Servicescape And Customers’ Willingness-To-Pay For Vehicle Repairs And Maintenance Services

This research work investigates into the servicescape and customers’ willingness to pay for mechanical services at the Suame Magazine in the Kumasi Metropolis. The study adopted descriptive survey method and the target population was the mechanics and customers of mechanical services in the Suame Magazine in the Kumasi Metropolis. The study conveniently sampled 150 customers who patronize the services of the small scale auto mechanics who repair and maintain vehicles. Questionnaire was used to collect data from the customers. It was realized that signs, symbols and artifacts were not important to customers who go to the Suame Magazine for mechanical services but customers’ perceived ambient conditions and spatial layout as important to them. Customers disagree that Suame Magazine smell badly but they attested that the Suame Magazine is noisy. Suame Magazine has good layout but customers attested that the industrial enclave is always congested. Majority of customers’ relatively perceived charges or price of mechanical services to be relatively as expected and majority (58.0%) of the customers were willing to pay for mechanical services at the Suame Magazine. The customers’ willingness to pay for mechanical services depends on the servicesscape in the Suame Magazine. Mechanical garages with good ambient and spatial layout would have high patronage. The study recommends that mechanics in the Suame Magazine should strategically use servicescape as marketing tool for effective pricing which can influence customer willingness to pay for their services. The mechanical garages should have servicescape policy with specific emphasis on spatial layout and ambient conditions

SMS and Customer Satisfaction in the Banking Industry

The study sought to examine Short Messaging Service (SMS) as a marketing communication tool and customer satisfaction in banking. The study draws on multi-variables to explain consumer perception of receiving text messages and the influences on understanding of customer satisfaction in the banking industry. The key variables that were related to customer satisfaction included benefits of SMS, facilitation of relationship, SMS as nuisance and the relationship between Short Messaging Service (SMS) and customer satisfaction. These factors were measured against customer understanding of customer care by selected banks in the Kumasi Metropolis. One hundred and three (103) customers participated in the study through random selection. A Likert scale questionnaire was used to gather responses from the customers.  The study found that there is relationship between SMS and customer understanding of customer care and customer satisfaction. There was no statistical significance of the contributory variables, satisfaction however, showed a highly statistical significance relationship with Short Message Service (SMS) as a marketing communication tool in the banking industry. Keywords: Short Messaging Services, customer satisfaction, marketing communicatio

Corporate social responsibility, marketing capabilities and consumer behavioral responses

Purpose – The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) andmarketing capability on consumer behavioral responses in the mobile telecommunication industry in Ghana.Particularly, the study estimated the moderating effect of marketing capability on the relationship betweenCSR and consumer behavioral responses.Design/methodology/approach – Both customers and employees of three major mobile telecommunicationcompanies were sampled for this work. A mixed linear regression technique was used to examine therelationship between corporate responsibility, marketing capability and customer behavioral responses.Findings – The empirical results revealed that marketing capabilities moderate the relationship between CSRand consumer responses in the telecommunication industry.Research limitations/implications – The study proposes practical dimensions to the mobiletelecommunication companies that the extensive development of strong marketing capabilities serves aconduit for CSR to achieve favorable consumer responses.Originality/value – The results have opened up rather a limitation studies on the moderation role marketingcapabilities in relationship between CSR and consumer behavioral responses in the telecommunicationindustry

Customer Perceived Risks and the Choice of Mobile Phone Brand in Ghana

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to develop, measure and empirically validate the contribution of performance risk, social risk, financial risk and psychological risk to the customer choice of mobile phone. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 267 mobile phone users applying the convenience sampling method. The study finds that performance risk, social risk, financial risk, and psychological risk relate to customer choice. Further study results demonstrate that all the predictor variables after controlling for experience and means of acquisition are statistically significant in predicting customer choice of mobile phone brand. However, performance risk showed the highest effects on customer choice. The study contributes to the development of a multi-dimensional scale for customer perceived risk and choice of mobile phone in the Ghanaian context. The study provides firms in the mobile phone industry with a deeper understanding of how the performance, financial, social and psychological factors are relevant in the development of marketing programmes in the mobile phone industry

Performance of restaurants: Recognizing competitive intensity and differentiation strategies

Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to examine the relationships between differentiation strategies, competitive intensity and restaurant performance. It was also to estimate the effect of interaction terms of differentiation strategies and competitive intensity on restaurant performance. Methods: Data were obtained from 160 restaurant operators in the Ashanti region of Ghana through a structured questionnaire. The paths of the relationships were estimated and tested using regression analysis. Results: The findings suggest that differentiation strategies have a significant impact on restaurant performance and that competitive intensity partially influence the performance of restaurants. Competitive intensity was, however, found not to moderate the relationship between differentiation strategies and restaurant performance. Implications: The study findings will greatly help managers of the restaurant industry to appreciate the critical contribution of competitive intensity and differentiation strategies in estimating the performance of restaurants. The interactive terms of differentiation strategies and competitive intensity add to the divergent ways of measuring restaurant performance. This paper, therefore, contributes to the growing research in the restaurant industry

Customer Based Performance of the Hotel Industry: Analysis of Service Package and Brand Innovations

This study aims to examine the influence of service package and brand innovation on customer relational performance and customer profit performance of the hotel industry. Data were collected from 112 hotel operators. PLS-SEM was used to derive the path coefficient (β) and t statistics to determine the path relationship between service packages, brand innovation, customer based relational performance and customer based profit performance. This study shows that both service package and brand innovation have influence on both customer relational performance and customer profit performance. Brand innovation does not moderate the relationship between service package and customer relational performance of the hotel industry. The study findings may not be generalizable to other categories of the restaurant industry because of the relatively small sample size and the respondents selected from limited geographical area. The findings, however, will help hotel operators to implement critical packaging operations of the hotel services and improved brand innovations to elicit higher customers’ based performance. Unlike the previous studies on marketing performance, this study examines the combined effect of service package and brand innovation on customer based relational performance and customer based profit performance of the hotels

Marketing performance of service firms: Recognizing market sensing capability and customer interaction orientation

Purpose: This study examines the effect of market sensing and interaction orientation capabilities on the marketing performance of service based firms in Ghana. The study particularly explored the moderation effect of interaction orientation capability on the relationship between market sensing and firm performance of the service firms. Methods: This study adopted the survey approach focusing on a convenient sample of 200 employees of service firms. The hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to establish the relationship between the variables of interest. Results: the study revealed that market sensing capability and interaction orientation significantly account for variations in the marketing performance of the service businesses. Furthermore, the findings showed that the interaction of market sensing and interaction orientation capabilities is vital for extracting a higher marketing. Implications: The research target of service firms limits the generalizability of the findings since the participants were not proportionally participated. In addition to insights on how marketing sensing and interaction orientation should fit the realization of marketing performance, the research offers other ideas to enhance measurement of marketing performance based on customer profits and customer relations

Innovation, Environmental Antecedents and Performance Outcomes of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in Ghana

The purpose of the study was to ascertain the effects of innovation types and environmental antecedents on performance outcomes of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in Ashanti region, Ghana. Specifically, the study measures the mediating effects of environmental antecedents on the performance outcomes of the MMDAs. A total of 280 responses received from interested workers of the MMDAs were used for the study. As a result of the Covid-19 and its related restrictions, the questionnaire was developed using Google forms. Data were collected through social media and the responses received were screened and used for the analysis. The questionnaire was based on measurement scales for the key variables (innovation types, environmental antecedent, performance outcomes) understudy. SPSS and Sobel Test were used to estimate the mediation effect. The study results revealed that there is a significant but negative relationship between innovation types and performance outcomes at the MMDAs. Similarly, a significant and positive relationship was found between environmental antecedent and performance outcomes of the MMDs. Again, the results showed that there is a relationship between innovation types and performance outcomes of the MMDAs. Finally, the results showed that environmental antecedents mediate the relationship between innovation types and performance outcomes of the MMDAs. Based on the findings, the study recommends that managers of the MMDAs should continue to monitor and control the various environmental (public demands, political demand, regulatory frameworks, competition) forces within the public sector in order to realize the full potential of innovation and its role in facilitating performance outcome. Also, the MMDAs should embrace the innovation types (process innovation, process innovation, governance innovation, and conceptual innovation) in order to achieve higher performance outcomes (effectiveness, efficiency, citizen involvement and participation and customer satisfaction)

Cultural and Attitudinal Tenets of Ghanaians on Insurance Service: An Empirical Study

This study compared the cultural and attitudinal tenets of Ghanaians towards insurance service in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana. The research utilized the convenience sampling to gather data from 291 respondents. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used and the relationship between the demographic variables and the actual variables was examined. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) statistical technique using smart Partial Least Square (PLS) 3.0 was also used to assess the study's hypothesized relationships. It was observed that a significant relationship existed between attitudinal trends and awareness, attitudinal trends and perception, attitudinal trends and purchase intention, awareness and purchase intention, cultural trends and awareness, cultural trends and purchase intention. Conversely, a significant relationship did not exist between cultural trends and perception, as well as perception and purchase intention. The study revealed that attitudinal trends have a greater effect on awareness, perception, and purchase intention than cultural trends, while awareness has the strongest relationship with purchase intention but perception has the weakest relationship with purchase intention. These findings may help to bring about social change by raising awareness of the importance of life insurance in the socioeconomic development of individuals, families, organizations, and communities, resulting in insurance coverage and the reduction of poverty in Ghana. Insurance practitioners who want to increase insurance penetration for business and sustainability can find the study useful.This study compared the cultural and attitudinal tenets of Ghanaians towards insurance service in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana. The research utilized the convenience sampling to gather data from 291 respondents. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used and the relationship between the demographic variables and the actual variables was examined. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) statistical technique using smart Partial Least Square (PLS) 3.0 was also used to assess the study's hypothesized relationships. It was observed that a significant relationship existed between attitudinal trends and awareness, attitudinal trends and perception, attitudinal trends and purchase intention, awareness and purchase intention, cultural trends and awareness, cultural trends and purchase intention. Conversely, a significant relationship did not exist between cultural trends and perception, as well as perception and purchase intention. The study revealed that attitudinal trends have a greater effect on awareness, perception, and purchase intention than cultural trends, while awareness has the strongest relationship with purchase intention but perception has the weakest relationship with purchase intention. These findings may help to bring about social change by raising awareness of the importance of life insurance in the socioeconomic development of individuals, families, organizations, and communities, resulting in insurance coverage and the reduction of poverty in Ghana. Insurance practitioners who want to increase insurance penetration for business and sustainability can find the study useful

Consumer Choice Analysis of Imported and Locally Produced Chicken Products: Evidence from Ghana.

An understanding of why a person makes purchasing is very important in the marketing process of those consumers located at Kumasi metropolis. The paper investigated into consumer choice analysis of imported and locally produced chicken in Kumasi metropolis. Of which convenience sampling was used to select the sample size of three hundred and fifty (350) respondents to answer the questionnaires. The study revealed that influence of price on purchasing decision was high. Also issues of   quality had poor influence in the purchasing decision of chicken products thus accounting for the higher rate of neutrality of respondents view in that regard. In addition, the study showed that participants responded to all the elements on the influence of quality on the demand for chicken products in the Kumasi metropolis, as well as influence of quantity on the demand and purchase for chicken products. The recommendations are based on the weaknesses identified in the study:  effect of price, quality and quantity. It is believed that the recommendations such as ensuring effective competitive price for locally produced chicken by providing adequate and readily funding for farmers. Also, improving the packaging of the locally produce chicken to be at par with an international standard. These will help to improve the bottlenecks associated with the production of locally produced chicken. Key words: Consumer; Purchasing; Behaviour; Decision makin