Antecedents of purchase intention amongst the youth in the banking sector in South Africa

Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Strategic Marketing March 2016The banking industry is adopting a holistic and customer centric approach in order to match the evolving customer banking preferences; this study has set out to examine Customer Equity as an antecedent of Perceived Brand Authenticity and Purchase Intentions amongst the South African youth in the banking sector using Social Exchange Theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour. An empirical model was conceptualised to examine the relationships between Customer Equity and Perceived Brand Authenticity on purchase intentions. Four research hypotheses were developed and a data set of 253 was collected from a sample of Witwatersrand students to empirically test these hypotheses using Structural Equation Modelling (Amos 22 and SPSS). The findings indicated that from the relationship between Customer Equity and Perceived Brand Authenticity, Value Equity and Brand Equity had a significant and positive effect, however Relationship Equity had no significant influence. The relationship between Perceived Brand Authenticity and Purchase Intentions had significant positive effects. The findings from this study provide useful contributions to practitioners measuring marketing efforts and maximising Customer Equity in the banking industry and builds on existing literature on the Customer Equity framework in the South African context. Recommendations are outlined and future research direction is suggested.GR201

The impact of artificial intelligence on customer loyalty and entrepreneurship

Nowadays, every company struggles to success, however there are few of them that actually do. Artificial intelligence is something that is revolutionize the market, as well as, the way that companies structure themselves. This work pretends to illuminate who is searching about the effects that the artificial intelligence can have on customer loyalty and on entrepreneurship. To do that, I created an online survey, answered by 103 people and I made eleven interviews to people that worked or are working in one of these three areas. With these, I pretend to have a better notion about the impact that AI is having or can have in a near future in these areas, the benefits and disadvantages that can create for the companies, or even the utility that can be for a worker launch his own business. After conducting the questionnaire and the interviews and comparing it with the literature review, I came to some conclusions right now that in a very near future the use of AI will be fundamental to the success of any company. You will inevitably have to use AI tools to optimize processes, save costs, but never mischaracterize the company. On the other hand, customer satisfaction is extremely important because it leads to a buyback from the clientes and the good publicity they will do with third parties, however this is only achieved when there is a good mix between the quality of the salesman and the product.Hoje em dia, todas as empresas lutam para serem bem-sucedidas, no entanto, poucas delas realmente o são. A inteligência artificial é algo que está a revolucionar o mercado, bem como a forma como as empresas se estruturam e por isso pode ter um papel fundamental. Com este trabalho pretendo iluminar quem está à procura de respostas sobre os efeitos que a inteligência artificial pode ter na fidelidade do cliente e no empreendedorismo. Para isso, realizei um inquérito "online", respondido por 103 pessoas e fiz 11 entrevistas a pessoas que trabalharam ou estão a trabalhar numa destas três áreas. Com isso, pretendo ter uma melhor noção sobre o impacto que a IA está a ter ou pode vir a ter num futuro próximo nestas áreas, os benefícios e desvantagens que podem criar para as empresas, ou mesmo a utilidade que pode ter para o lançamento de um negócio próprio. Após realizar o questionário e as entrevistas e comparando com a revisão de literatura cheguei a algumas conclusões desde já o facto de num futuro bastante próximo a IA ser fundamental para o sucesso de qualquer empresa. Terá inevitavelmente de usar ferramentas de AI para otimizar processos, poupar nos custos, mas nunca descaracterizando a empresa. Por outro lado, a satisfação do cliente é extremamente importante pois leva a uma recompra por parte dos mesmos e à boa publicidade que irão fazer junto de terceiros, porém isto só é conseguido quando existe um bom mix entre a qualidade do vendedor e do produto

An evaluation of loyalty programmes

A Loyalty Programme, is the term most commonly used to summarise various Customer Relationship Management programmes instituted by companies, to endear and encourage loyalty from customers. In order to better understand the component of loyalty within the context of Loyalty Programmes, a dimensional approach has been suggested. The dimensional approach is based firstly, on behavioural loyalty theories, which focus on purchase patterns to qualify/quantify loyalty. Secondly, it included attitudinal loyalty measures to account for customer’s actions and feelings to aid in both the conceptualisation and measurement of loyalty. The need to understand and evaluate the effects of programmes specifically designed to promote loyalty from customers has prompted a surge in academic research, which has led to great debate over the effectiveness of these programmes. Previous empirical research has provided divergent findings and many polarised views abound. This is due in part to the lack of consistent research methodologies, concepts and measurements of previous studies, which has made the comparison of Loyalty Programmes increasingly difficult. However, despite these challenges, there remains substantial evidence in support of the overall effectiveness of Loyalty Programmes. The aim of this research has been to focus on developing a model to evaluate the components of Loyalty Programmes based on attitudinal and behavioural loyalty dimensions, with the view of recommending components that should be included in the design of Loyalty Programmes. An in-depth literature review was conducted and the two dimensions of loyalty (attitudinal and behavioural) were examined. Additionally, the following Theories were explored Social Exchange Theory, Equity Theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour, to examine the interchange between participants of Loyalty Programmes. The review of literature further laid the foundation for the conceptual model that proposed purchase behaviour, trust, communication, personalisation, flexibility, rewards and methods of participation as components which influenced Loyalty Programmes. A multi-method study, with 1090 respondents, was conducted and a proposed conceptual model was compiled. An analysis was conducted through various descriptive and inferential statistical tests as well as Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The results of the study identified the following factors Attitudinal loyalty (Attitudinal – Communication, Attitudinal – Flexibility, Attitudinal – General, Attitudinal – Rewards (Personal and Monetary) and Attitudinal – Trust) and Behavioural loyalty (Behavioural – Communication, Behavioural – Flexibility, Behavioural – General, Behavioural – Personalisation, Behavioural – Purchasing Behaviour, Behavioural – Rewards and Behavioural – Trust) to be of influence with regard to the effectiveness of Loyalty Programmes. The study concludes with managerial recommendations for the improvement in the design of Loyalty Programmes to enhance Attitudinal and Behavioural loyalty from participants. The recommendations from this study are based on the three strongest factor relationships identified through Pearson Product Moment Correlations. They are (a) Attitude – General and Behavioural – General (0.723), (b) Attitude – Communication and Behavioural – Communication (0.691) and (c) Attitude – Trust and Behavioural – Trust (0.595). Hence it is suggested that communication surrounding Loyalty Programmes needs to embrace new technologies and adopt a multichannel and multi-directional strategy to be more responsive to customers. Furthermore, trust was found to be influential in Loyalty Programme participation and how managers used the shared personal data, impacted customer willingness to participate in Loyalty Programmes. This study found that overall purchasing behaviour is poorly influenced by Loyalty Card/Programmes, as discounts and promotions did not sway shopper purchasing behaviour and that the most preferred rewards were monetary, free shipping and brand partnerships. In summary, consideration should be given to the type, flexibility and expiration of rewards offered. Further, a regular review of personalisation strategies, customer expectations and participation methods are recommended to bridge the mismatch between idle membership and active participation in Loyalty Programmes

Influential Factors In Consumer\u27s Adoption Of Innovative Products

This dissertation addresses the challenges involved with the process of diffusion of innovations in the contexts of innovative educational materials and technological innovations. Chapters 2 and 3 discuss building and using Online Brand Communities (OBCs) to disseminate innovative math educational materials. OBCs are known to be important platforms where consumers can communicate with the brand as well as other consumers. Through the effective use of these platforms, brands could accelerate the process of diffusion of their innovations. However, OBCs will not survive if consumers do not get engaged and participate in these communities. The purpose of this section of the dissertation is to investigate how customer engagement can be increased in social media based Online Brand Communities (OBCs) so that these communities could be effectively used as platforms for disseminating innovations. Different hypotheses are suggested based on the consumer engagement literature and well-known organizational and psychological theories. These hypotheses are then tested in different studies in order to better understand the drivers of customer engagement behavior. Since one of the important factors that can impact the success of OBCs is the size of the communities, chapter 3 discusses Referral Reward Programs (RRPs) as a means for growing the OBC size. In this chapter, different hypotheses are proposed based on well-known psychological theories. These hypotheses are then tested in 3 different research studies to understand the impact of different rewards on customers’ likelihood to participate in the referral programs. The next section of this dissertation which is presented in chapter 5 uses the context of technological innovations, particularly Augmented Reality Smart Glasses (ARSGs). The purpose of this chapter is to understand the factors that would impact consumer’s decision to adopt a particular type of ARSGs: Microsoft HoloLens. The results of the studies in this dissertation have important theoretical and managerial implications in the areas of customer engagement in OBCs, Word-of-Mouth marketing, and consumer’s adoption of innovations

From Money-Centered to People- and Planet-Centered Ledger Economics: Leveraging the Hidden Wealth of Underutilized Productive Capacity

This chapter introduces a for-profit way to repair persistent problems in free enterprise economics and commerce. Today, continuous advances in technology and human capabilities fail to produce a commensurate, across-the-board rise in the standard of living and quality of life for households and communities. Instead, win-lose competition over money and proliferation of competitive duplication put downward pressure on profits, wages and the purchasing power of families. Despite an ever-growing economic pie, everyone does not enjoy a secure income. This is a money issue, not a productivity issue. Eventually, so-called equilibrium is achieved when businesses downsize, merge and/or fail. But businesses fail while there are still unmet needs for their products and services revealing a missed business opportunity. An innovative alternative is to monetize and market currently underutilized productive capacity using a new form of business scrip termed Ledger Dollars (L$) L$ increase purchasing power within a cooperative network of business and community stakeholders. L$ are analogous to loyalty rewards—backed by unsold products and services—but reward more than consumer spending and enhance cooperation and eco-sustainability. Ledger Dollars constitute a new financial asset class designed to improve traditional fiat-centered economics and advance the now popular Triple-Bottom-Line of People, Planet and Profits

Strategic Human Resource Management Practices: An Exploratory Survey of French Organisations

Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) have been amply discussed in both academic circles and business press. Most of our notion of SHRM are from the work done in the US and from the body of literature known as "High Performance Work Practices". This paper tries to contribute to the debate by understanding the changes in strategic HRM practices (Role and Structure of HR Department, Recruitment, Retraining & Redeployment, Performance Appraisal, Compensation, and Rightsizing) in France in the last 5 years and try to answer specifically the question of how strategic HRM practices have changed in French organizations to enhance corporate performance. A multi-respondent survey of 28 French organizations are analyzed to find the changes in SHRM in French organizations. The responses yielded a variety of HRM variables relating to role and structure of the HRM department, recruitment, performance appraisal, retraining and redeployment and rightsizingSHRM; Performance; Change; France

Customer Relationship Management : Concept, Strategy, and Tools -3/E

Customer relationship management (CRM) as a strategy and as a technology has gone through an amazing evolutionary journey. After the initial technological approaches, this process has matured considerably – both from a conceptual and from an applications point of view. Of course this evolution continues, especially in the light of the digital transformation. Today, CRM refers to a strategy, a set of tactics, and a technology that has become indispensable in the modern economy. Based on both authors’ rich academic and managerial experience, this book gives a unified treatment of the strategic and tactical aspects of customer relationship management as we know it today. It stresses developing an understanding of economic customer value as the guiding concept for marketing decisions. The goal of this book is to be a comprehensive and up-to-date learning companion for advanced undergraduate students, master students, and executives who want a detailed and conceptually sound insight into the field of CRM