Consumer loyalty toward smartphone brands: The determining roles of deliberate inertia and cognitive lock-in

Research in commitment–trust perspective overlooks the effect of status quo bias on consumer brand loyalty. This study aims to integrate the bias including consumers’ deliberate inertia and cognitive lock-in with consumers’ trust and commitment in the perspective. We empirically analyze a research model and hypothetical relationships using structural equation modeling with survey data from smartphone consumers. The results show that the inertia meaningfully and positively enhances consumers’ brand loyalty, and the lock-in significantly predicts consumers’ deliberate inertia and commitment. The findings significantly advance extant knowledge with the positive effects of deliberate inertia and cognitive lock-in on consumers’ brand loyalty.