UNIVERSITY OF GHANA VALUE CREATION THROUGH CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE: A STUDY OF SELECTED CHURCHES IN GHANA BY MICHAEL NYAMEKYE THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF PHD MARKETING DEGREE JULY, 2015 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh i DECLARATION I do hereby declare that this work is the result of my own research and has not been presented by anyone for any academic award in this or any other university. All references used in the work have been fully acknowledged. I bear sole responsibility for any shortcomings. …………………………………...... …………………………….. MICHAEL NYAMEKYE DATE (10328194) University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ii CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that this thesis was supervised in accordance with procedures laid down by the University. …………………………………...... …………………………….. DR. ADELAIDE KASTNER DATE (SUPERVISOR) …………………………………...... …………………………….. PROF. BEDMAN NARTEH DATE (CO-SUPERVISOR) University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh iii ABSTRACT The creation of value has long been recognized as a central concept in marketing and has been suggested as the main purpose of organizations, a key to success via differential positioning, and a precursor to customer satisfaction and loyalty. Understanding what value is and how value is created and delivered to customers has become critical especially for service firms where there is less tangibility. The main aim of this study was to assess the value creation process of churches – a social institution – through the service experience created for the patrons of their services i.e. the church members and how personal factors affect the assessment of customer value. This study assumed that churches first create positive service experiences through the deployment of their service mix in order to create the needed value for their customers. However, the assessment of value created out of the service experience is moderated by personal idiosyncrasies of church members. Data was collected from four categories of churches in Ghana through a structured questionnaire. The analysis method included ANOVA, Exploratory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling to test the hypothesized relationships. The study identified five elements of church service mix whose deployment influence the creation of church service experience. The study found no relationship between church service mix and customer value; but found a positive relationship between church service experience and customer value. It was also found that members’ personal goals negatively influence church service experience and customer value creation relationship; while members’ value for fellowship positively influence church service experience and customer value creation relationship. Thus study has contributed to the understanding of value creation and customer experience within churches, a dominant and non-profit making sector in the Ghanaian economy. The study has also made some major recommendations to guide future research and church management. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh iv DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my beloved family; Lady Yaa Achia Boadi Nyamekye, Michael Boadi Nyamekye Jnr, Mitchell Boadi Nyamekye, Michelle Boadi Nyamekye and Miguel Boadi Nyamekye University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my profound appreciation to the following people who in diverse ways have helped me in the course of this PhD programme. My heartfelt gratitude goes to my supervisors Dr. Adelaide Kastner and Prof. Bedman Narteh; for the patience, the guidance in reading through the manuscript and making the necessary inputs into the work to get me to this level. I am also grateful to all lecturers and staff of the Departments of Marketing and Customer Entrepreneurship for their advice. Big thanks go all the churches and their head pastors for their willingness to be part of the study. Special thanks go all members and pastors of The Maker’s House Chapel International for their encouragement and support. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh vi TABLE OF CONTENT Declaration i Certification ii Abstract iii Dedication iv Acknowledgement v Table of contents vi List of Tables xiii List of figures xv CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1 1.2 Statement of Problem and Research Gap 5 1.3 Research Objectives 9 1.4 Research questions 10 1.5Significance of the study 10 1.6 Organization of the Thesis 11 CHAPTER TWO - CONTEXT OF THE STUDY 2.1 Introduction 16 2.2 The Early Church 18 2.3 Reasons for the Spread of the Church 19 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh vii 2.4 The Explosion of Christianity in Africa 20 2.5 The Church in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evangelization: 15th And 16th Centuries 23 2.6 A New Period of Evangelization 27 2.7 Christianity, Colonization and Ghana’s Identity 27 2.8 The Dominance of Orthodox Christianity in Ghana 30 2.9 Christianity beyond the Coastal Towns of Ghana 31 2.10 The Church in National Politics 36 2.11 The Role of the Church in the Development of Ghana 38 2.12 Economic and Social Benefits from the Church 41 2.13 Chapter Summary 48 CHAPTER THREE: LITERATURE REVIEW – VALUE CREATION 3.1 Introduction 49 3.2 Value 52 3.3 Aristotle’s View of Value 53 3.4 Value From The Economics Perspective 55 3.5 A Wider Interpretation Of Value 58 3.6 Value Creation 59 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh viii 3.6.1 How is Value Created? 60 3.7 Customer Value Creation 63 3.8 Customer Value Frameworks 65 3.9 Chapter Summary 72 CHAPTER FOUR: LITERATURE REVIEW - CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE 4.1 Introduction 73 4.2 Experience as a General Concept 74 4.3 What Is Customer Experience? 76 4.4 Customer Service Experience 80 4.5 Chapter Summary 87 CHAPTER FIVE: THEORETICAL MODELING 5.1 Introduction 88 5.2 Expectancy Value Theory 90 5.3 Means-Ends Theory 94 5.4 Chapter Summary 98 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ix CHAPTER SIX: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND HYPOTHESES FORMULATION 6.1 Introduction 99 6.2 Conceptualization and Hypotheses Formulation 102 6.2.1 The Church Service Mix Deployment 103 6.2.2 Church Service Experience 107 6.2.3 Customer Value 110 6.2.4 Moderators 114 6.3 Chapter Summary 116 CHAPTER SEVEN: METHODOLOGY 7.1 Research Methods Overview 117 7.2 Research Paradigm 118 7.3 Ontology 118 7.3.1 Objectivism 119 7.3.2 Subjectivism 120 7.3.3 Ontological Considerations for the Study 120 7.4 Epistemology 121 7.4.1 Positivism 122 7.4.2 Realism 124 7.4.3 Interpretivism 125 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh x 7.4.4 Epistemological Considerations for the Study 129 7.5 Research Purpose 131 7.5.1 Stages of Research 131 7.6 Research Approach: Qualitative and Quantitative 133 7.7 Data Collection: Questionnaires 137 7.8 Sampling 139 7.9 Data Analysis 141 7.10 Method of Analysis 142 7.10.1 Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) 142 7.10.2 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Chi-Square Tests 143 7.10.3 Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) 144 7.11 Quality Standards for Research: Validity And Reliability 146 7.11.1 Reliability 147 7.11.2 Validity 149 7.12 Measures 149 7.12.1 Main measures 149 7.12.2 Moderators 152 7.13 Chapter Summary 153 CHAPTER EIGHT: DATA ANALYSIS: Data Purification, Confirmatory and Validity Analyses 8.1 Introduction 154 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh xi 8.2 Sample Characteristics 155 8.3 Descriptive Analysis 159 8.4 Exploratory Factor Analysis 162 8.5 Confirmatory Factor Analysis 170 8.6 Reliability and Validity Analysis 176 8.6.1 Reliability of Measures 176 8.6.2 Validity Analysis 177 CHAPTER NINE: STRUCTURAL PATH AND HYPOTHESES TESTING 9.1 Introduction 179 9.2 Demography and Church Service Experience 180 9.3 Demography and Customer Value 182 9.4 Church Service Mix and Church Service Experience Relationships 184 9.5 Church Service Mix and Customer Value Relationships 185 9.6 Church Service Experience and Customer Value Relationships 187 9.7 The Hypothesized Model – Structural Equation Modeling 188 9.7.1 The Structural Model 188 9.7.2 Assessing the Structural Model 189 9.8 Examining the Hypothesized Relationships 190 9.8.1 Baseline Structural Model 191 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh xii 9.8.2 Moderating Role of Personal Idiosyncrasies 193 9.9 Discussions 197 9.10 Chapter Summary 205 CHAPTER TEN: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 10.1 Introduction 206 10.2 Summary 208 10.3 Major Findings 211 10.4 Conclusions 214 10.5 Reflections 218 10.6 Implications of the Study 221 10.6.1 Contribution to Theory 221 10.6.2 Implication for Practice 226 10.6.3 Implication for Future Research 229 Reference 231 Appendix: Church Value Creation Survey Questionnaire 256 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh xiii LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: The Explosion of Christianity in some African Countries 20 Table 2.2: Some African Countries and Percentage of Christian Population 21 Table 7.1: Differences between Positivism and Interpretivism 128 Table: 8.1: Respondents’ Demography 156 Table 8.2: Descriptive Statistics for Church Service Mix Items 160 Table 8.3: Descriptive Statistics for Church Service Experience 161 Table 8.4: Descriptive Statistics for Customer Value 162 Table 8.5: Internal Consistency and Reliability for Church Service Mix 165 Table 8.6: Internal Consistency and Reliability for Church Service Experience 167 Table 8.7: Internal Consistency and Reliability for Customer Value 169 Table 8.8: Final 13 Items for Church Service Mix 172 Table 8.9: Correlation Table for Church Service Mix Dimensions 173 Table 8.10: Final 9 Items for Church Service Experience 174 Table 8.11: Correlation Table for Service Experience Dimensions 174 Table 8.12: Final 12 Items for Customer Value 175 Table 8.13: Correlation Table for Customer Value Dimensions 176 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh xiv Table 8.13: Correlation of Main Constructs 178 Table 9.1: Demographic Idiosyncrasies and Church Service Experience Association 181 Table 9.2: Demography and Customer Value Relationship 183 Table 9.3: Church Service Mix and Church Service Experience Relationships 184 Table 9.4: Church Service Mix and Customer Value Relationships 186 Table 9.5: Church Service Experience and Customer Value Relationships 187 Table 9.6: Structural Paths Analysis 190 Table 9.7: Findings as Against Hypothesized Relationships 197 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh xv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: Diagrammatic Presentation of the Thesis 15 Figure 5.1: Expectancy Value Model 93 Figure 5.2: The Means-End Value Chain 95 Figure 6.1: Conceptual Framework for Value Creation through Church Service Experience 103 Figure 8.1: Sex Distribution of the Respondents 157 Figure 8.2: Age Distribution of Respondents 157 Figure 8.3: Educational Levels of Respondents 158 Figure 8.4: Income Distribution of Respondents 158 Figure 9.1: Effect of Personal Value on Service Experience and Customer Value 194 Figure 9.2: Effect of Personal Goals on Service Experience and Customer Value 196 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION In this chapter, the study explains the rationale behind this thesis and gives justification for the study. The chapter presents the objectives of the thesis and the research questions it seeks to answer. The significance of the study is also explained in addition to how the entire thesis is structured. 1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY The creation of value is the core purpose and central process of economic exchange. As a matter of fact, every business or entity irrespective of motive (be it profit or non-profit) exists to create value (Peteraf & Barney, 2003; O’Cass & Ngo, 2010). Value is considered to be the strongest motivator of behavior of consumers of goods and services. As asserted by Sok and O’Cass (2011), the primary pursuit of any business is to understand what value customers are looking for in the marketplace and to create, offer and maintain that value for them (Sirmon et al., 2007). Patrons of goods and services engage in activities to achieve value, not only financial value, but also social, psychological, aesthetic, and moral values (Normann, 2001). Likewise, in social entities such as churches, patrons seek value in the form of social, psychological, moral, spiritual upliftment and emotional happiness. This study is therefore interested in how value is created for the church member and how the value created is adjudged to be an outcome of the church activities. The value creation process in such institutions has not received the needed attention in the current literature that therefore positions the study as making substantial contribution to the literature. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2 The creation of value has long been recognized as a central concept in marketing (Woodruff, 1997) and the fundamental basis for all marketing activities (Holbrook, 1994). It has been suggested as the purpose of organizations (Slater, 1997), a main key to success via differential positioning (Cooper, 2001), and a precursor to customer satisfaction and loyalty (Woodall, 2003). Understanding what value is and how value is created and offered to customers has become critical (Bowman & Ambrosini, 2000, 2009; Mittal & Sheth, 2001; DeSarbo et al., 2001; Payne & Frow, 2005; Anderson et al., 2006; Lepak et al., 2007; Sirmon et al., 2007) especially for service firms (Sok & O’Cass, 2011). The notion of marketing as a facilitator and ‘structurer’ of the mutual creation and enjoyment of value is gaining credence (Payne et al., 2007) as such value must be studied from different perspectives such as the nonprofit as well as the profit-oriented organizations. Business entities are searching for new and better ways to create value that leads to the differentiation of service offerings in order to attract and keep customers, as well as make a profit (Shaw & Ivins, 2002). Value has been argued not to be just economic benefit owned by a seller to be relinquished to the customer but a disposition or an experience (Haksever, Chaganti, and Cook, 2004). Especially in service setting, there is a strong advocacy that there is no real ownership in the exchange. Holbrook (1994) refers to value as preference or favorable disposition, general liking, positive affect, and judgment as being good which all come up to an experience created for the customer. Woodruff (1997) sees value as both desired and received experiences from actual use or contact with a service institution. Value is therefore a phenomenological disposition or experience. Holbrook (1994) succinctly defines value as an interactive relativistic preference experience. Value is therefore created through the experience the customer has with the service entity. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3 Woodruff and Flint (2006) state that something has value when a customer attaches preference to it. Value then is an outcome of a customer’s experience of interacting with some object (Holbrook, 1994). Vargo and Lusch (2004) assert that value plays an important role in the service-dominant economy by recommending that marketing pay more attention to value, which implicitly suggest the experience nature of value in the relational exchange. Leaders in marketing are moving towards a dynamic exchange relationship perspective that involves performing processes and exchanging skills and services in which value is co-created with the customer (Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004). Vargo and Lusch (2004a) in their new perspective of value indicated that value is realized when a service is used and users both create and judge the value. Consequently, how customers experience activities is crucial to their perception of value (Bitner, 1992). “Value is now centered in the experiences of consumers” (Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004, p. 137), rather than embedded in goods and services. This therefore suggests that the value creation process in organizations can be better undertaken through the service experiences of customers and this is even more essential for service firms. Service experience is the internal and subjective response customers have to any contact (direct or indirect) with a particular service. Companies offering customer experience create a holistic offer that encompasses the exceptional pleasure enjoyed by customers with contact with every aspect of the organization’s offering (Zomerdijk & Voss, 2009). Service experience is seen as a service process that creates customers’ cognitive, emotional and behavioral responses, resulting in a mental mark (Johnston & Clark, 2001; Svari et al., 2011). If the service experience is negative, customers frequently communicate their negative emotions to others and themselves become emotionally detached from the service University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4 provider (Barsky & Nash, 2002). Unfortunately, the possibility of failure in service encounters cannot be completely eliminated, due to the variety of factors that may impact on the process of service co-creation (Vargo & Lusch, 2004, 2008), service consumption, and of the customers’ perceived values and expectations. Research that attempts to gain insight into service experience has been encouraged to help the management and delivery of service (Smith & Bolton, 2002; Svari, et al., 2011). Recent definitions of customer experience include that “the customer experience originates from a set of interactions between a customer and a product, a company, or part of its organization, which provoke a reaction (Verhoef et al., 2009, p. 32). This experience is strictly personal and implies the customer’s involvement at different levels (rational, emotional, sensorial, physical, and spiritual)” (Gentile, Spiller & Noci, 2007, p. 397). A second and related definition is that “customer experience is the internal and subjective response customers have to any direct or indirect contact with a company. Direct contact generally occurs in the course of purchase, use, and service and is usually initiated by the customer. Indirect contact most often involves unplanned encounters with representatives of a company’s products, service or brands and takes the form of word-of-mouth recommendations or criticisms, advertising, news reports, reviews and so forth” (Meyer & Schwager, 2007, p. 118). The current study has the preoccupation of investigating the church value creation through the service experience delivered to its patrons. The study is interested in evaluating the value creation process of the church for its customer and how the customer of the church, who in this study is defined as the member of the church, experiences this value through the services provided. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5 Churches are social institutions which belong to the not-for-profit service sector with immense economic and social importance, however, the relevant application of marketing and managerial principles seem not be emphasized within these institutions. Social institutions are defined in this thesis as essentially private, that is, outside the institutional structures of government; that are not primarily commercial and do not exist primarily to distribute profits to their directors or “owners”; that are self-governing; and that people are free to join or support voluntarily when it is necessary. The church has the main client to be the members that form the group called the church. Churches are private non-profit organizations without a financial objective, under private control, which aims to generate social and other benefits for a specific sector of society (Gonzalez et al., 2002) and it is this social and other benefits (termed as value in this thesis) that is under investigation. 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM AND RESEARCH GAP The emerging customer value paradigm and theory of the firm (e.g., Hunt & Morgan, 1997; Slater, 1997; Hunt, 1999) suggests that firms exist to create value for others where it is neither efficient nor effective for buyers to attempt to satisfy their own needs. From this perspective, the objective of marketing is to achieve personal, organizational, and societal objectives by creating superior customer value for (exchange with) one or more market segments with a sustainable strategy (Hunt, 1999). The church as an entity exists to achieve societal and religious or spiritual objectives (Vidal, 2001). The church exists and professes to offer solutions to the challenging needs of all mankind (Ortberg, Gorsuch & Kim, 2001). It is in this quest that the church creates value for society and specifically for their members. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 6 Despite the centrality of customer value to marketing thought, customer value research is still nascent and in the early stages of conceptual development (Zhao, Wang & Fan 2015; Armstrong, Kotler, Harker & Brennan, 2012; Cheng, & Chen, 2009; Brodie, Whittome, & Brush, 2009; Palmatier, 2008; Woodruff & Flint, 2006). Although popular works have focused on normative customer value creation strategies (e.g., Treacy & Wiersama, 1993; Slywotzky 1996), preliminary academic work has focused on the importance of the customer value concept (e.g., Band, 1991; Gale, 1994) and definitions, conceptualizations and typologies of customer value (e.g., Woodruff, 1997; Ulaga, 2003; Woodall, 2003) and has not deeply engaged in how and the process of value creation. Woodruff and Flint (2006) describes the nature of customer value as dynamic and presents rich direction for research. They opine that research on customer value process, the kind of value created in the relational exchange and customer value chain are key areas that more research needs to be done if the service dominant logic is to become the marketing paradigm. The apparent confusion on how value is defined by different scholars lend to the fact that there is a real importance for a study in value creation. This study makes an attempt to fill this gap by investigating into the value creation process of a social institution (the church to be specific) and consumption of the value by the consumer (church member). The experience economy proponent assert that there is a paradigm shift from goods and service economies to experience economy (Schmitt & Zarantonello, 2013; Pine & Gilmore, 2011,1999), the service-dominant logic seems to place more emphasis on customer value which is similar to experience creation. This study uniquely makes an attempt to find out University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 7 how social institutions can create a service experience that will result in value creation for their clientele. Many companies fail to meet customer expectations with respect to creating customer value (Cheng & Chen, 2009; Klingmann, 2007; van Riel & Lievens, 2004), probably because managers are not completely sure of what brings value to the customer, or how it is created. In the literature, concepts such as value (Lepak, Smith & Taylor, 2007) and experience (Verhoef, et al., 2009) are often only vaguely defined. To stress the importance of the relationship between service experience and value, the theoretical part of this thesis has made an attempt to provide answers, in accordance with the study’s standpoint, to the questions of how the service experience is conceptualized and how it is linked to value in service research. Another uniqueness of this study stems from the fact that it is situated in the non-profit sector that is under-researched compared to the profit sector (Stone & Cutcher- Gershenfeld, 2002; Herman & Renz, 2004). Though non-profit organizations such as churches play an important societal role in the economic development of nations especially in the sub-Saharan Africa, less is known about their value creation process and delivery. Considering the fact that NPOs (not-for-profit organizations) contribute substantially to GDP (Renshaw & Krishnaswamy, 2009, p. 457) and the fact that their social contribution to the generation of social value has risen in recent times (Salamon, 2007; Fagan 2006), it is important for empirical studies such as this to investigate this all important sector of the world’s economy. There appears to be an overconcentration of research in the for profit sectors while leaving the nascent nonprofit sector receiving less attention. Despite the University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 8 sector’s immense importance in addressing problems in the nooks and crannies of society, it is seen sometimes as not having a significant impact on the overall output of society due to the lack of empirical research to prove otherwise. Though their missions are socially important, the management challenges they face are considered to be relatively mundane in comparison to the really hard problems that businesses (profit oriented) address routinely (Andreasen & Kotler, 2008). Dowie (2001) posits that massive changes are occurring in the nonprofit sector and their isolated events are touching the lives of virtually everyone. Andreasen and Kotler (2008) categorized the world’s economy into three sectors i.e. the private profit oriented, the public government driven and the nonprofit; and that managers of these sectors need to understand marketing and how marketing is – and ought to be. It is in this light that this study becomes even more relevant in terms of it theorization and its empirical contribution. Although religion (church being central) is a common experience among humans, it remains largely unexplored within the developmental sciences and management literature (Kerestes & Youniss, 2002; Benson, Roehlkepartain & Rude, 2003). The paucity of research on a central element of human functioning within the developmental sciences is surprising, considering that youths and adults alike report high levels of religious beliefs and participation (Gallup & Bezilla, 1992; Gallup International Association, 2009). A Gallup International Association (2009) poll of 50,000 adults in 60 countries found that 87% of respondents reported being part of a religious denomination, 63% indicated that God was highly important in their lives, and 75% believed in either a personal God or “some sort of spirit or life force”. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 9 In Ghana, anecdotal evidence indicates that about a substantial portion of the population of adults spend a substantial amount of their active times whining the church. The weekend is normally reserved to church activities. However, the values these church members expect, how they are created and delivered have received a paucity of research. Although the field of the psychology of religion has produced a rich history of theoretical and empirical work, developmental and management issues remain relatively underexplored (Benson et al., 2003; King & Boyatzis, 2004). The small body of existing literature has often focused on the relationship between religiousness and various behavioral outcomes. For instance, these studies suggest that among adolescents, religion likely serves a dual role of promoting positive development as well as offering protection against risk behaviors (King & Boyatzis, 2004). Although interest has grown in the identification of the benefits of churches to human well-being and the application of business principles, many of the existing studies provide little theoretical explanation for these positive effects. 1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The main aim of this study is to assess the value creation process of NPOs through the service experience created for the patrons of their services and other relevant groups who directly benefit from their social services. In specific terms, the study seeks: 1. To identify the elements of the church service mix; 2. To determine the effect of church service mix elements on church service experience. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 10 3. To establish the effect of church service experience on value derived by the patron; and 4. To evaluate the effect of idiosyncratic factors on church service experience and customer value relationship. 1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS To achieve the above objectives, the thesis seeks to find answers to the following questions: a. What are the components of the church service mix? b. What is the effect of church service mix elements on church service experience? c. What is the effect of the church service experience on the value experienced by the church member? d. What is the effect of church member’s personal factors on the service experience and customer value relationship? 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The significance of this study cannot be over emphasized. This study makes general contribution to the body of knowledge in terms of giving a different perspective to the value creation and service experience literature. The current study is situated in an arena (Not-for-profit: NPOs) that has not received enough attention over the years in terms of the sectors value creation process and consumption. The study specifically focuses on the church which is a very important social institution providing all kinds of value to the University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 11 community and the people living in it. This research seeks to contribute to the knowledge gathering in this respect and develop the literature in the Ghanaian context. In terms of profit-oriented organizations, service marketing in Ghana has been widely explored by academics (e.g. Hinson, Owusu-Frimpong & Dasah, 2009; Narteh & Owusu- Frimpong, 2011), while the non-profit organization such as the church has not been given priority. The study in its uniqueness applies some elements usually used by the business sector. The current study tests how a social institution applies the service mix elements to create service experience that eventually create value for its members. As Christian denominations grow in their numbers within the society, there is the need for uniqueness and differentiation. Even though all preaches the simple message of salvation, every denomination would want to be seen as unique. This thesis brings to the fore how churches of different orientations create value for its members. 1.6 ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS The thesis is organized into ten chapters. The first chapter of the thesis is an introduction to the entire study that looks at the background, problem statement, research objectives, questions and the significance. Chapter Two concentrates on the context of the study which discusses a brief history of the church from its time of inception to the present day and shows how the church spread throughout the world and later concentrates on the existence of the church in Africa. Chapter Two also gives a detail account of how the church started in Ghana, i.e. the geographic context of the study and its spread to other parts of the country amidst hindrances. The chapter gives account of how the church has impacted on University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 12 the socio-economic and political landscape in Ghana and how its influence continues to be felt by all. It concludes by showing how the church over the years has created value in every facet of the economy in every community that it establishes in. Chapter Three begins the literature review chapters and discusses the important literature related to value and its origins as well as the different perspectives from which other scholars have viewed the subject. The chapter also discusses the value creation process for the firm and the various frameworks that explain the dimensionalities of value. In the next chapter, review of literature is done on service experience and customer service experience. The chapter gives different perspectives as shared by different scholars in terms of the forms of customer service experience. Discussions are also done on what customer service experience is and how the firm can go beyond satisfaction to creating customer experiences at all fronts. Chapter Five has discussed the conceptualizations done in the study and has also established the possible relationships that exist among the construct. The chapter has conceptualized that the church service mix will influence both the church service experience and the customer value. It has also established that, although the study expects church service experience to influence customer value, there are some personal factors that may moderate this relationship. The chapter has also hypothesized the various relationships accordingly, which has paved the way for empirical examination. The theoretical chapter follows and discusses the theoretical foundations for this thesis. The chapter explains that two complementary behavioral theories were adopted to explain how people orient themselves to enjoy value and how they perform or associate themselves to setting courses as a means to an end. The chapter shows that the combination of the University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 13 expectancy value theory and the means end theory has explained the consequence of service experience which Sheth et al. (1991) call consumption value. The methodological chapter dealt with all the philosophical and methodological issues that are related to the current study. The chapter first discussed the ontological and epistemological stance chosen for the study and later presented the research approach and the purpose of the current study. The methods of qualitative and quantitative research are also discussed and a justification given in line with the philosophical and research approach underpinning this study for choosing quantitative methods. Data collection methods and the instruments used in the data collection as well as method of analysis and quality criteria are discussed. Sampling issues were dealt with in this chapter and concluded by explaining the construct measures used in the study. Chapter Eight begins the chapters that present the data analysis and discussions of the study’s data. The data were collected from the church members from four categories of churches in Ghana, namely The Catholic, Protestants, Charismatic and Pentecostal churches. This chapter in particular presents the sample characteristics of the respondents who took part in the study in terms of their demographic peculiarities such as age, sex, income, nationality, educational level, marital status and employment status. Descriptive statistics of the scales used in measuring the constructs are presented. The chapter also deals with the data purification and validity checks through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 14 In the ninth chapter, discussions are had on the relationships that exist between the demographic factors (sex, age, education and income) of church members and their service experience and customer value evaluations. The objective of this assessment is to determine whether a person’s demographic characteristic relates to how he/she perceive the kind of service experience or customer value obtained from the church. The second part of this chapter also conducts a two-way relationship analysis of service mix and service experience, service mix and customer value and service experience and customer value. The objective is to assess which factors within the three constructs influence what. This enabled the study to give recommendations in terms of which aspects of the church activities must be emphasized to increase customer value and service experience. This chapter also focused on analyzing the hypothesized model proposed in Chapter Six. This final chapter of the thesis concludes the study by recapping all the relevant matters discussed in the thesis. The chapter also offers a summary of the key findings based on the objectives of the study. The chapter discusses the implications of the findings of the study by suggesting strategic options and policies that churches can adopt to increase their propensity to create relevant value for their members and the entire society at large. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 15 Figure 1.1: DIAGRAMMATIC PRESENTATION OF THE THESIS INTRODUCTION Background Problem Statement Objectives CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE VALUE CREATION CONTEXT OF THE STUDY CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK METHODOLOGY DATA ANALYSIS DISCUSSIONS OF FINDINGS SUMMARY, REFLECTIONS AND IMPLICATIONS THEORETICAL MODELING University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 16 CHAPTER TWO CONTEXT OF THE STUDY In this chapter, attention is paid to the context within which this study is being conducted. The chapter gives a brief history of the church from its time of inception to the present day. It shows how the church spread throughout the world and later concentrates on the existence of the church in Africa. The chapter also gives a detail account of how the church started in Ghana, i.e. the geographic context of the study and its spread to other parts of the country amidst hindrances. The chapter gives account of how the church has impacted on the socio-economic and political landscape in Ghana and how its influence continues to be felt by all. It concludes by showing how the church over the years has created value in every facet of the economy in every community that it establishes in. 2.1 INTRODUCTION Christianity developed out of Judaism in the 1st century C.E. (LeMarquand, 2000). It is founded on the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and those who follow him are called "Christians". Christianity has many different branches and forms with accompanying variety in beliefs and practices. The three major branches of Christianity are Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism, with numerous subcategories within each of these branches (Stark, 2006). Until the latter part of the 20th century, most adherents of Christianity were in the West, though it has spread to every continent and is now the largest religion in the world (Stark, 2006). Traditional Christian beliefs include the belief in the one and only true God, who is one being and exists as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the belief that Jesus is the divine and human Messiah sent to save the University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 17 world. Christianity is also noted for its emphasis on faith in Christ as the primary component of religion. The sacred text of Christianity is the Bible, including both the Hebrew Scriptures (also known as the Old Testament) and the New Testament. Central to Christian practice is the gathering at churches for worship, fellowship, and study, and engagement with the world through evangelism and social action. The Catholic Encyclopedia (1993) adequately provides the history of Christianity. Christianity emerged in the Levant (now Palestine and Israel) in the mid-1st century AD. Christianity spread initially from Jerusalem throughout the Near East, into places such as Syria, Assyria, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Asia Minor, Jordan and Egypt. In the 4th century it was successively adopted as the state religion by Armenia in 301, Georgia in 319, the Aksumite Empire in 325 (Munro-Hay, n.d), and the Roman Empire in 380. After the Council of Ephesus in 431 the Nestorian Schism created the Church of the East (Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913). The Council of Chalcedon in 451 further divided Christianity into Oriental Orthodoxy and Chalcedonian Christianity. Chalcedonian Christianity divided into the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church in the Great Schism of 1054 (Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913). The Protestant Reformation created new Christian communities that separated from the Roman Catholic Church and have evolved into many different denominations. Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity spread to all of Europe in the Middle Ages. Christianity expanded throughout the world during Europe's Age of Exploration from the Renaissance onwards, becoming the world's largest religion (adherents.com). During its early history, Christianity grew from a 1st-century Jewish following to a religion that existed across the entire Greco-Roman world and beyond. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 18 2.2 THE EARLY CHURCH The early church is mostly referred to as the Apostolic Church which was the community led by the apostles, and to some degree, Jesus' relatives (Gerberding & Cruz, 2004). In his "Great Commission", the resurrected Jesus commanded that His teachings be spread to the entire world. While critics dispute the historical reliability of the Acts of the Apostles, the Acts of the Apostles is the major primary source of information for this period. Acts gives a history of the Church from this commission in Acts 1:3–11 to the spread of the religion among the gentiles (Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913) and the eastern Mediterranean by Paul and others. The first Christians were essentially all ethnically Jewish or Jewish Proselytes. In other words, Jesus preached to the Jewish people and called from them his first disciples; see for example Matthew 10. However, the Great Commission is specifically directed at "all nations," and an early difficulty arose concerning the matter of Gentile (non-Jewish) converts as to whether they had to "become Jewish" (usually referring to circumcision and adherence to dietary law), as part of becoming Christian. Greeks in particular considered circumcision repulsive and Hellenists (Frederick, 2001) while circumcision advocates were labelled Judaisers. The actions of Peter, at the conversion of Cornelius the Centurion, seemed to indicate that circumcision and food laws did not apply to gentiles, and this was agreed to at the Apostolic Council of Jerusalem. The doctrines of the apostles brought the Early Church into conflict with some Jewish religious authorities. This eventually led to their expulsion from the synagogues, according University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 19 to one theory of the Council of Jamnia. Acts records the martyrdom of the Christian leaders, Stephen and James of Zebedee. Thus, Christianity acquired an identity distinct from Rabbinic Judaism, but this distinction was not recognized all at once by the Roman Empire. The name "Christian" was first applied to the disciples in Antioch, as recorded in Acts 11:26. Some contend that the term "Christian" was first coined as a derogatory term, meaning "little Christs", and was meant as a mockery, a term of derision for those that followed the teachings of Jesus. 2.3 REASONS FOR THE SPREAD OF THE CHURCH In spite of being at-times intense persecutions, the Christian religion continued its spread throughout the Mediterranean Basin (Whitby et al., 2006). There is no agreement on an explanation of how Christianity managed to spread so successfully prior to the Edict of Milan and the establishment of Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire. For some Christians, the success was simply the natural consequence of the truth of the religion and the hand of Providence. However, similar explanations can be claimed for the spread of Islam and Buddhism. In The Rise of Christianity, Rodney Stark argues that Christianity triumphed over paganism chiefly because it improved the lives of its adherents in various ways (Stark, 1996). Another factor was the way in which Christianity combined its promise of a general resurrection of the dead with the traditional Greek belief that true immortality depended on the survival of the body, with Christianity adding practical explanations of how this was going to actually happen at the end of the world (Øistein Endsjø, 2009). For Mosheim University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 20 (1999) the rapid progression of Christianity was explained by two factors: translations of the New Testament and the Apologies composed in defense of Christianity. 2.4 THE EXPLOSION OF CHRISTIANITY IN AFRICA According to Overseas Ministries Study Center (OMSC) (2008), in the twentieth century, the Christian population in Africa exploded from an estimated eight or nine million in 1900 (8 to 9%) to some 335 million in 2000 (45%), marking a shift in the “center of gravity of Christianity” from the West to Latin America, parts of Asia and Africa. At the turn of the 20th century, Christianity was virtually nonexistent in many parts of Africa but is now the faith of the majority, as the following figures demonstrate: Table 2.1: The Explosion of Christianity in some African Countries Country % Christians in 1900 % Christians in 2000 Congo-Zaire 1.4% 95.4% Angola 0.6% 94.1% Swaziland 1.0% 86.9% Zambia 0.3% 82.4% Kenya 0.2% 79.3% Malawi 1.8% 76.8% Source: christianity.com In addition, as of early 2000s, there were a number of African countries with a significant population of Christians. Details are shown in Table 2.2. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 21 Table 2.2: Some African Countries and Percentage of Christian Population Countries % of Christian population Seychelles 96.9% Sao Tomé & Principe 95.8% Cape Verde Islands 95.1% Namibia 92.3% Burundi 91.7% Congo-Brazzaville 91.2% Lesotho 91% Gabon 90.6% Uganda 88.7% South Africa 83.1% Rwanda 82.7% Equatorial Guinea 76.6% Ghana 69% (Ghana Statistical Service, 2000 Census) Central African Republic 67.8% Zimbabwe 67.5% Botswana 59.9% Ethiopia 57.7% Cameroon 54.2% Eritrea 50.5% Tanzania 50.4% Madagascar 49.5% Nigeria 45.9% Togo 42.6% Source: christianity.com The figures above show the growth and dominance of Christianity on the African continent. The spread of the faith in Africa represents perhaps the most dramatic advance in all Christian history, and yet the names and stories of persons chiefly responsible are largely unknown. According to Sigg (2008) of The Dictionary of African Christian Biography (DACB) (dacb.com), the church has been continuously present on the African continent since the days of Christ. While the history of African Christianity is multifaceted in its regional development, it is, nevertheless, possible to discern four general phases in the planting and maturing of the African Church. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 22 In the phase one, Africa was a major center of Christian thought and activity during the first three centuries after Christ. Origen was from Alexandria in Egypt, while Tertullian and Augustine were from North Africa. By the end of the third century, Christians in the eastern Magrib were in the majority. Sadly, Christianity in much of North Africa virtually disappeared as Islam advanced in the following centuries. In Egypt and in Ethiopia, however, it had taken deep root, and was thus able to survive the Islamic juggernaut and continues to this day. In the phase two, there was a continuation by The European Contribution of the Sub- Saharan Church. While the Portuguese introduced a Catholic form of Christianity to the Kongo Kingdom (central Africa) between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, there were few, if any, lasting results. Only at the end of the eighteenth century did the Evangelical Revival begin to bring to Africa an influx of missionaries whose labors would produce the first fruits of an enduring Christian presence in Sub-Sahara Africa. Two great British champions from the nineteenth century were Thomas Fowell Buxton and Henry Venn, neither of who ever set foot on African soil. While Buxton sought to fully eradicate the slave trade by encouraging local commercial and agricultural initiatives in its place, Venn is responsible for laying down the principles of the “indigenous church” whereby the nascent African church began to come of age. The phase three was dubbed “passing the Mantle, the First African Leadership”. For the next two hundred years, African Christians had to struggle against racism and University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 23 Western spiritual imperialism. But, as Venn (1909) had written, if the African church were to mature and establish itself, missionaries had to move on once the seed was sown, leaving indigenous leaders to build the church. Samuel Ajayi Crowther was the first African to be appointed bishop by the Anglican Church. In phase four which is dubbed "Pentecost", the African Church sought its own language. Western missionaries had planted the seeds of the Sub-Saharan church. Now, as the Gospel spread throughout the nooks and crannies of the continent, African Christianity began to define itself on its own cultural terms. Reformers within the missionary churches as well as independent church leaders called for change in the institutionalized church. This led to both reform, on the one hand, and to the birth of thousands of "African Initiated Churches" (AICs) on the other. 2.5 THE CHURCH IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: EVANGELIZATION: 15TH AND 16TH CENTURIES The exploration of the African coast by the Portuguese in the 15th century was soon accompanied by evangelization. As early as 1462, Pope Pius II entrusted the evangelization of the Guinea Coast to the Franciscans led by Alfonso de Bolano. By 1486, Dominicans and others were active in West Africa, notably among the Wolof in Senegambia. The Guinea mission depended upon that of Cape Verde where a bishopric was eventually created in 1553 (Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913, adherents.com). University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 24 At the request of the King of Benin, who had come into contact with the Portuguese in 1485, the Church was planted in that kingdom. However, no great results were achieved. The mission in Benin, which served only intermittently from Sao Tome and was made a bishopric in 1534 by Pope Paul II, simply vegetated. In the Congo, systematic evangelization began in 1490, conducted by Franciscans, Canons Secular of St. John the Evangelist, and secular priests. From the start, its success was remarkable. Nzinga was baptized under the name Dom Jodo (1491). A church was built in his capital, which was named Sao Salvador. A truly Christian kingdom, closely modeled on that of Portugal, arose on the left bank of the river. During the reign of King Alfonso (1506-43) Christianity spread widely. Missionaries arrived regularly from Portugal; and young Congolese were sent to Portugal for instruction. Dom Hernique, son of the King, was elected (1518) and consecrated (1521) bishop of Utica (Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913, adherents.com). In Angola evangelization began in the second half of the 16th century. Francis Borgia had undertaken to establish a mission there for the Society of Jesus. The Angolan mission was not initially as successful as that in the Congo. It was only established when the bishops of Sao Salvador took up residence at Loanda in 1626. It is to the credit of the early Portuguese missionaries in Zaire and Angola that they displayed remarkable missionary farsightedness by setting up a seminary for the formation of indigenous priests. On the East African Coast, particularly in Mozambique, evangelization began during the first half of the 16th century. Saint Francis Xavier stopped over in Mozambique on his way to the East. In 1561 the Emperor of Monomatapa was baptized, thereby arousing a strong University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 25 movement towards the Catholic Church. These hopes were to be destroyed by Muslim intrigue and influence. By 1591 the mission in Mozambique counted 20,000 Catholics. During the 17th century the Dominicans again undertook new evangelizing efforts in Monomatapa. A college and a seminary were erected. However, in the course of the 18th century, decline and decadence set in among the Christian communities and among the missionaries, and by the middle of the 19th century, the Portuguese mission in Eastern Africa was practically extinct. A very crucial and decisive achievement of Portuguese Catholic missions in East Africa was the rolling back and weakening of Islam beyond Mombasa. They succeeded in holding down Islam in the south (Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913, adherents.com). Early missionary work in Madagascar by Portuguese Franciscans and Dominicans during the 16th century did not enjoy much success. Jesuits started a mission there in 1613. They were followed by the Discalced Carmelites (1647), and the Vincentians; (1648), all without significant impact. Small-scale attempts were undertaken intermittently, but the French Revolution brought an end to all missionary work on the island (Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913, adherents.com). In spite of the heroic evangelizing efforts of the 15th and 16th centuries, Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa had completely disappeared by the beginning of the 19th century. Among the many reasons for that extinction, the following should perhaps be mentioned here. The missions in Sub-Saharan Africa were entrusted to Portugal that claimed the privileges of patronage (patroado) earlier granted to it by the Popes. Insistence by Portugal University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 26 on its patroado privileges practically nullified the efforts of the Sacred Congregation de Propaganda Fide to exercise effective control and to direct evangelization in those territories. Certain religious orders also managed to obtain privileges which enabled them to circumvent or obstruct Propaganda's missionary policies and approaches. While insisting on its patronage privileges, which enabled it to exclude missionaries of other nationalities from Sub-Saharan Africa, Portugal became increasingly unable to supply enough missionaries for the region. This even led to prolonged vacancies in the bishoprics in Africa, which in turn, resulted in the decline and decay of what had been laboriously built up. While insisting on its exclusive right to direct evangelization in Africa, the Portuguese government tended to prefer its commercial interests to the spread of the Faith. There was no effort made to penetrate beyond a coastal strip to the interior. The Portuguese Catholic missions thrived only in areas that were effectively under Portuguese power, and consequently they acquired the character of ecclesiastical colonies. With the exception of the Italian Capuchins in the Congo and in Angola, the early Portuguese missions did not face up to the need for inculturation. A deep and accurate knowledge of the African languages and of the customs and mentality of the people was lacking. The tropical climate often killed the missionaries within a short time after their arrival. This is one reason why the mission in the Kingdoms of Loango and Kakongo (1766-1776) had to be abandoned (adherents.com). University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 27 2.6 A NEW PERIOD OF EVANGELIZATION Towards the middle of the 19th century the evangelization of Africa was resumed, thanks to the heroic dedication of many missionary institutes of men and women. During the 19th century, Spanish and Portuguese influence had waned and the system of patroado had weakened and declined, thus leaving room for the Sacred Congregation de Propaganda Fide to get a firm and untrammeled hold on missionary policy and strategy in Africa. Today, the Catholic Church is present everywhere in Africa, the result of barely one century of apostolic activity. The resumption of the evangelization of Africa in the last century took place during an era in which most African countries were dependent territories. The colonial period in Africa has now come to an end. Therefore, the context in which evangelization has to be carried out is a new one, that of independent African countries. During the colonial period, the agents of the evangelization of Africa were exclusively missionaries from abroad, members of the various missionary institutes. Today that situation has changed as indigenous and expatriate clergy and religious hands work hand in hand in the task of evangelizing Africa. 2.7 CHRISTIANITY, COLONIZATION AND GHANA’S IDENTITY Christianity entered the land in the form of Catholicism in the latter part of the 15th century. Whereas this brand of Christianity thrived around Elmina and Cape Coast, it disappeared mysteriously after about 50 years. Then came the second wave of Christianity in the 19th century. This time it was a very fragmented and confrontational Christianity that we had to contend with. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 28 To begin with, it is sometimes said that the same Christians who brought to the Africans the faith from Europe were the same people who colonized the continents. Brandishing the cross in one hand, they held fast to the pistol in the other. It is true that the colonizers were not evangelizers and, in many instances, did not even believe in Christianity; yet, their origin and coincidence of their appearance in Ghana identified them as one. They were, therefore, entangled in the supreme contradiction of preaching the freedom of all the children of God, while at the same time they imposed heavy burdens such as the slave trade on the Africans. What is worse, they preached forms of Christianity that had caught on in their various countries in Europe and which often invariably, at least externally, clashed with one another. Religion and colonial secular interests locked horns with each other, the colonialists bringing along with them the brand of Christianity found in their countries. Calvinist Danes who in turn had to give way to Reformed Dutch who vacated their position to Anglican and Methodist British ousted the catholic Portuguese. This was otherwise a military, political or economic colonial situation created an inevitable sectarian conflict among different Christian churches. Christian denominations were caught up in the struggle for conversions, which made one denomination the enemy or, at least, the rival of another. The different denominations established strongholds in different parts of Ghana. The Methodists were strong in Western and Central Regions, the Presbyterians in the Eastern Region, Anglicans in the urban areas University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 29 and Catholics spread thinly over the whole land. Greater Accra Region was mainly Presbyterian and Methodist. The different Christian denominations, by their rivalry, ended up dividing Ghanaians, in contradiction to the principle of unity that all nations seek and the cardinal virtue of being one, according to the Lord Jesus Christ’s own words. The mid-20th century saw the upsurge of new religious movements: Pentecostal, charismatic, healing, spiritual and independent African churches, to mention a few. These new Christian churches were either introduced from outside Africa, especially the United States, or from other African countries such as Nigeria. They came at different times and settled but many of them too sprang from Ghanaian roots. Some of these were splinter groups from mainline mother Churches while many others were churches that have sprung up on their own merit. The thrust of their ministry seems to be insistence on evangelism, man’s sinfulness, repentance, healing, provision to answer problems of practical life, literary interpretation of scriptural texts, lively and participatory liturgies, and the use of African mentality in dealing with the faithful. The Orthodox Christian churches led the evangelization crusade in Ghana in the 19th century onwards. Europeans led these religious denominations and the impact of these Christians institutions cannot be over emphasized. The late 1970s witnessed a second wave of religious crusade led by Ghanaians. These Charismatic churches for the past four decades have been making headlines with their healing and deliverance services. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 30 2.8 THE DOMINANCE OF ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY IN GHANA By the mention of Orthodox Christian Churches in Ghana, one refers to the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Basel (now Presbyterian), Bremen or North German (now Evangelical Presbyterian) and Wesleyan Methodist Missions (Ahiable-Addo 2001:1). Since the advent of these churches in Ghana at various times, these Christian institutions have contributed in varying dimensions to the cultural, economic, moral, social, spiritual and political transformation of the people of Ghana. The Catholic Church is one of the mainstream Christian religious missions in Ghana. In fact, it is the premier Christian religious society in the country, for it is the first mission that was established by Europeans on the Ghanaian soil. This was done at Elmina (El Mina-the gold mines) in 1482 by some Catholic priests who accompanied the Portuguese immigrants who arrived in the Gold Coast in January 1482 to build Fort St.George (Sao Jaogo), the present day Elmina Castle. However, in 1642, the Calvinist Dutch proscribed the Catholic Church. This action was necessitated by the capture of all Portuguese possessions throughout the West Coast of Ghana between 1637 and 1642. The presence of the Dutch (1637-1872) in Ghana forced Catholicism into recession for two hundred and thirty eight years. The Catholic Church re-emerged in Ghana in May 1880 thus becoming the last of the major Christian denominations of the 19th century to be established in Ghana. The Rev. Frs. Auguste Moreau (33) and Eugene Murat (31), both French national and from the Society of the African Mission (S.M.A) are credited with the re-establishment of the Catholic Church in Ghana. After establishing a mission station at Elmina by 31st March, 1882, the S.M.A missionaries decided to extend the Catholic faith to Kumasi, the capital of the Asante state. They would, in due course spread the Catholic faith to other communities (Ahiable-Addo, 2001:2). However, this University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 31 intention was not possible and it took the Catholic missionaries twenty eighty years to found a formal church in Asante. Before the re-entry of the Catholic Church into the evangelization field, other religious denominations had already established their bases along the coastal regions of Ghana. One such religious mission was the Wesleyan Methodist, presently the Methodist Church of Ghana. In terms of membership strength and geographical reach, the Methodist Church is the second largest church in Ghana. Rev. Mr. Joseph Rhodes Dunwell established the Methodist Church in Cape Coast in 1835. On March 26, 1835, he issued to fifty adherents, the first Methodist Church membership cards ever given in Ghana. This act marked the formal establishment of the Methodist Church in Ghana (ibid: in TJCT Vol. VI, No.2, July, 1996, p.5). 2.9 CHRISTIANITY BEYOND THE COASTAL TOWNS OF GHANA The Christian Missions immediately after establishing their bases at Elmina (Catholic) and Cape Coast (Methodist) respectively, decided to extend their faiths to Asante. The coastal towns, perhaps because of their early contact with Europeans accepted Christianity without any major recorded squabbles. Were the Asante also ready to accept a foreign religion? In November 1838 when the Methodist Church was only forty-four months old in Ghana, it members and Circuit Minister, the Rev. Thomas Birch Freeman resolved to extend the church to Asante in the forest zone of Ghana. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 32 The Asante by their religious thoughts and practices were animists and polytheists. In the second half of the 1830s when Methodism was the Christian way of life at the Fante and Ga coasts, Asante’s religion was fetishism or paganism. And if there were to be progress in Asante, fetishism must be replaced with Christianity (ibid: Vol.III, Nos: 1 & 2, July, 1997, p.29). The Methodist missionaries therefore resolved that Methodism must be planted at Kumasi at any cost to save the people not only from paganism, but also Islam as well as the vices endemic in their society. The Asante did not only resist the introduction of a foreign religion into their Kingdom, but they viewed every move by the missionaries with great suspicion and consternation. Hence all early attempts at proselytizing the Asante to Christianity were thwarted. The Methodist Church made the first attempt when the Rev. Freeman led a team from Cape Coast in February 1839 to visit the Asante Kingdom. The Rev. Freeman and his party traveled to Kwisa in Fomena (Adansi District of Asante). At Kwisa the troubles of the mission started. On the party’s entry into the town, a fetish priest, who sighted it went clairvoyant and immediately instructed that the party be restrained from further advance. On the next day, Rev. Freeman and his party were summoned to a meeting with the fetish priest in attendance. The fetish priest proclaimed that the town stood the danger of being ravaged by fire on account of the Rev. Freeman’s entry and that the calamity could only be averted by propitiating the gods (Wolfson 1965). The ordeals at Kwisa and Fomena did not end the mission’s trauma on the remainder of its journey to Kumasi. At Fomena the paramount chief, Nana Kwantwi detained the party for two weeks. Upon their release from detention, the party continued it journey to Kumasi. However, the mission was to witness University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 33 more distressing things on its way to Kumasi. The path to Kumasi that the mission took was strewn with ritual sacrifices containing boiled eggs, beads and plantains among other items (ibid). On the outskirts of Kumasi, they had yet another excruciating experience. The Manhyia guards, who came to lead them into the town, took the party through two towering domes of fresh earth on either side of the narrow path. On enquiry, they were informed that the heaps were graves of two persons ritually buried alive on the instructions of the Asante court to avert any calamity that might emanate from their visit (Claridge, 1964:433, cited in Ahiable-Addo, 1997). These experiences among many others were enough to daunt the Rev. Freeman’s determination to drop his agenda and return to Cape Coast, but these pioneers of the Methodist Church in Asante pressed on. They were determined to proselytize the Asante at any cost. The assumption was that once the ‘blood thirsty’ Asante were converted to Christianity, they would desist from heinous crimes (Ahiable-Addo 1997, p.33). It took several weeks before the Asantehene Kwaku Dua I (1838-1867) eventually granted the Methodist mission audience. He allowed Rev. Freeman to visit the royal mausoleum, preach in the streets of Kumasi and conduct two Sunday services (Bartels 1986:39). Spurred on by these developments, Rev. Freeman asked the Asantehene for permission to formally establish a church and a school. This request was turn down by the Court. However, Rev. Freeman was asked to return at a later date if he so desired. Clearly, this first attempt to proselytize the Asante was a failure. With the first attempt at evangelizing the Asante being a failure, the Methodist missionaries worked hard to make University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 34 their second visit a success. And just like most 19th century European adventurers, the Rev. Freeman lavished a lot of gifts on his host (the Asantehene) on this second visit. And to demonstrate that Methodism was welcome in the Kingdom, the Asante court allocated to the missionaries a piece of disused military cemetery in 1842, located at Krobo, presently an integral part of Asante New Town (Ahiable-Addo 1997, p.36). As a result of the positive change in attitude by the Asante court to Christianity, the Rev. Freeman accomplished the establishment of Methodism in Kumasi in 1842. Through the spread of the gospel in and around Kumasi by the Methodist missionaries, some converts were made to Methodism. Occasionally, even the Asantehene, his elders and palace officials attended divine services conducted at the mission station (Bartels, 1986:53). With these early developments, the missionaries proposed the establishment of schools in Kumasi in which Asante’s children could enroll for formal education (op.cit, 37). The court blatantly rebuffed the request. The Asante did not take kindly to the idea of having formal education in the Kingdom. And in emphasizing his subjects’ aversion to western education, the Asantehene, Kwaku Dua I himself, swanked to the missionaries; Asante’s children have better work to do than to sit down (in school) all day long idly, to learn hoy! hoy! hoy!; they have to fan their parents and do their (house)work which is better (Kimble,1965:75 & Agyeman,1986:56-57, cited in Ahiable-Addo,1997). Hoy! Hoy! Hoy! refers to Holy! Holy! Holy! This resurgence of negative response from the Asante court did not dim the church’s desire to introduce formal education into the Kingdom. The missionaries persisted in talking to the Asantehene and his elders about the benefits of formal education. Manhyia finally endorsed, in 1842, the establishment of the University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 35 Kumasi Wesleyan Methodist Junior School, the first of its kind in Asante. Whereas the Asantehene Kwaku Dua I and his elders did not see the need to have western education established in the Asante Kingdom, in 1952, the Asantehene Nana Sir Osei Agyemang Prempeh II (1931-1970), asked the Catholic Church to build more schools in Asante. Efforts to start the Catholic Church in Asante dated to April 1, 1882 when Rev. Frs Moreau and Jean-Marie Michon resolved to that effect. Unlike the Methodist missionaries of the 1830s, the Catholic delegation to Kumasi was warmly received. The Asantehene Mensa Bonsu (1874-1883) granted them an exclusive audience. And during the interview, the Rev. Fr. Moreau requested that they be allowed to open missions in the Asante Kingdom; this done, they would be able to help the King and his subjects to praise God, teach their children to be equal to Europeans in skills and knowledge, as well as look after the sick (Graham, 1976:61). This maiden effort to open a Catholic mission in Kumasi was not successful. The Catholic Church was formally established in the Asante Kingdom in 1910. The Rev. Fr. Simeon Albeniz celebrated a Holy Mass on Christmas Day, December 25, 1910, thus marking the formal introduction of the Catholic Church in Kumasi. The Catholic Church is very important in northern Ghana and is contrary to the popular perception held by many southerners that northerners are all Moslem. In fact Tamale is an Archdiocese and has a major seminary. The White Fathers planted Catholicism in northern Ghana; it was their robe, originally based on the white garments of the Arabs that gave them the name. Unlike in Asante where Manhyia was the standing block in the way of the Methodist and Catholic missionaries, in northern Ghana it was the British colonial University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 36 authorities and their local agents (the chiefs) who thwarted efforts at proselytizing the people of the North to Christianity. Until 1929, the British colonial authorities would not permit any Christian mission to establish a presence in the North-West (presently the Upper West Region). The first Catholic mission station in the North was opened in Navrongo in 1906 in the North-East and another station was opened in Jirapa in the North- West in 1929. Here, the Jirapa Naa allotted the missionaries a barren piece of land allegedly haunted by evil spirits, and waited to see whether they would drive out the White Fathers or the White Fathers would drive them out (McCoy, 1988:48-9). It was from these humble beginnings that the churches spread to all corners of Ghana. 2.10 THE CHURCH IN NATIONAL POLITICS The Church in Ghana has generally been apolitical but has not hesitated to take a stand against evil in the political process in Ghana (Oquaye, 2004:347-8). The nation since independence has had Christian leaders from various denominations. The woman who had the greatest influence on Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Madam Elizabeth Nyaniba, his mother was a Roman Catholic and through her Nkrumah too became a Roman Catholic; he took the Christian name Francis but seldom used it. Nkrumah went through Roman Catholic institutions including the St. Theresa’s Roman Catholic seminary at Aminsano near Cape Coast (Pobee, 1988:10-11). Despite his Catholic upbringing, Nkrumah later described himself as a non-denominational Christian (Nkrumah, 1957:10). The Convention People’s Party (CPP) had a few clashes with the Christian Council of Ghana. Immediately after independence the Christian Council of Ghana clashed with the politicians, first over the pouring of libation to welcome the Duchess of Kent and over a statue of Nkrumah. In 1958 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 37 Nkrumah’s statue, which stood twenty feet high, was erected in front of Parliament House. On its pedestal was inscribed the words: Seek ye first the political kingdom and all others things shall be added to you. This is an adaptation of Mathew 6:33, Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all things shall be added unto you (Pobee, 1988:118). The Christian Council of Ghana campaigned to have the words removed from the statue. This protest was to no avail. Further, the Christian Council condemned the introduction of the Preventive Detention Act (PDA). Another Ghanaian leader who came in for criticism by the Christian denominations was General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong (1972-78). General Acheampong was also born into the Roman Catholic Church. The mismanagement of the Ghanaian economy by the Supreme Military Council members resulted in organized labour embarking on strikes. When the crisis of May to August 1977 erupted, General Acheampong, declared a Week of National Repentance to run from the 27th June to 3rd July, 1977. The official reason given by the soldiers for subjecting all Ghanaians into repentance was that the ills of the nation, political and economic, were due to the sinfulness of the nation (Pobee, 1992:6). Most of the main streams churches ignored the General’s call for repentance and rather the leadership of SMC was criticized for it mismanagement of the country. The churches did keep up a steady barrage of criticism until the General was toppled in a palace coup. The government that bore the greatest criticism from the Church was the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC 1981-1992) of Flight-Lieutenant J J Rawlings. The church in its publication through the Catholic Standard, The Christian Messenger University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 38 persistently protested against the PNDC until they were shut down. The Churches also condemned the extra-judicial killings generally and particularly the murder of the three high court judges and the retired army officer. From 1990 onwards, the churches became forceful exponents of a return to multi-party politics. In January 1991, for example, the Christian Council of Ghana issued a statement calling for the release of all political prisoners, the establishment of a constituent assembly and a return to democracy by the end of 1992 (Nugent, 1996:189). 2.11 THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF GHANA The role played by the church in the socio-economic development of Ghana cannot be overemphasized. The Christian missions established several socio-economic institutions in Ghana as a medium of evangelization and conversion of the people to Christianity. These institutions were educational facilities at the basic and second cycle levels, health-care delivery units and industrial or economic institutions. These activities of the Christian missions had a tremendous impact on the people on Ghana both positively or negatively. However, the positive influences outweighed the negative ones. The Christian missions starting from the coastal towns of Ghana established many educational institutions. The central region is referred to as the “citadel of education” because of the many schools in the region. The region boasts of schools such as St. Augustine’s College, Wesley Girls’ High, and Adisadel College among others. Asante and the Northern regions remained largely illiterate up to the end of the 19th century. It was University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 39 Asante’s intransigence that denied it citizens’ western education and the historian, S.K. Odamtten, commented this on: During the nineteenth century when the coastal and near-coastal peoples of Ghana embraced Christianity and western education, with the recipients gaining employment in European commerce, industry, teaching, security services and the churches, the Asante refused to be touched by those modernizing social forces; they were still drumming and dancing Kete in the forest. When the Asante finally embraced western education by the close of the 19th century, they demanded for more educational institutions to be established in the Asante Kingdom. In the case of Northern Ghana, it was basically the racist policies of the British colonial authorities that denied northerners western education. But thanks to the introduction of Christianity, many northerners were able to access education. In 1937, the Catholic mission opened its first primary school for boys in the Upper West region. Other prominent schools such as St. Francis of Assisi (girls), St. Francis Xavier Minor Seminary (boys) in the Upper West region, St. Charles secondary school (Tamale) and Notre Dame secondary school (Navrongo) were all established by the catholic mission. Many Ghanaians became formally educated through the work of the Christian missions. Almost all churches have schools at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education in the country. Consistently, over 95 percent of the country's top second cycle institutions are all mission schools. Notable amongst them are:  Adisadel College - Anglican - Cape Coast  Mfantsipim School - Methodist - Cape Coast University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 40  Wesley Girls High School - Methodist - Cape Coast  St. Augustine's College - Catholic- Cape Coast  Holy Child School - Catholic - Cape Coast  Prempeh College - Methodist/Presbyterian - Kumasi  Opoku Ware School - Catholic - Kumasi  St. Peter's Boys Senior Secondary School - Catholic - Nkwatia Kwahu  Pope John's Secondary School - Catholic - Effiduase Koforidua  St. Rose’s Girls Secondary School - Catholic - Akwatia  Aburi Girls Secondary School - Presbyterian- Aburi  St. Louis Secondary School - Catholic - Kumasi  Arch Bishop Potter Girls Secondary School - Catholic - Takoradi  Presbyterian Boys Secondary School - Presbyterian - Accra Many acquired skills that they used to acquire decent means of livelihood as they contributed to local, regional and national development at various levels. Again by embracing Christianity many Ghanaians societies abandoned several obnoxious traditional customs. Further, the Christian missions led the way in health-care provision. They provided western health facilities for the people of Ghana especially the rural folk. The bookshops and printing presses opened throughout Ghana promoted education or literacy in general. Agriculture also received great attention from the Christian missions. The various Christian denominations have grown from their humble beginning in the 19th century into the mega-institutions that they are in the twenty first century Ghana. In keeping with the missions’ philosophy of saving souls, education and performing acts of University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 41 charity, the various Christian denominations have established congregations in various parts of the country. The impact of this is that many Ghanaians have become notoriously religious. Above all, the churches built schools and colleges, (and now university colleges) which have turned out educated Ghanaians who have contributed immensely to the development of Ghana in the past five decades. Of equally important contribution to the development of Ghana is the churches health-care delivery system in which various Christian denominations constructed hospitals, clinics and health posts in various communities throughout Ghana to serve the health needs of Ghanaians throughout the past five decades. Lastly the role of the Christian Council of Ghana, the Ghana Bishop’s Conference of the Roman Catholic Church and the National Catholic Secretariat in conflict resolution should be commended. These institutions were the credible reconciler of the warring factions in the crisis that engulf the Acheampong regime. They have established themselves as the voice of the voiceless, fighting the cause of the poor in society. 2.12 ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL BENEFITS FROM THE CHURCH In any society, social development ranks high in the list of national priorities. This is most seen in the process of establishing human dynamisms and activities at higher levels to achieve greater results in the areas of health, food, shelter and security. These fundamentals are at the core of social development in the most simplistic terms. Commonly the church is assumed to have a role in helping development of community (Vidal, 2001). The church plays a vital role in the cognitive, spiritual, economic and social development of the community. The church over the years has designed programmes to contribute to the University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 42 individual’s self-improvement, creative learning as well as meeting spiritual, economic, emotional and community needs (Sutcliffe, 2003). The church has helped develop almost all the human rights that we now take for granted. The right to healthcare, an education, the right to vote, workers rights, women’s rights, the right of children to be children – all of this is the legacy of the church together with ending the slave trade and slavery, opening schools, universities, hospitals – the list goes on and on. In the late 20th century, great Christian leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought for civil rights in America and Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela fought to end apartheid in South Africa. Churches, have contributed to the success of economies by encouraging virtue, but social science research has also shown that churches provide direct and indirect economic and social benefits to communities (Tirrito & Cascio, 2003). Churches provide valuable contributions to communities in the areas of direct economic contributions, social services and community volunteering, education and civic skills training, and reduced levels of deviance. These benefits positively improve communities in both direct and indirect manners, and they enhance political stability and the long-term health of communities. The presence of churches in the community brings direct economic benefits to the local area. Church organizations provide jobs for the community, and churches support a variety of local businesses. Churches bring individuals from surrounding areas to the community where the church is located, and these individuals provide economic support to local establishments. Thus, churches aid in bringing additional revenue to communities. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 43 Churches are also an attractive component to local communities. Much like strong school systems, many families and individuals consider the presence of local religious organizations when making decisions about moving to communities and purchasing property. The presence of churches aids in families choosing to establish residence in a local community. This, in turn, helps support local businesses and contributes to property tax payments. Therefore, churches provide direct economic benefits to the community. Churches encourage community growth, job creation, and overall economic vitality. Beyond direct economic benefits, churches also provide social benefits that have economic value. Several researchers have identified the social benefits that churches bring to communities, including: providing help to poor and vulnerable individuals in the community; improving marriage relationships; increasing moral community obligations; and promoting charitable contributions and volunteering. Social scientists consider it irrational to participate in moral and volunteer projects, because they have such a low personal benefit. However, being a member of a religious community increases one’s duty to serve others in the community, countering the “free rider” problem. Churches help communities complete vitally important social projects, which the government would need to fund if churches did not provide such support. In Ghana, there are several evidence of churches providing good drinking water and healthcare for deprived communities. A comprehensive study of religious congregations in six metropolitan communities found that 91 percent of religious congregations provided at least one social service (Cnaan et al.. 1999); similarly, 87 percent of the congregations in a Philadelphia survey provided at least University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 44 one social service to the community (Boddie et al., 2001). The researchers in the Philadelphia study found that churches do much more community aiding work, including helping the poor and making positive social inroads in the community, than previously realized by scholars. The authors declare, “If it were not for the impressive collective effort of some 2,120 local religious congregations, life in Philadelphia would have become extremely harsh” (Cnaan et al., 2006; p. 291). The presence of churches in the community also increases the religiosity of locals, and increased religiosity results in positive social contributions for the community. For example, religiosity influences individuals’ obligations to perform non-religious moral acts. Individuals who are religious have been shown to have an increased propensity to participate in community building, and moral projects such as giving blood (Ortberg, Goruch & Kim, 2001). For example, the International Central Gospel Church – Christ Temple on an annual basis organizes blood donation exercise to shore up the Korle-Bu Hospital Blood Bank. Additionally, church affiliation and religiosity increase community volunteering as well as intra-church volunteering (Park & Smith, 2000). Cnaan valued that churches in large metropolitan communities provide support equal to one full-time social service employee (Cnaan, 1999), and it is clear that by building up and sending out volunteers to the community, churches provide significant economic and social benefits, helping improve communities. Most church groups on the various university campuses in Ghana, embark on annual missionary service in rural areas where they, for instance, teach in schools, provide clothing and help local businesses where possible. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 45 Along with creating social programs and serving as a foundation for community volunteers, churches also improve the educational success of students and provide training and skills that promote civic engagement. For students, religious involvement is positively correlated with higher math and reading scores and greater educational aspirations (Regnerus, 2000; 2001). Students who frequently attend church have an improved ability to allocate time and achieve goals (Freeman, 1985), and religiously connected students are five times less likely than their peers to skip school (Sloane & Potvin, 1986). Parents’ involvement in churches also improves their children’s educational capacities and achievements. Parents with higher levels of religiosity raise children who more consistently complete homework, attend class, and complete degree programs (Muller & Ellison, 2001). Churches provide educational, psychological, and moral training and resources, which result in positive present and future educational outcomes for students. Several cross-national and community based studies also show that churches help members obtain civic skills, such as public speaking, networking, organizing, and participating in politics (Schwadel, 2002). The church environment provides a training ground for individuals from all socio-economic backgrounds, affording individuals the skills to succeed in industry, business, education, and politics. The presence of churches in our communities also decreases the occurrence of crime and deviance in communities and among local youth. Reduced levels of crime and deviance make communities more safe, stable, and productive; and safe and stable communities encourage economic growth, through business expansion and attracting new residents. Church attendance has also been associated with decreased levels of assault, burglary, and larceny (Bainbridge, 1989), and University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 46 religiosity promotes decreased levels of violent crime both at the individual and the state level (Lester 1987; Hummer et al., 1999). Increased levels of religiosity also directly decrease deviant behavior, such as drug use, violence, and delinquency among at risk youth (Fagan, 2006). Churches also promote a variety of health benefits for the community, improving the vitality of the community and decreasing government expenditures. Studies have consistently shown that religiosity is related to increased longevity (Johnson et al., 2002; Fagan, 2006). There is strong research that supports that the average religious individual lives seven years longer than the average non-religious individual (Hummer et al., 1999; Fagan, 2006). Research by Johns Hopkins scholars shows that non-religious individuals have increased risks of dying from cirrhosis of the liver, emphysema, arteriosclerosis, cardiovascular diseases, and suicide (Comstock & Patridge, 1972; Fagan, 2006). Religious attendance has been shown to decrease stress, increase self-esteem, and give individuals hope and a greater sense of life purpose (Fagan, 2006; Johnson et al., 2002). Increased religious practice also is associated with decreased levels of depression and suicide (Johnson et al., 2002; Ellison, 1995). In sum, church involvement has been shown to improve mental health, and having strong mental health makes individuals more productive and less at risk for committing crimes. Churches provide mental health benefits to individuals, and improved mental health directly aids communities. Currently in Ghana, health establishments belonging to various Christian bodies in the country cater for 42% of all the nation’s health care needs. The umbrella organization of University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 47 which the various mission hospitals, clinics and facilities are members of is known as the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG). Some of these facilities are in deprived areas of the country. CHAG serves as a link between Government and its Development Partners and CHAG Member Institutions and provides support to its members through capacity strengthening, coordination of activities, lobbying and advocacy, public relations and translation of government policies. The goal of CHAG is to improve the health status of people living in Ghana, especially the marginalized and the impoverished, in fulfillment of Christ's healing ministry. CHAG’s 183 Member Institutions are therefore predominantly located in the rural (underserved) areas. CHAG plays a complementary role to the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and is the second largest provider of health services in the country. Community contributions such as volunteerism, mental and physical health, reduced deviance, increased education and civic awareness, and social networks are all components of social capital—a concept numerous social science researchers have identified as having a significant impact on successful communities and societies (Putnam, 2000). Social capital is the outcome of trust, social networks, and social health, and it encourages economic and social opportunities for communities. Scholars have frequently referenced the role of religion in creating social capital and developing the positive societal impacts of social capital (Fukuyama, 2001). Social capital, which churches promote, has been shown to increase economic growth (Zak & Knack, 2001), and it also improves government performance, according to an evaluation of the fifty states (Knack, 2002). University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 48 In total, Churches have diverse positive impacts on communities, ranging from increased trust, improved mental and physical health, decreased crime, and enhanced levels of volunteering and community outreach. These attributes build norms and values that encourage political stability and economic performance. Churches contribute to vitally important components of successful societies, and their presence in communities provides many benefits that cannot be measured solely by direct revenue. 2.13. CHAPTER SUMMARY The chapter has paid extensive attention to the context within which this study is being conducted. A brief history of the church from its time of inception to the present day has been given and has also shown how the church spread throughout the world and later concentrates on the existence of the church in Africa. The chapter has also given a detail account of how the church started in Ghana, i.e. the geographic context of the study and its spread to other parts of the country amidst hindrances. How the church has impacted on the socio-economic and political landscape of Ghana and how the church over the years has created value in every sphere of life concluded the chapter. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 49 CHAPTER THREE LITERATURE REVIEW – VALUE CREATION The major aim of the thesis is to understand the value creation process and typologies and customer experience in churches. As a result, two major concepts are reviewed: value creation and customer experience. This chapter will focus on the literature on value creation. 3.1 INTRODUCTION Value creation is a central concept in the management and organization literature for both micro level (individual, group) and macro level (organization theory, strategic management) research. The primary pursuit of any business is to understand what value customers are looking for (DeSarbo et al., 2001; O’Cass & Ngo, 2010) in the marketplace and to create, offer and maintain that value for them (Conner, 1991; Sirmon et al., 2007). Yet there is little consensus on what value creation is or on how it can be achieved (Lepak, Smith & Taylor, 2007). Understanding what value is and how value is created and offered to customers has become critical (Bowman & Ambrosini, 2000, 2009; Mittal & Sheth, 2001; DeSarbo et al., 2001; Payne & Frow, 2005; Anderson et al., 2006; Lepak et al., 2007; Sirmon et al., 2007) especially for service firms. Currently, there is little consensus on what value creation is and how it can be achieved (Lepak et al., 2007; O’Cass & Ngo, 2010). First, the multidisciplinary nature of the field of management introduces significant variance in the parties or targets for which new value is created and in the potential sources or creators of value. To illustrate, scholars in strategic management, strategic human University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 50 resource management, marketing, or entrepreneurship, for example, may emphasize the creation of value for business owners (Porter, 1985; Sirmon, Hitt & Ireland, 2007), stakeholders (Post, Preston & Sachs, 2002), or customers (Kang, Morris & Snell, 2007; Priem, 2007). Conversely, researchers emphasizing organizational behavior may emphasize value creation that targets individual employees, employee groups or teams, and organizations (March & Simon, 1958). Scholars from sociological or economic disciplines may focus on value creation in terms of society (Lee, Peng