Customer satisfaction is at the heart of any successful business entity. The influence of service quality on the role of customer orientation in achieving greater customer satisfaction in the banking industry from the perspective of customers has not received the required attention in the marketing literature. This study sought to respond to the question of whether service quality could influence the effect of customer orientation on customer satisfaction. The study adopts a quantitative research approach with a descriptive survey design. With the aid of PLS-SEM, data from 391 commercial bank customers was analysed. It was identified that, within the banking industry, customer orientation is a key predictor of customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction would improve when service quality improves, and service quality plays a partial role in the relationship between customer orientation and service quality. The study recommends that policymakers develop comprehensive policies and also direct the management of commercial banks to develop customer orientation programmes.

The study explored perceptions of postgraduate distance education students of University of Cape Coast (UCC). Specifically, associations between UCC postgraduate distance students’ characteristics and satisfaction, as well as students’ perceptions of physical facilities, staff-students relationship, facilitator quality, and student support services were examined. Determinants of students’ satisfaction regarding physical facilities, staff-students relationship, facilitator quality, and student support services were also investigated. A census was used for the study, whereby a questionnaire was used to collect data from 125 students. It was revealed that satisfaction was not dependent on age, gender, or programme of study but was significantly related to study centre location and semester of study. The students were generally satisfied with physical facilities, staff-students relationship, and facilitator quality but were unimpressed with student support services. The three domains that students were impressed with were deemed to be determinants of their satisfaction. It was recommended that those aspects of the programme that received satisfactory responses should be maintained but improved on with time. Those aspects with unfavourable responses, on the other hand, were to be critically considered for immediate improvement.

The study sought to assess differences in innovation practices in the telecommunication industry, customer perception of service innovations, and how service innovation practices influence the loyalty of mobile subscribers. A quantitative research approach was adopted to study 250 samples from active subscribers of the leading mobile telecommunication companies in Ghana. Descriptive and regression analytical approaches were used to analyze the study’s objectives. The result indicates service innovation practices significantly influence loyalty. Innovative service concepts, innovative service processes, and new technologies significantly influence customer loyalty with the latter having the strongest influence. The study contributes to the scanty literature on the mentioned subject within the Ghanaian context. Additionally, this study focused on the service sector. Despite the sector’s contribution to the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), previous studies have largely focused on the manufacturing sector. Based on the findings, the study recommends that the management of MTN, Vodafone, and Airtel-Tigo in collaboration with R&D and Marketing departments must invest financial and cognitive resources to develop innovative technologies, processes, and services to address the service convenience, efficiency, and effectiveness needs of customers. The study further recommends that financial and cognitive investment should be based on market and consumer research, and customer interaction. This study recommends similar studies using qualitative research methods in other industries such as banking and insurance.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the recruitment and selection practices of public sector higher education institutions in Ghana. The research employed quantitative research approach with a descriptive survey design. Questionnaire was used to collect data from 128 respondents. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used to select the sample from the targeted population. Data processing was done using SPSS version 22. Results of the analyses showed, inter alia, the following; (a) Public sector higher education institutions in Ghana predominantly relies on recommendation as its main mode of employment; (b) Identification of available vacancies and delay in feedback after interviews were the two main challenges with the public sector higher education institutions in Ghana recruitment and selection practices. It is recommended that employee referrals (recommendation) though a good idea should be reduced, public sector higher education institutions in Ghana should make use of adverts (either print or electronic or both) in publicising its vacant positions.

This study examined 66 years of guidance service delivery in Ghana by analysing stakeholders’ attitudes and perceived relevance to career success. The study employed positivist philosophy and cross-sectional survey methods. A sample of 413 comprised basic school headteachers, school guidance coordinators, and district guidance coordinators across 15 regions in Ghana. A self-developed questionnaire was used to gather the data and analysed with Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (fourth-generation analytical tools). The study found that stakeholders’ attitudes towards guidance services at the basic school level were significantly related to policy implementation, perceived relevance, and career success. Additionally, perceived relevance or guidance services were also found to have a significant relationship with policy implementation, monitoring, and career success. Perceived relevance was also found to have a mediating influence on the relationship between attitude and career success and attitude and policy implementation on guidance services at the basic school level. The study recommends that the government of Ghana, through Ghana Education Service, should develop a more positive attitude towards guidance services by providing office allocation, logistics, special allowance or remuneration, and dedicated time for guidance services at the basic school level.

To be competitive in the distance education service delivery market, the need for a strategic approach by managers of these institutions to manage the increased competition cannot be compromised. Despite the available past and current studies on market orientation, the impact of market orientation on firms in the context of distance education is yet to be explored. Additionally, given the COVID crisis, the increasing reliance on distance education has resulted in a dynamic and turbulent environment in which market orientation assumes even greater importance. This study seeks to examine the mediating role of employee engagement in the link between market orientation and sustainable competitive advantage. Using the multistage sampling technique, 375 respondents were selected, consisting of key management and staff of a certain university’s distance education programme. Analytically, partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to address the various hypotheses of the study. Both customer and competitor orientations were found to have a significant positive effect on the university’s sustainable competitive advantage. The study’s outcomes will help shape policy and practise in distance education.