This study attempts to examine the impact of service quality on customer loyalty and customer satisfaction using the SERVQUAL model for four main Islamic banks in the Sultanate of Oman. This is a quantitative nature of a study, which involved a structured, self-administered questionnaire based on a convenience sampling method gathering data from 120 customers of Islamic banks in Oman. The study data were analyzed using SPSS, and the reliability coefficient (Cronbach’s alpha) was established. The correlation analysis examined the significant relationships among the study variables. The impact of service quality dimensions on customer satisfaction was captured through regression analysis. The key findings of the study revealed that the respondents showed on average an “Agree” response in the five areas, namely, tangibles, responsiveness, reliability, assurance, and empathy. The correlation results depicted a significant relationship between the three variables: service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty. Similarly, regression results demonstrated that empathy and responsiveness dimensions have a significant positive impact on customer satisfaction. It is, therefore, recommended that banks should focus more on empathy and responsiveness considering the significant relationship of these two variables on customer satisfaction. However, banks should not neglect the importance of other variables such as reliability, assurance, and tangibles that are revealed as important by responses of the participants for the bank’s provisions.

This article examines the nexus between financial inclusion index and economic growth in all eight South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries, using annual data from 2004 to 2017. In order to determine the possible long-run relationship between these variables, the study adopted the Pedroni panel co-integration test and two types of co-integration regression methods, the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS) and the Dynamic Ordinary Least Square (DOLS) methods. The Pedroni panel co-integration test confirms the existence of a long-run relationship between financial inclusion and economic growth in the SAARC countries. The coefficients of FMOLS and DOLS indicate that the index of financial inclusion and selected control variables together support economic growth. In addition, the Granger causality test confirmed bi-directional causality between FI and economic growth.

PurposeTechnology has revolutionized banking, and “green banking” has been the most recent phenomenon to have caught the financial world's attention. In this paper, the authors look at how personality traits of individuals influence their adoption and continued use of green banking channels. The authors also propose a comprehensive model integrating the “big five” personality traits (conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion, openness and neuroticism) into the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), along with expectation confirmation theory. The integrated proposed model is used in this longitudinal study to predict the continued use of green banking channels once adopted.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected data during two time periods about 24 weeks apart from 826 green banking channel users from different regions in India. The data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling.FindingsThe authors found that traits of agreeableness, conscientiousness and extraversion favor an individual adopting green banking channels, while conscientiousness and openness were only associated with its perceived usefulness (PU).Research limitations/implicationsThe results offer valuable insights for understanding the adoption and use behavior of people regarding green banking channels. This study would help develop effective segmentation strategies for promoting green banking channels.Originality/valueBy incorporating the big five, along with TAM and Expectation Confirmation Model (ECM), coupled with “trust” as an additional construct, we believe that our study enlarges the boundaries of Information Technology (IT) theories, especially in the context of green banking channels. This study also contributes to advancing the personality theory by exploring how personality traits significantly relate to adopting and using green banking channels.

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