What Drives Individual Investors to Invest in Mutual Funds in a Developing Economy

Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate factors that influence investment in mutual funds by individual investors in a developing economy. Drawing insights from the theory of planned behaviour, the study identified and tested the effect of awareness, attitude, financial literacy and preference for other competing investments on intention to invest in mutual funds by individual investors. Design/Methodology/Approach: Data was collected from 280 respondents in Zambia. Data was analysed using correlations and hierarchical regression models. Findings: The study reveals that awareness and attitude towards mutual funds significantly influence intention to invest in mutual funds. Surprisingly, financial literacy and preference for other investments do not significantly affect an individual investor’s intention to invest in mutual funds. Implications/Originality/Value: This study contributes to the financial services marketing literature by increasing understanding of individual investors’ investment decisions and drivers that influence intention to invest in mutual funds in Zambia. The study recommends that mutual funds marketers should invest more in building awareness and positive attitude towards investment in mutual funds in order to develop retail demand. Also, investment companies and financial services marketing policy makers should carefully consider their financial literacy programmes as the study reveals that financial literacy and competing investments are not significant drivers.

Financial marketing as a tool for customer loyalty in national banking

This research studies financial marketing as a tool for customer loyalty in national banking, conducting a bibliographic review that reveals the importance of these elements, since its main purpose is to propose strategies that allow not only the positioning of the brands, but to attract customers to offer the multiple services that a bank can offer. The results support the facts and allowed the verification of the hypothesis, highlighting that financial marketing is known andapplied by most banking institutions and that this marketing is centralized to launch general strategies applicable throughout the Ecuadorian territory, loyalty is managed by the same departments as they go hand in hand with customer service, services offered, benefits, among other motivations. Keywords: Marketing, Financial Marketing, Loyalty, Clients, National Banking. References [1]J. Madura, «Marheting Financiero y Empresas,» Florida Atlantic University, p. 253, 2021. [2]A. Bouzada, «Respuesta de los bancos locales a la caída de las tasas internacionales a partir del año 2008,» Universidadde la República de Uruguay, 2020. [3]O. Mehecha, «Estrategias competitivas de marketing financiero en el sector bancario: Percepción del cliente,» RevistaVenezolana de Gerencia, vol. 24, nº 88, 2019. [4]E. Núñez, «El Marketing Financiero: Evolución de las entidades Bancarias,» Organización de Empresas, Marketingy Sociología, 2015. [5]C. Rodríguez, «Análisis De Las Estrategias De Fidelización Como Apoyo A Las Principales Entidades PrestadorasDe Servicios Financieros En Colombia,» Universidad Militar de Nueva Granada, p. 20, 2017. [6]V. Mesén, «Fidelización de clientes: concepto y perspectiva contable,» Tec Empresarial, 2017. [7]C. Mertzanis, «Marketing Financial Services and Products in Different Cultural Environments,» Risk and ContingencyManagement, Enero 2017. [8]D. Bapat, «Marketing of Financial Services,» Biztantra Publications, Agodto 2014. [9]A. Meidan, «Marketing Financial Services,» Sheffield University, Management SchoolUK, 1996. [10]E. Ehrlich and D. Fanelli, «The Financial Services Marketing Handbook,» John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NewJersey, 2012. [11]A. Ahmad and N. Raja, «Determinants of Customer Loyalty: A Review and Future Directions,» Australian Journal ofBasic and Applied Sciences , Julio 2018.

Developing corporate social responsibility in financial services

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to contribute to the theory and practice of financial services marketing in sub-Saharan Africa (sSA) by investigating how financial service providers are developing corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices, in particular, seeking to uncover the involvement of stakeholders.Design/methodology/approachFollowing an interpretivist approach, the study uncovers fresh and context-rich insights through an analysis of a multiple case study consisting of retail banks in Ghana. Data consist of semi-structured interviews with senior managers and analysis of documents and archives.FindingsThe study uncovers three key CSR practices practised by the retail banks: giving, community and corporate reputation/brand with which their stakeholders are only to some extent involved. Banks not as yet drawing extensively on stakeholder resources for CSR practices.Research limitations/implicationsThe study uses an inductive and in-depth approach to explore contextual insights into CSR, but with subsequent limitations on how far the findings can be extended.Practical implicationsThe study offers outline for financial services marketing involving stakeholders in CSR.Social implicationsIt discovers that banks acquire social capital through their CSR activities in the community.Originality/valueThe study contributes to financial services marketing theory and practice through an evidence-based framework uncovering the development of CSR through practices that as yet draw on stakeholder resources to a limited extent. Research suggests that CSR practices are dynamic and subject to a range of situational conditions.

A SERVQUAL approach to identifying the influences of service quality on leasing market segment in the German financial sector

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine the nature of the relationship between service quality and desired customer behaviours in the leasing market using an appropriate service quality measurement model. The authors take a step further by recognising the possible differences in influence of service quality in private and corporate customers, and those business dealings with low, medium and high lease values. Design/methodology/approach The authors use deduction method to test the SERVQUAL in the German leasing market and the relationship between customer satisfaction and desired behavioural outcomes. The developed questionnaire is based on the 22-item scale of the SERVQUAL approach. Samples are selected based on convenience sampling. Findings The authors found differences in the levels of influence by SERVQUAL dimensions on corporate and private customers as well as among those customers with different leasing contract values. From the regression analyses, it is clear that “assurance” from the leasing company is the most common SERVQUAL dimension that has significant impact on overall service quality perceptions and obtaining customers satisfaction and loyalty (behavioural outcomes). Originality/value The authors recognised that all financial services are not created equally to meet customer demands. Hence, the customer expectations of service quality from these services will be different. The authors contributed to the marketing literature by studying customer perceptions of service quality by specifying financing aspects of financial services, i.e. leasing. The authors further contributed to the literature of SERVQUAL model in financial services by dividing customers into two different types of customers and those with diverse leasing contract values. The authors found that priorities given on service quality dimensions by them are different. These concepts were never considered in the literature. This also implies that future studies on financial services marketing need to recognise such differences in the research.