The Effect Of Service Quality On Customer Satisfaction In The Telecommunication Industry In Cameroon

ABSTRACT

This study seeks to look at “The effect of service quality on costumer satisfaction in the telecommunication industry Cameroon (Buea)” The main objective was to examine the effect of Service Quality on consumer satisfaction. The sampling technique use for this study was the convenience sampling technique and a sample size of 40 customers were analyzed. Survey techniques was use to collected data. The instrument for data collect was a well structure questioners with three parts. This studied revealed  the sub construct of Tangibility empathy and reliability all affect Customer Satisfaction. To conclude it could be seen that all of the variables affect customer satisfaction. Hence management should focus on building satisfied customers by taking account Tangibility of the service, Empathy of the Service and finally Reliability of the service

Key wards: Marketing mix variables, customer  satisfaction , Telecommunication, Buea

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of The Study

Consumer behavior is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and all the activities associated with the purchase, use and disposal of goods and services, and how the consumer‘s emotions, attitudes and preferences affect buying behavior. Consumer behaviour emerged in the 1940-50s as a distinct sub-discipline of marketing, but has become an interdisciplinary social science that blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology, anthropology, ethnography, marketing and economics (especially behavioural economics). ( Rogers 2003)

The study of consumer behaviour formally investigates individual qualities such as demographics, personality lifestyles, and behavioural variables (such as usage rates, usage occasion, loyalty, brand advocacy, and willingness to provide referrals), in an attempt to understand people’s wants and consumption patterns. Also investigated are the influences on the consumer, from social groups such as family, friends, sports, and reference groups, to society in general (brand-influencers, opinion leaders. (Blench 2009)

Research has shown that consumer behaviour is difficult to predict, even for experts in the field; however, new research methods, such as ethnography, consumer neuroscience, and machine learning are shedding new light on how consumers make decisions. In addition, customer relationship management (CRM) databases have become an asset for the analysis of customer behavior. The extensive data produced by these databases enables detailed examination of behavioural factors that contribute to customer re-purchase intentions, consumer retention, loyalty and other behavioral intentions such as the willingness to provide positive referrals, become brand advocates or engage in customer citizenship activities. Databases also assist in market segmentation, especially behavioral segmentation such as developing loyalty segments, which can be used to develop tightly targeted, customized marketing strategies on a one-to-one basis. (, J. R.  Bogomolova 2009)

Consumer buying behaviour is the sum total of a consumer’s attitudes, preferences, intentions, and decisions regarding the consumer’s behaviour in the marketplace when purchasing a product or service. The study of consumer behaviour draws upon social science disciplines of anthropology, psychology, sociology, and economics, Another  view we can see  say Consumer buying behaviour are actions, steps or processes followed by the consumers in a marketplace before (and after) buying a product or a service. These actions are the result of the attitudes, preferences, intentions and decisions. These actions or steps can be both online and offline given the modern business paradigm. The study of consumer buying behaviour is an interdisciplinary subject area drawing widely from sociology, psychology, anthropology etc. Consumer Buying Behaviour just not only covers the purchase part but also covers the usability and even the disposal of the products or services. This is part of the Post Purchase Evaluation but is a critical part of the buying behaviour. Consumer behaviour entails “all activities associated with the purchase, use and disposal of goods and services, including the consumer’s emotional, mental and behavioral responses that precede or follow these activities.” The term, consumer can refer to individual consumers as well as organisational consumers, and more specifically, “an end user, and not necessarily a purchaser, in the distribution chain of a good or service.” Consumer behavior is concerned with(Winchester 2009 )

• purchase activities: the purchase of goods or services; how consumers acquire products and services, and all the activities leading up to a purchase decision, including information search, evaluating goods and services and payment methods including the purchase experience
• use or consumption activities: concerns the who, where, when and how of consumption and the usage experience, including the symbolic associations and the way that goods are distributed within families or consumption units
• disposal activities: concerns the way that consumers dispose of products and packaging; may also include reselling activities such as eBay and second-hand markets

Consumer responses may be:

• emotional (or affective) responses: refer to emotions such as feelings or moods,
• mental (or cognitive) responses: refer to the consumer’s thought processes, their
• behavioral (or cognitive) responses: refer to the consumer’s observable responses in relation to the purchase and disposal of goods or services.

Consumer buying behavior to an extent is greatly determine by the marketing strategy perception of the consumers this to say the adopted marketing strategy by telecommunication companies will have an effect of the consumer buying behavior.

Marketing strategy involves mapping out the company’s direction for the forthcoming planning period, whether that be three, five or ten years. It involves undertaking a 360° review of the firm and its operating environment with a view to identifying new business opportunities that the firm could potentially leverage for competitive advantage. Strategic planning may also reveal market threats that the firm may need to consider for long-term sustainability. Strategic planning makes no assumptions about the firm continuing to offer the same products to the same customers into the future. Instead, it is concerned with identifying the business opportunities that are likely to be successful and evaluates the firm’s capacity to leverage such opportunities. It seeks to identify the strategic gap; that is the difference between where a firm is currently situated (the strategic reality or inadvertent strategy) and where it should be situated for sustainable, long-term growth (the strategic intent or deliberate strategy).Strategic planning seeks to address three deceptively simple questions, specifically:Where are we now? (Situation analysis) What business should we be in? (Vision and mission) How should we get there? (Strategies, plans, goals and objectives)

A fourth question may be added to the list, namely ‘How do we know when we got there?’ Due to increasing need for accountability, many marketing organisations use a variety of marketing metrics to track strategic performance, allowing for corrective action to be taken as required. On the surface, strategic planning seeks to address three simple questions, however, the research and analysis involved in strategic planning is very sophisticated and requires a great deal of skill and judgment. During the 1990s, the resource-based view (also known as the resource-advantage theory) of the firm became the dominant paradigm. It is an inter-disciplinary approach that represents a substantial shift in thinking. It focuses attention on an organisation’s internal resources as a means of organizing processes and obtaining a competitive advantage. The resource-based view suggests that organisations must develop unique, firm-specific core competencies that will allow them to outperform competitors by doing things differently and in a superior manner.

Barney stated that for resources to hold potential as sources of sustainable competitive advantage, they should be valuable, rare and imperfectly imitable. A key insight arising from the resource-based view is that not all resources are of equal importance nor possess the potential to become a source of sustainable competitive advantage. The sustainability of any competitive advantage depends on the extent to which resources can be imitated or substituted. Barney and others point out that understanding the causal relationship between the sources of advantage and successful strategies can be very difficult in practice. Barney uses the term “causally ambiguous” which he describes as a situation when “the link between the resources controlled by the firm and the firm’s sustained competitive advantage is not understood or understood only very imperfectly.” Thus, a great deal of managerial effort must be invested in identifying, understanding and classifying core competencies. In addition, management must invest in organisational learning to develop and maintain key resources and competencies.

Market Based Resources include: Organizational culture e.g. market orientation, research orientation, culture of innovation, etc. Assets e.g. brands, Mktg IS, databases, etc. Capabilities (or competencies) e.g. market sensing, marketing research, relationships, know-how, tacit knowledge, etc

In the resource-based view, strategists select the strategy or competitive position that best exploits the internal resources and capabilities relative to external opportunities. Given that strategic resources represent a complex network of inter-related assets and capabilities, organisations can adopt many possible competitive positions. Although scholars debate the precise categories of competitive positions that are used, there is general agreement, within the literature, that the resource-based view is much more flexible than Porter’s prescriptive approach to strategy formulation

This research project is to see weather service quantity has an effect of on consumer buying behavior in the telecommunication sector in Buea.

1.2 Problem Statement

Customer satisfaction is the foundation for any organization to retain its existing customers (Khan, 2002). He was of the opinion that customers who are satisfied are likely to have positive relationship with the organization. It is therefore necessary for organizations to make sure that all activities tend to the satisfaction of their customers. This will create a path way for customers to see the possibility of integrating their loyalty with the organization, taken into cognizance continued purchasing and repurchasing of the organization‟s products.

Ibojo (2014) was of the view that, for an organization to constantly retain its numerous customers in this competitive global village, there is the need to strategically constantly satisfying the needs of the customers. He was of the opinion that a satisfied and retained customer will give room for repeat purchase while unsatisfied customer may decide to switch to other brands or competitive brands of other organizations.

Organisations in the Telecommunication industries has a problem retaining customers this may be as a result of customers demographics, customer taste, various income levels among others. Also note that high switching cost  has also course customer dissatisfaction which  leads to a difficulty in customer retention.

In the communication sector in Buea Cameroon so many user of mobile phones always complain about the service render by their carriers this services are referenced in the for of price, product quality, place(distribution Channel), and the promotion. May firm in this industries have not seem to master or understand the effect of their marketing mix of the satisfaction of workers. This has course so many firms to loss so many customers.

The most peculiar problem seen in this sector in Buea is the fact that they have a very poor network which 80% of the people in Buea are complaining  about this may directly or indirectly affect the buying behavior of customers.

The purpose of this study is to know if the service quality  have an effect on costumer satisfaction in the telecommunication industry Buea.

1.3 Research Questions

Based on the problem explained above, the following research questions were raised to effectively evaluate the problem at hand.

• What is the effect of service quality on customer satisfaction in the communication industry in Buea
• What is the effect of Tangibility on customer satisfaction in the communication industry in Buea.
• What is the effect of Empathy on customer satisfaction in the communication industry in Buea.
• What is the effect of Reliability on customer satisfaction in the communication industry in Buea.