The role of consumer multiple identities in bank choice in Pakistan.

Identity via consumption has received much attention in academic research, however fewer studies are found on the role of multiple identities in consumption. This gap becomes wider when it comes to financial services consumption (banking in particular). Further, components of these multiple identities (personal, role and group) are yet to be explored in relation to consumer choice. Therefore, this study aims to contribute to the theory of multiple identities by classifying and defining the components of each consumer multiple identities and exploring the role each of these identities play in consumers’ bank choice. The choice motivation between Islamic and Non-Islamic banks is explored in this regard, where Islamic banks provide the same services as Non-Islamic banks but with an exception of paying/earning any interest. Previous studies have found culture and religion to play a strong role in the formation of multiple identities, thus the author will also investigate the influence of culture (role of family) and religion (religious beliefs, commitment and affiliation) on consumers’ multiple identities and hence on their bank choice. Pakistan is chosen as the context of this study because 1) the presence of Islamic and Non-Islamic banks; 2) Pakistan is a country which was found in the name of religion and thus there is strong presence of religious values in the country; and 3) Pakistan is considered to be an under researched country in the area of consumption, which made it the best suited context for this study. Adopting a qualitative approach, the author conducted 39 semi-structured interviews with Pakistani bank consumers, and the data was analysed thematically using NVIVO 10. Data analyses revealed four key findings. First, religious identity, role of being son/daughter and career identity were the salient consumer identities in relation to bank choice. Second, while defining the components of these multiple identities, the author found that; religious identity was comprised of religious beliefs, role of religion and spirituality. Parents’ happiness, importance of parents and father vs mother made up the role identity of being son/daughter. Whereas moving out, ambitious; future oriented, and making parents proud were grouped under career identity. Third, the role identity of son/daughter was considered to be the most relevant in terms of the consumption of the services of Islamic banks. Fourth, the overlapping nature of cultural and religious influences gave rise to identity conflict in participants’ lives. The author therefore found two types of identity conflict in relation to participants’ bank choice: inter and intra identity conflict. This study contributes to the theory of multiple identities, consumption and financial services literature. First, by investigating different level of identities enacted by consumers via their consumption behaviour. Second, by identifying components of each of these multiple identities. Third, the author discovered a conflict among and between multiple identities, labelled inter and intra identity conflict for the purpose of this study. The fourth contribution to the theory of multiple identities is on what made some identities salient over the others. Similarly, this study also contributes to the existing debate of the precedence of religion over culture and vice versa in the consumption research. Finally, this is one of the first studies to explore the topic of multiple identities in the context of financial services, hence contributing to the consumption literature of banking choice. This study has implications for the banking sector in Pakistan. Islamic banks should design their communication strategies using sound Islamic tangible cues to improve the congruence between their banks and consumers. This will also help to address consumers’ identity conflict. Future research can further explore the identities of Islamic banks and its alignment with consumer identities utilising big sample data

Female Muslim identity and modest clothing consumption in the UK

Purpose The Muslim population is growing at twice the non-Muslim rate and forecast to represent over 25% of the global population by 2030. The Muslim fashion market is predicted to be worth $311bn globally by 2024. This market is currently not well understood or served. This study presents new insights into the fashion consumption opinions, attitudes and behaviours of female Muslim consumers through the lens of consumer culture focusing on Muslim identity. Methodology An inductive qualitative method was adopted comprising 23 in-depth semi structured interviews from respondents of seven ethnicities residing in the UK. Data were coded using a thematic approach. Findings Findings highlight the effect of Muslim identity on fashion consumption. Data demonstrates the importance of fashion for Muslim women despite the potential conflict between Islamic principles and public image. Respondents were conscious that their fashion behaviours were consistent with their identity, however concerns were raised around limited choice and availability. Religiosity and family context/background were highlighted as key influences. Originality This Qualitative research provides depth of understanding of consumer motivations and attitudes and a multi-ethnic perspective which is lacking from previous studies that have adopted quantitative and single nationality approaches. Practical and Social Implications Findings provide clear guidance, enabling fashion brands to most effectively serve this substantial and rapidly growing market. It is important that Muslim women are able to engage fully with fashion trends, satisfying their will to fit in with both their religion and their wider community

Corporate brand rehab: Diagnosing trust repair mechanisms in the service sectors

Purpose and objectives In recent times, a number of spectacular organizational transgressions have damaged consumers trust towards corporate brands. To survive, these damaged brands must ‘spend some time in the trust rehabilitation clinic’ to repair and regain trust. Trust repair is a complex brand-specific rehabilitation process. According to Bachmann, Gillespie and Priem (2015), a combination of multiple approaches is required for trust rehabilitation across levels. In 2017 Bozic has called for new studies to adopt an interpretivist perspective to empirically explore consumer trust repair process. In this paper, we respond to Bozic’s call and our research purpose is to evaluate consumer responses to trust repair mechanisms adopted by corporate brands. We address the research purpose by exploring the following research objectives: (1) to evaluate consumer understanding of trust; (2) to evaluate trust damage; (3) to identify the mechanisms which contribute to consumer trust repair. Originality The present study examines an important gap in the literature. On the one hand, there is an established body of theoretical work around trust repair mechanisms within the organizational context (Bachmann et al., 2015). On the other hand there is a paucity of empirical research addressing how consumers respond to trust repair strategies adopted by corporate brands. Our research addressed the latter gap by integrating theoretical ideas of Bachmann et al. (2015) to evaluate consumer responses to trust repair mechanisms adopted by corporate brands. Research methodology This study opts for an interpretivist approach to address three research objectives. We employed the focus group discussion method. This decision was driven by two rationales: the cases under investigation are high profile (misspelling of Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) policies, HR issues in Sports Direct and safety issues in Alton Towers) and have had wide coverage across varied mass and social media. This study comprised a total of six focus groups, with two focus groups per case. In total, 48 participants, with roughly equal gender distribution with ages ranging from 18 years to over 75 years agreed to participate in this study. Analysis of the focus group data employed the template analysis approach and procedure. Focus group transcriptions were imported into the NVivo interface. Findings and discussion Discussion of the findings is organised around the three objectives of the research. Firstly, in line with existing research (Schoorman, Mayer & Davis, 2007; Dietz & Gillespie 2012) when defining consumer trust, participants in this study have mostly discussed the trustworthiness of corporate brands and what shapes the trustworthiness. Participants across all groups primarily defined consumer trust in terms of competence and integrity. We also know that trust is context specific (Bozic, 2017). Our results, however, suggest that the trust dimensions may change as a result of trust damage, whereby those dimensions that most closely match the cause of the trust damage shape consumers’ trusting behaviour. Secondly, the transgressions appear to have caused the greatest impact on cognitive trust. Consumers tend to continue relationships with corporate brands where trust erosion impacted others (i.e. employees) or where consumer choice is limited due to an unconditional trust in competences of financial brands (i.e. PPI case) or due to market-based manipulations of service elements (i.e. low price in the Sports Direct case). So far, it has been theoretically discussed in the context of healthcare services only (Fotaki, 2014). Thirdly, we found that despite severity of trust damage, our research illustrates that corporate brands can recover. However, in line with existing research (Bozic 2017; Bachmann et al. 2015), our findings suggest that not all trust repair mechanisms are equally applicable to all service contexts. Hence, context specific nature of trust affects choice of trust repair mechanisms. We also found that corporate brands in the service sectors should focus on sense-making, relational approaches and transparency. Conclusion Evaluation of consumer responses to trust repair mechanisms adopted by corporate brands in the service sectors confirms previous theoretical work in that consumer trust varies by context. Transgressions may however change consumers’ perception of trust as they reflect on the incident. To our knowledge, no studies suggest that corporate brand rehabilitation of consumer trust requires careful examination of what trustworthiness components consumers expressed before and after the trust erosion incident. In doing so, effective diagnosis of trust repair mechanisms against trust damage is most likely to guarantee a successful rehabilitation. Our results also suggest that trust erosion mainly impacts cognitive consumer trust. Theoretical and practical implications We have illustrated that it is important to reconsider conceptual models of trust repair process and integrate post-transgression consumer research that investigates general trustworthiness components in a particular corporate brand situation. With our empirical research we also evidenced that there is a complex relationship between consumer choice and consumer trust: it also raises quite important theoretical question on whether consumer choice can replace consumer trust. Research limitations Although this study provides a better understanding of consumer responses to trust repair mechanisms adopted by corporate brands, findings need to be interpreted with caution. Our findings are limited and applicable to specific service sector cases we examined. Brand crisis and trust damage, as a result of it, is not restricted to the service sector as the Samsung phone incident and labor violation of Apple’s suppliers in developing countries have demonstrated. There is therefore scope to extend our work into other industry sectors

Service brand rehab: Diagnosing trust repair mechanisms

This paper aims to understand consumers’ response to the trust repair mechanisms adopted by corporate brands in a service sector context following prominent trust damaging organizational transgressions. Adopting a qualitative approach, six focus group discussions are employed to investigate three high profile consumer trust erosion cases within the service sector. Consumer trust varies by context. Despite the severity of trust damage, corporate brands can recover trust towards their brands amongst consumers not directly affected by transgressions. Not all trust repair mechanisms are equally applicable to all service contexts and re-branding could be used as a trust repair mechanism. Corporate brands in the service sector should focus on sense-making, relational approaches and transparency. Orchestration of trust repair mechanisms needs to be integrated within the trust rehabilitation processes. This study illustrates it is important to reconsider trust repair processes to accommodate context and integrate post-transgression consumer research. Successful corporate brand rehabilitation of consumer trust requires examination of the trustworthiness dimensions consumers express before and after the transgression to select the most appropriate trust repair mechanisms. Findings suggest organizations also have preventative trust repair management programs. This research is the first to empirically apply the conceptual framework of Bachmann et al. (2015) to explore consumer responses to the trust repair mechanisms adopted by corporate brands by context

Comparative study to evaluate the effect of colloid coloading versus crystalloid coloading for prevention of spinal anaesthesia induced hypotension and effect on fetal Apgar score in patients undergoing elective lower segment caesarean section: a prospective observational study

Background: Spinal anesthesia for LSCS has a high incidence of maternal hypotension which can be severe and disastrous for the fetus and the mother. Coloading in these patients is a physiologically more appropriate method for preventing spinal anesthesia induced hypotension.Methods: 100 ASA I patients for elective LSCS were randomly divided into two equal groups to either receive 1000ml colloid (6% Hetastarch) or 1000ml crystalloids (Ringer lactate) as coload. NIBP, heart rate SPO2 and incidence of nausea and vomiting and use of ephedrine to treat any hypotension was recorded. Fetal outcome was measured using APGAR score at 0, 1 and 5 minutes.Results: The incidence of hypotension was lesser with colloid coload group (41.7%) as compared to the crystalloid coload group (58.3%) but the difference between the two groups was statistically insignificant. Similarly, no statistically significant difference was noted in the incidence of nausea and vomiting and Fetal APGAR score between the two groups.Conclusions: Both Colloid and Crystalloid coloading is effective in decreasing the incidence of spinal anesthesia induced hypotension during LSCS with lesser incidence of hypotension and nausea vomiting with colloid coloading

When brand trust is tested

The visitor economy could well be a fragile one when built upon ephemeral experiences. Destinations and visitor attractions work hard to create brands that have a more enduring relationship with the visitor economy. Theme park resorts, as destinations, create brands that are built upon stories of excitement and escape. For these to be sustainable there are fundamental underlying characteristics. When some of the experiences are based around spine thrilling rides, visitors are relying upon the health and safety operations of the park. They trust the brand to perform with their best interests at their heart. This paper will explore what happens when that trust is tested. Consumer trust is important to any brand as it helps build and cement the customer-firm relationship engendering positive word of mouth, increased loyalty and the potential for additional income from cross-selling and up-selling. However, a series of recent scandals and misdeeds has resulted in widespread erosion of the trust held in many well-known brands. To survive, individual firms must repair the trust that consumers have in their brands. This can be a huge challenge requiring the efforts of not only the individual firm, but a concerted effort by the industry. The research that this paper is based upon adopts an integrative trust repair framework proposed by Bachmann et al. (2015). This creates a template that identifies the actions that stakeholders can take to repair trust and how these actions have influenced consumer attitudes towards and trust in the company brand and the wider industry sector taking into account different causes of trust damage. This paper focuses on the theme park sector and the Smiler accident at Alton Towers, UK, in particular. It is based upon the qualitative data collected from consumer focus groups. The findings were generated from a template analysis using NVivo. The results are compared with those from other service sectors (financial services and retail) to test the appropriateness and fit of the conceptual framework. Reference Bachmann, R., Gillespie, N. and Priem, R., 2015. Repairing Trust in Organizations and Institutions: Toward a Conceptual Framework. Organization Studies, 36 (9), 1123-1142

Alternate efflux pump mechanism may contribute to drug resistance in extensively drug-resistant isolates of mycobacterium tuberculosis

INTRODUCTION: Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) has emerged as one of the biggest threats to public health and TB control programs worldwide. XDR-TB is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) strains resistant to rifampin and isoniazid, as well as to a fluoroquinolone and to at least one injectable aminoglycoside. Drug resistance in MTB has primarily been associated with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in particular genes. However, it has also been shown that efflux pumps may play a role in resistance of MTB. Upregulation of drug efflux pumps can decrease the intracellular concentration of drugs and reduce their efficacy. METHODS: Whole genome sequencing was performed on 32 XDR-TB clinical isolates. Sequence data were used to investigate SNPs in efflux pump genes as compared with the H37Rv reference genome. RESULTS: Of the XDR MTB strains, eight (21.62%) were wild type for rpsL, rrs (500 region), and gidB genes, but had non-synonymous (ns) SNPs (aspartic acid to histidine) in the drrA efflux pump gene at position 3273138. Three of eight (37.5%) XDR MTB strains, wild type for rpsL, rrs (500 region), gidB, and gyrB genes were phenotypically streptomycin sensitive and five (62.5%) XDR MTB strains were streptomycin resistant, while all XDR MTB strains, wild type for rpsL, rrs, gidB, and gyrB genes were resistant to fluoroquinolone (ofloxacin) and ethambutol. In addition, three XDR MTB strains wild type for rpsL, rrs, gidB, and drrA genes showed nsSNPs (isoleucine to valine) in the major facilitator superfamily, Rv1634 efflux pump gene at position 1839306. CONCLUSION: Our data show an nsSNP in the drrA efflux pump gene that may result in upregulation of drug efflux mechanisms in MTB strains. It is therefore imperative to understand the mechanism of efflux and its role in drug resistance, which will enable the identification of new drug targets and development of new drug regimens to counteract the drug efflux mechanism of MTB

Discovery of novel 1,2,4-triazole tethered β-hydroxy sulfides as bacterial tyrosinase inhibitors: synthesis and biophysical evaluation through in vitro and in silico approaches

In this study, a series of 1,2,4-triazole-tethered β-hydroxy sulfide scaffolds 11a–h was synthesized in good to remarkable yields (69–90%) through the thiolysis of oxiranes by the thiols in aqueous basic catalytic conditions. The synthesized 1,2,4-triazole-tethered β-hydroxy sulfides were screened against bacterial tyrosinase enzyme, and Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial cultures i.e., (S. aureus) Staphylococcus aureus & (E. coli) Escherichia coli. Among the synthesized derivatives, the molecules 11a (IC50 = 7.67 ± 1.00 μM), 11c (IC50 = 4.52 ± 0.09 μM), 11d (IC50 = 6.60 ± 1.25 μM), and 11f (IC50 = 5.93 ± 0.50 μM) displayed the better tyrosinase inhibitory activity in comparison to reference drugs ascorbic acid (IC50 = 11.5 ± 1.00 μM) and kojic acid (IC50 = 30.34 ± 0.75 μM). The molecule benzofuran-triazol-propan-2-ol 11c proved to be the most potent bacterial tyrosinase inhibitory agent with a minimum IC50 of 4.52 ± 0.09 μM, as compared to other synthesized counterparts and both standards (kojic acid and ascorbic acid). The compound diphenyl-triazol-propan-2-ol 11a and benzofuran-triazole-propan-2-ol 11c showed comparable anti-bacterial chemotherapeutic efficacy with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC = 2.0 ± 2.25 mg mL−1 and 2.5 ± 0.00 mg mL−1, respectively) against S. aureus bacterial strain in comparison with standard antibiotic penicillin (MIC = 2.2 ± 1.15 mg mL−1). Furthermore, among the synthesized derivatives, only compound 11c demonstrated better anti-bacterial activity (MIC = 10 ± 0.40 mg mL−1) against E. coli, which was slightly less than the standard antibiotic i.e., penicillin (MIC = 2.4 ± 1.00 mg mL−1). The compound 11c demonstrated a better binding score (−7.08 kcal mol−1) than ascorbic acid (−5.59 kcal mol−1) and kojic acid (−5.78 kcal mol−1). Molecular docking studies also validate the in vitro anti-tyrosinase assay results; therefore, the molecule 11c can be the lead bacterial tyrosinase inhibitor as well as the antibacterial agent against both types of bacterial strains after suitable structural modifications

Consumer trust and confidence in the compliance of Islamic banks

Islamic banks compete with traditional (non-Islamic) banks for customers. This article aims to provide insight into why some Muslims choose to bank with Islamic banks in Pakistan, while others do not. Specifically, it addresses the questions: to what extent are trust and confidence active influencers in the decision-making process, are they differentiated or are they one of the same? Also how does the Pakistani collective cultural context further complicate the application of these concepts? For the purposes of this article trust refers to people and their interpersonal or social relations whereas confidence concerns institutions such as banks. Drawing on interviews with Muslim consumers in Pakistan, this study provides further insight into consumer behaviour within financial services and specifically Islamic banking and contributes to our theoretical understanding of the concepts of trust and confidence