Evelyn Winston

Market orientation of Nigerian and Kenyan firms: the role of top managers

In this article, the authors examine the incidence of market orientation of Nigerian and Kenyan firms by focusing on the role of top managers. It is argued that top management’s emphasis on market orientation provides insight into how marginal conditions impact on the applicability of market orientation philosophy in sub‐Saharan African countries. The results suggest that although the level of top management’s emphasis on market orientation is only marginal in these countries, it is likely to increase with the perceived level of competition, the prevalence of a buyer’s market environment and the privatization of the firm. In addition, top managers’ emphasis on market orientation has the strongest influence on the development of market orientation after the presence of international firms and private firms. The results also suggest the importance of understanding the role of top managers in the development of market orientation in Nigeria, Kenya, and other sub‐Saharan African countries.

Organizational Culture, Competitive Strategy, and Performance in Ghana

The influence of competitive strategy on the organizational culture and performance relationship in Ghana is examined in this study using structural equation modeling. Results suggest evidence of both direct and indirect effects of organizational culture on firm performance. Firms with a predominantly clan or market culture were more likely to be directly associated with performance, whereas firms with adhocracy or hierarchy cultures were more likely to be indirectly associated with performance, depending on their alignment with a differentiation strategy or cost leadership strategy. However, only the link with differentiation strategy resulted in market performance. Managerial and theoretical implications are discussed.

The effects of normative social belief systems and customer satisfaction on rural savings programs in Ghana

This study examines the effects of normative social beliefs, customer satisfaction with service quality and demographic variables on the long‐term savings behavior of rural households some 15 years after the 1981 large‐scale promotion of the rural bank program in Ghana. The results show that considerations of these influences beyond income alone provide stronger predictive power, over and above that of income. In addition, it appears that the negative effects of social beliefs on savings behavior were ameliorated significantly as a result of the promotional program. Similarly, customer satisfaction with the level of service quality was also positively correlated with the level of savings. However, the effects of the marketing approach used in Ghana differed significantly across state owned commercial banks, foreign multinational banks, and rural banks. The implications for enhancing the role of promotional marketing in changing savings attitudes in rural savings mobilization programs in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa are discussed.

Which UGC features drive web purchase intent? A spike-and-slab Bayesian Variable Selection Approach

– The purpose of this paper is to identify user-generated content (UGC) features that determine web purchase decision making. , – The authors embed a spike-and-slab Bayesian variable selection mechanism into a logistic regression model to identify the UGC features that are critical to web purchase intent. This enables us to make a highly reliable analysis of survey data. , – The results indicate that the web purchase decision is driven by the relevance, up-to-dateness and credibility of the UGC information content. , – The results show that the characteristics of UGC are seen as positive and the medium enables consumers to sort information and concentrate on aspects of the message that are similar to traditional word-of-mouth (WOM). One important implication is the relative importance of credibility which has been previously hypothesized to be lower in the electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) context. The results show that consumers consider credibility important as the improved technology provides more possibilities to find out about that factor. A limitation is that the data are not fully representative of the general population but our Bayesian method gives us high analytical quality. , – The study shows that UGC impacts consumer online purchase intentions. Marketers should understand the wide range of media that provide UGC and they should concentrate on the relevance, up-to-dateness and credibility of product information that they provide. , – The analytical quality of the spike- and- slab Bayesian method suggests a new way of understanding the impact of aspects of UGC on consumers.

Financial Intermediation in an African Setting: Performance Differences Between Domestic and Multinational Banks in Ghana

ABSTRACT This paper analyzes whether multinational, domestic national and domestic rural banks are perceived differently by consumers in a developing economy-Ghana. The paper investigates the critical determinants of consumer perceived product and service quality for each type of institution in the Ghana banking industry. The evidence shows variation in bank quality in the sense that multinational banks are perceived more positively than both types of domestic banks on the dimensions of transactional and relational customer service, but they are viewed more negatively for benefits advertised in promotions and interest rate on savings accounts. Unexpectantly, multinational banks have a competitive advantage with respect to both technology and human relationship management. Their competitive advantage enables multinational banks to pay lower interest rates on deposits.

Loan delinquency among small business owners in Ghana: the importance of gender to the lending process

The article identifies systematic differences in commercial lending default rates and payment delinquency between firms that are operated by women and men in Ghana. Logistic and Tobit analyses that measure the incidence of loan default and months in arrears are estimated for a sample of 2039 entrepreneurial firms, of which 31% are female owned. The results indicate that single college educated women manage their loan accounts more prudently than both men in general and married women. Other opportunities and challenges faced by women business owners in Ghana are discussed.

How Firms Implement Marketing Strategies in Emerging Markets: An Empirical Assessment of The 4A Marketing Mix Framework

This study evaluates the applicability of the 4As marketing mix activities (i.e., affordability, accessibility, acceptability, and awareness) in emerging market conditions, using Ghana as the empirical context. Two-thirds of firms in the sample report medium-to-high use of all the 4As. Only affordability and accessibility marketing mix activities lead to market share performance (demand aggregation advantage), while all 4A activities lead to financial performance. Further, the regulatory environment moderates the relationship between affordability and market share performance. Thus, the study results suggest that emerging markets firms emphasize different components of the 4A marketing mix for optimal effectiveness.

Competing with Marketing Channels and Logistics in Africa's Booming Markets: An Investigation of Emerging Supply Chain Management Practices in Ghana

Using Ghana as the African context for testing the applicability of supply chain management, this study reveals that firms there place less emphasis on logistics and channels management practices relative to product and pricing marketing mix elements. However, this situation is changing in response to the perceived positive impact of the regulatory and technological environment on market-share competitive performance. Those firms that emphasize integration of both logistics and channels management practices exhibited the strongest competitive market-share and financial performance; firms whose practices placed moderate emphasis on both logistics and channels management integration reported moderate levels of market-share and financial performance. These results suggest that firms in Ghana compete along a continuum of supply chain integration primarily on the basis of the increasingly market-oriented business environment.