integrate and manage all the brand touch points in order to ensure that consumers and other relevant parties develop positive associations with the brand [5,7].Despite the significance of brand associations, especially in banking industry, there is limited empirical study that researches on the premise of this area -brand association and customer switching intentions -thus, leaving the field yet to be fully explored. However, the researches [8,9] confirmed that there is a relationship between brand association and consumer behavior. These studies focused mainly on brand associations relevant to specific tangible products. According to Keller [5] brand associations are customer specific and thus vary across markets and brands. Also, a specific set of associations used in a given setting may not justify the same degree of influence and relevance to other markets and product category [4,10,11].The subject of branding financial services requires further empirical studies in order to explore what sort of information they transfer to brands, and how this knowledge influence switching intention of consumers of a bank. In order to fulfill these gaps, this research seeks to answer the problematic question -Consumer-brand association: determinants of consumer bank switching intention, case of retail banking sector of The Gambia? In order to provide answers to the research problem, the following objectives will guide the entire research:• To analyze the theory of consumer-brand associations.• To analyze brand switching behavior and consumer switching intention.• To analyze specifics of brand switching in financial services.• To analyze determinants of consumer switching behavior.Keywords: Brand associations; Trust; Pricing; Celebrity endorsement; Switching intention IntroductionBranding is attracting growing interest as a result of the important role it plays in global trade. Notable authorities of brand of management have confirmed that branding is a source of competitive advantage, means for distinctiveness [1,2] and a tool for building longterm profitable relation between the organization and its stakeholders [3]. While significant studies concentrated on product branding due to its tangibility attributes, researchers and practitioners are diversifying attention toward exploring the potentials of service branding. Today's global business operation is predominantly services-centered and thus requires the need to communicate with stakeholders through service brand offerings. This trend has taken a serious attention shift within the financial institutions in today's dynamic marketplace.Branding in the financial institutions is one that requires relationship, trust and credence building [4], hence branding is critical in customers' choice of bank selection. Branding has become a strategic issue rather than just an operational activity in service-oriented businesses. According to Keller [5], one of the challenges in marketing services is that they are less tangible than physical products, and are more likely to vary in qual...
This review seeks to examine the power and influence of Non-Governmental Organizations in the course of corporate sustainability adoption (i.e., sustainability reporting). Using the institutional-legitimacy and governance theories, our findings suggest that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have great potentials in sustainability discourse through two salient actions, namely (a) collaborative partnership, and (b) confrontational tactics. While the former promotes stakeholder involvement in corporate decision-making through dialogue, joint-projects on corporate social responsibility, and sustainability reporting, the latter, however, is the last resort—involving “naming and shaming” corporations for poor social and environmental performance. The objective of such action is to cause reputational damage to businesses. Finally, it is also observed that crucial to NGO power and influence is the collaboration with government and civil society organizations in the fight for environmental sustainability and accountability.
The dynamics involving market competition and the challenges of dealing with empowered customers, mean that creating and delivering relevant customer experience (CX) of service, is as important as creating product or services. Several studies have treated customer experience as though a front-desk, sales-point affair with the customer in the retailing environment, negating the critical role of organization-wide efforts in the overall customer experience management sequence. This review, however, adopts customer-centricity, as a theoretical lens to underscore the [re]configuration of organizational-level factors that are critical to adopting a high customer-experience centered organization. Based on the review, we highlight conditions for adopting high customer experience management organization: (a) developing an integrated CX strategy, (b) CX-based knowledge management, (c) organizational re-design that supports CX-management, (d) top management commitment, (e) integrated CX IT systems, and (f) CX-oriented HR policies. These practices are only necessary conditions, but not sufficient, for creating, delivering relevant and sustainable customer experience. However, more robust empirical studies are needed to advance the application of organization-wide customer experience management, which vary across industry, products/services, and sector.
This paper presents a methodology for precision manufacture of a nozzle using the hybrid laser powder-bed fusion (L-PBF) technology. A new distortion predictive model for hybrid L-PBF was developed using finite element techniques. The model was validated against experimentally measured distortion using optical scanning. The validated model was utilised to mitigate distortion by applying additional stiffeners to the nozzle geometry where the distortion was reduced by 60% to acceptable tolerance of ± 200 µm. Micro-milling trials were conducted to identify optimum cutting parameters delivering high material removal rates while maintaining the average surface roughness of less than 1 µm. Finally, a nozzle with reduced distortion and desirable surface finish was manufactured, which has been used in industrial research context for process and product development of food products.
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