Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management

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    The influence of e-service quality on customer perceived value, customer satisfaction and loyalty in south africa
    (2014) Chinomona, R; Masinge, G; Sandada, M
    While researches on online shopping behaviour have been steadily increasing, they seem to be a paucity of studies that investigate the importance of E-service quality; customer perceived value and customer satisfaction that result in customer loyalty in online shopping perspective. The present research is an attempt to fill this gap by examining the relative influence of three antecedents of customer loyalty — e-service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer perceived value on consumer online shopping behaviour, using a sample of consumers in Gauteng Province of South Africa. The central argument of this paper is that online shopping behavior can be understood from the strength of loyalty outcomes. Six hypotheses are posited and in order to empirically test these hypotheses, a sample data set of 150 was used. Three hypotheses were supported while three (H1,H2 and H5) was rejected. Drawing from the study findings, this study provide tentative empirical support that online shopping behaviour can be influenced by e-service quality, customer satisfaction, loyalty and perceived value outcomes in Africa - a context that is often less researched on.
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    Factors that influence customer loyalty in the short term insurance industry in South Africa
    (2012-10-04) Parbhoo, Nikesh Harish
    Customer loyalty is a key driver of customer retention, retaining market share, increasing profitability and decreasing both customer acquisition and customer retention costs in any business. The South African short term insurance players face many challenges such as increased competition from non-traditional insurers, increased customer sophistication, and a move away from the traditional broker model of selling. Customer retention has become more difficult than ever. This study fills the gap in the research with regards to the drivers of customer loyalty, specifically within the short term insurance industry in South Africa. This study identifies the loyalty measure types that describe customer loyalty, and the various customer clusters that exemplify the identified loyalty factors. It also establishes whether customer rewards programs have any influence on customer loyalty. A quantitative research approach was followed. A questionnaire using a 7-point Likert scale was developed and piloted. The final questionnaire was administered on a sample set of 194 respondents, based mainly in Johannesburg. The results were subject to an exploratory factor analysis to determine the loyalty factors, a cluster analysis to determine the relevant customer clusters, and a T-test to determine if loyalty reward programs have any influence on the identified loyalty factors. 3 customer loyalty factors emerged: price, brand loyalty and brand promotion. Furthermore, four customer cluster types emerged: the brand savvy cluster that is very brand aware; the price sensitive cluster that will defect on premium increases; the ‘problem childs’ cluster that has a high propensity to complain and not defect; and the loyal cluster that is the most price insensitive but also will not easily brand switch nor will they bad-mouth their insurance company. Another key insight has been that loyalty reward programs do not have any influence on the 3 loyalty factors. Recommendations are provided to executives and management to improve customer loyalty
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    The relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty in South African grocery stores
    (2011-06-15) Simpson, Cade
    The South African economy has, over the last 18 months, experienced severe change. The good times have been replaced with bad. The once buoyant consumer riding the crest of the wave and with an unquenchable appetite for debt, who revelled in the trappings of what money could buy, is long gone. In his or her place is a consumer riddled with debt, fighting for survival on the edge of the precipice, with only a teetering world economy for comfort. Liquidation auctions and notices of execution have become the weekly norm, with many people struggling to keep their ahead above water and living from one day to the next in hope. There can be no doubt that, in the current market conditions, for a retailer to develop customer satisfaction and/or loyalty is of paramount importance, given the proven repeat purchasing behaviour associated within these two constructs. With this in mind then, the research sets out to determine what the dimensions of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty are and, having identified these, whether there is a correlation which exists between these two constructs. The research was conducted by means of a survey, with 249 questionnaires being completed. The data was then analysed by way of exploratory Factor Analysis and Interdependence Factor Analysis. Two factors were found from the exploratory Factor Analysis on customer satisfaction. These were termed ―Value-Based Retailing” and “Service-Based Retailing”. A limited number of dimensions related to customer satisfaction either did not load or loaded partially on the final two factors, and as a result the research proposition related to customer satisfaction was partially accepted. A single factor was found from the exploratory Factor Analysis on customer loyalty; this was termed ―New Age Loyalty”. As a result of two dimensions related to customer loyalty being excluded from the final factor solution, namely the patrons‘ ―propensity to switch‖ and the patrons‘ ―complaint behaviour‖, the research proposition was also partially accepted. ii Interdependence Factor Analysis was performed in order to determine what, if any, correlations exist between the dimensions of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Three factors were found which can describe the correlations between these two constructs namely, “Physical Store Attributes versus Spurious Bond”, “Convenient Value versus Attitudinal Bond”, and "Consumption Behaviours versus Emotional Bond", accordingly the research proposition was accepted. In addition a fourth factor, ―No Bond” is proposed by the researcher based on work done by Dick and Basu (1994). The findings further indicate that there are a number of dimensions of both customer satisfaction and loyalty which the retailer can, in fact, influence. In so doing retailers are able to play a pivotal role in shaping patronage behaviours as manifested in differing forms and strengths of loyalty. These differing forms and strengths of loyalty are largely determined by the nature of the competitive landscape in which the retailer operates and the value proposition offered by the retailer. The development of an ―emotional bond‖ or an ―attitudinal bond‖ with the store ultimately leads to repeat purchasing by the store‘s patrons and wealth creation for the retailer, whilst the development of a ―spurious bond‖ or ―no bond‖ only serves to increase retailer costs, and results in eventual switching by the store patron. It is evident from the research that the constructs of both customer satisfaction and loyalty are evolving over time. This was most noticeable in the dimensions of each construct which were not included in the final solutions, although they were apparent in the literature review and other research. It is therefore pertinent to highlight that the customer satisfaction and loyalty dimensions, and any association between the two, are as much a function of the competitive landscape in which the retailer operates and value offered by the retailer, as they are a function of time and with the passing of time, they will change
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    CUSTOMER LOYALTY IN SMALL BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS
    (2011-06-07) Penfold, Walter Thomas
    The high costs of attracting new customers has made customer loyalty the focus of many leading companies. Small businesses that operate in the business-to-business market often rely on relatively fewer customers than larger businesses. The loss of only a few customers can have a severe impact on profitability. This makes the issue of customer loyalty even more important to small business than institutionalised business. The purpose of this research has been to determine the perceptions associated with customer loyalty in small business-to-business relationships. The main findings of the research were that small business owners have a positive attitude toward loyalty and intent to remain loyal to their small business suppliers. They believe there are number of positive outcomes associated with loyalty and that these outcomes are important to their business. Loyal customers will spread positive word of mouth and refer new customers to the supplier