A study of service quality of stockbrokers in Mauritius : a multi-expectations framework

The stockbroking industry is a service-oriented industry where brokers act as agents for investors when a security is bought or sold and are compensated with a commission. Stockbrokerage houses have much to gain if they can understand investors' expectations since this would assist them in serving their clients better and build long-term relationships with them. This study aimed to develop a measure of service quality for the stockbrokerage industry. Data were collected from investors in Mauritius and findings revealed that the SERVQUAL scale needs to be modified for the stockbroking industry. The relationship between antecedents such as locus of control and investors' expertise, and desired and adequate service expectations were generally very strong. This study also ascertained the relationship between MSS, MSA and satisfaction

The implications of Facebook marketing for organizations

With the explosive popularity of Facebook as a social media, there has not been much research that examines Facebook marketing and its implications for businesses. This paper represents an exploratory effort into this direction and analyzed existing Facebook marketing practices and tools, their benefits, and concerns associated with this type of social media marketing. Practical implications were suggested for organizations using Facebook as a social marketing tool and areas for future research were identified

Country of origin attitudes in a developing country and implications for investment and trade

As a consequence of globalization and free trade, the Mauritian market is now flooded with foreign products. The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumer attitudes in Mauritius towards local and foreign products against a background of increasing prevalence of foreign products with different countries of origin. Two hundred and four consumers were interviewed over a two-month period through a structured questionnaire administered through personal and telephone interviews. Attitudes towards products categorised as domestically produced and foreign produced, which was further divided into developed and developing countries foreign products were measured by seven-point Likert scales. The findings revealed that the quality, design, branding, packaging, status and esteem, and value for money associated with developed countries foreign products and price and value for money associated with developing countries foreign products were perceived to be superior to local brands. These findings have serious implications for importers of foreign products, local manufacturers and potential investors in the Mauritian market

An assessment of the role of trust and satisfaction in global business partnerships

The phasing out of the Multi-fibre Arrangement by 2005 is perhaps the biggest threat to the Mauritian textile and clothing (T and C) industry. Moreover, increasing competition from countries such as China and Eastern Europe and increasing consumerism globally will inevitably shake our local textile industry. Rexha (1998) proposed a model whereby two conditions, satisfaction and trust, were propounded as being essential to reap the benefits of close buyer-supplier relationships. In this way, Mauritian suppliers could continue to retain their existing customers and attract new ones through word-of-mouth. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which Mauritian T and C firms believe in satisfying their customers and building trust in their customer relationships. 100 firms were surveyed and a response rate of 41 per cent was obtained. The findings suggested that the emphasis of firms was rather on customer satisfaction with little effort being made to move the relationship to a trustful one

Assessing the service quality of banking technologies in Mauritius

In this era of intense competitive pressures, the banking sector has often been the subject of service quality assessment. However, service quality assessment of banking technologies in emerging economies is rare. Hence, the main aim of this study is to measure and analyse the service quality of banking technologies in Mauritius. The SERVQUAL instrument with five dimensions, namely tangibility, reliability, assurance, empathy and responsiveness, was used. The study reveals customers' expectations of service from banks across most of the dimensions, in particular, aspects relating to responsiveness and reliability dimensions

Assessing industry experts’ ethnocentrism and perceptions towards domestic and foreign products in Mauritius

An experience survey in the form of in-depth interviews was conducted with twenty industry experts to gather maximum insight about their perceptions and attitudes towards domestic and foreign products. This exercise was conducted over a two-week period by means of a personal interview, using a semi-structured questionnaire consisting mainly of open-ended questions whereby respondents had the freedom to express freely their views and opinions towards the products and their country of origin. The seven-point rating CETSCALE was also included in the questionnaire to assess its reliability in the Mauritian context. It was concluded that experts’ ethnocentrism is not that strong among the respondents. Foreign brands were perceived to be more reliable and highly appreciated than the domestic country brands. The CETSCALE could be adapted to the Mauritian context as the scales had high internal reliability

An assessment of students' perceptions of online conferencing : the case of full-time learners

One of the technological tools used by instructors nowadays is the web-based online conference. This paper aims at providing to both academics and practitioners an insight into the perceptions of those participating in online asynchronous conferences. A survey was conducted with thirty-five full-time undergraduate students in 2003 following an online module on the 'vcamps' platform. Results from the study described in this paper highlight the need for ensuring that participants have access to a personal computer and internet, that technical support and training be provided to participants, and for the lecturer to participate actively in the forums. Students found online conferencing as an interesting pedagogical tool involving them in an active learning environment and which enabled them to express freely and openly

An evaluation of market segmentation in the top 100 companies of Mauritius

To be successful, businesses have to view their markets as consisting of distinct customer groups, each with their own distinct set of requirements and then deliver targeted offers to the customer groups they select to serve. Market segmentation is an essential prerequisite for commercial success. THe aim of this study was to evaluate the importance being attributed to market segmentation, targeting and positioning by the Top Hundred Companies of Mauritius. Questionnaires relating to market segmentation were adminstered to marketing managers of these companies. The findings were that most of the companies has a formal marketing planning system and marketing managers also believed that market segmentation is important. However, segmentation and product positioning were carried out informally. It was also found that the most commonly used segmentation variables were region, income, age, lifestyle and attitude towards the product. However, religion was not a very popular segmentation variable even though Mauritius is a multicultural country. Mauritian companies encountered numerous difficulties when trying to implement market segmentation

A Critical Analysis of e-Assessment with Particular Emphasis on the use of Different Types of Online Quizzes

Assessment plays an important role in the learning process. The advent of information technology has considerably changed the education sector. This paper aims to evaluate online quizzes as an assessment tool in higher education by focusing on different modes of assessment. The evaluation is practice-focused: two courses with different modes of online quizzes were considered. One of the main arguments of the paper was that regular online assessed quizzes motivated students to study regularly although over-assessment could increase the stress level of students. Further research needs to be carried out to determine the degree of learning taking place with online quizzes as opposed to traditional methods

An examination of the consumer buying behaviour of single-parent households

With the rise in single-parent families, there is a need to determine whether there is a resulting change in family consumer behaviour and if marketers need to alter their strategies accordingly. The methodology used was a literature search on single parent families. Some of the interesting findings emerging from the literature review were that the single-mother family was the second most common type in the US; single mothers and married mothers behaved similarly in their buying behaviours, however single mothers took their children shopping more frequently; single mothers and single fathers were very different when it comes to product choice regarding food and beverages; children of single parents had more influence in the decision-making process than children of dual parents. They also shopped for the family more often; Working single parents and dual earners showed a similar behaviour when it came to grocery shopping and using convenience foods. Unemployed single parents differed to both in their buying behaviour; Single-parent families valued certain products more highly than intact families, such as holidays, traditions and family pets. It was concluded that the change in consumer behaviour due to the increase in single-parent families was minimal and inconsistent. Rather, there were similarities amongst members of the same socioeconomic class, rather than family type. Marketers would be unwise to adjust their strategies until more conclusive evidence is discovered. Instead, marketers could look at segmenting the group based on socioeconomic factors, particularly employment status as well as the quality of inter-family relationships