Abstract
Orientation: The impact and growth rates of Facebook and other forms of social media have made it imperative for all businesses to ensure they have social media strategies in place.Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to measure the influence of social media service quality on client loyalty in the South African banking industry.Motivation for the study: There are limited studies conducted in developing countries such as South Africa that focused specifically on the social media service quality and client loyalty in the banking industry.Research design, approach and method: The study used a quantitative approach and a descriptive research design to test the proposed hypotheses. An online survey on Facebook was used to collect the data from a sample of 377 respondents who had interacted with the five major banks in South Africa on the said platform. A snowball sampling technique was used to identify the appropriate respondents. The data was analysed with Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to assess the model fit.Main findings: Findings of the research study proved that the social media system’s availability, fulfilment and privacy have a significant influence on the overall service quality of social media, which leads to client loyalty in the South African banking industry.Practical/managerial implications: The study recommended that managers and marketers should constantly evaluate, monitor and improve the overall service quality of social media offered to their clients, as it leads to a corresponding increase in client loyalty in the South African banking industry.Contribution/value-add: The study provided empirical evidence, which contributed to the body of business and marketing knowledge in a South African banking context.
Highlights
Web 2.0 technologies are the phase of Internet development that is characterised by the change from static web pages to user-generated content and, subsequently, the growth of social media (McNutt 2014)
There was a fair representation of both genders in the study, males were slightly more represented than their female counterparts: out of 377 respondents, 45.6% were female, and 53.3% were male
The sample size consisted of respondents who ranged from age 18 years and older
Summary
Web 2.0 technologies are the phase of Internet development that is characterised by the change from static web pages to user-generated content and, subsequently, the growth of social media (McNutt 2014). The advent of the Internet has revolutionised the way in which businesses have operated during the past two decades. The Internet has made it easier for businesses to position and differentiate themselves strategically from competitors, thereby maximising profits. The Internet has made communication with clients simpler, more efficient and, most importantly, it has eliminated geographical barriers between businesses and their clients (Ariff et al 2012). In this trend, the impact and growth rates of Facebook and other forms of social media have made it imperative for all banks to ensure they have social media strategies in place
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
