Understanding customer-perceived quality in informal stores

PURPOSE : Although customer-perceived quality (CPQ) has been studied for years, very little is known about the implications of CPQ to informal retail stores particularly in collectivist and high uncertainty avoidance societies like Nigeria. More specifically, this study aims to investigate the indirect implications of CPQ to post-purchase behaviour primarily word-of-mouth (WoM) communication which is even more critical for customer acquisition in the research context. By so doing, it develops a contextualised model in which the emerging concept of commercial friendship (CF) is incorporated to mediate the relationship between CPQ and WoM communication. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH : Using a survey-based design, data were gathered from 372 informal merchants’ customers. Structural equation modelling technique primarily PLS-SEM (partial least squares structural equation modelling) was used in analysing the data. FINDINGS : The data confirm that the multifaceted CPQ construct has an important implication for WoM through the mediation of CF. Supplementary analysis reveals that CF fully mediates one of the sub-components of CPQ, namely, personal interaction in relationship to WoM in addition to acting as a partial mediator between store policy, physical aspect and reliability and WoM. ORIGINALITY/VALUE : The value of this study is that it draws attention to the special role that CF plays in the investigation of the relationship between CPQ and WoM communication in the research context. Additionally, it is a step towards extending and contextualising research about service quality perceptions and its outcomes in non-traditional Western contexts.https://www.emeraldinsight.com/loi/jsmhj2019Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS

Customer centricity : an empirical analysis in the micro-sized firm

In theory, customer centricity has been suggested to provide many benefits for the firm. Empirically, there is however limited analysis on the factors that might encourage or constrain a firm from engaging in customer-centric practices. Less is also known about how customer centricity potentially affects firm performance. In response to these research gaps, this paper focuses on the external factors affecting customer centricity and its implications on the firm. This research relies on surveys gathered from micro-sized firms operating in Nigeria. Notably, emerging pattern from the analyses indicates that industry competition and technological turbulence are a force for good given their predictive impact on the adoption of customer centricity, whereas demand uncertainty was found to be unrelated to customer centricity. In addition, there is a consistent pattern that customer centricity not only significantly leads to marketing innovativeness, but indirectly affects financial performance through the marketing innovativeness process.https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rjsm202020-07-18hj2019Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS

Effects of customer characteristics and service quality on share of wallet in neighbourhood shops based on an asymmetric approach

PURPOSE : The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of customer share of wallet (SoW) based on research in customer characteristics and the retail service quality model. Specifically, this study adopts an asymmetrical modelling approach to provide insights into the necessary and sufficient conditions leading to increased customer SoW in the context of neighbourhood shops in Southern Africa. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH : This study uses fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to analyse survey data collected from 523 current customers of the shops. FINDNGS : This study reveals that large household size and low income are necessary conditions for increased SoW. It also reveals five unique customer profiles, or casual recipes, associated with increased customer SoW. More generally, this study demonstrates that service quality constituents (personal interaction, reliability, policy and physical aspects of the shop) and customer characteristics, namely, relationship duration, household size, gender and income-level act in combination to lead to customer SoW. ORIGINALITY/VALUE : This study illustrates how service quality constituents and customer characteristics compete and/or complement each other in relation to increased customer SoW. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to provide evidence on the necessary conditions for increased SoW, especially in the neighbourhood shop context of a developing economy. Value-wise, this paper provides a more nuanced perspective to understanding how unique customer profiles are associated with increased SoW.The research unit of the Gordan Institute of Business Science (GIBS).https://www.emerald.com/insight/publication/issn/0955-534Xhj2023Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS

Crafting an effective brand oriented strategic framework for growth-aspiring small businesses: A conceptual study

The main objective of this study was to theorize and conceptualize a model that could be used by scholars and practitioners in understanding the contingent roles that certain organizational drivers and/or resources play in shaping the brand orientation strategy of small businesses, especially growth-aspiring small businesses in emerging economies. To this end, this paper explicates the critical roles that decision-making rationality, entrepreneurial capability, enterprise core values, market orientation, Internet technology orientation, and learning climate might play as processual antecedents to brand orientation strategy in the small businesses setting. Furthermore, the author highlights the moderating effects of the twin foci of financial slack and structural capital in respectively attenuating/amplifying the relationship between the aforementioned strategic variables and brand orientation strategy. Consequently, the author asserts that brand orientation strategy is without a doubt, one of the key micro-foundations for small businesses to effectively achieving a high degree of customer-centric performance outcomes. © 2016, Christian Nedu Osakwe and Nova Southeastern University

Facilitating mCommerce growth in Nigeria through mMoney usage: A preliminary analysis

A general belief is that Mobile Money (mMoney) has the catalytic effect of spurring mCommerce growth and driving financial inclusion in developing nations like Nigeria. In Nigeria, mMoney service is certainly a new financial service innovation in the country, and as a result critical issues surrounding its early critical mass adoption, including its perceived usefulness, remain largely opaque. In this paper, our aim was to explore factors influencing perceived usefulness of mMoney by using the extended technology acceptance model (TAM) as the theoretical underpinning of our work. This work is based on a usable sample of 127 respondents from two major cities in Nigeria. Overall, the study's results indicate that perceived regulator assurance, service affordability, convenience, proximity to the nearest bank branch, and worry over ease of use are significant predictors of mMoney perceived usefulness. The work helps shed new insights about the significant factors that are closely related to the consumer's perception of the relevance of mMoney services (to his/her financial needs). In sum, the study is an initial step to addressing the issue of perceived usefulness of mMoney service, including its pivotal importance to laying a solid foundation for mCommerce growth in Nigeria and similar sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries

A time series analysis of macroeconomic determinants of household spending in the era of cross-cultural dynamics: Czech Republic as a case study

The paper investigates selected macroeconomic variables where are seemingly influencing household spending in the Republic in the present era of evolving cross-cultural interactions from 1993-2012. Based on the estimated regression model, it plausible to state that net disposable income, cross-cultural dynamics, inflation rate, and saving rate as a proportion of household income impact significantly on household spending. Moreover, the Granger causality analysis provides evidence of feedback relationship between household spending and social globalization index. The results equally indicate causality between saving rate and household spending as well as between the inflation rate and household spending. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/)

Economic globalization and economic performance dynamics: Some new empirical evidence from Nigeria

The study focuses on the macro-economic impact of leading economic globalization indicators on the Nigerian economy, during the period from 1980 to 2012. The findings from this study lend credence to the FDI-led growth hypothesis in developing economies. Moreover, migrants’ remittances inflow was found to be positively associated with economic performance, albeit in the short-run only. In contrast, the KOF dimension of economic globalization index (ECGI) was found to have an adverse effect on economic performance in the long-run and equally showed proof of a negative relationship in the short-run even though it was statistically insignificant. Similarly, real effective exchange rate and trade openness were found to be statistically insignificant in the short-run and long-run. Policy makers in Nigeria should endeavour to create robust legislation and credible institutional frameworks that would not only encourage more capital flows into the shores of Nigeria, but also would protect the country’s ‘interest’ in the midst of ongoing economic globalization. © 2015 Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences. All rights received

Exploring online shopping behaviour within the context of online advertisement, customer service experience consciousness and price comparison websites: Perspectives from young female shoppers in the Zlínský Region

Online shopping behaviour within the context of price comparison websites presents an interesting area of consumer behaviour, yet very little research has been done in this area. Hence, the focus of this paper was to critically explore the impact of online advertisement and customer service experience consciousness on young female shoppers' intention to use price comparison websites as a purchase decision-making tool within the online retail environment. Our sample consisted of 123 female respondents of the Tomas Bata University students in Zlín, Czech Republic. From the sample, we found out using the Partial Least Square approach to Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) that both online advertisement (Ads) and customer service experience consciousness are directly and positively related to online shoppers' intention to use price comparison websites. Hence, our two stated hypotheses were supported based on the outcome of the structural model. Apparently, customer service experience consciousness is a better predictor of female shoppers' intention to use price comparison websites compared to online advertising. Nonetheless, we have highlighted the need for a further research based on the study's limitations. © 2015, Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry Brno. All rights reserved

An empirical analysis of the impacts of external capital inflows and world oil price on africa's 'largest' market

There is a continued debate that external financial resources complement the limited domestic funds for growth, especially in developing countries, while others are of the view that external finances mostly impede economic growth and development. This article is an attempt to analyze the inflows of some external financial capital such as FDI, external debt, migrants’ remittances and ODA, along with world oil price on economic growth (captured by real GDP) in Nigeria. In order to capture both the short run and the long run effects of the variables on the economy, an econometric technique, Nerlove’s Partial Adjustment Model (PAM) was employed using yearly data from 1981 to 2012. Our results suggest that in both the short run and long run, FDI and world oil price will boost economic growth in Nigeria. Not too surprisingly, our findings equally suggest that the relationship between world oil price and economic growth may not be linear after all and we have evidence to show that this relationship is likely concave in nature. In the same vein, further findings show that migrant remittance is likely to have an adverse effect on the nation’s real GDP, while external debt and ODA do not make any significant contribution to the nation’s real GDP. We argue that for Nigeria to fully benefit from the flows of global finances, policy makers should on an ongoing basis weigh the costs and benefits associated with foreign capital inflows to the country. As is often the case, no country can compete favorably on the world market without prudent resource management and sound investment climate. Undoubtedly, with effective and efficient utilization of external financial resources, sound monetary and fiscal policies, institutional reforms in all sectors of the economy, Nigeria can witness not only accelerated but also more inclusive growth in the present era of financial globalization. © 2015, World Scientific and Engineering Academy and Society. All rights reserved

Market competitiveness of the Czech economy in the era of globalization: Some new empirical insights

The paper deals with market competitiveness and the performance of the Czech economy in the era of globalization, using annual time series, which spans from 1993 to 2012. Econometric techniques such as the Granger causality test and impulse response function were employed in order to verify the interactions of the Czech Republic market size (real GDP per capita), trade openness, inward FDI, REER and globalization dynamics. The findings provide a robust evidence that globalization fosters market size, growth within the context of the Czech economy. The more globalized the Czech economy becomes, the more likely it would experience real GDP per capita