, product-likeness and purchase intention. Second, the trust in ad seems to be impaced by situational involvement and one or two-sided ad . Subjects with high situational involvement have no significant differences in trust of one or two sided-ad. While subjects with low situational involvement have higher degree of trust in one-sided ad , and lower degree of trust in two-sided ad. Third , ad-recognition seems to be impacted by the type of ad and the tendency of eWOM . When the subjects read a one-sided ad , their recognition of one-sided ad have been significantly impacted by positive or negative eWOM; When subjects read a two-sided ad , their recognition of one-sided ad haven’t been significantly impacted by positive or negative eWOM. Forth, eWOM-recognition seems to be impacted by the type of ad and the tendency of eWOM, too . When the subjects read a one-sided ad , their recognition of positive or negative eWOM have significant difference. When subjects read a two-sided ad , their recognition of positive or negative eWOM have no significant differences. Overall, the study points out the deep influence of eWOM on consumer attitudes, which remind manufacturers must take a more proactive actions. The study also discusses the benefits and risks of two-sided ad, such as reducing the influence of negative eWOM but also lower the ad-recognition , giving manufacturers a reference for strategy development .

The purpose with this study is to investigate and analyse how ecotourism is marketed to customers by two Indonesian small- and medium sized ecotourism resorts, focusing on marketing communication. Further, the aim is to clarify how these companies enhances their “eco brand”. This study was based on a qualitative research method with the purpose of creating a deeper understanding for our chosen topic and an inductive approach with deductive features was undertaken. The empirical data were collected through nine interviews with representatives and customers from the two studied companies. All of the interviews were conducted in Indonesia and done face-to face. The results of this research revealed that within marketing communication, digital media and word-of-mouth, have a greater importance for small and medium sized ecotourism resorts. It is also discovered that depending on how resorts operates ecotourism it will determinate how strong their “ecobrand” image. / The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

Sammanfattning I dagens läge är konkurrensen inom livsmedelsbranschen stenhård och företag försöker på alla möjliga sätt att marknadsföra sina produkter. Dock räcker det inte med att endast göra reklam för sina produkter, utan man måste integrera med kunderna och skapa underlag som möjliggör en positiv varumärkesimage i kundernas ögon och får dem att känna en positiv känsla inför företagets varumärke. Ett sätt att dra detta ett steg längre är att använda sig av corporate branding, som syftar till att man använder sig av ett varumärke som är detsamma som företagsnamnet. Detta kan vara såväl positivt som negativt, då företaget måste vara väldigt konsekventa i hela företagskedjan, eftersom konsumenterna kommer bedöma företaget och dess produkter utifrån helhetsintrycket och inte bara på hur bra de upplever att den specifika produkten är. Ett dåligt bemötande av en medarbetare, som arbetar för företaget, kan leda till att konsumenter väljer bort det varumärket vid inköpet. Varje anställd är en marknadsförare av företaget och dess egna varumärken med samma namn. Denna studie undersöker hur kunder upplever förändringen i sina inköp av ICA:s  lågprisprodukter efter övergången från Euroshopper till ICA Basic, samt vilka faktorer som påverkar denna eventuella förändring. Vi undersöker även vilket lågprismärke som föredras och vilka faktorer som ligger till grund för att konsumenten väljer ett visst varumärke. Underlaget till undersökningen har införskaffats via en enkätundersökning där 100 respondenter vid eller kring ICA Maxi Strömpilen i Umeå tillfrågades. Vår data visade att respondenterna i genomsnitt upplevde att deras egna inköp av ICA:s lågprisprodukter hade ökat något, i och med övergången till ICA Basic. Regressionen av vår första modell visade att de faktorer som påverkade denna upplevda ökning var kvalité och respondentens egen erfarenhet av märket. Regressionen av vår andra modell visade att valet av lågprismärke påverkas av vilken favoritaffär man har, vilket kön man är, samt ens egna erfarenheter av märket. Undersökningen visar också att konsumenter överlag håller ICA Basic som ett bättre varumärke och produkt än Euroshopper, samt övriga lågpriskonkurrenters varumärken. ICA:s satsning på eget lågprisvarumärke, som inkluderar namnet ICA, har enligt vår undersökning slagit väl ut. Då respondenterna, överlag, anser ICA Basic vara en positivare upplevelse än framförallt föregångaren, men även konkurrerande varumärken. Vidare drar vi slutsatsen att respondenterna ökat sina inköp av ICA:s lågprisprodukter, efter lanseringen av ICA Basic.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 115-119).

Användandet av sociala medier ökar kraftigt och har under de senaste åren blivit en viktig del i människors vardag. Detta ger företag en möjlighet att använda sig av sociala medier i sin marknadsföring och är en av de mest populära strategierna just nu är när företag samarbetar med influencers i sin marknadsföring. Detta kallas influencer marketing. Dock finns det svårigheter för företag att hitta rätt influencer att samarbeta med och det finns olika faktorer som behöver värderas innan ett samarbete startar. Forskningsfrågorna som har besvarats i denna studie är vilka faktorer företag anser är viktigast samt vad konsumenterna anser är viktigt när företag samarbetar med influencers på Instagram. Räckvidd, relevans samt resonans är tre faktorer som tidigare studier visar har betydelse samt är viktiga vid influencer marketing. Studien genomfördes med en kvalitativ ansats i form av fokusgrupp med konsumenter samt intervjuer med marknadsförare som arbetar på företag inom mode- och skönhetsbranschen i Sverige. Denna information utgjorde den empiriska data som studien består av. Resultatet av studien visar att både konsumenterna och företagen inom mode- och skönhetsbranschen värderar faktorn relevans högst. Konsumenterna anser att det viktigaste är att influencern är trovärdig samt kunnig om produkten personen marknadsför, medan företagen värderade högst att influencerns image speglar företagets. Förslag till fortsatt forskning är att studera vad influencers tycker är viktigast när de väljer företag att samarbeta med. Det skulle vara intressant att veta influencernas åsikter angående detta och om även de värderar relevansen högst.

Denna uppsats avser att undersöka publikens attityder gentemot svenska influencers på Instagram. Studien undersöker hur omfattande publiken påverkas av sponsrade samarbeten mellan influencers och företag på Instagram. Vidare studeras effekten av publikens attityder och följaktligen deras agerande där utvecklingen av influencer marketing tas i beaktning. Med hjälp av materialet från studiens kvantitativa metod har data bearbetats tillsammans med teorier som huvudsakligen bygger på Katz & Lazarsfelds teori om Tvåstegshypotesen. Utefter teorins utveckling följer därefter Word of Mouth, Influencer marketing och slutligen Uses and gratifications. I samband med att influencer marketing blir alltmer populärt avser studien att bidra till forskningen i ämnet. Sammanfattningsvis har metod och teori bidragit till att hantera och analysera uppsatsens frågeställningar och syfte. Uppsatsens slutsats är att publiken upplever att deras attityd påverkas av sponsrade samarbeten på Instagram vilket bidrar till ytterligare fördjupning kring influencers som varumärke. Respondenterna upplever att deras attityd påverkas i samband av mängden samarbeten som förekommer och enligt studiens resultat påverkas publiken oavsett om de följer influencers på Instagram eller inte.

A comunicação boca a boca está fortalecendo-se e popularizando-se, principalmente a partir do advento das mídias sociais. A cultura da população em buscar informações referentes a produtos e serviços está cada vez mais forte, uma vez que a dose de incerteza na compra é grande, em especial em serviços ou serviços aplicados a produtos, por sua intangibilidade. Dessa forma, a comunicação boca a boca tradicional ou via mídias sociais tem se intensificado, tanto na busca quanto na emissão de opiniões. Neste contexto de mercado, uma das formas de uma empresa se tornar competitiva no mercado é criando um relacionamento a longo prazo com seus clientes, facilitando a existência de uma identificação do consumidor com a empresa. Partindo do cenário de serviços, este estudo tem o objetivo de avaliar as relações simultâneas entre três conceitos: experiência do consumidor com o serviço, identificação do consumidor com a empresa e o comportamento de recomendação deste consumidor. Este estudo teve por propósito avaliar estas relações, e, para isso, validou escalas para mensuração destes conceitos no contexto brasileiro. Foi aplicado um questionário online com 500 respondentes, sendo que o pré-requisito era que o respondente escolhesse um estabelecimento (bar ou restaurante) com o qual se identificasse. A análise de dados incluiu uma análise fatorial exploratória e uma confirmatória, dando seguimento à modelagem de equações estruturais (MEE por meio do software LISREL) para analisar a relação entre os três conceitos. Como resultados, encontrouse que tanto a identificação do consumidor com a empresa quanto a experiência do consumidor com o serviço possuem impacto no comportamento de recomendação, neste estudo, representado pelas dimensões de frequência e motivação para recomendar. Entretanto, ambos possuem maior impacto na motivação de recomendação do que na frequência. Ao comparar a identificação do consumidor com a empresa e a experiência do consumidor com o serviço, o primeiro possui uma maior influência nos constructos de recomendação, indicando que ainda que ambos tenham impacto no comportamento de recomendação, a criação de um relacionamento forte e embasado na identificação do consumidor com a empresa se torna um diferencial para a mesma. Com relação à validação das escalas utilizadas no estudo, tem-se que uma das escalas utilizadas para mensurar o constructo de identificação não possuiu validade convergente nem divergente, indicando sua fragilidade para seu uso na academia. / Word of mouth communication is becoming stronger and more popular mainly from the advent of social media. The consume culture of seeking for information about products and services has become very popular, especially when it is about services or services applied to products. The main characteristic of the services is its intangibility, which leads to a higher amount of uncertainty prior to purchasing. Thus, word of mouth communication via traditional or social media has been growing significantly both in pursuit and in issuing opinions. In this context, in order to gain competition, companies should focus on creating and developing a long term relationship with their clients, facilitating the identification of the consumer with the company. Based on the service scenario, this study aims to assess the simultaneous relationships among three different concepts: customer experience with the service, consumer-company identification and the consumer recommendation behavior. Therefore, validating the scales to measure these concepts in the Brazilian context was necessary to achieve the goals of this study. 500 people participated in an online survey about those three concepts. In the beginning of the survey, the respondent had to choose an establishment (a bar or a restaurant) with which he/she identified. Data analysis included an exploratory and a confirmatory factor analysis, followed by the structural equation modeling (SEM using the LISREL software) in order to analyze the relationship between those three concepts. As a result, it was found that both concepts (consumer-company identification and consumer experience with the service) have a positive impact on the recommendation behavior of the consumer, represented on this study by the dimensions of frequency and motivation to recommend. However, both concepts had a greater impact on the motivation for recommending than on the frequency of recommendation. By comparing the performance of those two antecedents, consumer-company identification showed a greater influence on the dimensions of the recommendation behavior, indicating that although both concepts have an impact on this behavior, developing a strong relationship with the consumer becomes a differential for the establishment. Regarding the validation of the scales, one of the scales used to measure the construct of consumer-company identification did not possess convergent nor divergent validity, indicating its weakness to use it in other academic studies.

O presente estudo aborda os efeitos dos custos de mudança no setor de serviços, medindo seu reflexo no comprometimento, intenção de recompra e boca-a-boca (positivo e negativo). Conceituado por Burnham, Frels e Mahajan (2003), custos de mudança significam custos que os clientes associam com o processo de troca de um fornecedor para outro. Estudos com base nesse construto se fazem presentes de forma crescente na literatura, passível de ser ampliada. Assim, essa dissertação busca preencher a lacuna referente aos efeitos dos diferentes tipos de custos de mudança. Para tanto, além da revisão bibliográfica sobre o tema, foi conduzida uma pesquisa do tipo survey com alunos do ensino superior, tendo como objeto a verificação do papel dos custos de mudança e seus efeitos positivos e negativos no contexto de serviço educacional em nível de graduação. A análise dos dados foi realizada através de modelagem de equações estruturais, a partir de uma amostra de 467 casos. Os resultados demonstram uma influência dos custos de mudança relacionais, financeiros e processuais no comprometimento afetivo, normativo e calculativo, respectivamente. Por sua vez, comprometimentos afetivo e normativo demonstraram estar associados a efeitos positivos, como intenção de recompra, sendo que o primeiro se destaca por obter também uma relação com o boca-a-boca positivo. Por outro lado, o comprometimento calculativo gera efeitos negativos – maior boca-a-boca negativo e menor nível de intenção de recompra. Efeitos moderadores das relações interpessoais e da atratividade da concorrência nas relações estabelecidas não foram confirmados. Os resultados são discutidos, bem como suas implicações para futuras pesquisas e prática gerencial. / This study addresses the effects of switching costs in the services sector, measuring their reflection on commitment, repurchase intention and word-of-mouth (positive and negative). According to Burnham, Frels and Mahajan (2003), switching costs are the onetime costs that customers associate with the process of switching from one provider to another. Studies based on this construct are present in literature, but can be expanded. Thus, this work seeks to bridge the gap regarding the effects of different types of switching costs. A survey was conducted in the higher education sector aims to verify the role switching costs and their positive and negative effects. Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling, from a sample of 467 cases. As expected, the switching costs (relational, financial and procedural) have a significant and positive impact on affective, normative and calculative commitment, respectively. Furthermore, affective and normative commitments are positively associated with repurchase intentions, and the first one also obtained is related to positive word-of-mouth. In the other hand, calculative commitment creates negatives effects - higher negative word-of-mouth and lower levels of repurchase intentions. The moderation effects of interpersonal relationships and attractiveness of competitors in some relationships of the model was explored as well, but none was confirmed. The results, academic and managerial implications are discussed in the final part of this work Finally, suggestions for future studies are provided.