The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between market orientation and business performance mediated by marketing resources and moderated by contextual factors. The study also examined the extent to which the conceptual model was a good fit to the sample data. A quantitative approach was used to test if there was a significant relationship between market orientation, marketing resources, and business performance. For the purpose, a cross-sectional survey was carried out to obtain data pertaining to market orientation, marketing resources, contextual factors and business performance. The unit of analysis of the study was banks consisting of 3 public and 15 private banks. A sample size of 507 consisting of 492 branch managers and 15 top level marketing managers was used in the survey. With a response rate of 87.97%, 446 questionnaires were collected of which 377 were used for data analysis. A SEM was used to test the extent to which the theoretical model fits the sample data. Mediation analysis was used to test the indirect effect of market orientation on business performance and hierarchical regression analysis was used to test whether the relationship was moderated by market dynamism, competitive intensity, and government regulation. Finally, an independent t – test was used to examine the statistical variations between public and private banks in terms of market orientation, marketing resources, and business performance. The confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the modified model was fit with the observed data in terms of chi-square and the individual indices. The total effect of market orientation on business performance was moderate with a 0.36 regression coefficient. The indirect effect was high with a 0.91 regression coefficient where complete and inconsistent mediation was found due to suppression effect. The moderation analysis revealed that the interaction effect of market dynamism, competitive intensity, and government regulation was not statistically significant. Finally the result showed that there was a statistically meaningful difference between public and private banks in terms of market orientation, marketing resources, and business performance. Banks in Ethiopia shall strive to segment the market, differentiate their services, and build a strong brand with clear identity. Banks in Ethiopia shall also build on their marketing resources to enhance their business performance. / Business Management / D.B.L.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between market orientation and business performance mediated by marketing resources and moderated by contextual factors. The study also examined the extent to which the conceptual model was a good fit to the sample data. A quantitative approach was used to test if there was a significant relationship between market orientation, marketing resources, and business performance. For the purpose, a cross-sectional survey was carried out to obtain data pertaining to market orientation, marketing resources, contextual factors and business performance. The unit of analysis of the study was banks consisting of 3 public and 15 private banks. A sample size of 507 consisting of 492 branch managers and 15 top level marketing managers was used in the survey. With a response rate of 87.97%, 446 questionnaires were collected of which 377 were used for data analysis. A SEM was used to test the extent to which the theoretical model fits the sample data. Mediation analysis was used to test the indirect effect of market orientation on business performance and hierarchical regression analysis was used to test whether the relationship was moderated by market dynamism, competitive intensity, and government regulation. Finally, an independent t – test was used to examine the statistical variations between public and private banks in terms of market orientation, marketing resources, and business performance. The confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the modified model was fit with the observed data in terms of chi-square and the individual indices. The total effect of market orientation on business performance was moderate with a 0.36 regression coefficient. The indirect effect was high with a 0.91 regression coefficient where complete and inconsistent mediation was found due to suppression effect. The moderation analysis revealed that the interaction effect of market dynamism, competitive intensity, and government regulation was not statistically significant. Finally the result showed that there was a statistically meaningful difference between public and private banks in terms of market orientation, marketing resources, and business performance. Banks in Ethiopia shall strive to segment the market, differentiate their services, and build a strong brand with clear identity. Banks in Ethiopia shall also build on their marketing resources to enhance their business performance. / Business Management / D.B.L.

The making and breaking power of leadership has never been disputable. It is believed to be the single most important factor by which organizations used to exploit opportunities and survive hardships. Despite the fact that all functional areas are not immune to the consequences of good and bad leadership, marketing is uniquely sensitive. Unarguably, all leadership styles are not expected to equally impact marketing performance. A leader of character who inspires followers, helps employees to use their potentials, allows employees to make and fix errors, and pave ways for employee advancement is a one typically needed by organizations. This kind of leader is even more critical for those organizations operating in a brutally competitive market; like the brewing one in Ethiopia. This study is designed to investigate the direct and indirect impact of Transformational Leadership on marketing performance. Moreover, the moderating effect of leaders’ experience and the impact of group difference in leaders’ gender, leaders position and brewery sizes are studied. The unit of analysis are managers and decision makers (committee members) from the four sample breweries (St. George Brewery, Meta Abo Brewery, Raya Brewery, and Habesha Brewery). The data are collected from 211 respondents. In the study, in addition to the data cleaning procedures, all the multivariate data analysis assumptions are ensured. A model is developed and tested using a survey methodology. Four properly validated instruments, one selfdesigned (for marketing performance construct) and three adopted (for transformational leadership, organizational learning, and customer orientation constructs) are used. The validation work is ensured through factor analysis (exploratory and confirmatory). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) are worked out using SPSS 21 and AMOS 21 packages respectively. Data is analysed through the structural equation modelling technique. Results show that, Transformational Leadership style is positively and significantly associated with marketing performance, organizational learning and customer orientation. Moreover, it is found that Transformational Leadership indirectly and positively impacts marketing performance. Nevertheless, the hypothesized moderation effect of experience for the impacts of Transformational Leadership on customer orientation is failed to be significant. The study contributes a lot by narrowing the wide literature gap existed in the topic area in the context of the developing world. Secondary evidences are strongly discussed on the antecedents and outcomes of Transformational Leadership and marketing performance. Thus, it is the researcher’s belief that now because of this study; value is added to the body of knowledge and the study can benefit practitioners and academicians alike. / Business Management / D.B.L.

Ethiopia, a developing country on the African continent, has experienced double digit growth during the last decade. To sustain this growth, the country needs a sound and healthy banking sector. Consensus exists that trust is a valuable resource that can make a difference. It influences the quality of relationships between an organisation and its employees and management. It enables organisations such as banks, to retain their most valuable employees and customers, and improve organisational functioning. Most leaders agree that high levels of trust are critical to the success of their organisations. In this study, the existing theoretical principles and models relating to trust, were analysed in depth, and followed up by an empirical study to determine to what extent trust management practices were being applied. A quantitative survey was conducted on a probability sample of 405 participants from the eight largest banks in Ethiopia. From the measured items, 54 usable factors were identified by using exploratory factor analysis. The calculated Cronbach alpha values indicated a satisfactory internal consistency. While the Pearson product-moment correlation applied to the factors, indicated a dominance of statistically significant positive correlations. Various informative results emerged from the empirical survey, amongst which were, the relative weak application of trust management practices such as trust drivers and trust builders. Some barriers were also identified such as the trustworthiness of coworkers/ team members, the immediate supervisor and top management. Thus, it was evident that proper trust management practices had not been fully established within the banking sector in Ethiopia. There was thus a need for some guidelines in this regard. An integrated trust management model was therefore developed, and tested, through Structural Equation Modelling, and validated to satisfy this need. / Human Resource Management / D. Admin. (Human Resource Management)

The purpose of the study was to identify a comprehensive measure of performance by assessing the relationship between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction on the profitability of the commercial banking industry in Ethiopia. The study adopted unidimensional path models, multivariate approach and factor analysis in predicting the dependent variable, determining the independent variables and the sample size and justifying the objectives of the sturdy. Primary data were obtained through structured questionnaires from valid sample responses of 180 employees and customers selected on convenient sampling method. Profitability (ROA & ROE) was measured based on the average data from the financial statements of 2007/8-2001/12 of the banks. Variant of empirical studies and theoretical frameworks, drawn from motivational, psychological and behavioural theories, were used to formulate the hypothesis and establish the relationship between internal service quality, employee satisfaction, customer service quality, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and profitability. Results of the study indicated internal marketing influenced employee job satisfaction which in turn partially influenced customer service quality and customer satisfaction; customer service quality influenced customer satisfaction which then influenced customer loyalty. But, no relationship was observed between customer loyalty and profitability. However, due to the timing gap of the data on profitability and the data on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, the relationship is apparently realizable in the long run. Therefore, due emphasis is required by the management of the banks to exert the necessary strategic effort on employee satisfaction, customer service quality, and customer satisfaction because of their implicit effects on profitability. Finally, the relevance of the research to the literature on performance measurement is demonstrated by contextualizing comprehensive models in the context of commercial banking industry in Ethiopia. / Business Management / D.B.L.