Consumers’ attitude towards social media advertising and their behavioural response: The moderating role of corporate reputation

© 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between consumers’ attitude toward social media advertising and their behavioural response and the moderating effect of corporate reputation in this relationship. Social media advertising is gradually gaining grounds among practitioners and researchers. Design/methodology/approach – Survey design was used and the respondents totaled 441. They were selected using convenience sampling technique. Questionnaires were used to collect the data and analyzed using hierarchical regression. Findings – Findings indicate that there is a significant relationship between consumers’ attitude toward social media advertising and their behavioural responses. Again, it was noted that corporate reputation moderates this relationship. Research limitations/implications – This study relied on convenience sampling and a cross-sectional survey design, which makes it difficult to generalize the findings and account for changes that occurred in the attitude of consumers. Originality/value – This study contributes to the understanding of the moderating role of corporate reputation in consumers’ attitude toward social media advertising

Assessing the CSR information needs of Microfinance institutions’ (MFIs) customers

© 2016, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Purpose: This paper aims to seek to ascertain the corporate social responsibility (CSR) information needs of customers of microfinance institutions (MFIs). It also ascertains their media preferences for CSR disclosure. Design/methodology/approach: The study adapted Wilson’s (1981) concept of information needs as the conceptual basis of this study. Case study research design was used. The respondents consisted of customers of MFIs in Ghana. Semi-structured interview was used to collect the data. Data were analysed using thematic analysis technique. Findings: The study found that the CSR information needs of MFIs’ customers relate to moral disclosure, business survival disclosure, financial and business terms and conditions disclosure, donations disclosure and capacity building and training disclosure. The study also found that family and friends are the most reliable sources of CSR information for MFIs’ customers. Originality/value: There is a great deal of literature available on CSR disclosure. However, limited studies have investigated the information needs of customers regarding CSR disclosure. Again, CSR disclosure in the Microfinance sector has received limited attention in the existing literature. This study expanded the existing literature by investigating the CSR information needs of MFIs’ customers

Two-way communication on bank websites in Ghana: A data triangulation approach

© 2015, © The Author(s) 2015. The objective of the study was to assess how banks adopt a two-way communication approach in communicating with their customers. It further examined the difference that exists between the websites of locally and foreign owned banks operating in Ghana with respect to their dialogic potentials. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Data was obtained from the contents of the websites as well as from customers of the banks considered. A two-sample t-test was used to test the hypotheses. The results show that all the banks incorporate ease of interface, usefulness of information and conservation of visitors’ features in their websites. Again, the results show that significant differences exist between locally-owned banks and foreign-owned banks with regards to user perceptions of the conservation of visitors’ principles on bank websites. The findings are that user perceptions must be taken into consideration in the development of websites. Firms should avoid the temptation of blindly imitating other websites without considering the input of specific users and other stakeholders. The novelty of the research stems from the data triangulation approach used

Determinants of Consumers’ Attitude towards Social Media Advertising

© 2015, © 2015 Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad, India. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors determining consumers’ attitude towards social media advertising. The survey research design was employed as the research design. Validity and reliability of the measures were assessed using confirmatory factor analysis. Additionally, structural equation modelling was used to examine the structural model. Credibility, materialism, value corruption and corporate reputation are found to have an effect on consumers’ attitudes towards social media advertising. This study provides evidence of the role of corporate reputation in consumers’ attitudes towards social media advertising. Recommendations of the study have been provided

Determinants of consumers’ participation in the sharing economy: A social exchange perspective within an emerging economy context

© 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: Consumers’ intentions to participate in the sharing economy have received much attention from researchers in recent times. However, little attention has been paid to consumers’ actual participation in the sharing economy. The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that drive customers in Ghana to use Uber. Design/methodology/approach: The authors used surveys as the research design. There were 500 participants who were users of Uber. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires. Findings: The findings of this study show that trust, customer return on investment and search convenience are the key factors that contribute to riders’ usage of Uber service. Furthermore, this study shows that consumers’ need for prestige and social connection do not play a significant role in consumers’ (riders’) usage of Uber services. Originality/value: Studies investigating consumers’ participation in the sharing economy from an emerging economy context using the social exchange theory is limited. This study identifies elements of the economic and socio-emotional dimensions of the social exchange theory and the strength of their impact on people’s participation in the sharing economy

The Relationship between Human Resource Practices and Knowledge Sharing in service firms

Human resource practices have been found to be critical in knowledge sharing. Thus, this study examined the effects of job satisfaction, employee commitment, workplace friendship and team culture on knowledge sharing. This study used the survey research design. The respondents of the study were employees of the service industry. Multiple linear regression was used to analyse the data. The results show that employee commitment, workplace friendship and team culture explain the variance in knowledge sharing in service firms. The implications of the findings have been discussed at the end of the article

Does personal innovativeness moderate the effect of irritation on consumers' attitudes towards mobile advertising?

© 2016 MACMILLAN PUBLISHERS LTD. The existing literature shows that there is a negative relationship between irritation and consumers' attitudes towards mobile advertising. In spite of this, little attempt has been made to reduce this effect. Thus, this study examines the moderating effect of personal innovativeness on the relationship between irritation and attitudes towards mobile advertising. The authors found a negative relationship between irritation and attitudes towards mobile advertising. It also was noted that there is a positive relationship between personal innovativeness and attitudes towards mobile advertising. Additionally, the study found that personal innovativeness moderates the relationship between irritation and attitudes towards mobile advertising. The findings imply that targeting individuals who are innovative has the potential for reducing the negative effect of irritation on attitudes towards mobile advertising

Dark tourism: Exploring tourist's experience at the Cape Coast Castle, Ghana

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd This paper investigates tourists’ experience of the Cape Coast Castle in Ghana. Using a phenomenological research design, we explored the experiences of the tourist who visited the Castle. We used data from the Tripadvisor website and analyzed it thematically. The findings show that dark tourism experience is conceptualized from cognitive and emotional perspectives. Furthermore, the results show that tourists’ experiences are shaped and co-constructed with the tourist guards and the artefacts available at the sites. Additionally, our results show tourists who visit dark tourist sites do not experience only anxiety and sorrow but excitement as well. The results also show that tourists who are of African descent see the Cape Coast Castle as a symbol of their identity and these tourists adopt the Castle as part of their personal identity. The implications of the findings are discussed at the end of the paper

Trust and customer engagement in the banking sector in Ghana

© 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Customer engagement has become a topical issue in the marketing literature in recent times. Many researchers have called for more research to be done on the antecedents of customer engagement. In response to this call, we examine the impact of trust on customer engagement. We used the survey research design to address the research question. We used the intercept approach to select the participants of the study. We collected the data from retail banking customers in Ghana. The hypotheses were tested using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The findings of this study show that trust in service providers and economy-based trust have a significant and positive effect on emotional engagement, cognitive engagement, and behavioural engagement. The implications of the findings have been discussed at the end of the paper

Assessing the determinants of internet banking adoption intentions: A social cognitive theory perspective

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd Internet banking adoption is one area that has received attention from scholars. The extant studies have mainly used technology acceptance models and behavioural theories which do not account for changes in human behaviour. This study seeks to ascertain the determinants of Internet banking adoption intentions using the social cognitive theory, which accounts for changes in human behaviour. The study selected the sample from bank customers in Ghana through an intercept approach using structured questionnaires. A two stage-approach of confirmatory factor analysis and a structural equation modelling were used in analysing the data. The findings show that websites’ social feature, trust, compatibility with lifestyle and online customer services have a significant effect on customers’ intentions to adopt Internet banking. However, ease of use did not have a significant relationship with customers’ intentions to adopt Internet banking. The significance of the study as well as recommendations for theory, practice and future studies have been discussed