Department of Marketing and Consumer Management
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Item Sustainability Market Orientation and Business Performance of Star Rated Hotels in Ghana(University of Ghana, 2019-07) Abdul-Hamid, I.K.Market orientation was criticised for being a micro marketing concept with limitations in handling stakeholder concerns. In an attempt to enhance market orientation into a macro marketing concept, sustainability market orientation was advanced as a replacement. The main aim of this study was to develop a framework for optimising sustainability market orientation in Ghanaian hotels. The study argued that economic, social, environmental, and ethics are the lower-order dimensions of sustainability market orientation. Also, the study claimed that there is a relationship between sustainability market orientation and hotel performance. Furthermore, the study advanced that the relationship between sustainability market orientation and hotel performance was mediated by sustainable technology. Finally, the relationship between sustainability market orientation and competitive advantage was mediated by sustainable technology. A positivist paradigm was used alongside a quantitative research approach. The study surveyed two hundred and twenty-five star-rated hotels in the Greater Accra region. However, the study used one hundred and eighty-seven responses for analyses after data cleaning. A structural equation modelling technique, precisely, a partial least square (PLS) was used. The study found a positive and significant relationship between sustainability market orientation and hotel performance in the Ghanaian hotel sector. Also, the study found a significant association between sustainability market orientation and competitive advantage in the Ghanaian hotel sector. The study did not find support for the mediating effect of sustainable technology on the relationship between sustainability market orientation and Hotel performance in the Ghanaian hotel industry. However, the study found support for the mediating effect of sustainable technology on the relationship between sustainability market orientation and competitive advantage in the Ghanaian hotel industry. Sustainability marketing practices are no longer a cost to hotels but an investment. Consequently, hotels should consider developing and implementing sustainability market orientation. The integration of sustainable development principles into firm activities is no longer a choice. As regulators and customers are demanding sustainable practices, products, and packaging. Managers of hotels in their attempts to realise the full benefits of sustainability market orientation should consider engaging and identifying stakeholder needs and satisfying them profitably.Item Environmental Performance and Firm Performance: The Mediating Roles of Market-Based Assets and Integrated Marketing Communication(University of Ghana, 2019-07) Nutsugah, F.F.Africa, after the expiration of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015, was described as the most urbanising region of the world because the continent had witnessed a proliferation of new businesses. The upsurge of businesses, however, was not without environmental consequences which were affecting life. Pressure was mounting on businesses to safeguard the environment. But the response of businesses to this call remained mixed. Consequently, scholars are attracted to research into the link between environmental performance (EP) of firms and their overall firm performance (FP). Inconclusive and contradictory findings, labelled a Porter-Wagner dilemma, were reported. Consequently, the need for fresh research to explain and resolve the Porter-Wagner dilemma conflict was urgent. This study took on the challenge to resolve the Porter-Wagner dilemma conflict by exploring the mechanisms through which the environmental protection activities of firms impact their overall FP. Questionnaires were used to gather data from 194 respondents. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and structural equation modelling (SEM). While the descriptive statistics focussed on measures of central tendencies, dispersions and the shape of the dataset, the SEM focussed on measurement and structural models. The study found that, directly, there is a very strong negative relationship between EP and FP. Indirectly, however, the study established that market-based assets (MBA) and integrated marketing communication (IMC), used individually and simultaneously, mediate the EP-FP relationship. Used individually, while MBA fully mediates the association between EP and FP, IMC mediates the relationship partially. Used simultaneously, both MBA and IMC partially mediate the relationship between EP and FP. Based on the results of the study, it is concluded that the Porter-Wagner dilemma conflict can be resolved with the concept of a corporate environmentalism continuum, which theorises that the relationship between EP and FP is both positive and negative, depending on how firms perceive and approach their environmental protection activities. That is, although protecting the environment involves huge outlay of (financial) resources, the benefits are enormous if it is supported with the right mindset, technology and strategies. The thesis makes several contributions to both theory and practice. The study has effectively conceptualised EP to include both objective and non-objective indicators across extractive, manufacturing and service industries. In addition, the study investigated and established that EP is both an asset and a capability that can be marketed through MBA and IMC for enhanced FP. It is however recommended that future studies should examine the individual effects of the dimensions of EP on FP and its dimensions. It is suggested also that qualitative research should undertake to explore the factors responsible for the corporate environmentalism continuum.Item Export Orientation and Export Performance: The Role of Marketing Capabilities and Brand Orientation(University Of Ghana, 2018-07) Acquaye, J.A.Exporting is an activity that has been widely perceived as an effective route to the international market. For decades and beyond, exporting has been a means through which firms of all forms, sizes and resources extend their reach beyond national borders and into foreign markets with the view to expanding market share and increasing sales and profitability. Whilst traditionally, exporting carries some degree of risk, literature has specified that not all exporters are predisposed towards the international market; some have it thrust upon them by virtue of unsolicited orders, random orders and incentives from local government agencies. Export orientation thus emerged in literature as a paradigm that seeks to explain the characteristics of export firms that are more active, involved and positively predisposed towards the international market. This thesis was underpinned by the following objectives: to test the relationship between export orientation dimensions and export performance; to examine the mediating role of marketing capabilities on the relationship between export orientation and export performance and lastly; to identify the moderating role of brand orientation on the relationship between export orientation and export performance. A deductive reasoning approach was adopted with a positivist research paradigm. Quantitative research approach with a causal research design was chosen to aid in fulfilling the objectives of the study. The population for the study consisted of manufacturing non-traditional exporters in Ghana. A sample of two hundred (200) was selected through random sampling. A structured questionnaire was designed to measure the variables export orientation, marketing capabilities, brand orientation and export performance using a five-point Likert scale. Data was collected from respondents and analysed using the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) technique. The results of the analysis confirmed that export orientation had a positive impact on export performance, both as an aggregate construct and also individual constructs. It was however found that amongst the individual dimensions of export orientation, only three, out of the six used in this research were positively and significantly related to export performance. These three dimensions were competitive aggressiveness, proactiveness and defensiveness. The study also found that amongst the three significant dimensions of export orientation, competitive aggressiveness was the strongest predictor of export performance. The study found that marketing capabilities had a positive and significant relationship with export performance, and thus mediated the relationship between export orientation and export performance. Likewise, the study found that brand orientation also had a positive and significant impact on export performance. As a result, brand orientation successfully moderated the relationship between export orientation and export performance. It is recommended that the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) spearhead efforts to educate the non-traditional exporters in issues of marketing capability development as well as branding, in order to equip them to be more export oriented and thus more prone to successes in their internationalization programme. Future researchers were advised to examine the concept of export orientation and export performance from multiple contexts, to facilitate cross context comparison. Future studies were also encouraged to consider the use of a qualitative approach to gain insight into the branding and marketing practices of non-traditional exporters in developing economies.