Bedman Narteh

Knowledge transfer in developed‐developing country interfirm collaborations: a conceptual framework

Purpose – The aim of the paper is to explore the theoretical underpinnings of knowledge transfer within developed‐developing country based interfirm collaborations and to develop a theoretical model on knowledge transfer in interfirm collaborations.Design/ methodology/approach – The vast literature on knowledge transfer in interfirm collaborations has been reviewed. A synthesis of this prior research has resulted in a theoretical model on knowledge transfer, especially between developed‐developing country based firms.Findings – The reviews have resulted in the conceptual framework proposed here. The model distinguishes the sources of knowledge to be transferred and the antecedents to the knowledge transfer from the transfer process. Tentative propositions are also developed that could be explored during empirical investigations.Originality/value – The framework presented provides a deeper understanding of the characteristics of transferors and transferees as well as their interaction and how these influen...

Relationship Marketing and Customer Loyalty: Evidence From the Ghanaian Luxury Hotel Industry

The study reports the impact of relationship marketing on customer loyalty in the luxury and first-class hotel industry. A questionnaire derived from the literature review was completed by 300 customers of luxury and first-class hotels in Ghana. Descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and multiple regression were used to test the impact of six key relationship marketing practices, namely competence, commitment, conflict handling, trust, communication, and relational bonds on customer loyalty. The findings suggest that all six relationship-marketing practices have a significant and positive effect on customer loyalty in the hotel industry in Ghana. Apart from extending knowledge on relationship marketing practices into a domain without much empirical work, the study also provides hotel managers with practical ways of implementing relationship-marketing strategies for achieving customer loyalty in Ghana.

Service quality in automated teller machines: an empirical investigation

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to identify the dimensions of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) service quality and to evaluate customers’ perceptions of the relative importance of these dimensions.Design/methods/approach – A structured questionnaire gleaned from the literature and focused group studies was used to collect data from 530 ATM customers of 15 banks in Ghana. Descriptive statistics, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, as well as multiple regression, were used to identify the relative importance of the dimensions of ATM service quality.Findings – The paper identified five dimensions of the “ATMqual” model. In order of importance, these dimensions are reliability, convenience, responsiveness, ease of use and fulfillment.Practical implications – The variables of the ATMqual scale provide practical levers for bank managers to improve customer experience with ATMs. The relative importance of the factors identified in the study also provide managers with a guide as to which issues to focu...

SME bank selection and patronage behaviour in the Ghanaian banking industry

Purpose - – The paper aims to investigate small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) bank selection and patronage behaviour in the Ghanaian banking sector. Design/methodology/approach - – A detailed literature review was used to identify five determinants of bank selection and other patronage factors which were used to survey 503 SMEs randomly selected from the data base of the National Board for Small Scale Industries in Ghana. Exploratory factor analysis, multiple regression and correlation analysis were used for the data analysis. Findings - – The study found price competitiveness, credit availability, perceived service quality, staff attributes and bank attributes as determinants of SME bank selection. In addition, loans and overdrafts, cash collection, transfers, bank guarantees, advisory services and training were among the core services patronized by the SMEs. Practical implications - – The study highlights the importance of factors considered important to the SME bank selection and patronage behaviour. It thus provides practical leverage to banks on how to attract, serve and retain SMEs in Ghana. Originality/value - – The study is the first of its kind that investigated both bank selection and patronage behaviour at the same time and provides important insight for banks on how to attract, satisfy and manage SMEs. It also makes a major contribution to the literature on SME banking behaviour especially in a sub-Saharan Africa and responds to the recent call for more studies on SME practices in emerging economies.

Determinants of students’ loyalty in the Ghanaian banking industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of students’ loyalty in retail banks in Ghana.Design/methodology/approach – A review of the literature identified four determinants of customer loyalty which were used to survey 624 students from five universities in Ghana. Data were analysed using exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression.Findings – The study found satisfaction with bank services, image of the bank, availability of electronic bank services and perceived service quality as the determinants of students’ bank loyalty. Perceived service quality was, however, not significant in predicting students’ loyalty to their banks.Practical implications – The study highlights the importance of understanding students’ behavior with regard to banking services. The three factors identified as significant predictors of students’ loyalty could be used by retail banks to design effective marketing strategies to attract and retain the student cohort in Ghana.Originality/value – T...

Perceived service quality and satisfaction of self-service technology

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose and investigate the dimensions of automated teller machine (ATM) service quality and their relationship with customer satisfaction in the retail banking sector. Design/methodology/approach – A structured questionnaire gleaned from the literature was used to collect data from 530 ATM customers of 15 banks in Ghana. Descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis were used to identify the dimensions of ATM service quality and their relationship with customer satisfaction. Findings – The study found convenience, reliability, ease of use, privacy and security, responsiveness and fulfillment to be the major dimensions of ATM service quality. Apart from security and privacy, these dimensions are significantly related to customer satisfaction. Practical implications – The ATM quality dimensions found in this study provide practical guidelines for bank managers to improve customer experience with ATMs. The relative importance of the factors identified in the ...

Network ties and survival: A study of small commercial poultry farms in Ghana

Poultry farming has been touted as one of the major ways by which poverty can be reduced in low-income economies like Ghana. Yet, anecdotally there is a high failure rate among these poultry farms. This current study seeks to understand the relationship between network ties and survival chances of small commercial poultry farms (SCPFs). We utilize data from a 2-year network survey of SCPFs in rural Ghana. The survival of these poultry farms are modelled using a lagged probit model of farms that persisted from 2014 into 2015. We find that network ties are important to the survival chances of the SCPFs in Ghana. Distribution ties are associated with negative survival chances and this is not even reversed if the human capital of the owner increases although managers with higher human capital and higher distribution ties experience positive effects. Industry ties are associated with positive ties but this probability reduces as the number of industry ties increases but moderation with dynamic capability of the firm reverses this trend. Our findings show that not all network ties aid survival and therefore small commercial poultry farmers need to be circumspect in the network ties they cultivate and develop.

Does Internal Marketing Influence Employee Loyalty? Evidence From the Ghanaian Banking Industry

Even though internal marketing has been a buzzword for over 25 years now, most of the literature has largely remained theoretical and few empirical studies, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, exist. Moreover, the relationship between internal marketing and employee loyalty has been underresearched. The current study explores the relationship between internal communication, reward systems, empowerment, organizational culture, training, and organizational commitment and their relationship with employee loyalty using 248 retail bank staff members. The results indicate that the internal marketing dimensions, with the exception of organizational culture, are significantly associated with employee loyalty. Managerial implications are also discussed.

Knowledge transfer and performance in Danish-Ghanaian strategic alliances

Although knowledge transfer within international strategic alliances has attracted plenty of scholarly attention, there is a paucity of research about the knowledge transfer process, the type of knowledge transferred, and the impact of the transferred knowledge on alliance performance, especially within developed?developing country-based strategic alliances. Using a knowledge transfer and performance model, this paper investigates how Danish companies transfer knowledge to their Ghanaian counterparts, the type of knowledge transferred, and the impact of the transferred knowledge on the performance of the alliances. The study adopted a multiple case study approach and collected data through personal interviews. The study found that Danish partners transferred mostly technical or coded knowledge through on-the-job training, a method unsuitable for transferring tacit or management knowledge. Moreover, the transferred knowledge did not positively impact the performance of most of the alliances. The paper highlights the implications of the findings for managing knowledge transfer in alliances.

Factors influencing consumer loyalty towards 3G mobile data service providers: evidence from Ghana

With the mobile industry dramatically scaling over the last decade, this paper provides an empirical service and marketing model on the determinants of customers’ decision to stay loyal to their 3G mobile data service (MDS) providers in an emerging market in sub-Saharan Africa. The introduction of fourth-generation MDS into the Ghanaian telecommunications industry has brought intense competition among industry players. As a result, we examined factors that influence 3G customers’ loyalty towards their service provider in an emerging market using data collected from 235 third-generation MDS users. Findings from our partial least square – structural equation modelling analysis indicated that the effects of service quality on trust and satisfaction were significant, subsequently impacting loyalty. Interestingly, our results showed a significant effect of corporate image on trust, but not on satisfaction and loyalty. Our results should help MDS providers by improving strategies on customer retention and loyalty in order increase their market share and profitability.