Eithel M. Simpson and Dayle I. Thorpe
A qualitative description of the retail manager's decision to consider global expansion is offered. A case study of a specialty store operation provides a rich idiographic…
Abstract
A qualitative description of the retail manager's decision to consider global expansion is offered. A case study of a specialty store operation provides a rich idiographic description of this phenomenon and illustrates a thematic structure inherent in the retailers' lived‐experience of global expansion. Three themes, time, doing, and differences are presented as mutually related aspects of the retailers' experience. These themes are also discussed in a holistic context consisting of three higher‐level emergent themes: constraint/freedom, adaptability/changeability, and creativity/innovativeness. The applicability of this retail manager's experience to other similar contexts is discussed.
Hayat Muhammad Awan, Khuram Shahzad Bukhari and Anam Iqbal
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the service quality and its relationship to customer satisfaction among the customers of conventional banks and Islamic banks. A…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the service quality and its relationship to customer satisfaction among the customers of conventional banks and Islamic banks. A modified SERVQUAL scale is utilized to ascertain the functional dimensions of service quality specific to the industry and service context under study. In addition, the study examines the differences in service quality satisfaction and its impact on the behavioral intentions of customers.
Design/methodology/approach
A field survey carried out with the help of a questionnaire constructed by using a modified SERVQUAL scale. Data were collected from 200 walk‐in customers conveniently drawn from three major conventional banks and three Islamic banks located in urban areas of Pakistan. Data were analyzed using the analytical hierarchy process to identify service quality and customer satisfaction‐related factors for Islamic and conventional banks.
Findings
By using factor analysis, 52 measurement items with a factor loading greater than (0.5) were identified to form five service quality dimensions namely empathy, service architecture, convenience service encounter, employee service criteria, customer focus and five customer satisfaction dimensions: responsiveness, competency, safe transaction, competitive services, knowledge for the overall banking industry explained 56 percent of the variance. Results from regression analysis of the relationship between multidimensional service quality dimensions and unidimensional customer satisfaction factors also validated the importance of service quality aspects for behavioral intentions (satisfaction, feelings) for customers from conventional banks and Islamic banks.
Originality/value
This study has practical significance for conventional and Islamic banking policy makers for understanding the behavioral intentions of their customers and using them for effectively positioning the service quality of their banks.
Details
Keywords
Carmen Barroso Castro, Enrique Martín Armario and María Elena Sánchez del Río
The present empirical study intends to address a significant topic for business management, such as the influence of market orientation (MO) on the internal and external…
Abstract
Purpose
The present empirical study intends to address a significant topic for business management, such as the influence of market orientation (MO) on the internal and external environments of an organisation. More precisely, the main objective of this paper focuses on the effect of such an orientation on employees – organisational commitment and OCBs – as well as on customers – satisfaction and perceived service quality.
Design/methodology/approach
Structural equation models are employed to analyse the data collected from the spanish retail banking sector in order to verify the hypotheses corresponding to the causal relationships proposed in our research model.
Findings
The results achieved in this research represent significant contributions both from a theoretical perspective as well as for management in the service industry. From a theoretical perspective, these findings reinforce the research position stressing the role of the employees in the MO relationship and the operational level of the business incorporating new evidence into this emerging field of study.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations of the study can account for the anomalous relationships that have been identified. First, the cross‐sectional nature of the study could have been an obstacle to revealing short‐term answers. In addition, the empirical study focused on one particular case in the service industry – banking – hindered the generalization of results.
Originality/value
Provides further research on the role of market orientation as a major source of achieving sustainable competitive advantage.