Factors effecting customer satisfaction of mobile banking in Bangladesh: a study on young users' perspective

PurposeIn Bangladesh, the banking companies have huge opportunity to capture market share by properly understanding the critical aspect of customer satisfaction. This paper mainly focuses on young generation as target group to find out their differential perception. This study aims to identify most influencing factors and determine their influencing power on young customer's satisfaction and retention in mobile banking.Design/methodology/approachIt is a quantitative research with self-administered questionnaire as primary data collection instrument. Existing literature and published articles are reviewed as secondary data for hypothesis development. Out of 300 questionnaires, 279 usable questionnaires were returned and these collected data were analyzed by partial least square-structural equation model (PLS-SEM) with the use of Smart_PLS (V 327) to validate the model and test the hypothesis.FindingsThe findings of the research revealed that expense, responsiveness and relative advantage have significant influence while security and convenience have insignificant influence on satisfaction. But they are not directly related with loyalty although satisfaction and loyalty strongly related with each other.Originality/valueAlthough mobile banking is not a new issue in Bangladesh, the use of PLS_SEM to measure young user's satisfaction as the customer of mobile banking is not available in literature. So, this paper is an attempt to fill up this gap. In spite of having some limitation the research provides some practical implication for banks with better strategic insight to design mobile banking services to yield higher customer satisfaction.

Product placement by social media homefluencers during new normal

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to analyze how product placement through social media influencers (SMIs) during “new normal” can generate user-generated content (UGC) and determine the manners of product placement by SMIs who have become “homefluencers” by their skills.Design/methodology/approachThis research applies a qualitative approach of thematic content analysis of a total of 49 micro and nano-homefluencer's contents in beauty fashion, clothing, workout-yoga, food and lifestyle sectors on Instagram.FindingsThe findings of this study identify the main five themes of homefluencers by analyzing UGC in the new normal portraying both positive and negative comments incorporating four manners of product placement as a framework backed by two identified skills: relevance and relationship.Research limitations/implicationsThis research pioneers the study on how SMIs as “homefluencers” can adapt product placement skills in crises strengthening UGC by proposing a framework in the existing influencer marketing literature, where research is scarce.Practical implicationsThe findings of this research represent a guideline for effective SMI marketing development in the new normal and post-COVID. Based on the findings, recommendations are provided for the brand managers and influencers uplifting UGC blending skill of relevancy and relationship in product placement.Originality/valueThe author has contributed to the body of research by qualitatively analyzing how “homefluencer's” product placement in a crisis period can manage consistency and humanitarian association amplifying UGC and the practical implications in post-COVID.

Emergence of children as influencers in family consumption decisions – a resource theory approach

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the perception of parents regarding the role of children as influencers in family consumption decisions in India. The purpose is to support marketing practitioners in understanding the stages of children's influence in the family using the theoretical perspective of the resource theory approach.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on a Web survey approach. Primary data were obtained from a sample of 180 mothers of adolescent children in the age group of 13–18 years and residing in rural and urban areas of Delhi (India) by administering a bilingual (Hindi/English) pre-tested “structured non-disguised” questionnaire designed on the Google Forms.FindingsThe findings that emerged from this study and as supported by the relative theory approach revealed that Indian parents perceive their children to exert a significant influence in family buying decisions, children's influence varies across stages of the decision-making process and the type of product and children's influence in family buying decisions is moderated by family structure but not by family size. The results of this study extend interesting and practical implications for marketing practitioners in India and by extension in other similar countries while designing and implementing marketing mix strategies in respect of goods and services meant for children/family consumption.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings that emerged from this study and as supported by the relative theory approach revealed that Indian parents perceive their children to exert significant influence in family buying decisions, children's influence varies across stages of the decision-making process and the type of product, and children's influence in family buying decisions is moderated by family structure but not by family size. Results of this study extend interesting and practical implications for marketing practitioners in India and by extension in other similar countries while designing and implementing marketing mix strategies in respect of goods and services meant for children/family consumption.Practical implicationsThe results of this study support the notion that children exert considerable influence in family buying decisions in India across products, hence constitute a viable target market for different products consumed not only by them but by other family members as well. It is, therefore, vital that marketers wishing to penetrate family and/or child product markets must identify the person in the family who is likely to be more involved in the buying process and the extent of his involvement to carve effective promotional strategies.Social implicationsThe finding that although Indian children are actively participating across various stages of the decision-making process and their influence is strongest at the purchase initiation stage has peculiar social implications whereby families may be exposed toward eco-friendly green products and sustainable ways of living through the children in rural as well as urban areas. Similarly, children were also found to be influential at the information search and evaluation stage; hence, the messages regarding social issues, gender equality and health issues, which are not yet openly discussed in Indian families, may be imparted through children for better coverage and effectiveness.Originality/valueChildren are an important part of the family; especially in the nuclear families, children are an apple of eye and central point of the discussion. The role of children in decision-making is also important because of the changing information system and modernization of the younger generation. This is an empirical study focusing on the areas not yet explored and examined in the context of a culturally distinct and emerging country in terms of the emergence of children as influencers in family consumption decisions in rural and urban Indian families.

The role of personality traits in promoting customer citizenship behaviour: special reference to the homestay tourism context in Sri Lanka

PurposeThis study aims to explore customer personality traits as an antecedent of customer citizenship behaviour which positively facilitates service providers.Design/methodology/approachThis study follows the positivism research paradigm. Hence, primary data were collected from 250 homestay visitors who stayed at five selected homestays located at Mirissa homestay zone, Sri Lanka.FindingsThe present study's findings reveal that “agreeableness,” “extraversion” and “conscientiousness” personality traits promote customer citizenship behaviour. Furthermore, the openness to “experience” trait identified to have a statistically insignificant relationship with CCB and neuroticism recorded a positive impact on the relationship between CCB and personality, contrary to the existing literature.Practical implicationsThis study comprehensively explains how service providers should arrange their service facilities to increase customer willingness to perform citizenship behaviour, which helps develop their services.Originality/valuePrevious research has investigated that customer personality in terms of prosocial and proactive nature impacts CCBs. In contrast, the effect of Big Five personality traits on CCB is highlighted in this study.

Impacts of Binge-Watching on Netflix during the COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to dive into various binge-watching habits of Netflix users amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Consumers find themselves amidst the COVID-19 lockdown with more free time to indulge in these viewing habits. This study investigates motivational factors, amount of media consumption and negative attributes associated with binge-watching on Netflix during the COVID-19 outbreak.Design/methodology/approachThis study has employed an exploratory research design and obtained primary data via an online survey using a semistructured questionnaire. Convenience sampling has been used to choose a sample (n = 105) of Netflix binge-watchers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both sample selection and survey administration have been done through social media messaging services owing to the COVID-19 lockdown measures.FindingsThe results indicate that most of the respondents use smartphones for binge-watching on Netflix. Moreover, they have expressed that a wide range of shows available on Netflix incline them to engage in marathon viewing. However, the respondents spend just over 70 h per month binge-watching on Netflix. Finally, the majority of respondents have flagged “one more episode” syndrome as the most challenging aspect of being marathon viewers on Netflix during the COVID-19 pandemic.Originality/valueThis is one of the few papers to exclusively focus on the impacts of binge-watching on Netflix during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings will originate the value with novelty and important implications to the Netflix consumers, telecom service providers and payment gateways.

Contamination by citations: references to predatory journals in the peer-reviewed marketing literature

PurposePredatory publishing is a growing and global issue infecting all scientific domains. Predatory publishers create counterfeit, not (properly) peer-reviewed journals to exploit the open access (OA) model in which the author pays. The plethora of predatory marketing journals along with the sophisticated deceptive practices of their publishers may create total confusion. One of the many highly likely risks of that bewilderment is when peer-reviewed, prestigious marketing journals cite these pseudo-marketing journals. This phenomenon is called citation contamination. This study aims to investigate the extent of citation contamination in the peer-reviewed marketing literature.Design/methodology/approachUsing Google Scholar as a citation gathering tool, this study investigates references to four predatory marketing journals in 68 peer-reviewed marketing journals listed in the 2018 version of the Academic Journal Guide by the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABSs).FindingsResults indicate that 59 of the 68 CABS-ranked peer-reviewed marketing journals were, up to late January 2021, contaminated by at least one of the four sampled predatory journals. Together, these four pseudo-journals received (at least) 605 citations. Findings from nonparametric statistical procedures show that citation contamination occurred irrespective of the age of a journal or its 2019 Journal Impact Factor (JIF). They also point out that citation contamination happened independently from the fact that a journal is recognized by Clarivate Analytics or not.Research limitations/implicationsThis study investigated citations to only four predatory marketing journals in only 68 CABS-listed peer-reviewed marketing journals.Practical implicationsThese findings should sound an alarm to the entire marketing community (including academics and practitioners). To counteract citation contamination, recommendations are provided for researchers, practitioners, journal editors and academic and professional associations.Originality/valueThis study is the first to offer a systematic assessment of references to predatory journals in the peer-reviewed marketing literature.

Users' attitude and intention to use mobile financial services in Bangladesh: an empirical study

PurposeWhile the usage of mobile financial services (MFSs) is increasing rapidly in developing countries, research on users' attitudes and behavioral intention to adopt MFS is limited. Thus, this study aims to investigate customers' attitudes and intentions to adopt MFS from a Bangladeshi perspective.Design/methodology/approachA mixed research design was employed to conduct this study. Data of 196 respondents were analyzed using partial least squares (PLS) path modeling. For the quantitative part, data collection was conducted using non-probability sampling through a structured survey questionnaire. A focus group discussion with ten MFS users from divergent backgrounds was conducted to validate the quantitative findings.FindingsThis paper integrated both the technology acceptance model (TAM) and innovation resistance theory (IRT) to validate the results. The authors found that perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived trust (PT) positively contribute to customers' attitudes toward MFS adoption. Besides, barriers to acceptance had unfavorable effects on users' attitudes and usage intentions. Furthermore, a focus group discussion revealed valuable insights on the constructs used in this study.Practical implicationsThe study results have implications for both MFS providers and researchers. The outputs and recommendations presented in this paper will encourage the MFS practitioners to stimulate users' attitudes and behavioral intentions by ensuring useful, easy to use, credible and risk-free mobile payment platforms.Originality/valueThis is one of the very few studies in Bangladesh that have taken a contemporary and emerging research topic, providing theoretical, methodological and practical contributions regarding the determinants and consequences of attitude toward using MFSs.

Trust and product as moderators in online shopping behavior: evidence from India

PurposeThe present study is aimed at examining the antecedents of online shopping user behavior and customer satisfaction. More specifically, (1) the effect of social influence, variety seeking behavior, advertising and convenience on user behavior, and (2) the effect of user behavior on customer satisfaction are examined.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual model is developed and tested after verifying the psychometric properties of the survey instrument. Data were collected from 556 respondents from three major cities (Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore) in the southern part of India using structured instrument. Hierarchical regression is performed. Measurement model was checked using structural equation modeling (Lisrel package).FindingsThe results reveal that (1) social influence, (2) variety seeking, (3) advertising, (4) convenience, (5) trust and (6) product factors were positively related to online user behavior. Results also show that user behavior is significantly and positively related to customer satisfaction. The hierarchical regression results also showed moderating effects of (1) trust in the relationship between social influence, variety seeking and user behavior, and (2) product factors in the relationship between advertising, convenience and user behavior. Finally, results suggest that user behavior is partially mediating the relationship between trust and customer satisfaction, i.e. trust has both direct and indirect effect on customer satisfaction.Research limitations/implicationsAs with any survey-based research, the present study suffers from the problems associated with self-report measures viz., common method bias and social desirability bias. However, the authors attempted to minimize these limitations by following appropriate statistical techniques.Practical implicationsThis study contributes to both practicing managers and the literature on advertising. The study suggests that trust and product play a major role in strengthening the relationship between antecedents and user behavior.Originality/valueThis study provides new insights about the importance of gaining trust in influencing consumer behavior. The conceptual model the authors developed is novel in the sense not many studies are available in India to empirically examine the moderating relationships of trust and product in consumer behavior.

Discriminant analysis application to understand the usage of digital channels while buying a car

PurposeRole of digital channels in car buying has increased manifold and consumers are making significant use of various digital channels throughout the decision-making process. However, there are very less number of studies available if one wishes to understand the specific reason(s) for the use of a particular digital channel of communication. This study deals with the identifications of the reason(s) leading towards the usage of particular digital channel of communication while buying a car.Design/methodology/approachQuantitative methodology was adopted for the study. A total of 10 digital channels namely the websites, social networking sites, YouTube, Smartphones, Online communities, Digital TV, Digital Outdoors, e-mails and others were considered in the study. Data was collected from 603 car buyers from Delhi using digital channels of communication.FindingsThe results of the study revealed that Website and YouTube were used for being compatible. Social networking sites, smartphones, digital outdoors and e-mails were used for being informative. Online communities were used for offering customers and experts' reviews. Digital TV was used for being easy to use.Research limitations/implicationsThe study considers the respondents from Delhi only. A more representative sample covering various parts of the country would offer more relevant results for the marketers as digital divide existing between rural and urban India cannot be simply ignored.Practical implicationsThe study reveals that car buyers are making ample usage of digital channels wherein website is the most used digital channel and smartphones are the most used digital devices used by the car buyers.Social implicationsStudy also reveals that car buyers might use search engines to reach the marketer's website, so effective search engine optimization (SEO) strategies should be adopted. Important keywords used in the search engines should be used in the website as well as in the links.Originality/valueMajority of the available studies use digital as an umbrella term for myriad digital channels. So understanding about the usage of specific channel of communication remains an under-researched area. Such understanding strengths and broadens the existing knowledge about technology mediated consumer behaviour especially in extended problem-solving product category.