FAITH WITHOUT WORKS. AN EXAMINATION OF BRADY AND CRONIN S CUSTOMER ORIENTATION FRAMEWORK MICHAEL NKRUMAH GIMPA BUSINESS SCHOOL MSC.

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1 FAITH WITHOUT WORKS. AN EXAMINATION OF BRADY AND CRONIN S CUSTOMER ORIENTATION FRAMEWORK MICHAEL NKRUMAH GIMPA BUSINESS SCHOOL MSC. MARKETING

2 OVERVIEW Introduction Purpose Objectives Study Setting Methodology Results Conclusions Contributions Limitations and Future Research Michael Nkrumah

3 INTRODUCTION cont. RELIGION MUSIC & ART LANGUAGE CULTURE VALUES AND ATTITUDES ETHICS In seeking to understand what consumers buy, how they buy, where they buy and what influences their purchasing decisions (Fam et. al, 2004), the field of consumer behavior has sometimes turned to culture. EDUCATION Essoo (2001) Michael Nkrumah

4 GAP Research has shed some light on the impact of religious values on various aspects of consumer behavior (Mohklis, 2009; 2010). Yet much still remains to be researched (Choi, 2013) on how religion influences customer orientation and more importantly on how religious elements affect consumer perceptions of a firms customer orientation. Michael Nkrumah

5 MOTIVATION Motivation. There are few studies on customer orientation and religious influence, this study will serve as a foundation for further research on religion s role in consumption. This will not only broaden our understanding of religious influences on consumer behaviour but also help to bridge the gap between the literature on religion and marketing. Michael Nkrumah

6 RESEARCH PURPOSE The purpose of this thesis is to explore the robustness of Brady and Cronin s (2001) customer orientation conceptual framework. It suggests that under the influence of religion, consumers may not behave as rationally as the framework suggests. The thesis focuses on three specific tenets of religion namely faith, spirituality and religiosity borrowing from Saroglou s (2010) conceptualization of religiousness Michael Nkrumah

7 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES To what extent does faith, spirituality and religiosity influence customer orientation processes towards firm performance. Specifically : It examines the relationships that exist among the variables within the customer orientation conceptual framework, under the mediating influence of religion. It examines the differential and individual impacts of faith, spirituality and religiosity on customer orientation. Michael Nkrumah

8 STUDY SETTING The study centered on members in three (3) Abundant life neo- Pentecostal churches (ALNP) namely: Action Chapel Perez Chapel International International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) The neo-pentecostal movement in Africa is described as largely reflective of the wider socio-political and economic issues faced by the nations (Bonsu and Belk, 2010). The ALNP movement emphasize seed faith and prosperity gospel as part of the believers salvation (Larbi, 2001). Michael Nkrumah

9 LITERATURE REVIEW 1 Religion - Koenig et al (2001), Choi et al. (2013), Byrne et al. (2011). 2 Elements of Religion - Osman-gani et al., (2013), Caldwell et al., (2009), Marmor-Lavie et al., (2009), Newman (2004). 3 4 Church as a business - Miller (2006), Noland (2005), Yip & Ainsworth (2013), Orwig (2002), Moore (2000) Religion and Consumer behavior - Choi et al. (2013), Farrah and Samad (2014), Byrne et al. (2011). 5 Customer orientation Kumar et al., (2011), Kohli and Jaworski (1990), Narver and Slater(1990), Day & Wensley (1998). Michael Nkrumah 9

10 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ORIGINAL BRADY AND CRONIN S (2001) FRAMEWORK HYPOTHESIS 1 & 2 ESP Sat CO PGQ OSQ BO CO Customer Orientation ESP Employee Service Performance PGQ- Physical Goods Quality SSQ Val. OSQ Overall Service Quality Sat. Satisfaction Val. - Value SSQ Servicescape Quality BO Outcome Behavioral

11 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK MEDIATED BRADY AND CRONIN S (2001) FRAMEWORK HYPOTHESIS 3 & 4 ESP Sat CO FAT. SPI. REL. PGQ OSQ BO FAT Faith SPI Spirituality REL - Religiosity SSQ Val. Michael Nkrumah

12 HYPOTHESIS H 0 1 : Customer orientation is directly related to church members perceptions of service employee performance, the service environment, and any physical goods included in the service encounter. H 0 2 : Customer orientation is indirectly related to church members perceptions of overall service quality, value, satisfaction, and behavioral outcomes.

13 HYPOTHESIS H 0 3 : Faith, spirituality and religiosity will directly mediate church members perceptions of how customer orientation relates to the employee service performance, the service environment and any physical goods included in the service encounter. H 0 4 : faith, spirituality and religiosity will indirectly mediate church members perceptions of how customer orientation relates to overall service quality, value, satisfaction and behavioral outcomes from the service encounter.

14 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Survey Research method Pilot Study (Evangel Church Int.) First stage involved semi-structured interviews with two pastors from two branches to aid questionnaire adaptation (Blankson and Crawford, 2012). Second stage involved testing adapted questionnaire applicability and validity on 116 members from the two branches. Main study, Convenience sampling method was used to select members in each of the churches under study. Total of 375 questionnaires were sent out. 325 were returned out of which 300 were deemed useable.

15 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY - ANALYSIS For validation, the J. C. Anderson and Gerbing (1988) two-step approach was employed. The first-step approach consists of an exploratory factor analysis and a confirmatory factor analysis - an estimation of the measurement model. Given an acceptable convergent and discriminant validities, the second-step approach involved the test of the structural model. Analysis were performed using the SPSS 16 and Amos 21 softwares.

16 AUGMENTED CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK MODEL 1 - CO MODEL MODEL 3 SPIRITUALITY MODEL MODEL 2 FAITH MODEL MODEL 4 RELIGIOSITY MODEL

17 EFA FOR MODEL 1- CO MODEL CONFIRMATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS Initial Eigenvalues Factors Total % of Variance Cumulative % 1 CO PGQ SSQ SAT BO Factors Cronbach Alpha AVE CR 1 - CO 2 PGQ 3 SSQ 4 SAT 5 - BO Measurement Model 1

18 EFA FOR MODEL 2- FAITH MODEL CONFIRMATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS Initial Eigenvalues Factors Total % of Variance Cumulative % 1 - CO FAT PGQ SSQ SAT BO Factors Cronbach Alpha AVE CR 1 - CO FAT PGQ SSQ SAT BO Measurement Model 2

19 EFA FOR MODEL 3- SPIRITUALITY MODEL CONFIRMATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS Initial Eigenvalues Factors Total % of Variance Cumulative % 1 - CO SPI PGQ SSQ SAT BO Factors Cronbach Alpha AVE CR 1 - CO SPI PGQ SSQ SAT BO Measurement Model 3

20 EFA FOR MODEL 4- RELIGIOSITY MODEL CONFIRMATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS Initial Eigenvalues Factors Total % of Variance Cumulative % 1 - CO REL PGQ SSQ SAT BO Factors Cronbach Alpha AVE CR 1 - CO REL PGQ SSQ SAT BO Measurement Model 4

21 Dimensionality, Validity and Reliability of Items in Pilot Study Goodness-of-fit Measure Benchmark CO Faith Spirituality Religiosity Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 CMIN (X2) p 0.5 (N<250), (p = (p = (p = (p = P<0.05(N>250) 0.000) 0.000) 0.000) 0.000) CMIN/DF p 0.5 (N<250), P<0.05(N>250) Degrees of freedom Absolute fit measures Goodness-of-fit index (GFI) Root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) 0.1 or Root mean square residual (RMR) 1 or = Incremental fit indices Normed fit index (NFI) Comparative fit index (CFI) Tucker Lewis index (TLI) Relative fit index (RFI) Parsimony fit indices Adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI) Parsimony normed fit index(pnfi)

22 Test of Mediation In testing for the mediation, the series of steps by Cohen and Cohen, (1986) was followed. Direct Mediation under Standardised Estimates

23 Partial Mediation for Model 1 under Standardized Estimates Partial Mediation for Model 2 under Standardized Estimates

24 Partial Mediation for Model 3 under Standardized Estimates Partial Mediation for Model 4 under Standardized Estimates

25 RESULTS FOR MODEL 1- CO MODEL Mediation GOF Benchmark Direct Partial Full CMIN (X2) p 0.5 (N<250), P<0.05(N>250) (p = 0.000) (p = 0.000) (p = 0.000) CMIN/DF p 0.5 (N<250), P<0.05(N>250) DF Absolute fit measures (GFI) (RMSEA) 0.1 or (RMR) Incremental fit indices (NFI) (CFI) (TLI) (RFI) Parsimony fit indices (AGFI) (PNFI)

26 RESULTS FOR MODEL 2- FAITH Mediation GOF Benchmark Direct Partial Full CMIN (X2) p 0.5 (N<250), P<0.05(N>250) (p = 0.000) (p = 0.000) (p = 0.000) CMIN/DF p 0.5 (N<250), P<0.05(N>250) DF Absolute fit measures (GFI) (RMSEA) 0.1 or (RMR) Incremental fit indices (NFI) (CFI) (TLI) (RFI) Parsimony fit indices (AGFI) (PNFI)

27 RESULTS FOR MODEL 3- SPIRITUALITY Mediation GOF Benchmark Direct Partial Full CMIN (X2) p 0.5 (N<250), P<0.05(N>250) (p = 0.000) (p = 0.000) (p = 0.000) CMIN/DF p 0.5 (N<250), P<0.05(N>250) DF Absolute fit measures (GFI) (RMSEA) 0.1 or (RMR) Incremental fit indices (NFI) (CFI) (TLI) (RFI) Parsimony fit indices (AGFI) (PNFI)

28 RESULTS FOR MODEL 4- RELIGIOSITY Mediation GOF Benchmark Direct Partial Full CMIN (X2) p 0.5 (N<250), P<0.05(N>250) (p = 0.000) (p = 0.000) (p = 0.000) CMIN/DF p 0.5 (N<250), P<0.05(N>250) DF Absolute fit measures (GFI) (RMSEA) 0.1 or (RMR) Incremental fit indices (NFI) (CFI) (TLI) (RFI) Parsimony fit indices (AGFI) (PNFI)

29 CONCLUSION The study has Suggests that religion is not a stand-alone discipline separate from the realm of the sciences as has been thought (Welch and Mueller, 2001; Kuran, 1994). The results show a relationship between religion and marketing such that religion can be seen as a concept of marketing. Suggests that the practice of customer-orientation by religious organizations should not cause a great depart from the core tenets of the gospel of eternal salvation (Yip and Ainsworth, 2013) but offer new approaches to reaching lost souls. Suggests that customer orientation can enable churches drive members partcicpation in church activities (Muhlyanegara et al, 2011).

30 CONTRIBUTIONS Managerial Implications By acknowledging the influence of religion in the customer orientation process, firms can now adequately orient themselves towards markets that have been segmented on religious basis (Delener, 1990). Marketing strategists who endeavor to understand consumers in a more predictive and comprehensive manner may find it useful to view the elements of religion such as faith, spirituality and religiosity as influencers of consumer perceptions of a firm s customer orientation. Michael Nkrumah

31 CONTRIBUTIONS Theoretical Implications The thesis contributes to our conceptual understanding of the relationships within the services marketing and strategic marketing domain by showing that overall service quality and customer value, may not always be antecedents of customer loyalty (behavioural outcome) or satisfaction in a consumer s buying decision process especially under the mitigating influence of religion. The findings suggest that satisfaction may be the most important variable in the interdependent relationships between value, overall service quality and satisfaction. Michael Nkrumah

32 LIMITATIONS Non-probability sampling (the use of the purposive and convenience sampling in selecting and recruiting the target population and respondents) Some of the values did not meet the threshold requirements of some of the statistical analysis. The examination of three elements of religion namely faith, religiosity or spirituality; among other empirically tested elements such as intrinsic or extrinsic religiosity. Michael Nkrumah

33 FUTURE RESEARCH Explore the influence of other marketing principles on religion. Use probability sampling for a large sample size will provide better insights. Examine the mediating influence of other variables or dimensions of religiousness like religious orientation, religious affiliation and religious coping in influencing perceptions of a firm s customer orientation. Study religion as a consumption product. Michael Nkrumah

34 Thank You