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Item Does Corporate Social Responsibility Enhance Political Marketing?(Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, 2020) Twum, K.K.; Hinson, R.; Kosiba, J.P.; Abdul-Hamid, I.K.This study shows how political party social responsibility influences voting intentions. The mediating effect of voter satisfaction and political party preference was also studied. The purpose of this The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence on the applicability of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in political marketing. The study provided a conceptualization of political party social responsibility and also evidence of political party involvement in social responsibility using online reports. A content analysis of online reports found a narrow focus on CSR, pertaining mainly to initiatives such as philanthropy and cause-promotions. We developed a scenario of a hypothetical political party and surveyed 173 voters to examine how voters will respond to perceived CSR initiative by a political party/candidate. The findings indicate that political party social responsibility has a significant relationship with voter satisfaction and voter preference. Political party social responsibility found to have an indirect relationship with voter intentions through voter satisfaction and voter preference. This study contributes to knowledge of how political marketing could be improved using social responsibility. This paper seeks to start an academic debate on how political party social responsibility could be used to create value for political parties, political candidates, and voters.Item Positioning strategies of foreign and indigenous firms in an African cultural milie(Journal of Business Research, 2020) Blankson, C.; Iyer, P.; Owusu-Frimpong, N.; Nwankwo, S.; Hinson, R.Despite the pivotal role of positioning in marketing strategy formulation, few studies explicitly examine posi tioning strategies employed by foreign and indigenous firms operating in the same cultural milieu. Relying on the concepts of culture and positioning as the backdrop, this research contributes to the literature by answering two key research questions: What are the differences between African indigenous firms' and Africa-based foreign firms' pursuits of positioning strategies? And is a Western-developed typology of positioning strategies applicable in an African cultural milieu, and more specifically, in the Ghanaian cultural environment? The results of the study demonstrate that indigenous and foreign firms replicate each other's positioning strategies to carve out positions, although foreign firms aggressively pursue a wider range of strategies than indigenous firms. While there is a uniform attempt by indigenous and foreign firms to reach the mass-market and lower- to middle-class target audiences, foreign firms focus more on middle-class audiences than do indigenous firms. The authors discuss implications for marketing theory and practice.Item Transforming agribusiness in developing countries: SDGs and the role of FinTech(Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 2019-07-16) Hinson, R.; Lensink, R.; Mueller, A.Transformation of agribusiness is critical in light of the Agenda for Sustainable Development. FinTech and the integration of FinTech with other (green) technologies as well as with digitized agriculture plays an important role when it comes to, for example, SDG 12, specifically, responsible production, as it can mitigate trade-offs and enhance synergies between environmental and social SDGs, for example, 1 and 15, increasing profitability without additional use of natural resources. Important limitations and risks need to be addressed, however, for developing countries to fully benefit from the potential that FinTech holds in this context. Mitigating factors include massive infrastructure investments and large-scale capacity building. Rigorous research on economic sustainability and cost-effectiveness of newer FinTech models is needed to make sound policy recommendations.Item Trust and customer engagement in the banking sector in Ghana(Service Industries Journal, 2018-09) Kosiba, J.P.; Boateng, H.; Okoe, A.F.; Hinson, R.Customer engagement has become a topical issue in the marketing literature in recent times. Many researchers have called for more research to be done on the antecedents of customer engagement. In response to this call, we examine the impact of trust on customer engagement. We used the survey research design to address the research question. We used the intercept approach to select the participants of the study. We collected the data from retail banking customers in Ghana. The hypotheses were tested using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The findings of this study show that trust in service providers and economy-based trust have a significant and positive effect on emotional engagement, cognitive engagement, and behavioural engagement. The implications of the findings have been discussed at the end of the paper.Item Examining customer engagement and brand loyalty in retail banking: The trustworthiness influence(International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, 2018-07) Kosiba, J.P.B.; Boateng, H.; Amartey, A.F.O.; Boakye, R.O.; Hinson, R.Purpose In recent times, there has been a growing research interest in customer engagement; however, there is a paucity of empirical evidence on the drivers and outcomes of customer engagement such as brand loyalty. Furthermore, the customer engagement and brand loyalty literature have paid little attention to trustworthiness, even though it has the potential of explaining customer engagement, brand loyalty and their relationships. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to ascertain the drivers of customer engagement and its relationship with brand loyalty in the context of retail banking in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach The authors employed the survey research design. The authors collected data from retail banking customers in Ghana using the intercept approach. There were 385 respondents. The authors analysed the data using the structural equation modelling approach. Findings The results show that trustworthiness drives customer engagement which results in brand loyalty. The findings reveal that trustworthiness is defined through integrity, benevolence and ability while customer engagement is defined via emotional engagement, cognitive engagement and behavioural engagement. Originality/value This study examines the impact of trustworthiness on customer engagement and brand loyalty. It shows the mediating role of customer engagement in the relationship between trustworthiness and brand loyalty.Item Positioning strategies of foreign and indigenous firms in an African cultural milieu(Journal of Business Research, 2019-03) Blankson, C.; Iyer, P.; Owusu-Frimpong, N.; Nwankwo, S.; Hinson, R.Despite the pivotal role of positioning in marketing strategy formulation, few studies explicitly examine positioning strategies employed by foreign and indigenous firms operating in the same cultural milieu. Relying on the concepts of culture and positioning as the backdrop, this research contributes to the literature by answering two key research questions: What are the differences between African indigenous firms' and Africa-based foreign firms' pursuits of positioning strategies? And is a Western-developed typology of positioning strategies applicable in an African cultural milieu, and more specifically, in the Ghanaian cultural environment? The results of the study demonstrate that indigenous and foreign firms replicate each other's positioning strategies to carve out positions, although foreign firms aggressively pursue a wider range of strategies than indigenous firms. While there is a uniform attempt by indigenous and foreign firms to reach the mass-market and lower- to middle-class target audiences, foreign firms focus more on middle-class audiences than do indigenous firms. The authors discuss implications for marketing theory and practice.Item Antecedents and Consequences of Customer Engagement on Facebook: An Attachment Theory Perspective(Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 2019-01) Hinson, R.; Boateng, H.; Renner, A.; Kosiba, J.P.B.Purpose Marketing researchers have usually studied consumers’ attachment to brands from an emotional bonding perspective. However, the purpose of this study is to show that attachment to objects is not only limited to bonding. Thus, the authors conceptualised the attachment theory from two perspectives: bonding-based and identity-based attachment. In addition, the study further seeks to identify the elements of each component and examine how these elements drive customer engagement on a brand’s Facebook page while assessing some consumer-related outcomes of customer engagement on Facebook. Design/methodology/approach Using an online survey, the authors examined antecedents of customer engagement on Facebook and the outcomes of engagement behaviours among 649 respondents. Structural equation modelling was used in analysing the data. Findings The results of the study show that consumers’ attachment to a brand drives them to engage the brand on the brand’s Facebook page. The results also show that the consumer engagement of brands on Facebook results in positive user-generated contents and consumer involvement. Practical implications Managerially, the attachment theory provides value for marketers in terms of evaluating customer–brand relationships and how such a relationship can yield positive results. Originality/value This study expands how the attachment theory has been conceptualised and applied in the marketing literature. The study shows that consumer attachment to brands is identity-based in addition to being bonding-based.Item Challenges of internet adoption of banks in Ghana(Handbook of Business Practices and Growth in Emerging Markets, 2010-01) Madichie, N.O.; Hinson, R.; Salifu, Z.In recent years, information technology (IT) — notably the Internet — has been largely adopted on a commercial basis by businesses across the globe. This has been the case in both developed and emerging markets spanning various sectors including education (e-learning); retail (e-commerce); and financial services (e-banking). This chapter highlights the opportunities offered by the deployment of IT for the competitiveness of banks — taken from an emerging market perspective. © 2010 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved.Item The internet for academics: Towards a holistic adoption model(Online Information Review, 2006-09) Hinson, R.Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature on internet use, with particular respect to academics. The literature on academic uses of the internet is littered with empirical studies, which analyse aspects of the broad spectrum of uses to which the internet can be put, by academics anywhere in the world. This paper begins an initial attempt to provide a broad theoretical framework for internet adoption and utilization by academics, irrespective of rank. Design/methodology/approach: Paper based largely on literature survey and an assessment of the existing models of internet use by academics. Findings: The paper postulates an internet adoption model for academics. The Internet Adoption Model for Academics (IAMA) was conceptualized as an abstract object with five main components: internet for teaching, internet for research, internet for consultancy, internet for administration, and internet for policy making. The Internet Adoption Model for Academics (IAMA) provides a framework for internet use, and has the potential for being instructive for academics who have currently not integrated the internet fully into their professional activities. Originality/value: The paper presents a modest theoretical contribution to the academic internet-use literature, and might influence new research streams in this important conceptual area. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.Item Internet adoption amongst final year students in Ghana's oldest business school(Library Review, 2006-03) Hinson, R.; Amidu, M.Purpose - The objective of this study was to evaluate the level of awareness and utilisation of the internet for academic research and learning among level 400 (final year) students of Ghana's oldest business school. Design/methodology/approach - The study utilised a cross-sectional survey approach because it was restricted to final year students in the 2003-2004 year graduating class. The study also employed a convenience sampling technique and was executed by means of questionnaire administration and personal interviews. The final year students were asked to fill the questionnaires before a business lecture. The basic research instrument used in this research was a structured questionnaire with both open and close ended questions. Apart from questionnaires, in-depth interviews with the respondents were also conducted with the respondents because we felt that because we were dealing with a research that had to do with technology, there could be latent issues that could only be uncovered by open discussions. Data were analysed and presented by means of simple descriptive statistics. Findings - Developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, are often rich in the resources of people and staffing, if not in material resources. The promotion of information literacy is essentially dependent on using people differently, that is to better effect, not on injecting more resourcing into under-funded services (although this is also important in many regards). Authorities at teaching universities, including lecturers, and heads of departments, must, as a matter of urgency, adopt mechanisms for creating better information skills and internet usage awareness among the students. This should focus on what the internet is, the services available through the internet, and the basic skills required to use the internet. This policy is not limited by resourcing, it is simply a new way to better use the richest resource of developing nations, the people and their talents. Research limitations/implications - Owing to the exploratory nature of the research, the results cannot be generalised with certainty. The research however gives pointers to gaps in the internet use propensities of business students in Ghana's business school and an internet education policy has to be instituted immediately to properly prepare students for an increasingly online Ghanaian business environment. Practical implications - The University of Ghana Business School should move towards the setting up of instructional labs. These labs should work in close association with the school's library to ensure that students are properly trained on business, teaching and research uses of the internet. Originality/value - One of the first studies focussing on business students at the disadvantaged end of the global digital divides which regards skills training rather than resourcing as a key issue in information usage. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.