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Doctoral Degrees (Management)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10413/7868

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Management) by Author "Arbee, Aradhna."

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    Exploring the role of pedagogical practices in the brand identity formation of selected Gambian universities.
    (2022) Ikonne, Ozioma.; Arbee, Aradhna.
    This study sought to facilitate insight into the potential role of pedagogy in the brand identity formation of higher education institutions (HEIs), through a study of selected HEIs in The Gambia. Specifically, the study sought to address the following research question: What role do pedagogical practices play in building the brand identity of selected universities in The Gambia? The study was underpinned by an interpretivist philosophy and the intra-paradigm qualitative mixed method of data collection (O'Reilly, Kiyimba & Drewett 2020). This facilitated a preliminary analysis of the contents of institutional documents and social media postings. This was followed by telephonic and virtually mediated in-depth interviews in which the interactionist interpretations, recollections, experiences, and opinions of 54 participants (students and staff) were explored on the themes of institutional brand management practices, institutional pedagogical practices, institutional brand identity, and the links between pedagogical practices and institutional brand identity. The study used the Corporate Brand Identity Matrix (Urde 2013) as a supporting framework of analysis. The findings indicate that the HEIs recognise the emerging trend of competition in Gambia’s higher education sector as a consequence of government’s liberalisation policy. However, there is no evidence of the majority of them responding to emerging competition using strategic marketing and branding. The evidence suggests that the HEIs use hardly differentiated, production-style portfolios of academic courses to pursue largely unengaged students, prospective students and other stakeholders. Further findings indicate that academic staff use a narrow variety of pedagogical approaches, with the teacher centered, lecturing method emerging as dominant. This insight emerged against the background of the evidence which indicates a link between pedagogy policy and practices and stakeholder impressions. A synthesis of these findings culminated in the emergence of the pedagogy-based higher education brand identity matrix (P-HEBIM), which this study proposes as a novel framework for the branding of HEIs. Drawing on this, the study sets out a practitioner guide for the use of the P-HEBIM, making specific recommedations for the brand management roles of different HE stakeholders in The Gambia.
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    The influence of marketing communications on the youth's adoption of m-payments in KwaZulu-Natal.
    (2018) Jamwa, Cecil Oloo.; Govender, Jeevarathnam Parthasarathy.; Arbee, Aradhna.
    There has been poor subscription and usage of m-payments in the recent past in South Africa (RSA), especially with the failure of Vodacom M-Pesa and MTN Mobile Money. Presumably, this is attributed to a lack of knowledge on the functionality and benefits of such services and the fact that ‘cash is king’. This study places integrated marketing communications (IMC) at the centre of the adoption of m-payments, as it plays a key role in informing users on the effect of reducing user uncertainties and risks as knowledge structures are built. The study adopted a survey research design to determine the influence of IMC on the adoption and use of mpayments among the youth in KwaZulu-Natal. The questionnaire utilised in the study adopted scale items from constructs embedded within the Unified Technology Acceptance and Use Theory 2 (UTAUT2) and the communication performance construct, to obtain quantitative data. Quota sampling was used to draw a sample of 383 respondents from three institutions of higher learning located in the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. With a 73% response rate, analysis of the gathered data was carried out using descriptive and inferential techniques. Hypotheses were tested using multiple linear regression, Student’s t Test, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling, so as to refine and develop a conceptual model. The structural model was found to have a good fit with all but two hypotheses-linked paths being statistically significant and hence supported. IMC measured in the form of communication performance was found to have a strong direct positive impact on the risk factors (functional risk, social influence, price value and facilitating conditions). Communication performance had the greatest positive impact on price value, suggesting that the youth are a rational user market segment with a need for utilitarian motivation within m-payment purchase or use situations, regardless of gender. This study explored the relationship between IMC and innovation adoption, thereby extending the body of knowledge in a multidisciplinary field of marketing and information technology, producing a model that may be used in probing m-payments use behaviour from a marketing perspective. Key words: Integrated marketing communications, mobile payments, structural equation modelling, technology adoption, youth market.
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    Service quality of the online classroom experience in higher education: the influence of lecturer-controlled variables.
    (2023) Mokorotlo , Griffith Joseph.; Arbee, Aradhna.
    This study attempted to understand what undergraduate students expect and perceive in terms of online lecture service quality, explore the influence of interventions related to lecturer-controlled elements of the classroom experience (i.e. interaction between students and staff, physical evidence and lecture production process) on students’ initial perceptions of online lecture service quality, and propose a model/tool to measure online lecture service quality at the National University of Lesotho (NUL). In adopting an action research case study design and a mixed methods approach, the study addressed the bias in the marketing literature towards purely quantitative investigation of service quality in education. Using a sample of 188 students and 14 staff from NUL, data gathered via multiple methods and in several stages facilitated deep exploration of the quality of the online classroom encounter at NUL. The study emphasised qualitative exploration by soliciting opinions of teaching staff via interviews on interventions they implemented and challenges they faced, and by using focus group discussions to collect data from various categories of students about online lecture service quality. Thematic analysis was used for qualitative data analysis. Based on input solicited during the focus groups and interviews, a modified three dimension SERVQUAL instrument was proposed as a suitable measure of the online classroom experience at NUL. Findings suggest that three main role players in the online teaching and learning activity are lecturers, students and technological infrastructure. Students hold that their learning experiences are impacted as they interact with lecturers and co-act in the lecture production process, while technological infrastructure is vital for the online teaching and learning process. As such, an instrument designed to assess contact lecture service quality cannot be readily used to assess online lecture service quality.