Customer experience, satisfaction and word-of-mouth intention contribute a crucial part in enhancing customer loyalty in the banking sector. This study examines the moderators of the effect of customer experience, satisfaction and word-of-mouth intentions on customer loyalty. Data were collected from bank customers (n = 650) using a structured questionnaire through a cross-sectional survey in Harare, Zimbabwe. Customer experience, satisfaction and word-of-mouth intention were found to have a direct positive effect on loyalty. Age was found to moderate the effect of customer satisfaction on loyalty. However, gender, education and income did not moderate the effect of customer satisfaction on loyalty. These results contribute to the existing body of services marketing literature. Banks are advised to consider customer experience, satisfaction, word-of-mouth intention and age when designing strategies to improve customer loyalty.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of consumers’ intention to adopt mobile banking services in Zimbabwe. Design/methodology/approach: A survey of 232 bank customers was conducted in Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe, using a structured questionnaire with Likert-type questions. Customers were randomly intercepted as they walked out of five major banks. Structural equation modelling, independent-samples t -test and one-way ANOVA were used to test research hypotheses. Findings: The study found that perceived usefulness, perceived self-efficacy, social influence, relative advantage and perceived compatibility all have a positive effect, whilst perceived risk has a negative effect on behavioural intention to adopt mobile banking services in Zimbabwe. Perceived ease of use, facilitating conditions, perceived complexity, perceived trialability, awareness-knowledge and demographic factors (gender, age, education and income) did not significantly influence behavioural intention to adopt mobile banking. Perceived ease of use was found to positively influence perceived usefulness, while perceived self-efficacy was found to have a positive effect on perceived ease of use. Behavioural intention was found to positively influence usage of mobile banking services in Zimbabwe. Research limitations/implications: Data were collected from bank customers in Chinhoyi, one of the emerging towns in Zimbabwe. Future research should be expanded to include other major cities in Zimbabwe and other countries. More similar studies should be conducted to test the factors identified in literature in different contexts and markets and on other innovations. Practical implications: The study advises banks to pay particular attention to perceived usefulness, perceived self-efficacy, social influence, relative advantage, perceived compatibility and perceived risk when designing new mobile banking services. Originality/value: There is not a unified position regarding factors influencing mobile banking adoption. Factors vary with contexts, markets, time and types of innovations. The study tested some major factors identified in literature in the context of Zimbabwe.

Purpose: There is a dearth of studies that have investigated mediators of the effect of service quality on customer loyalty under the conditions prevailing in Zimbabwe; where bank customers’ confidence in the banking system has been dented by bank failures. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediators of the effect of service quality on loyalty among bank customers in Zimbabwe. Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional survey of 310 bank customers was conducted in Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe. A questionnaire with Likert type questions was used to collect data. Customers were randomly intercepted as they walked out of five major banks. Structural equation modelling was used to test the proposed relationships. Findings: The study found that service quality, satisfaction and corporate image all have positive direct effects on loyalty. It was also found that satisfaction and corporate image all mediate the effect of service quality on loyalty. Research limitations/implications: The study was conducted in Chinhoyi, one of the emerging towns in Zimbabwe. There is a need to conduct more similar studies in other parts of the world in future in order to have a better understanding of this subject. Practical implications: Banks are advised to address issues to do with service quality, customer satisfaction and corporate image when designing marketing programmes intended to increase customer loyalty. Originality/value: Studies that have investigated mediators of the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty in banking environments such as in Zimbabwe are scarce. This study was conducted to address this knowledge gap. Relationships among customer loyalty and its antecedents are not likely to change due to conditions prevailing in a particular banking environment.

Customer satisfaction, loyalty and corporate image play a critical role in improving loyalty within the banking sector. The current study examines the mediators and moderators of the effect of customer satisfaction on loyalty. Data were collected from bank customers (n = 308) using a structured questionnaire through a cross-sectional survey in Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling and moderated regression analyses. Customer satisfaction has a direct positive effect on customer loyalty. Service quality and corporate image were each found to partially mediate the effect of customer satisfaction on customer loyalty. Gender, age, education and income were found not to moderate the effect of customer satisfaction on loyalty. Thus, this study extends the extant services marketing literature by examining the mediators and moderators of the customer satisfaction-customer loyalty relationship within the banking sector. As a result, banks are encouraged to consider customer satisfaction, service quality and image altogether when trying to influence customer loyalty.

Governments in emerging markets in Africa need to focus more on the factors that drive the entrepreneurial ability of the youth on the continent. This approach is required to lower unemployment levels through self-employment and stimulating entrepreneurial intentions among graduates. Considering this, the research aimed to determine the factors influencing youth entrepreneurial ability and their effect on entrepreneurial intentions. Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey from 347 youths enrolled at five universities in Botswana and analyzed through structural equation modeling to test the formulated hypotheses. The results established that perceived access to finance, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and attitude toward entrepreneurship positively influence entrepreneurial ability. In addition, entrepreneurial ability was found to positively affect entrepreneurial intentions. Therefore, it is important for universities in developing markets like Botswana to stimulate entrepreneurial thinking through curriculum development and establishing a positive mindset that will stimulate the development of goals and the understanding that failure is not always a negative outcome or characteristic.

The study examined the effect of each of the dimensions of innovation on the performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Harare, Zimbabwe. It also examined the moderating effect of a firm’s age and size on the innovation-performance relationship of SMEs. A cross-section of 330 SMEs was taken from Harare using a structured questionnaire which was randomly distributed to the respondents. Structural equation modeling and moderated regression analyses were performed to test the research hypotheses. Results show that, aggregately innovation does not significantly influence both financial and non-financial performance of a firm. Out of the four dimensions of innovation, only marketing innovation significantly influences the firm’s financial and non-financial performance. Results also show that the effect of marketing innovation on the firm’s financial performance is stronger in younger than older firms. Similarly, results reveal that the effect of marketing innovation on the firm’s financial performance is stronger in bigger than smaller firms. Therefore, younger and bigger firms are advised to take advantage of innovation as a tool to improve their performance. On the contrary, older and smaller firms are advised to be cautious when attempting to boost their performance through innovation.