In the business-to-business (B2B) financing industry, financiers offering financing to SMEs are finding it increasingly difficult to attract new customers and to retain existing customers. One way of attracting and retaining customers is by creating superior customer satisfaction, as it is believed that customer satisfaction leads to loyalty which ultimately results in customer retention. Customer satisfaction could also be an important indicator as to whether customers would want to build long-term relationships with financiers. With the current tendency towards the standardisation of financing products and services, building and maintaining relationships with customers is becoming increasingly important as a way to distinguish financiers from their competitors and, concurrently, to ensure survival. However, not all customers want to build long-term relationships with financiers. It is therefore important that financiers should identify those customers who have positive relationship intentions and focus their marketing efforts on these customers. The primary objective of this study was to develop a framework for relationship intention, satisfaction, loyalty and retention of SMEs in the business-to-business (B2B) financing environment. The descriptive research of this study is based on information gathered through quantitative, self-administered electronic surveys that were distributed among a South African financier’s (Business Partners Limited) customer database. In total, 120 SME respondents participated in the study, resulting in a final realisation rate of 12%. Results from this study indicate that the relationship intention measuring scale used in this study was valid and reliable in the B2B context within the financing environment. Results also show a significantly large positive relationship between respondents’ overall satisfaction and their loyalty towards Business Partners Limited (BPL), as well as a significantly large positive relationship between respondents’ loyalty and retention towards BPL. In addition, respondents with high relationship intentions showed higher overall satisfaction with loyalty and retention towards BPL than those respondents with moderate and low relationship intentions. Furthermore, the results indicated that respondents with moderate relationship intentions have higher overall satisfaction with BPL than those respondents with low relationship intentions. Respondents with moderate relationship intentions also displayed higher loyalty and retention towards BPL than those respondents with low relationship intentions. The results furthermore showed positive linear relationships between respondents’ relationship intentions and their overall satisfaction with BPL, between respondents’ relationship intentions and their loyalty towards BPL, as well as between respondents’ relationship intentions and their retention towards BPL. The results did not point to any clear parallels between respondents’ business size and their overall satisfaction, loyalty or retention. However, this study found positive relationships between respondents’ relationship intentions and their satisfaction, loyalty and retention. It is especially noteworthy that customers showing high relationship intentions overall, also showed a higher inclination to be satisfied, to be loyal and to become repeat customers (thus indicating retention). It is therefore recommended that financiers should rather use their customers’ relationship intentions and not their business size as focus, because strong positive relationships exist between respondents’ relationship intentions and their overall satisfaction, loyalty and retention. It is furthermore recommended that financiers should focus their marketing efforts and spending on customers with high relationship intentions as these customers tend to show higher satisfaction, loyalty and retention than those customers with moderate and low relationship intentions. Future research may consider using the relationship intentions measuring scale found to be valid and reliable in this study to other B2B contexts to determine the applicability thereof in other industries. Also, future research could consider testing the antecedents of relationship intentions, such as perceived brand equity, perceived organisation equity and perceived channel equity to determine the influence thereof on customers' relationship intentions. Finally, the study can be replicated under financiers’ B2C customers to determine whether relationship intentions are also applicable to these customers in the financing environment. / PhD (Marketing Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

In the highly competitive business landscape of the twenty-first century, intangible assets such as brand equity are deemed as increasingly vital to the long-term success of organisations. Brand loyalty, which is the primary driver of brand equity, germinates from consumers‟ brand identification, trust in the superiority of the brand, and their perceptions of the social esteem that use of the brand signals. The mobile phone industry is one of the most dynamic and competitive industries of this century, with new smartphones boasting breakthrough features appearing on the market in rapid succession. In South Africa, black Africans make up the majority of the Generation Y cohort (hereinafter referred to as black Generation Y). As the first generation brought up in this era of mobile telephony, the Generation Y cohort (individuals born between 1986 and 2005) represents an important current and future segment for the manufacturers and marketers of mobile devices, including smartphones. Furthermore, because of the number of members possessing a tertiary qualification, their potential earning power, together with the sheer size of this segment, it was important to determine and model the role of brand trust in creating brand equity in the mobile phone industry amongst these individuals. The study hypothesised that social image directly influences black Generation Y students perception towards brand trust, brand trust directly influences brand loyalty, which in turn directly influences brand equity. The results indicate that social image has a significant positive influence on brand trust, which in turn has a significant positive influence on the development of brand loyalty and consequent brand equity. A descriptive research design using a single cross-sectional sample was followed, using a self-administered questionnaire. The self-administered questionnaire was distributed to a convenience sample of 600 students enrolled at three public South African higher education institutions (HEIs) situated in the Gauteng province. Permission from the lecturers at the three HEIs was obtained to administer the questionnaire during class times. Of the questionnaires completed, 460 questionnaires were usable. The captured data were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, bivariate regression and independent T-tests. In order to confirm the hypothesised construct paths, a measurement model was created based on the correlation analysis. The correlation analysis results indicated that social image has a significant relationship with brand trust, which in turn has a significant relationship on the development of brand loyalty and consequent brand equity. Five latent variables were identified in the measurement model. The structural model hypothesised that social image influences brand trust, brand trust influences brand loyalty, which in turn influences brand equity. The hypothesised model fit the data. This study contributes to the body of knowledge pertaining to brand equity by developing a model to illustrate the role of social image and brand trust in creating brand equity in the mobile phone industry amongst black Generation Y students, and determining which factors act as antecedents to successful brand equity. The role of brand trust in creating brand equity is suggested to be a five-factor structure comprised of social image, brand reliability, brand intentions, brand loyalty and brand equity. The study also offers recommendations and guidance for marketers and organisations that seek to improve their brand equity. This study will contribute by profiling the black Generation Y student in South Africa concerning their perception towards brand trust in creating brand equity in the mobile phone industry. The findings of this study will add value to South African marketers, as well as international marketers seeking to target the Generation Y cohort. / PhD (Marketing Management)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

Jesus Christ instructed His disciples before His death to limit the preaching of the gospel to the ‘lost sheep of the house of Israel’ (Matt 10:6). After His resurrection, however, He broadened the scope of proselytizing to all: “Make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:18-20). This meant that the gospel should be preached everywhere and to all peoples. This mandate has come to be known by Christians as the Great Commission. Since the 1970s a new wave of churches, commonly referred to as the charismatic churches, have come to be firmly established on the religious landscape of Ghana, West Africa. One of the most prominent is the Lighthouse Chapel International (LCI). Headquartered in Accra, the LCI is a large worldwide denomination that aggressively employs the agency of church planting in its attempt to facilitate the fulfilment of the Great Commission. This study enquires into the church planting activities of the Lighthouse Chapel International with the aim of documenting the processes, principles and strategies underlying the denomination’s mission. It is hoped that this empirical analysis of the LCI will benefit newer struggling churches, particularly those within the charismatic tradition,in their efforts to spread the gospel of Christ, while providing a new self-understanding that will carry the LCIitself into the future. The study employs a qualitative methodology through the review of some relevant literature, interviews with key informants (LCI ministers, non-LCI charismatic leaders, andnon-LCI leaders conversant with the LCI church planting model), together with collated views from focus group discussions and the results of a qualitative questionnaire. The literature review on the LCI relies primarily on the sermons and writings of Heward-Mills, the founder of the denomination, which have informed the strategies and other processes in the church’s missionary work and advancement. The study reveals that, overall, the LCI’s mission strategies, including the focused emphasis on church planting, lay ministry, administrative support systems, and use of permanent church halls, have combined to create a productive and robust church planting model in Ghana. The study concludes that the fulfilment of the Great Commission must be the main preoccupation of the charismatic churches in Ghana, and that the foremost strategy for achieving this is church planting. The study recommends the development of a wellthought-out biblical and theologically based mission strategy. Church planting will be enhanced by more effective use of lay people, appropriate attention to a doctrine of loyalty, efficient administrative support systems and the building of permanent church halls. Each network of churches ought also to appoint a missions department with a named director to ensure that the missional aspect of the work of the Christian church in Ghanaremains central in its planning and activities. / MA (Missiology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus in co-operation with Greenwich School of Theology, UK, 2014

The overall objective of the research presented in this dissertation is to establish ways in which the Red Scare and Cold War eras impacted social studies education in Georgia from the 1930s through the 1960s. My position is that the decision by the Communist Party’s international leadership to support African Americans in the southern United States through legal defense and the organization of sharecroppers’ unions impacted white segregationists’ interpretation of subversive activity as being inclusive of racially liberal ideas. Social studies education in Georgia was affected by the policies and curriculum decisions made in the context of Red Scare and Cold War influences. An analysis of the historiography of communism in the United States reflects the changing tenor of uncertainty and fear that gripped Americans when it came to radical ideas contrary to the democratic capitalist tradition. Historians tend to agree that the Party’s efforts in the African American community had minimal impact. However, the calibration used by scholars to measure “impact” should be adjusted to look beyond changes in Communist membership numbers and whether the lives of blacks in the South improved. My focus in this study is the peripheral impact the efforts of the Communist Party had on southern white segregationists who began to equate racially liberal actions with subversive activity. Chapters in this dissertation focus on the formation of the Communist Party’s Black Belt Self-Determination Thesis and how it was carried out in the American South, national efforts to combat communist infiltration through loyalty oaths and textbook reviews, and the evolution of civic and democratic education initiatives in social studies. Georgia’s scandalous episode of the early 1940s involving Eugene Talmadge’s manipulation of the state’s educational system is presented as an example of how the concepts of subversion and racial liberalism were equated in an effort to maintain segregation in the state. These chapters provide evidence of the Red Scare and Cold War eras’ impact on social studies education in Georgia from the 1930s through the 1960s.

The co-branding strategies are gaining attention from research due to the special difficulties of implementing a collaborative strategy. Hence, this paper evaluates the effect of the co-branding strategy between a luxury brand and a high-street retailer on the luxury consumers’ brand equity of the luxury brand post-co-branding. Additionally, this study aims to find differences between the generation Y and X cohorts in terms of brand equity impact from co-branding. This effect was evaluated from three brand equity dimensions: perceived quality, brand image and brand loyalty. To conduct this research the data was collected at the department store Harvey Nichols in London where luxury fashion brands are sold. Later the data was analyzed with a regression, analysis and t-test. The consumers showed differences in terms of their attitude towards the co-branding strategies between a luxury fashion brand and a high-street retailer. In addition, this research found that all the brand equity dimensions suffer a direct influence from the attitude towards co-branding for all the consumers in the study. Direct influence means that the co-branding strategies may cause positive or negative spillover effects. Moreover, the results conclude that there is only a difference in the brand equity dimension of brand loyalty between the generation cohorts Y and X.

<p>This dissertation examines how the crisis of World War I impacted imperial policy and popular claims-making in the British Caribbean. Between 1915 and 1918, tens of thousands of men from the British Caribbean volunteered to fight in World War I and nearly 16,000 men, hailing from every British colony in the region, served in the newly formed British West Indies Regiment (BWIR). Rousing appeals to imperial patriotism and manly duty during the wartime recruitment campaigns and postwar commemoration movement linked the British Empire, civilization, and Christianity while simultaneously promoting new roles for women vis-à-vis the colonial state. In Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, the two colonies that contributed over seventy-five percent of the British Caribbean troops, discussions about the meaning of the war for black, coloured, white, East Indian, and Chinese residents sparked heated debates about the relationship among race, gender, and imperial loyalty. </p><p>To explore these debates, this dissertation foregrounds the social, cultural, and political practices of BWIR soldiers, tracing their engagements with colonial authorities, military officials, and West Indian civilians throughout the war years. It begins by reassessing the origins of the BWIR, and then analyzes the regional campaign to recruit West Indian men for military service. Travelling with newly enlisted volunteers across the Atlantic, this study then chronicles soldiers' multi-sited campaign for equal status, pay, and standing in the British imperial armed forces. It closes by offering new perspectives on the dramatic postwar protests by BWIR soldiers in Italy in 1918 and British Honduras and Trinidad in 1919, and reflects on the trajectory of veterans' activism in the postwar era. </p><p>This study argues that the racism and discrimination soldiers experienced overseas fueled heightened claims-making in the postwar era. In the aftermath of the war, veterans mobilized collectively to garner financial support and social recognition from colonial officials. Rather than withdrawing their allegiance from the empire, ex-servicemen and civilians invoked notions of mutual obligation to argue that British officials owed a debt to West Indians for their wartime sacrifices. This study reveals the continued salience of imperial patriotism, even as veterans and their civilian allies invoked nested local, regional, and diasporic loyalties as well. In doing so, it contributes to the literature on the origins of patriotism in the colonial Caribbean, while providing a historical case study for contemporary debates about "hegemonic dissolution" and popular mobilization in the region. </p><p>This dissertation draws upon a wide range of written and visual sources, including archival materials, war recruitment posters, newspapers, oral histories, photographs, and memoirs. In addition to Colonial Office records and military files, it incorporates previously untapped letters and petitions from the Jamaica Archives, National Archives of Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados Department of Archives, and US National Archives.</p> / Dissertation

Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Growing competition, fuelled by globalisation, has increased the number of alternatives across almost all product categories, leaving consumers overloaded with information and overwhelmed for choice. Brand and price represent two cues that have been found to influence consumer decision-making and which can be used in marketing strategies to create value, and differentiate from competitors in this increasingly competitive climate. Responding to the misconceptions surrounding the decision-making of individuals classified in the low-income market segment, and in light of the significance of Bottom of Pyramid (BOP) supported by Prahalad (2002), this study was undertaken to assess the perceived importance of price and brand in low-income consumers’ decision-making process, and thereby examine the effect of different prices and brands on low-income consumers’ product preference. Primary causal research using a choice-based conjoint (CBC) analysis was conducted on a judgement sample of black female adults. A total of 209 questionnaires were completed through fieldwork of personal interviews in informal settlements in Gauteng. The study used a 5 price presentation (R18.99; R24.99; R28.99; R33.99; R42.99) by 5 brand presentation (Ace, Iwisa, White Star, Mnandi, Ritebrand) between-subjects design in the maize meal product category. The hierarchical Bayes procedure and multinomial logit model were used to analyse the primary data. Results of the descriptive and inferential analysis of the CBC showed that brand was perceived as more important, attributing to 65 per cent of low-income consumers’ decision-making process, opposed to the 35 per cent attributed to price, and that prices and brands had varying effects on low-income consumers’ purchase probabilities. Although lower prices did have higher perceived utilities, the price-sensitivity of low-income consumers was found to be less influential at lower price ranges, suggesting the stronger influence of brand and brand associations on their evaluation of alternatives. Familiar brands (White Star, Ace and Iwisa) were seen to positively influence low-income consumers’ purchase probability by reducing perceived risk, further enhanced by brand credibility as found with Iwisa (which indicated consistent quality) resulting in higher purchase probability. Unfamiliar brands (Mnandi and Ritebrand) were perceived as having low levels of utility, attributed to higher levels of perceived risk and unclear quality inferences. The research conclusions, drawing from secondary research, proposed a model of low-income consumer decision-making that is influenced by various factors, including aversion to loss, and the desire to satisfy aspirations. Varying levels of brand knowledge, brand quality and credibility as well as symbolic value attached to different brands as perceived by low-income consumers, are argued to influence both individuals’ aversion to loss, as well as their aspirational desires, and thus influence the decision-making process. Price and price–quality inferences, brand familiarity, brand–quality inferences, psychological factors and those surrounding the purchase context were found to have influence over the decision-making process of individuals within this market segment. Managerial recommendations emphasise the significance of the BOP as a viable market segment, warn marketers of low-cost pricing strategies, and discuss the importance of employing value-based strategies and leveraging brand to attract, satisfy and retain consumers in this market segment. Managers are challenged to find a balance between perceived quality and reliability and affordable price, in order to operate successfully in the low-income market and offer effective value propositions that provide customer satisfaction while allowing for sustained sales and profits for the firm. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Groeiende mededinging, gedryf deur globalisering, het die aantal alternatiewe in byna alle produkkategorieë laat toeneem, wat verbruikers oorlaai met inligting en oorweldig met keuses. Handelsmerk en prys verteenwoordig twee leiseine wat verbruikersbesluitneming beïnvloed en wat gebruik kan word in bemarkingstrategieë om waarde te skep, en 'n produk van sy mededingers te onderskei in hierdie toenemend mededingende klimaat. In reaksie op die wanopvattings omtrent die besluitneming van individue wat in die lae-inkomste-marksegment geklassifiseer word, en in die lig van die betekenisvolheid van die Bodem van die Piramide (BOP) soos ondersteun deur Pralahad (2002), is hierdie studie onderneem om die waargenome belangrikheid van prys en handelsmerk in lae-inkomste-verbruikers se besluitnemingsproses te assesseer, en sodoende die effek van verskillende pryse en handelsmerke op lae-inkomste-verbruikers se produkvoorkeure te ondersoek. Primêre kousale navorsing deur 'n keusegebaseerde saamgevoegde analise ("choice-based conjoint analysis" of CBC) is uitgevoer op 'n oordeelsteekproef van swart, vroulike volwassenes. 'n Totaal van 209 vraelyste is voltooi deur middel van veldwerk in die vorm van uit persoonlike onderhoude in informele nedersettings in Gauteng. Die studie het 'n tussensubjekte-ontwerp gebruik met 'n 5-prys-aanbieding (R18.99; R24.99; R28.99; R33.99; R42.99) teenoor 'n 5-handelsmerk-aanbieding (Ace, Iwisa, White Star, Mnandi, Ritebrand) in die mieliemeel-produkkategorie. Die hiërargiese Bayes-prosedure en multinomiale logitmodel is gebruik om die primêre data te ontleed. Die resultate van die beskrywende en inferensiële analise van die CBC het gewys dat handelsmerk as meer belangrik waargeneem word, met 65 persent van lae-inkomste-verbruikers se besluitnemingsproses wat daaraan toegeskryf kan word, in vergelyking met 35 persent aan prys. Verder het pryse en handelsmerke wisselende effekte op lae-inkomste-verbruikers se aankoopwaarskynlikhede gehad. Alhoewel laer pryse hoër waargenome bruikbaarhede gehad het, is daar gevind dat die pryssensitiwiteit van lae-inkomste-verbruikers minder invloedryk is in laer prysklasse, wat dui op die sterker invloed van handelsmerke en handelsmerkassosiasies op hulle evaluering van die verskillende alternatiewe. Bekende handelsmerke (White Star, Ace en Iwisa) het lae-inkomste-verbruikers se aankoopwaarskynlikheid positief beïnvloed deur waargenome risiko te verlaag. Hierdie verskynsel is verder versterk deur handelsmerkgeloofwaardigheid, soos gesien by Iwisa (wat konsekwente gehalte aangedui het), wat lei tot hoër aankoopwaarskynlikheid. Onbekende handelsmerke (Mnandi en Ritebrand) is waargeneem as laag in terme van bruikbaarheidsvlakke, wat toegeskryf kan word aan hoër vlakke van waargenome risiko en onduidelike afleidings omtrent gehalte. Die navorsingsgevolgtrekking, wat op grond van sekondêre navorsing gemaak is, stel 'n model van lae-inkomste-verbruikersbesluitneming voor wat deur verskeie faktore beïnvloed word, insluitend 'n afkeer van verlies en die begeerte om aspirasies te bevredig. Wisselende vlakke van handelsmerkkennis, handelsmerkgehalte en -geloofwaardigheid, asook die simboliese waarde wat aan verskillende handelsmerke geheg word soos waargeneem deur lae-inkomste-verbruikers, beïnvloed sowel individue se afkeer van verlies as hulle aspirasionele behoeftes, en beïnvloed dus die besluitnemingsproses. Daar is gevind dat afleidings omtrent prys, prys teenoor gehalte en handelsmerk teenoor gehalte, handelsmerkbekendheid, sielkundige faktore en faktore vanuit die aankoopkonteks 'n invloed het op die besluitnemingsproses van individue binne hierdie marksegment. Bestuursaanbevelings beklemtoon die belangrikheid van die BOP as 'n lewensvatbare marksegment, waarsku bemarkers teen laekoste-prysingstrategieë, en bespreek die belang daarvan om waardegebaseerde strategieë te gebruik en handelsmerke te hefboom om verbruikers in hierdie marksegment te lok, te bevredig en te behou. Bestuurders word uitgedaag om 'n balans te vind tussen waargenome gehalte en betroubaarheid en bekostigbare pryse, ten einde suksesvol in die lae-inkomstemark te funksioneer en doeltreffende waardeproposisies te bied wat verbruikersbevrediging verskaf, maar steeds ruimte laat vir volgehoue verkope en winste vir die firma.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The medical scheme industry of South Africa has been exposed to fundamental changes during the last decade. We have been witness to various amalgamations and scheme closures as a result of financial pressure and changes to legislation. Never before has it been more important for medical scheme administrators to become more customer focused and find solutions for medical schemes to stay viable into the future. Relationship marketing, a widely acknowledged concept, has been recognised as an appropriate tool to manage relationships and improve customer loyalty over a long-term period. A number of studies have investigated the viability of relationship marketing strategies across different industries. No such studies have however been performed for the medical scheme industry of South Africa. The study therefore aims to investigate how loyalty between medical schemes and their respective administrators is currently maintained. It further aims to determine if the medical scheme industry would benefit from relationship marketing initiatives to encourage long-term loyalty. An in-depth literature study was performed. The underlying aspects under investigation include relationship marketing, customer relationship management (CRM) and customer loyalty. It is thus important to investigate the influence of these three components on the strength of relationships and customer retention. The second phase of the study consisted of in-depth semi-structured interviews with various scheme representatives from the industry. This study is based on an exploratory case and the qualitative data was analysed using pattern finding techniques and qualitative content analysis. The study investigated the factors that have an impact on loyalty in the medical scheme industry. It was determined that relationships between administrators and medical schemes are multilevel and although relationship marketing literature indicates that key account managers are essential for the successful use of relationship based strategies, it was evident that expertise needs to extend beyond only those in key customer management positions. It is evident from the findings of this study that the medical scheme industry of South Africa could benefit hugely from correctly implemented and well researched relationship marketing strategies. This study may therefore be useful to the medical scheme industry in that it provides insight into relationship marketing in the South African context.

近年來，服務業佔據台灣的 GDP 比例已超過一半以上，成為支撐台灣經濟的重要支柱。隨著服務業競爭越來越激烈，許多企業尋求提高顧客忠誠度以創造並維持其競爭優勢。 從 20 世紀末開始，許多針對轉換成本的研究都證明了轉換成本是影響顧客忠誠度的重要原因之一，轉換成本可分為主構陎和次構陎，主構陎分別是程序性轉換成本、財務類轉換成本與關係類轉換成本，而主構陎之下又可分為八個次構陎。在提高顧客忠誠度上，此八個次構陎可歸納為正向轉換成本與負向轉向成本，而這兩種轉換成本又分別影響著組成顧客忠誠度中不同的因子。本研究運用轉換成本與顧客忠誠度作為研究框架，並選定台灣服務業中具有代表性的企業作為研究對象，透過文獻、深度訪談、線上資料收集等方式收集資料，整理出個案公司執行轉換成本的方式後，透過檢視其執行方法提出參考建議以提高顧客忠誠度。 本研究訪談來自零售業與餐飲業的三家台灣本土龍頭企業，透過訪談了解企業在轉換成本上的實務做法，並經由受訪者了解受訪企業顧客在再購意願、主動推薦和價格容忍度上相較於競爭對手的比較。 在分析企業的轉換成本執行與其顧客忠誠度以後，本研究發現，個案企業在顧客忠誠度上皆有進步的空間。而在影響顧客忠誠度的正負向轉換成本中，個案企業都應以正向轉換成本的執行作為提高顧客忠誠度的方法，因此本研究在給予個案企業的建議上以正向轉換成本為主軸。 最後，本研究也歸納出以下研究發現：1.個案研究企業著重於經濟風險成本的建置 2.個案研究企業認為評估成本非首要考量 3.個案研究企業皆未使用金錢性損失 成本 4.個案研究企業皆認為流動率影響個人關係損失成本的建立 5.關係類轉換成本 與服務-產品連續性有關 6.個案研究企業在三大類轉換成本上皆有著墨。

With the emergence of the internet as a new business channel and its impact on the overall role of today's customers, existing models for the measurement of perceived quality, satisfaction and loyalty are worth revisiting. This is specifically important in light of the prominent progress of some of the new business concepts, particularly customer experience management, and the rising emphasis on customers' hedonic and emotional needs. This study attempts to bridge the gap in existing literature by examining the online customer experience in its entirety, attending within the study to both the utilitarian and hedonic needs of online customers and giving special attention to emerging aspects in the online environment, such as customer engagement in self-driven experiences. Therefore, the study includes a comprehensive review of a large body of knowledge, both in consumer behaviour and marketing literature as well as quality management literature, in addition to a scrutiny of 50 studies for different evaluation models in the online environment. This is in order to identify a list of attributes and factors that impact customer evaluations of online experiences. Upon the synthesis of the list of attributes and factors that impact customer evaluations of online experiences, an online blog was created as an environment for asynchronous focus groups. The online blog was beneficial in creating a deeper understanding of what online customers want and what impacts their experiences. Following, an online questionnaire was administered in two stages, once for measure purification purposes which received 90 pilot responses and once for mass data collection purposes which received 366 responses. As a result of this study, an integrated model for the measurement of online customer experience that emphasises the significance of the emotional component was proposed. The model consists of three components, each serve a specific measurement purpose. The XQual construct which consists of 7 attributes and 30 factors, is a performance measure of the experience in relation to specific aspects that address customers' utilitarian and hedonic needs. The satisfaction continuum consists of four factors and is an output measure for each experience or transaction with the online firm. The loyalty continuum consists of four factors and is an outcome measure that indicates customers' attitudinal commitment towards the online firm.