Browsing by Author "Boshoff, Christo"

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
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    An assessment of consumers’ subconscious responses to frontline employees’ attractiveness in a service failure and recovery situation
    (AOSIS Publishing, 2017) Boshoff, Christo
    Background: Initial analyses of the impact of physical attractiveness in a business context have supported the ‘what is beautiful is good’ contention. However, in circumstances characterised by negative emotions, duress and stress, very little is known about how human beings respond at the subconscious level to the attractiveness of frontline service providers. Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess whether consumers who complain to a frontline service provider about a service failure respond differently at the subconscious level when the service provider involved in the service encounter is attractive compared with one who is less attractive. Method: Forty respondents were exposed to a video clip of a service failure and service recovery situation. While viewing the hypothetical scenario, two neuro-physiological measurements were used to collect data at the subconscious level, namely galvanic skin response (GSR) and electroencephalography (EEG). Results: The results suggest that, at the subconscious level, customers respond differently to the service recovery efforts depending on the attractiveness of the frontline service provider who attempts to rectify the service failure. Conclusion: The results seem to suggest that the physical attractiveness of a frontline service provider moderates (or softens) the negative emotions that a complaining customer might experience during a service failure and complaint situation – consistent with the ‘what is beautiful is good’ contention.
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    Demographics and consumer ethnocentrism in a developing context : a South African study
    (University of Pretoria, 2014) Pentz, Chris D.; Terblanche, Nic S.; Boshoff, Christo
    The continued growth in international trade results in the fact that consumers in many countries are exposed to increasing amounts of product offerings from various countries of origin. As the origin of products might have an influence on consumer behavior, many marketers realize that extended knowledge on consumer behavior toward both domestic and imported products can be useful in the formulation of more effective marketing strategies. Past research in the field of international marketing suggest that the concept of consumer ethnocentrism can be an influencing factor in the decision of consumers to purchase locally-produced rather than imported products. While the concept of consumer ethnocentrism has been actively researched in a number of contexts and countries, research on this phenomenon has been limited in developing countries. The present study aims to add to the existing body of knowledge on consumer ethnocentrism in developing markets by investigating the possible relationships between consumer ethnocentrism and a number of demographic variables in South Africa. A unique contribution of this study is that the investigation focused on two different samples in terms of race, namely on a sample of “white” respondents and a sample of “black” respondents to account for the ethnic diversity in South Africa. The results of the study revealed that for both groups of respondents there was a positive relationship between age and consumer ethnocentrism, while a negative relationship was found for both groups in terms of the relationship between consumer ethnocentrism and income. In terms of the relationship between consumer ethnocentrism and gender, the results differed between the two groups of respondents. The findings can be used rewardingly by marketers wishing to operate more successfully in developing markets, such as South Africa.
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    Enhancing the use of internet banking in an emerging market
    (University of Pretoria, 2014) Nel, Jacques; Boshoff, Christo
    Electronic banking services such as internet banking offer bank clients substantial benefits over traditional banking channels. Although internet banking has been around for many years, increasing the use of the service by bank clients remains a priority for many managers of internet banking services. To address this managerial concern, the study investigates the factors that contribute to the enhanced use of internet banking by bank clients. Based on a literature review, internet-banking factors that could influence bank clients’ actual use of internet banking were identified. Data were collected from 1 156 users of internet banking. The results of the study showed that two factors influence internet banking usage, namely internet banking facilitating conditions and internet banking risk beliefs. The more favourable internet banking facilitating conditions are perceived to be, the more likely bank clients are to increase their use of internet banking. On the other hand, the greater the perceived risks associated with internet banking, the less the chances are that clients will do their banking through the internet. On the basis of these results, recommendations are provided to enhance the use of internet banking.
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    The impact of intra-group processes on family business success
    (AOSIS, 2011-03-17) Farrington, Shelley; Venter, Elmarie; Boshoff, Christo
    Interpersonal ties and intra-group processes influence the ability of people to work together effectively as teams. In the context of the family business team, intra-group processes describe the interaction that takes place between the family members and the resultant psychological climate that exists in the family business. Given the increasing number of sibling teams among family businesses, as well as the challenges they face as team members, this study focuses on sibling teams in family businesses and the intra-group processes that influence their success. The primary objective of this study is to identify and empirically test the intragroup processes influencing the effectiveness of sibling partnerships. A structured questionnaire was distributed to 1323 sibling partner respondents. The respondents were identified by means of a convenience snowball sampling technique, and the data were collected from 371 usable questionnaires. The empirical findings of this study show that the sibling relationship and fairness are important determinants of sibling team effectiveness.
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    The influence of 'buffering' variables on clients’ willingness to engage in dysfunctional behavior after a service failure
    (University of Pretoria, 2014) Boshoff, Christo
    Much of the current service failure and recovery literature centres on reactive, post hoc measures that managers can take to address service failure. More importantly, much of the reported research has focused on managerial mechanisms under the direct control of service managers. This study shows that by viewing their responsibilities more broadly than only their narrow service-related goals, service managers can do much to prevent disgruntled clients from switching to competing service providers.A thousand clients of a commercial bank who complained about a service failure completed an online questionnaire. Following a thorough assessment of the construct validity of the measurement model, the mediating role of brand superiority and corporate reputation was assessed by means of structural equation modeling. The results reveal that both brand superiority and reputation mediate the relationship between negative word-of-mouth and intentions to switch to a competing service provider, following a service failure.The results show that by enhancing the firm’s brand superiority and corporate reputation, service firms can build a ‘buffer’ that can deter clients who have suffered a service failure from switching to a competing service provider. In other words, service managers should broaden their organisational involvement by participating in activities such as strategic planning, corporate reputation management, and the planning of brand strategies and positioning strategies, as these variables can prevent complaining clients from ending their relationship with the offending service provider. The results, by implication, caution service managers against a myopic view of their role in the service organisation.
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    The influence of family and non-family stakeholders on family business success
    (AOSIS, 2010) Farrington, Shelley; Venter, Elmarie; Boshoff, Christo
    The greatest threats to the growth, success and survival of a family business are primarily issues related to family relationships. The involvement of non-family members has also shown to present many threats as well as opportunities for the family business. Because of the increasing number of sibling teams among family businesses this article focuses on the impact of family and non-family members’ involvement on the success of sibling-owned family businesses. Key stakeholders identified as influencing a Sibling Partnership are parents, non-active sibling shareholders, spouses, and non-family members. The primary objectives of this article are thus to evaluate the impact of the stakeholders identified on the success of a Sibling Partnership, by subjecting these relationships to empirical testing, and making recommendations to successfully manage relationships in family businesses. A structured questionnaire was made available to 1 323 sibling partner respondents. The respondents were identified by means of a convenience snowball sampling technique, and the data collected from 371 usable questionnaires was subjected to various statistical analyses. The empirical findings of this study show that both past and present Parental involvement, as well as the involvement of other family members and Non-family employees in the sibling-owned family businesses, significantly impact on its success.
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    Subconscious responses to fear-appeal health warnings : an exploratory study of cigarette packaging
    (AOSIS Publishing, 2017) Boshoff, Christo; Toerien, Lucea
    Background: Tobacco smoking has serious health and financial implications for both smokers and non-smokers. A wide range of measures have been used over many years to combat this scourge. One of these measures is social marketing communication campaigns. Whether these campaigns are effective has been the subject of some debate. Some of the questions that arise are: What kind of advertising appeals (for instance, informational versus emotional) should be used? Which elements should form part of such campaigns? Some argue that pictures are more effective. Others believe that text-based messages are more effective. Regardless of how these campaigns are structured, they have very little chance of success if they are unable at least to cause arousal (activation) among the target audience. Not only does emotional arousal increase engagement, enhance information-processing and render communication memorable, it also helps to increase the mental accessibility of related knowledge. Aim: In this exploratory study, the ability of fear-based pictures and text messages on cigarette packaging to create emotional arousal among consumers is explored. Methods: Galvanic skin response and eye-tracking methodologies were used. Results: The results indicate that both fear-based pictures and fear-based text messages activated arousal among consumers. Conclusion: The extent of arousal is influenced (at least to some extent) by both gender and whether or not the viewer is a smoker.
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    Task-based factors influencing the successful functioning of copreneurial businesses in South Africa
    (AOSIS, 2011) Farrington, Shelley; Venter, Elmarie; Eybers, Carey; Boshoff, Christo
    Globally, evidence exists to suggest that the number of copreneurial businesses or spousal partnerships are on the increase. The primary objectives of this study are to identify the task-based factors influencing the effectiveness of a copreneurial business, to propose a conceptual model based on these factors and to subject the model to empirical testing. The model is empirically tested among copreneurial businesses to assess potential relationships between selected independent variables (shared dream, leadership, personal needs alignment, division of labour, complementary skills, supportive employees, competencies and adequate resources) and measures of copreneurial success (perceived success and financial performance). In order to address the primary objective of this study, a questionnaire was administered to a sample of 1548 respondents (spouses in business together) of which 380 questionnaires were useable for statistical analysis. The empirical results revealed that apart from division of labour all the other factors investigated exert a significant influence on the successful functioning of copreneurial businesses.