The Antecedents of Customer Loyalty in Malaysian Retail-Shopping Setting

Customer loyalty is gaining considerable interest from academics and business practitioners because both are interested in knowing the driving forces that enhance a company’s competitiveness. Despite the importance of customer loyalty, there is still a lack of comprehensive work to explore how customers develop loyalty to a particular retailing outlet, and how that loyalty can be maintained. The main objective of this study is to explore the antecedents of customer loyalty from both attitudinal and behavioral perspectives based on two underpinning theories. The underpinning theories are the Oliver’s Four-Stage Loyalty Model and the Mehrabian-Russell’s Environmental Psychology Model. The study setting is on retail-shopping in Malaysia, which focuses on the hypermarkets. The data is collected from a few hypermarkets within Klang Valley and Putrajaya. The instrument used in the study is a self-administered questionnaire. As for the statistical analysis, Structural Equation Modeling is used to test the hypotheses. The findings disclose that the antecedents of cognitive loyalty are the components of store image. They are service quality, product quality, product selection, store atmosphere, and promotion activity. The antecedents for affective loyalty are customer satisfaction, loyalty program, and retailer brand equity. The antecedent for conative loyalty is customer commitment. Likewise, the antecedent for action loyalty is conative loyalty. However, there are no mediating effects of emotional states on cognitive loyalty, affective loyalty, and conative loyalty. Thus, there are three strategic tools that dominate attitudinal aspect, namely, store image, loyalty program, and retailer brand equity. In addition, the findings of the study reveal that the relationships between the four stages in Oliver’s model of cognitive loyalty to affective loyalty, affective loyalty to conative loyalty, and conative loyalty to action loyalty are positive and significant. The study concludes that the Malaysian hypermarket’s customer loyalty level is evolving in stages. Hence, the establishment of attitude-behavior relationship has a great meaning to the retailers due to its predictive power, particularly in marketing strategy formulation

Customer Intention to Stay with Banks: The Role of Virtual Service

Identifying the success factors that contribute to customer satisfaction and loyalty are the crucial and it is a continuous process in order for firms to stay competitive. This paper examines the factors that determine the customer satisfaction and loyalty and its causal effects using a theoretical model. The research model consists of four exogenous latent constructs, namely service quality, perceived value, brand image and online banking quality. Customer satisfaction is the mediator and the endogenous variable is intention to stay. Data relating to the constructs were collected from 12 banks' customers located in the Klang Valley by using convenience sampling method, and subjected to Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis. The hypothesized structural model fits the data well. The results disclose that perceived value and online banking quality have a direct and indirect effect on intention to stay, while service quality and brand image have only an indirect effect on intention to stay

Hypermarket Consumer Behavior In Malaysia

This study examines the hypermarket consumer behavior in Malaysia. This paper has developed a chart called "Retailed Loyalty Chart" based on Oliver's Four Stage Loyalty Model

Integrative Profiling of T790M-Negative EGFR-Mutated NSCLC Reveals Pervasive Lineage Transition and Therapeutic Opportunities

Purpose: Despite the established role of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in EGFR-mutated NSCLC, drug resistance inevitably ensues, with a paucity of treatment options especially in EGFRT790M-negative resistance. Experimental Design: We performed whole-exome and transcriptome analysis of 59 patients with first- and second-generation EGFR TKI-resistant metastatic EGFR-mutated NSCLC to characterize and compare molecular alterations mediating resistance in T790M-positive (T790M(+)) and -negative (T790M(-)) disease. Results: Transcriptomic analysis revealed ubiquitous loss of adenocarcinoma lineage gene expression in T790M(-) tumors, orthogonally validated using multiplex IHC. There was enrichment of genomic features such as TP53 alterations, 3q chromosomal amplifications, whole-genome doubling and nonaging mutational signatures in T790M(-) tumors. Almost half of resistant tumors were further classified as immune(hot), with clinical outcomes conditional on immune cell-infiltration state and T790M status. Finally, using a Bayesian statistical approach, we explored how T790M(-) and T790M(+) disease might be predicted using comprehensive genomic and transcriptomic profiles of treatment-naive patients. Conclusions: Our results illustrate the interplay between genetic alterations, cell lineage plasticity, and immune microenvironment in shaping divergent TKI resistance and outcome trajectories in EGFR-mutated NSCLC. Genomic and transcriptomic profiling may facilitate the design of bespoke therapeutic approaches tailored to a tumor's adaptive potential

Genomic landscape of lung adenocarcinoma in East Asians

Lung cancer is the world's leading cause of cancer death and shows strong ancestry disparities. By sequencing and assembling a large genomic and transcriptomic dataset of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) in individuals of East Asian ancestry (EAS; n = 305), we found that East Asian LUADs had more stable genomes characterized by fewer mutations and fewer copy number alterations than LUADs from individuals of European ancestry. This difference is much stronger in smokers as compared to nonsmokers. Transcriptomic clustering identified a new EAS-specific LUAD subgroup with a less complex genomic profile and upregulated immune-related genes, allowing the possibility of immunotherapy-based approaches. Integrative analysis across clinical and molecular features showed the importance of molecular phenotypes in patient prognostic stratification. EAS LUADs had better prediction accuracy than those of European ancestry, potentially due to their less complex genomic architecture. This study elucidated a comprehensive genomic landscape of EAS LUADs and highlighted important ancestry differences between the two cohorts. Genomic and transcriptomic analysis of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) in Asia indicates that Asian LUADs have fewer mutations, lower driver prevalence and fewer copy number alterations than European LUADs

Global economic burden of unmet surgical need for appendicitis

Background There is a substantial gap in provision of adequate surgical care in many low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to identify the economic burden of unmet surgical need for the common condition of appendicitis. Methods Data on the incidence of appendicitis from 170 countries and two different approaches were used to estimate numbers of patients who do not receive surgery: as a fixed proportion of the total unmet surgical need per country (approach 1); and based on country income status (approach 2). Indirect costs with current levels of access and local quality, and those if quality were at the standards of high-income countries, were estimated. A human capital approach was applied, focusing on the economic burden resulting from premature death and absenteeism. Results Excess mortality was 4185 per 100 000 cases of appendicitis using approach 1 and 3448 per 100 000 using approach 2. The economic burden of continuing current levels of access and local quality was US $92 492 million using approach 1 and$73 141 million using approach 2. The economic burden of not providing surgical care to the standards of high-income countries was $95 004 million using approach 1 and$75 666 million using approach 2. The largest share of these costs resulted from premature death (97.7 per cent) and lack of access (97.0 per cent) in contrast to lack of quality. Conclusion For a comparatively non-complex emergency condition such as appendicitis, increasing access to care should be prioritized. Although improving quality of care should not be neglected, increasing provision of care at current standards could reduce societal costs substantially