Min‐Hui Foo, Gary Douglas and Mervyn A. Jack
The purpose of this paper is to show that new technologies have significantly changed the way that customers interact with their bank. Whilst a trip down to the local branch was…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show that new technologies have significantly changed the way that customers interact with their bank. Whilst a trip down to the local branch was mandatory in the past for a customer to do their banking, all that is required now in many situations is simply to send a text message or log on to the internet. However, the idea of exploiting customer competency with new technologies to create new distribution channels has become a double‐edged sword. Although the distance between the bank and its customer is shortened in that direct contact can be established within a matter of seconds with these new technologies, the impact on the customer's perceived relationship with the brand remains an issue of strategic importance that needs to be evaluated. In order to exploit the advantages of technology, a full understanding of the factors and processes involved in the customer‐brand relationship associated with use of self‐service banking channels is necessary.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology is an empirical study using bank customers as participants, which was conducted to examine the impact of salient relationship norms on customers' perceptions of their relationship with their bank.
Findings
Based on the experiment data, the paper establishes the relevance of the concepts of communal and exchange relationship norms in the study of customer‐brand relationships in a business context.
Originality/value
The implications from the findings provide insights into the importance of relationship theory in explaining customers' perceived relationship with brands, specifically that of their bank.
Details
Keywords
Jeffrey Boon Hui Yap and Hui Min Toh
Knowledge management (KM) is crucial to ensure construction organisations effectively take advantage of existing expertise, engendering faster and more effective decision-making…
Abstract
Purpose
Knowledge management (KM) is crucial to ensure construction organisations effectively take advantage of existing expertise, engendering faster and more effective decision-making. Most importantly, it helps organisations to learn from past experiences. Despite its increasing academic attention, the implementation of KM is still relatively slow across the construction industry. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to gain a renewed understanding of the extent of KM practices in construction.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative approach using a questionnaire survey was used to prioritise the 15 critical factors and 9 enables of knowledge creation. Finally, an exploratory factor analysis is used to determine the principal elements of successful KM implementation in construction.
Findings
KM in a construction organisation is significantly influenced by knowledge sharing, collaboration, learning from mistakes, employee training and knowledge strategy. On the other hand, knowledge is created mostly through project mistakes, individual constant self-improvement, challenging barrier, review session and brainstorming discussion. With factor analysis technique, three underlying factors impacting KM practices are capacity and capability improvement, long-term commitment and innovation and synergetic working culture.
Research limitations/implications
Questionnaire survey was used as the single data collection instrument. The findings of the current study shed light on the salient issues affecting KM practices in construction but may not generalise to organisations operating in other industries.
Practical implications
These findings can support first-order KM implementation decision-making and enable the exploitation of existing knowledge assets towards achieving sustainable development and competitive advantage.
Originality/value
Effective KM practices are about finding the best ways to deliver the right knowledge to the right person at the right time, enabling informed decision-making and improving operational efficiencies. The contribution of this study is built upon the examination of the underlying factors of KM implementation; the findings provide insights into the core aspects of KM practices, facilitating managers in prioritising KM strategies that are really going to make a difference.