Browsing by Author "Coates, Nigel"
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Item Open Access B2B Relationship Marketing – An assessment of the Nigerian SME-Bank Relationship(22nd International Colloquium on Relationship, 2014-09-10) Ojeme, Mark; Robson, Andrew; Coates, NigelItem Open Access Business to Business (B2B) Relationship Assessment of Commitment and Behavioural Intention – Nigerian SME-banking Relationship”(Academy of Marketing Conference 2016, 2016-07-07) Ojeme, Mark; Robson, Andrew; Coates, NigelPurpose - It evaluates the role of the commitment between small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and their banks in Nigeria from the perspective of the senior SME employees. The antecedents to, and outcomes from, commitment that underpin these crucial business-to-business (B2B) relationships are quantified as part of a proposed relationship model. Design/methodology/approach - 850 SMEs located across three Nigerian regions were targeted leading to the achievement of 491 complete surveys. The data collected comprised various validated items from which scales were developed. Data collection was supported by means of face-to-face interviews with senior SME representatives. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equations Modelling (SEM) were employed to validate the research model and quantify the associated relationships. Findings - Two dimensions of commitment are relevant here, namely the affective and calculative components. The key respective antecedents to these commitment dimensions are trust and social bonding for affective commitment and costs related to benefit loss for calculative commitment. Affective commitment has the greater marginal effect on SMEs’ behavioral intentions towards their banks. Research limitations/implications – The research could be expanding further in future studies through consideration of the banks’ perspectives alongside those of the SMEs as consumers. Originality/value – This lies in the assessment of the relationships’ strengths and characteristics from the perspectives of SMEs as clients, a sector under-represented in relationship marketing research and in a location where B2B relationships have perhaps not been fully supported by their banking sector. Keywords: Commitment, SMEs, banks, Nigeria, trust, social boding, costs relating to benefits loss.Item Open Access Defining Trust in a B2B Relationship - The SMEs’ Perspective(Academy of Marking Conference, 2015-07-07) Ojeme, Mark; Robson, Andrew; Coates, NigelTrust’s role in underpinning long-term business relationships is well established, albeit with a range of associated definitions and structures. This paper presents an instrument to assess the structure and level of SMEs’ trust-perception of their banks in Nigeria, which represents an area with limited research to date. Various scale sets from existing studies are combined to assess the credibility and benevolence aspects of trust. Data were collected from 199 SMEs via interviews with owners or senior managers. Analysis involved Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to determine the underlying data structure, with subsequent deployment of Cronbach’s alpha to assess the internal reliability of the retained factors. For the context of this study, trust primarily encompasses credibility, with only a marginal presence of benevolence. Interestingly, despite the financial crises that have plagued the banking industry in Nigeria, SMEs still have considerable a positive trust-disposition towards their banks. The originality of this work lies in the investigation of a particular B2B relationship within an under researched business setting.Item Open Access Investigating the Nigerian Small and Medium Enterprises (SME)-banking long term relationship building(Emerald, 2017-02-03) Ojeme, Mark; Robson, Andrew; Coates, NigelPurpose - It evaluates the role of the commitment between small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and their banks in Nigeria from the perspective of the senior SME employees. The antecedents to, and outcomes from, commitment that underpin these crucial business-to-business (B2B) relationships are quantified as part of a proposed relationship model. Design/methodology/approach - 850 SMEs located across three Nigerian regions were targeted leading to the achievement of 491 complete surveys. The data collected comprised various validated items from which scales were developed. Data collection was supported by means of face-to-face interviews with senior SME representatives. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equations Modelling (SEM) were employed to validate the research model and quantify the associated relationships. Findings - Two dimensions of commitment are relevant here, namely the affective and calculative components. The key respective antecedents to these commitment dimensions are trust and social bonding for affective commitment and costs related to benefit loss for calculative commitment. Affective commitment has the greater marginal effect on SMEs’ behavioral intentions towards their banks. Research limitations/implications – The research could be expanding further in future studies through consideration of the banks’ perspectives alongside those of the SMEs as consumers. Originality/value – This lies in the assessment of the relationships’ strengths and characteristics from the perspectives of SMEs as clients, a sector under-represented in relationship marketing research and in a location where B2B relationships have perhaps not been fully supported by their banking sector. Keywords: Commitment, SMEs, banks, Nigeria, trust, social boding, costs relating to benefits loss.Item Open Access A Model of Affective Commitment in Small and Medium Enterprise Relationship to Retail Banks in Nigeria(Academy of Marketing Conference, 2013-07-08) Ojeme, Mark; Ogba Ike-Elechi; Robson, Andrew; Coates, NigelPurpose: This study aims to investigate a model of affective commitment within the context of SMEs relationship to retails banks in Nigeria. Specifically, this study investigates the drivers and consequences of SMEs affective commitment and the moderating effect of relationship length. Design/methodology/approach Firstly, face validity to ensure clarity and non-ambiguous statements for the respondents. Secondly is the content validity, using Exploratory Factor Analysis, Principal Component Analysis using varimax rotation for factor loadings and structure, whilst cronbach`s alpha for construct reliability. Furthermore, confirmatory factor analysis will be employed to test for measurement model goodness of fit. Lastly, to test the research hypotheses, structural equation modelling will be employed. Findings To start with, this study will provide relevant construct measurements scales in Nigeria. Next, the research will indicate the impact of satisfaction and trust on SMEs affective commitment. Further indicating the impact of affective commitment on loyalty dimensions (repurchase intention and advocacy) as moderated by relationship length. Originality/value This study contributes to the validation of affective commitment modelled in Nigeria. Also, the research aims to empirically establish the significant drivers and consequences of affective commitment model. This client segment (SMEs) and context has not been empirically investigated before in the relationship commitment literature.Item Open Access Nigerian SMEs - Commitment and Loyalty to their Retail Banks(Academy of Marketing Conference (Bournemouth University), 2014-06-07) Ojeme, Mark; Robson, Andrew; Coates, NigelPurpose: Commitment in underpinning long‐term business relationships is well established. Limited research exists involving relationships between SMEs and banks. The paper presents an instrument to assess such relationships and is evaluated for validity and reliability with reference to the Nigerian SME‐banking environment. Design/Methodology / Approach: Various scale sets from existing studies are combined to assess commitment and advocacy and repurchase intention. Data was collected from 199 SMEs via interviews with owners or senior managers. Analysis involved exploratory factor analysis to determine the underlying data structure, with internal reliability assessment. Findings: Commitment is based on two components; affective and calculative, whilst advocacy and repurchase intention converged into a single factor. This SME‐bank relationship has some way to mature with the banks affording only modest financial support, although SMEs' commitment and levels of loyalty appear relatively strong. Originality / Value: The findings provide initial insight into this relationship within the SME‐bank context from the SME perspective. Originality lies in the validation of commitment and behavioural intention constructs within this business arena and geographical location, as well as engaging with smaller organisations rather than their larger counterparts in the consideration of bank performance.Item Open Access Nigerian SMEs: Commitment and loyalty to their banks(Journal of Financial Service Marketing, 2016-12-01) Ojeme, Mark; Robson, Andrew; Coates, NigelCommitment has a crucial role to play in underpinning long-term business relationships, and as such, is well established in the related academic literature. Limited research does however exist pertaining to the specific relationships between SMEs and their banks. This paper presents and assesses commitment relationship framework that seeks to evaluate such relationships. Various validated scale sets from existing studies are combined here to assess commitment, advocacy and repurchase intention. Data were collected from 199 SMEs via interviews with owners or senior (financial) managers. Their assessment involved exploratory factor analysis to determine underlying data structure, with internal reliability assessment of the identified factors. Commitment is established around two components; affective and calculative, whilst advocacy and repurchase intention converge into a single behavioural intentions factor. The two-dimensional presentation of commitment and behavioural intentions are also distinct. Originality lies in the validation of commitment and behavioural intention constructs within this specific business arena and geographical location, as well as showcasing research that involves engagement with smaller organisations rather than their larger counterparts in the consideration of bank performance.Item Open Access The SMEs’ perspective of trust in a B2B relationship(2016-06-13) Ojeme, Mark; Robson, Andrew; Coates, NigelDespite the diversity in its associated definition and related structures, the role of trust in underpinning long-term business relationships is well established. This article presents an instrument to assess trust from the perspective of Nigerian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) towards their banks, an area with limited research to date. Items borrowed from various scale sets presented in existing studies are combined to assess trust by encompassing both the dimensions of credibility and benevolence. Data were collected from 221 SMEs via a self-administered questionnaire completed either by the SME owner or senior manager with responsibility for relationship with their bank, providing 199 usable records. An Exploratory Factor Analysis was used to determine the underlying data structure, with subsequent deployment of Cronbach’s α as a post-hoc assessment of the internal reliability of the retained factors. The analysis presented suggests that the SMEs’ perspective of the trust they have in their banks primarily encompasses credibility, supported by only a marginal presence of benevolence. In absolute terms, these SMEs declare a strongly positive level of credibility-based trust towards their banks despite the financial crises that have plagued the Nigerian banking industry. The originality of this work lies in the investigation of a business-to-business relationship involving SMEs and banks from the perspective of the former in an under-researched emerging economy setting.