Customer Satisfaction in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry in Nigeria.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN THE MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA.

Presented to Blekinge Institute of Technology, Department of Management, Ronneby, Sweden, in fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Business Administration (MBA).

BY: DR. ENIOLA SAMUEL

SUPERVISOR: TOM MICHEL

© December 2006

ABSTRACT

Customer satisfaction is a fundamental marketing construct in the last three decades. In the past, it was unpopular and unaccepted concept because companies thought it was more important to gain new customers than retain the existing ones. However, in this present decade, companies have gained better understanding of the importance of customer satisfaction (especially service producing companies) and adopted it as a high priority operational goal.
This study aimed at investigation the overall customer satisfaction of the mobile telecoms industry in Nigeria, factors influencing satisfaction and the relationship between satisfaction and demographics. The results obtained in this research indicated that 57% of the respondents were satisfied and 5% highly satisfied. The combination of network quality, billing, validity period and customer support (mobile services attributes) showed strong relationship with satisfaction while age, gender, location and employment variables showed weak relationship.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My sincere gratitude and appreciation to God, for the gift of life and love.
I also wish to thank my supervisor, Tom Michel, for his suggestions and advice and all the people (Marianne, Jacqueline, Margarita, Frank, etc) who made my stay in Sweden a wonderful experience.
Finally, to my wife, Temitope, thank you for being a friend and all your supports.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page

References: 1. Adomi, E.E, 2005- Mobile telephony in Nigeria. Library Hi Tech News, Number 4 2005, pp. 18-21, Emerald Group Publishing Limited. The Electronic library. 2. Aaker, J.L. (1997) - “Dimensions of brand personality”, Journal of Marketing Research 34, August, pp347-356. 3. Ahmad, J. and Kamal, N., 2002- Customer satisfaction and retail banking: an assessment of some the key antecedents of customer satisfaction in retail banking. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 20/4, pp.146-160. 4. Albaum, G. (1997) - “The Likert scale revisited- an alternative version”, Journal of the Market Research Society 39(2), April, pp. 331-348. 5. Albrecht, K. and Zemke, R. (1985) - Service America, Homewood, IL. Dow Jones, Irwin. 6. Anderson, E.A. and Sullivan, M.W., 1993 – “The antecedents and consequences of customer satisfaction for firms”, Marketing Science, Vol.12 Spring, pp. 125-43. 7. Anderson, E.W., Fornell, C. and Lehmann, D.R. (1994), ``Customer satisfaction, market share, and profitability: findings from Sweden ' ', Journal of Marketing, Vol. 58, July, pp. 53-66. 8. Anderson, R.E. (1973) – “Consumer dissatisfaction: the effect of disconfirmed expectancy on perceived product performance”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 10, pp. 38-44. 9. Athanassopoulos, A.D., 2000- “Customer satisfaction cues to support market segmentation and explain switching behavior”, Journal of Business Research, Vol.47 No.3, pp.191-207. 10. Bearden, W.O. and Teel, J.E. (1983) – “Selected determinants of consumer satisfaction and complaint reports”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 20, February, pp. 21-8. 11. Bennett, R. (1986) – Meaning and method in management research. Graduate Management research, 3(3). 12. Bhave, A., 2002- “Customer satisfaction measurement”, Quality and Productivity Journal, Symphony Technologies Pvt Ltd, Erendavane, India. 13. Bhote, K.R., 1996- Beyond Customer Satisfaction to Customer Loyalty, AMA Management Briefing, New York, NY. 14. Bolton, R.N. (1998) - A dynamic model of the duration of the customer’s relationship with a continuous service provider: the role of satisfaction”, Marketing Science, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 45-65. 15. Bolton, R.N. and Drew, J.H. (1991) – “A multistage model of customers ' assessments of service quality and value '”, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 17, March, pp. 275-84. 16. Booz Allen, & Hamilton (1995)- Mobilfunk. Frankfurt/M.: IMK. 17. Braun, H. and Scope, A. (2003), “Does it pay to invest in customer satisfaction? Effects of customer satisfaction measurement and improvement on earnings”, in Fellows, D.S. (Ed.), Proceedings of the ESOMAR Congress, Prague, September 14-17, pp 18. Bryant, B.E., and Cha, J., 1996 – Crossing the threshold, Marketing Research, Chicago, Winter, Vol. 8, Iss. 4, pg. 20, 9 pgs. 19. Cadotte, E, R, R.B.Woodruff and Jenkins, R.L (1987)- Expectations and norms in models of consumer satisfaction, journal of marketing research, 24, Aug. pp 305-314. 20. Cadotte, E.R. and Turgeon, N. (1988) – “Key factors in guest satisfaction”, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Quarterly, Vol 21. Cardozo, R.N. (1965) – “An experimental study of consumer effort, expectation and satisfaction”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 2, pp. 244-9. 22. Churchill, G.A and Surprenant, C (1982) - An investigation into the determinants of customer satisfaction, journal of marketing research, 19, Nov, pp. 491- 504. 23. Coyne, K. (1989) – “Beyond service fads- meaningful strategies for the real world”, Sloan Management Review, Vol. 30, Summer, pp. 69-76. 24. Dabholkar, P.A., Thorpe, D.I. and Rentz, J.O. (1996) – “A measure of service quality for retail stores: scale development and validation”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol 25. Danaher, P. J., & Rust, R. T. (1996) - Indirect financial benefits from service quality. Quality Management Journal, 3(2), pp.63-75. 26. Desai, K.K., and Mahajan, V., 1998- “Strategic role of affect-based attitudes in the acquisition, development and retention of customers”, Journal of Business Research, Vol.42, July, pp.309-24. 27. Dillman, D. (2000) – Mail and Internet Surveys: the tailored design method, 2nd edition, Wiley Cop., NY. 28. Edvardson, B and Gustafsson, A, 1999- The Nordic School of Quality Management, Studentlitteratur, Lund. 29. Edvardsson, B., Johnson, M.D., Gustafsson, A. and Strandvik, T., 2000b- The effects of satisfaction and loyalty on profits and growth: products versus services, Total Quality Management, Vol.11: 7, 917-927. 30. Eriksson, K and Löfmarck Vaghult, A., 2000- “Customer retention, purchasing behavior and relationship substance in professional services”, Industrial Marketing Management, Vol.29 No.4, pp.363-72. 31. Fečiková, I., (2004) – An index for measurement of customer satisfaction. The TQM Magazine, Vol. 16, No 1, pp. 57-66. 32. Fisk, R.P. and Young, C.E. (1985) - “Disconfirmation of equity expectations: effects on consumer satisfaction with services”, in Hirschman, E. and Holbrook, H. (Eds), Advances in Consumer Research, Association for Consumer Research, Provo, UT. 33. Folkes, V. (1984) – “Consumer reactions to product failure: an attribution approach”, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 10, March, pp. 398-409. 34. Fornell, C. (1992) - A national customer satisfaction barometer: The Swedish experience. Journal of Marketing, 56, 6-21. 35. Fornell, C., Johnson, M. D., Anderson, E. W., Cha, J., & Bryant, B. E. (1996). The American Customer Satisfaction Index: Nature, purpose, and findings. Journal of Marketing, 60(4), 7–18. 36. Gale, B., 1992- Monitoring Customer Satisfaction and Market Perceived Quality, Worth Repeating Series, No. 922CS01, American Marketing Association, Chicago, IL. 37. Gerpott, T. J. (1998)- Wettbewerbsstrategien im Telekommunikationsmarkt (3rd ed.). Stuttgart: Schaffer-Poeschel. 38. Gerpott, T.J., Rams, W., and Schindler, A., (2001) – “Customer retention, loyalty, and satisfaction in the German mobile telecommunications market, Telecommunications Policy, Vol. 25 No. 4, pp.249 – 269. 39. Gronhaug, K. (2002) – Research methods in Business Studies: A practical guide, 2nd ed., London: Prentice Hall. 40. Grönroos, C. (1984) – “A service quality model and its marketing implications”, European Journal of Marketing, Vol 41. Grönroos, C. (1985) – “Internal marketing - theory and practice”, in Block, T.M., Upah, G.D. and Zeithaml, V.A. (Eds), Services Marketing in a Changing Environment, American Marketing Association, Chicago, IL, pp 42. GSM Association (2006) - www.gsmworld.com 43 44. Hart, C.W.L., Heskett, J.L. and Sasser, E.W. Jr (1990) - “The profitable art of service recovery”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 68 No. 4, pp. 148-56. 46. Hasnich, K.A. (1992) - “The job descriptive index revisited: questions about the question mark”. Journal of Applied Psychology 77(3) (June), pp. 377-382. 47. Hazes, B.E., 1998- Measuring Customer Satisfaction, ASQ Quality Press, Milwaukee, WI. Hill, N., 1996- Handbook of Customer Satisfaction Measurement, Resource Center for Customer Service Professionals, Western Springs, IL. 48. Heskett, J.L., Sasser, W.E. Jr. and Schlesinger, L.A. (1997)- The Service Profit Chain, Free Press, New York, NY. 49. Hill, N. and Alexander, J. (2000) – Handbook of customer satisfaction and loyalty measurement, 2nd ed., Gower Publishing Ltd., England. 50. Hill, N., Brierley J., and MacDougall, R. (2003) - How to measure customer satisfaction, 2nd edition, Gower Publishing Ltd., England. 51. Hoff, Dean, 2006 - South African cellular wars in Nigeria. International Journal of Emerging Markets, Vol. 1 No. 1, 2006, pp. 84-95. Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 1746-8809. 52. Holbrook, M. (1994) – “The nature of customer value: an anthology of services in the consumption experience”, in Rust, R.T. and Oliver, R.L. (Eds), Service Quality: New Directions in Theory and Practice, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA, pp 53. Homburg, C. and Giering, A. (2001) - “Personal characteristics as moderators of the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty – an empirical analysis”, Psychology and Marketing, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 43-66. 54. Homburg, C., & Bruhn, M. (1998). Kundenbindungsmanagement - Eine EinfuK hrung in die theoretischen and praktischen Problemstellungen. In M. Bruhn, & C. Homburg (Eds.), Handbuch Kundenbindungsmanagement (pp. 3}35).Wiesbaden: Gabler. 55. Howard, J.A. and Sheth, J.N. (1969) - The Theory of Buyer Behavior, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY. 56. Hunt, K.H. (Ed.) (1977)- “Conceptualization and Measurement of Consumer Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction”, Marketing Science Institute, Cambridge, MA. 58. Hurley, R.H. and Estelami, H. (1998) – “Alternative indices for monitoring customer perceptions of service quality: a comparative evaluation in a retail context”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 26, Summer, pp. 201-21. 59. Ittner, C. and Larcker, D.F. (1996) - “Measuring the impact of quality initiatives on firm financial performance”, in Ghosh, S. and Fedor, D. (Eds), Advances in the Management of Organisational Quality, Vol.1, JAI, Greenwich, CT, pp.1-37. 60. Ittner, C. and Larcker, D.F. (1998)-“Are non-financial measures leading indicators of financial performance? An analysis of customer satisfaction”, Journal of Accounting Research, Vol 61. Jackson, L.A., Sullivan, L.A., Harnish, R. and Hodge, C.N. (1996)-"Achieving positive social identity: social mobility, social creativity, and permeability of group boundaries", Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 70, pp. 241-54. 62. Jankowicz, A.D. (1991) – Business Research Projects for Students, London: Chapman and Hall Ltd, UK. 64. Jones, T.O. and Sasser, W.E. Jr (1995) – “Why satisfied customers defect”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 73, November-December, pp. 88-99. 65. Kano, N. (2001) – Life cycle and creation of attractive quality. In proceeding from Quality Management and Organization Development (QMOD) (Dahlgaard, S.M Ed) Linkoping University, Sweden. 68. Keith, R.J. (1960) – “The marketing revolution ' ', Journal of Marketing”, Vol. 24, January, pp. 35-8. 69. Kim, H. (2000) - The churn analysis and determinants of customer loyalty in Korean mobile phone. Korean Information Society Review, 2000, 1–18. 70. Lee, J., Lee, J., & Freick, L. (2001) - The impact of switching costs on the customer satisfaction-loyalty link: Mobile phone service in France. Journal of Services Marketing, 15(1), 35–48. 71. Levesque, T. and McDougall, G.H.G, (1996) - “Determinants of customer satisfaction in retail banking”, International Journal of Bank Marketing, Vol. 14 No. 7, pp. 12-20. 72. Lewis, R.C. (1987) – “The measurement of gaps in the quality of hotel services”, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 83-8. 73. Lightner, N. J. (2003) - What users want in e-commerce design: effects of age, education and income. Ergonomics, 46(1–3), 153–168. 74. Lonergan, D., Swain, W., Guy, A., Yunus, F., Jackson, J., Mallinson, K., et al. (2004). Asia-Pacific Region to drive global wireless revenue. The Yankee Group Report, Boston, MA, USA. 75. Lovelock, C.H., Patterson, P.G. and Walker, R.H. (2001) - Services Marketing: Australia and New Zealand, Pearson Education Australia, French’s Forest. 76. Malhotra, N., and Birks, D. (2003) - Marketing Research, An applied approach, Harlow, England: Prentice Hall. 77. Mano, H. and Oliver, R.L. (1993) - “Assessing the dimensionality and structure of the consumption experience: evaluation, feeling and satisfaction, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol.20, Dec., pp.451-66. 78. Maslow, A.H. (1943) – “A theory of human motivation”, Psychological Review, Vol. 1, pp. 370-96. 79. McDougall, G. and Levesque, T. (1992) – “The measurement of service quality: some methodological issues”, 2nd International Research Seminar in Service Management, La-Londe-Les Maures, France, pp. 410-31. 80. McDougall, H.G., and Levesque, T (2000) – “Customer satisfaction with services: putting perceived value into the equation”, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol., 14 No. 5, pp. 392-410. 81. McNeale, R.M. (1994) - Making customer satisfaction happens. Chapman and Hall, London. 82. Naumann, E. (1995), Customer Satisfaction Measurement and Management: Using the Voice of the Customer, Thomson Executive Press, Cincinnati, OH. 83. Ndukwe, Ernest (2005) - Country experience in telecom market reforms in Nigeria. CEO, Nigerian Communication Commission, July 2005. www.ncc.gov.ng. 84. Nelson, E., Rust, R.T., Zahorik, A., Rose, R.L., Batalden, P. and Siemanski, B., 1992- “Do patient perceptions of quality relate to hospital financial performance?” Journal of Healthcare Marketing, Dec., pp.1-13. 85. Niraj, R., Foster, G., Gupta, M. and Narasimhan, C. (2003)-“Understanding customer level profitability implications of satisfaction programs”, Washington University in St Louis Working paper, No 86. OECD (2006) - Organization for Economic cooperation and development. African Economic outlook 2005-2006. www.oecd.org/dev/publication/african outlook 87 88. Oliver, R.L. (1981) – “Measurement and evaluation of satisfaction process in retail setting”, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 57, pp. 25-48. 89. Oliver, R.L. (1989) - “Processing of the satisfaction response in consumption: a suggested framework and research propositions”, Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, and Complaining Behavior, Vol. 2, pp. 1-16.