An investigation of brand equity dimensions and customer retention: A perspective of postpaid telecom subscribers in Lagos State, Nigeria

This study investigates brand equity dimensions and customer retention of the Nigerian telecommunications industry. Cross-sectional research design was adopted to survey 368 postpaid subscribers. The respondents were selected through multistage sampling techniques. The four dimensions of brand equity (brand awareness, brand association, perceived quality, and brand loyalty) were found to be correlated with one another and with overall brand equity. Similarly, the four dimensions were correlated to and significantly predicted customer retention. The study concluded that improvement of all the four dimensions of brand equity is indispensably vital to customer retention in the mobile telecom industry. The study recommended that telecom operator that is desirous of sustaining high brand notch in the marketplace should intensify their effort to improve on all the four dimensions of brand equity to enhance subscribers’ retention. Findings of this study fill important gaps and contribute to the body of literature related to brand equity dimensions and customer retention from customers’ perspective.

Passing on negative interest rates

Since the ECB has lowered the interest rate on deposits into negative territory, more and more commercial banks are also passing on this negative interest rate to their customers. The main aim of this paper is to answer the question under which conditions the commercial banking sector will be more or less reluctant to pass the negative deposit rate on to its private customers. We first clarify the circumstances under which demand deposits and excess liquidity arise, and what role quantitative easing plays in this context. Within a game-theoretical framework, it is derived that the pressure to pass on the negative interest rate is particularly high if there are no switching costs, and the banking market follows a Bertrand competition.

Perception of formal and informal institutions by entrepreneurs in China, Morocco, and Germany – A cross-cultural pilot study

Introduction and AimsEntrepreneurship and the business environment, in general, are being influenced by the existence of formal and informal institutions. This study focuses on the negative versus positive perceptions of Moroccan, Chinese, and German entrepreneurs to formal and informal institutions, and the associations of these perceptions with self-efficacy and market versus network orientation of the business environment.MethodsIn a sample of n = 319 female and male entrepreneurs, we have examined similarities and differences in the perception of informal and formal institutions and their effects on self-efficacy and business strategy, while conducting t-tests and linear regressions.ResultsIn all three cultural contexts, both formal and informal institutions play a significant role because of different reasons.ConclusionThe nature of entrepreneurship is complex as both formal and informal institutional factors are differently associated with businesses. The results could enhance the understanding regarding the coexistence of formal or informal institutions within the business environments of different countries and the connections between business orientation and self-efficacy.

Does industry matter? Drivers and barriers for open innovation in high-tech and non-high-tech industries—Evidence from Poland

Firms adopt open innovation for different reasons, and they experience various barriers for open innovation. Thus, the paper aims to answer two questions: (1) what type of drivers and barriers for open innovation that are to be identified among innovative firms in Poland and (2) what kind of differences in motives and barriers between high-tech and non-high-tech industries can be identified. The authors analyzed drivers and barriers for open innovation drawn from a survey database of on 122 innovative firms in Poland by means of the CATI method. The study confirms that the concept of open innovation is adopted in high-tech as well as non-high-tech industries. The study also shows that the most important drivers in high-tech and non-high-tech industries are market-driven motives, whereas the most important barriers are related to legal and financial factors. Moreover, the research does not confirm that there are different drivers and barriers between in high-tech and non-high-tech industries.

The significance of intellectual capital in strategies of transnational corporations

ObjectiveThis study is an attempt to identify crucial assets of intellectual capital (IC) of transnational corporations (TNCs). The author identifies key assets each of the IC layers: organizational, innovative, and institutional. Examining these complex constructions of IC and its comprehensive influence on achieving competitive advantage is justified as the topic has been investigated rarely till now.MethodsThe paper presents literature review and the results of an authorial survey (252 corporations). The author used the following methodology concepts: the Grounded Theory Method, the Social Network Analysis, and the Multidimensional Statistical Analysis.FindingsThe results of the conducted analysis do sustain the postulated hypothesis that the main pillars constituting the intellectual capital of the most powerful transnational corporations (leaders) are the same in terms of the core irrespective of the type of industry. Based on the conducted research, the author points to the three key requirements for each of three IC layers (organizational, innovative, and institutional).Practical implicationThe proposed model of layers of intellectual capital may be used to identify the relationship in question, or its lack of relationship, in other types of international business. Furthermore, the study results provide guidelines for executives of corporations with respect to intellectual capital management.Originality/valueIt is a new, original proposal for measurement and presentation of the relationship between international competitiveness of transnational corporations and their intellectual capital efficiency (pillars of IC-layers).

The association between disclosures on control system over financial reporting and mechanisms of corporate governance: Empirical evidence from Germany and Poland

The aim of the research was to determine the impact of selected corporate governance mechanisms on the scope of disclosures related to control system over financial reporting in Poland and Germany. The research group comprised of companies from the Warsaw WIG 30 index and the German DAX index in 2013. The disclosures were measured by the number of detailed disclosures about control system over financial reporting presented by the surveyed companies. The research results indicate that selected corporate governance mechanisms affect the scope of disclosures regarding the system of control over financial reporting. It was found that the number of supervisory board committees and the number of meetings of the supervisory board have a significant positive influence on the scope of disclosures regarding control over financial reporting. But, the increase in number of meetings of the audit committee has a significant negative impact on the scope of disclosures regarding control over financial reporting. The results of the research also indicate the role of national determinants of the scope of disclosures. The study was a comparative one nature and was conducted among companies from developed and developing capital markets.