M. Tech. (Marketing, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology / Internet and online shopping are gaining more attention and momentum, and businesses are moving online, not as a matter of choice, but as a matter of necessity. Online shopping satisfaction, loyalty and repurchase intentions are now at the forefront for most online shops’ strategies. Investigating this phenomenon within a South African context is crucial, considering the fact that online shopping is a recent trend in the country. Most studies have investigated the determinants of satisfaction and loyalty in online shopping. Very few studies examined the factors that entice consumers to repurchase using online channels. Businesses discovered the importance of online shopping as a key success factor. Thus, customer satisfaction, loyalty and repurchase intentions are the topics that have received much attention since the 1990s, as relationship marketing has become a popular marketing scheme. The purpose of this study was to examine online shopping satisfaction, loyalty and repurchase intentions of Generation X consumers to better understand the development of the online shopping sector. There is an absence of research conducted in this direction, resulting in a lack of existing literature. To assist in filling this gap, this study attempted to measure the relationships between these variables. Previous research has shown that consumers’ intent to repurchase online is highly driven by their satisfaction; several articles were reviewed. The target population comprised of Generation X online consumers in southern Gauteng (Vaal region). A snowball sampling method was employed to identify the respondents fitting the predetermined sample criteria. A total number of 326 questionnaires were received. Topical areas, research methods and data acquiring procedures were described. This study develops a model, which aims to describe the degree to which the three variables relate to each other; satisfaction, loyalty and repurchase intentions. The model describes the extent to which online repurchase intention is affected by satisfaction and loyalty, and the degree to which loyalty is influenced by satisfaction. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses and the relationships. A key contribution of the SEM is the incorporation of the variables under analysis. The analysis finds that satisfaction has a positive significant relationship with repurchase intention, satisfaction also affects loyalty, and loyalty has a positive relationship with repurchase intentions. Lastly, based on the findings of this study, limitations were discussed along with the recommendations and concluding remarks

This dissertation analyzes the emergence of the Austro-Hungarian Bank (OeUB) as a modern lender of last resort (LLR) between 1868 and 1914. In order to evaluate policy responses to specific periods of financial distress, an in-depth knowledge of the context and dynamics at hand is indispensable. Chapter I sets the groundwork for this dissertation. It shows that bank failures during the Austro-Hungarian crisis of 1873 followed mainly from the break-down of a large repo market on the Viennese stock exchange. Credit institutions granted repo loans against securities that turned into highly illiquid and depreciated collateral. Banks that were forced to sell repossessed collateral in response to heavy funding withdrawals had to write-off substantial portions of their repo portfolios and thus incurred heavy losses. This chapter reinterprets the Austro-Hungarian crisis of 1873 as a historical "run on repo". It is the first study to examine a historical repo market crisis using microdata. I use semi-parametric survival analysis as well as stratification techniques new to the literature on bank distress to identify the causes of bank failures. Bank failures in 1873 did not spring from a pure liquidity problem, nor did they derive from a simple solvency shock. The complex roots of bank distress in 1873 posed difficult questions for policy-makers who needed to decide whether and how to intervene. Although central banks may be first-best candidates for the role of a LLR, they can also face constraints which obviate an elastic supply of liquidity during crises. Some of these constraints may be ideational, institutional or technical. Others are driven by market characteristics: quantity rationing can be the result of asymmetric information problems in financial markets. In Chapter II, I study a historical experiment implemented to overcome the specter of a credit rationing LLR during the Austro-Hungarian crisis of 1873. I explore bank-level information on treatment by a LLR mechanism designed as a public-private partnership between the central bank and market players. Drawing on inverse probability weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA) to tease out the causal effect of liquidity support, I show that this unconventional LLR was effective in mitigating bank distress: it worked as a remedy for the under-provision of a good particularly desirable in times of crises central bank liquidity. No matter how successful it is in calming financial distress and independently of the concrete form it takes, the LLR always comes at a cost. Moral hazard is a central issue in the literature on last resort lending. In Chapter III, I provide a new explanation for how central banks dealt with moral hazard historically. I focus on one specific component of central banks' risk frameworks: credit limits for discount window customers. I argue that credit limits as operationalized by the Austro-Hungarian Bank (OeUB) after 1878 constituted the backbone of an early form of microprudential regulation that was designed to check moral hazard in normal times. Credit limits empowered the Austro-Hungarian Bank to enforce minimum liquidity and capital standards for its counterparties at the discount window. Rather than contradicting the tenet of free lending in times of distress, credit limits functioned as "contingent rules": enforced in normal times, limits were increased or lifted during liquidity crises perceived as exogenous. Moreover, even during crises, the Bank did not simply relax limits for all credit institutions: it differentiated between banks depending on their fundamentals prior to the crisis. Chapter III provides the first economic interpretation and empirical analysis of the credit limit frameworks employed by central banks in the past.

O presente estudo aborda os efeitos dos custos de mudança no setor de serviços, medindo seu reflexo no comprometimento, intenção de recompra e boca-a-boca (positivo e negativo). Conceituado por Burnham, Frels e Mahajan (2003), custos de mudança significam custos que os clientes associam com o processo de troca de um fornecedor para outro. Estudos com base nesse construto se fazem presentes de forma crescente na literatura, passível de ser ampliada. Assim, essa dissertação busca preencher a lacuna referente aos efeitos dos diferentes tipos de custos de mudança. Para tanto, além da revisão bibliográfica sobre o tema, foi conduzida uma pesquisa do tipo survey com alunos do ensino superior, tendo como objeto a verificação do papel dos custos de mudança e seus efeitos positivos e negativos no contexto de serviço educacional em nível de graduação. A análise dos dados foi realizada através de modelagem de equações estruturais, a partir de uma amostra de 467 casos. Os resultados demonstram uma influência dos custos de mudança relacionais, financeiros e processuais no comprometimento afetivo, normativo e calculativo, respectivamente. Por sua vez, comprometimentos afetivo e normativo demonstraram estar associados a efeitos positivos, como intenção de recompra, sendo que o primeiro se destaca por obter também uma relação com o boca-a-boca positivo. Por outro lado, o comprometimento calculativo gera efeitos negativos – maior boca-a-boca negativo e menor nível de intenção de recompra. Efeitos moderadores das relações interpessoais e da atratividade da concorrência nas relações estabelecidas não foram confirmados. Os resultados são discutidos, bem como suas implicações para futuras pesquisas e prática gerencial. / This study addresses the effects of switching costs in the services sector, measuring their reflection on commitment, repurchase intention and word-of-mouth (positive and negative). According to Burnham, Frels and Mahajan (2003), switching costs are the onetime costs that customers associate with the process of switching from one provider to another. Studies based on this construct are present in literature, but can be expanded. Thus, this work seeks to bridge the gap regarding the effects of different types of switching costs. A survey was conducted in the higher education sector aims to verify the role switching costs and their positive and negative effects. Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling, from a sample of 467 cases. As expected, the switching costs (relational, financial and procedural) have a significant and positive impact on affective, normative and calculative commitment, respectively. Furthermore, affective and normative commitments are positively associated with repurchase intentions, and the first one also obtained is related to positive word-of-mouth. In the other hand, calculative commitment creates negatives effects - higher negative word-of-mouth and lower levels of repurchase intentions. The moderation effects of interpersonal relationships and attractiveness of competitors in some relationships of the model was explored as well, but none was confirmed. The results, academic and managerial implications are discussed in the final part of this work Finally, suggestions for future studies are provided.

In my first chapter, we document and study the use of Rule 10b5 1 preset repurchase plans. We exploit this new and widespread form of payout to examine an issue at the core of payout decisions—the tradeoff between commitment and financial flexibility. Relative to open market repurchases, preset plans provide an expanded repurchase window and increased legal cover, albeit at the cost of reducing repurchase flexibility and the option to time repurchases. These costs and benefits are significantly associated with Rule 10b5-1 adoption. Consistent with preset plans signaling commitment, Rule 10b5-1 repurchase announcements are associated with greater and faster completion rates, with more positive market reactions, and with more dividend substitution than open market repurchases. Lastly, we find that preset repurchase plans represent a unique payout tool whose introduction encouraged a different set of firms to buy back stock and significantly altered the payout landscape. My second chapter examines the strategic use and timing of share repurchases by insiders for personal gain. Using grant level compensation data and a hand-collected sample of monthly repurchases, I find a positive relation between CEO equity sales and share repurchases. I identify the relationship by instrumenting equity sales with equity grant vesting schedules. This relation is persistent across firm characteristics and does not appear to be destroying shareholder value. The results indicate managerial self-interest motivates a subset of share repurchases.

<p>Bakgrund: Från och med den 10 mars 2000 är det tillåtet för publika svenska börsföretag att handla i egna aktier. Det är intressant att belysa hur möjligheten att återköpa aktier uppfattas i Sverige. </p><p>Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att klargöra hur möjligheten att återköpa egna aktier påverkar ledningen och aktieägarna i ett aktiebolag. </p><p>Genomförande: Vi har studerat artiklar och litteratur om ämnet återköp. Besöksintervjuer har genomförts på Assa Abloy, Electrolux, Investor, Skanska, Robur Kapitalförvaltning och Handelsbanken Markets. En kombinerad telefon- och e-mailintervju har genomförts med Finansinspektionen. </p><p>Resultat: Det anses positivt att återköp av egna aktier nu är möjligt i Sverige. De främsta motiven till ett återköp är att hantera ett bolags kapitalstruktur och att använda aktierna för att hantera optionsprogram. Återköp anses som ett flexiblare instrument än inlösen och kompletterar utdelningen. Några större risker för missbruk anses det inte föreligga.</p>

Bakgrund: Från och med den 10 mars 2000 är det tillåtet för publika svenska börsföretag att handla i egna aktier. Det är intressant att belysa hur möjligheten att återköpa aktier uppfattas i Sverige. Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att klargöra hur möjligheten att återköpa egna aktier påverkar ledningen och aktieägarna i ett aktiebolag. Genomförande: Vi har studerat artiklar och litteratur om ämnet återköp. Besöksintervjuer har genomförts på Assa Abloy, Electrolux, Investor, Skanska, Robur Kapitalförvaltning och Handelsbanken Markets. En kombinerad telefon- och e-mailintervju har genomförts med Finansinspektionen. Resultat: Det anses positivt att återköp av egna aktier nu är möjligt i Sverige. De främsta motiven till ett återköp är att hantera ett bolags kapitalstruktur och att använda aktierna för att hantera optionsprogram. Återköp anses som ett flexiblare instrument än inlösen och kompletterar utdelningen. Några större risker för missbruk anses det inte föreligga.

O presente estudo aborda os efeitos dos custos de mudança no setor de serviços, medindo seu reflexo no comprometimento, intenção de recompra e boca-a-boca (positivo e negativo). Conceituado por Burnham, Frels e Mahajan (2003), custos de mudança significam custos que os clientes associam com o processo de troca de um fornecedor para outro. Estudos com base nesse construto se fazem presentes de forma crescente na literatura, passível de ser ampliada. Assim, essa dissertação busca preencher a lacuna referente aos efeitos dos diferentes tipos de custos de mudança. Para tanto, além da revisão bibliográfica sobre o tema, foi conduzida uma pesquisa do tipo survey com alunos do ensino superior, tendo como objeto a verificação do papel dos custos de mudança e seus efeitos positivos e negativos no contexto de serviço educacional em nível de graduação. A análise dos dados foi realizada através de modelagem de equações estruturais, a partir de uma amostra de 467 casos. Os resultados demonstram uma influência dos custos de mudança relacionais, financeiros e processuais no comprometimento afetivo, normativo e calculativo, respectivamente. Por sua vez, comprometimentos afetivo e normativo demonstraram estar associados a efeitos positivos, como intenção de recompra, sendo que o primeiro se destaca por obter também uma relação com o boca-a-boca positivo. Por outro lado, o comprometimento calculativo gera efeitos negativos – maior boca-a-boca negativo e menor nível de intenção de recompra. Efeitos moderadores das relações interpessoais e da atratividade da concorrência nas relações estabelecidas não foram confirmados. Os resultados são discutidos, bem como suas implicações para futuras pesquisas e prática gerencial. / This study addresses the effects of switching costs in the services sector, measuring their reflection on commitment, repurchase intention and word-of-mouth (positive and negative). According to Burnham, Frels and Mahajan (2003), switching costs are the onetime costs that customers associate with the process of switching from one provider to another. Studies based on this construct are present in literature, but can be expanded. Thus, this work seeks to bridge the gap regarding the effects of different types of switching costs. A survey was conducted in the higher education sector aims to verify the role switching costs and their positive and negative effects. Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling, from a sample of 467 cases. As expected, the switching costs (relational, financial and procedural) have a significant and positive impact on affective, normative and calculative commitment, respectively. Furthermore, affective and normative commitments are positively associated with repurchase intentions, and the first one also obtained is related to positive word-of-mouth. In the other hand, calculative commitment creates negatives effects - higher negative word-of-mouth and lower levels of repurchase intentions. The moderation effects of interpersonal relationships and attractiveness of competitors in some relationships of the model was explored as well, but none was confirmed. The results, academic and managerial implications are discussed in the final part of this work Finally, suggestions for future studies are provided.

O presente estudo aborda os efeitos dos custos de mudança no setor de serviços, medindo seu reflexo no comprometimento, intenção de recompra e boca-a-boca (positivo e negativo). Conceituado por Burnham, Frels e Mahajan (2003), custos de mudança significam custos que os clientes associam com o processo de troca de um fornecedor para outro. Estudos com base nesse construto se fazem presentes de forma crescente na literatura, passível de ser ampliada. Assim, essa dissertação busca preencher a lacuna referente aos efeitos dos diferentes tipos de custos de mudança. Para tanto, além da revisão bibliográfica sobre o tema, foi conduzida uma pesquisa do tipo survey com alunos do ensino superior, tendo como objeto a verificação do papel dos custos de mudança e seus efeitos positivos e negativos no contexto de serviço educacional em nível de graduação. A análise dos dados foi realizada através de modelagem de equações estruturais, a partir de uma amostra de 467 casos. Os resultados demonstram uma influência dos custos de mudança relacionais, financeiros e processuais no comprometimento afetivo, normativo e calculativo, respectivamente. Por sua vez, comprometimentos afetivo e normativo demonstraram estar associados a efeitos positivos, como intenção de recompra, sendo que o primeiro se destaca por obter também uma relação com o boca-a-boca positivo. Por outro lado, o comprometimento calculativo gera efeitos negativos – maior boca-a-boca negativo e menor nível de intenção de recompra. Efeitos moderadores das relações interpessoais e da atratividade da concorrência nas relações estabelecidas não foram confirmados. Os resultados são discutidos, bem como suas implicações para futuras pesquisas e prática gerencial. / This study addresses the effects of switching costs in the services sector, measuring their reflection on commitment, repurchase intention and word-of-mouth (positive and negative). According to Burnham, Frels and Mahajan (2003), switching costs are the onetime costs that customers associate with the process of switching from one provider to another. Studies based on this construct are present in literature, but can be expanded. Thus, this work seeks to bridge the gap regarding the effects of different types of switching costs. A survey was conducted in the higher education sector aims to verify the role switching costs and their positive and negative effects. Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling, from a sample of 467 cases. As expected, the switching costs (relational, financial and procedural) have a significant and positive impact on affective, normative and calculative commitment, respectively. Furthermore, affective and normative commitments are positively associated with repurchase intentions, and the first one also obtained is related to positive word-of-mouth. In the other hand, calculative commitment creates negatives effects - higher negative word-of-mouth and lower levels of repurchase intentions. The moderation effects of interpersonal relationships and attractiveness of competitors in some relationships of the model was explored as well, but none was confirmed. The results, academic and managerial implications are discussed in the final part of this work Finally, suggestions for future studies are provided.

This study sought to understand factors driving repurchase intentions for consumer electronics (CE) hardware and in particular mobile phones. The outcome of the study was expected to be of interest in academia and practice because it develops upon existing literature and identifies actionable variables that could be used to optimise market offerings. Based on a literature review it was hypothesised that the intent was driven by hedonic and utilitarian factors. These included conspicuousness and visibility; product bundling; reliability; technological features, usability of the product and the buyers’ age. The study tested these hypotheses using primary data. The method was employed to confirm the postulated drivers as well as to determine the direction of the effects. Data collection was conducted through a cross sectional internet survey enumerated in August 2010. The survey reached a broad sample of 144 responders. The analysis supported two of the six hypothesised drivers. The supported drivers were conspicuousness and usability. The recommendation was therefore to encourage the CE industry to focus on creating aesthetically appealing, fashionable devices that were intuitively easy to use requiring minimal assistance or product manuals. It also recommends that less emphasis be placed on durability, advanced features, on bundling additional extras and on targeting particular age groups. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Globalisation and stiff competition have changed the landscape of doing business. Decrease in customer loyalty and increase in customer expectations have challenged businesses to come up with unique methods of enhancing their quality of service. The same is true for airlines industry too. As a result, many airlines have transformed their marketing strategies, especially with regard to service quality, in order to compete efficiently in the global market. The marketing literature has introduced models of service quality, e.g.: SERVQUAL and AIRQUAL to help organisations measure and enhance customer experiences. SERVQUAL has been extensively researched and applied in many industries. Similarly, AIRQUAL, a model for the airline industry, has been developed but applied only in Cyprus. Moreover, the AIRQUAL scale lacks validity, as its development process is incomplete. This research, therefore, adapted 30-items of AIRQUAL and assessed and validated this revised scale. The validated scale was then applied to the airline industry of Saudi Arabia. Further, a comprehensive model is proposed, where the impact of the validated scale of service quality is tested with its impact on customer satisfaction, attitudinal loyalty, word of mouth, repurchase intentions and complaining behaviour. The assessment and validation process is divided into two main stages: first, qualitative; where four focus group interviews were undertaken that generated 46 items for the adapted scale. These items describe the perceptions of airline customers regarding service quality and were classified on the bases of the scheme proposed by Parasuraman et al. (1988). Second, a three-phase two sample, quantitative, research was performed to derive a validated 30-item scale comprising five dimensions: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Further, the improved scale was tested in a new market (Saudi market) in order to assess the service quality of Saudi Airlines. A total of 500 self-administered questionnaires were distributed among airline customers. The returned questionnaires underwent thorough screening and cleaning. The reliability of the scale was tested through Cronbach’s Alpha, followed by exploratory factor analysis (EFA), which emerged with five dimensions. The content, convergent and discriminant validities were established. Further scale confirmation was conducted on a sample of US airline passengers. Finally, the proposed model with nine hypotheses was tested, which resulted in statistically significant results for all the proposed hypotheses.