Microsoft Word 2007 ichrie conference Proceedings Final-Final 06-06-07. doc

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SYSTEMS AND THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT 
If consumer switching is examined through the general systems theory, one implication is that there exist 
more or less permeable boundaries that allow for the exchange and interaction with the external environment from 
which the whole process obtains energy/matter or information. Thus, the consumer is influenced by the environment 
and at the same time exerts an influence on it. Of interest is the macroenvironment (external environment) 
particularly the inter-relationship between the market environment, technological political and social environments 
and how they exert influence on the consumer decision to switch service providers.Even though not discussed in this 
paper, there is definitely a complex interaction between the consumer, the firm and the external environment. 
Thinking about consumer switching from a general systems theory clarifies this observation even further.