Internal Marketing Practices, Job Satisfaction and Service Quality in the Airline Service Industry: A Case Study of Entebbe Handling Services, Uganda

There are limited studies on the relationship between internal marketing and service quality in Uganda though in the west interest in internal marketing seems to have intensified from 2006 onwards,[1]. Customers no longer simply pay for services: they co –produce with the contact employees at the time of transaction and therefore the customer buying experience has to be understood from both the employees’ and customer perspectives, [2] The purpose of this study was to establish the relationship between internal marketing, employee job satisfaction and service quality. Survey research method was used with the primary data being collected from 91 employees and 96 clients of one selected firm in the aviation industry in Uganda. The study results showed that Internal marketing has a strong positive correlation with service quality (r=0.723**, p-value\u3c 0.01) while internal marketing and employee job satisfaction are significantly correlated (r=0.871**, p-value\u3c 0.01) and are strongly positively correlated. Employee job satisfaction showed a significant positive correlation with service quality (r=0.895**, p-value\u3c0.01). The practical implication of our study is that internal marketing has a fundamental contribution in the delivery of service quality. The study findings inform managers, who have hitherto tended to put more emphasis on the external customer, to change their perspective as taking the internal customer for granted may result in negative outcomes for their organizations

Exhibiting entrepreneurial behavior at work: a lived experience of a millennial entrepreneur

Purpose – This paper offers a story-based/narrative inquiry rooted in qualitative methodology, portraying a millennial entrepreneur in Uganda, a low-developed country that has successfully demonstrated entrepreneurial behaviors at work. The study of entrepreneurial behavior at workplaces by millennial entrepreneurs formed the basis for the real-life trials that entrepreneurs go through in their businesses. Besides, the produced empirical content gives a solid linkage between the story and the enterprise's work setting. Design/methodology/approach – In this study, the authors used storytelling to get a clear view of reality and obtain a real-life experience of entrepreneurial behavior at work. The experiences and perceptions of the millennial entrepreneur were assessed by conducting in-depth interviews while focusing on the context, actions, results and lessons to generate a coherent story. Findings – This paper reports that demonstrating entrepreneurial behavior at work by the millennial entrepreneur resulted in better performance that ultimately benefited the enterprise. Additionally, findings reveal that story-based narrative inquiry is appropriate for demonstrating the true reality at workplaces, especially in the context of exhibiting the behaviors of entrepreneurs. Other entrepreneurs can emulate what the actor did and benchmark on the findings to improve their performance and that of their enterprises. Originality/value – This study is unique in its use of a positive story showing a real-life experience of how entrepreneurial behaviors are exhibited at workplaces in micro and small enterprises in a low-developed country like Uganda. The paper also offers evidence and insights into the use of a positive story to demonstrate a practical experience of how millennial entrepreneurs demonstrate entrepreneurial behaviors at work. Additionally, the study used multiple theories that best explained the current practice of entrepreneurial behavior among millennials at workplaces in micro and small enterprises

Contactless digital financial innovation and global contagious COVID-19 pandemic in low income countries: Evidence from Uganda

AbstractSince its outbreak, Covid-19 has led to upsurge in economic inactivity, leaving many households and firms without access to and use of basic services including financial services. Specifically, with the lockdown and curfew, most traditional bank branches remained closed, leaving households without access to quality, affordable, convenient, and safe financial services. This study aims to establish whether contactless digital financial innovation like mobile money can promote access to and use of financial services in the presence of pandemic positive emotions in low-income countries. SmartPLS 3.0 was used to construct the structural equation mediation model with bootstrap based on 2,737 valid responses. It was found that contactless digital financial innovation such as mobile money significantly promotes access to and use of financial services in low-income countries under pandemic situation. Additionally, the findings showed that the use of contactless digital financial innovation promotes Covid-19 standard operating procedures in low-income countries. Cognizant to the role of human behaviour in technology adoption and usage, the structural equation model with bootstrapping revealed a 4 percentage points improvement in Covid-19 standard operating procedures due to the use of contactless mobile money channel. Accordingly, the findings could be useful in the following ways: governments in low-income countries may use it to promote public health concern under pandemic situations. Mobile money can allow individuals to store, send, and receive money during situation of limited or no movements caused by pandemic health restrictions. Besides, the use of contactless digital financial innovation may promote digital commerce in low-income countries under the pandemic situation. Similarly, mobile money can be used to promote government-to-person, person-to-person, person-to-business, and business-to-person payments under emergency situations. The findings may also help governments in low-income countries to rethink about taxes levied on mobile money