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The purpose of this study is to establish, drawing upon the indirect effects of customer reactance from an emerging economy perspective, the marketing implications of policy induced Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) in Financial Services.

The study employed a quantitative research approach, relying on data from 517 customers of M&A banks in Ghana. Purposive sampling technique was used in selecting respondents for the study. Hypotheses were tested using a structural equation modelling.

A positive and significant relationship between immersive marketing communication and consumer intention is revealed in the study. The presence of consumer reactance highly influenced the relationship. As a public policy tool, forced mergers and acquisitions was found to increase customer reactance. However, when customers are frequently engaged with relevant and consistent marketing communications through appropriate channels, such reactance would only be partial.

Although some of the information were collected, they were not the main focus of our analysis. We acknowledge, from the sample demographics perspective, the study did not consider certain other confounding factors that could influence customers' decisions to remain or switch such as customers' level of banking, type of account, income level, banking experiences in relation to service fees, online banking etc., as these could also potentially influence customers' reactance. Perhaps these may have to be considered in future studies.

When timely and relevant marketing communications are targeted at the customers who are directly impacted by the M&A process, they would experience reactance, but only partially. This has a range of marketing implications for policy-induced M&A and its impact on consumer intention, reactance and attitudes towards the new entity.

The marketing of financial services literature has been silent on the implications of M&A from a policy induced perspective. This study, therefore, contributes to theory by highlighting that the “destruction” of brand value of the affected firms is relatively high in a policy induced M&A and thus increases the level of customer reactance. This is because a regulator enforced M&A, as public policy, usually generates high public interest and public discourse, leading to a heightened customer reactance. However, when immersive marketing communications are targeted at the customers directly impacted by the M&A, they would experience reactance, but only partially.

The purpose of this study, which draws on the stimulus organism response (S-O-R) theory, is to empirically examine the effect of brand coolness on communal brand connection and brand commitment, while assessing how the latter fosters brand trust and loyalty among smartphone users.

Data are collected from 410 smartphone users in Ghana and analyzed with Smart-PLS utilizing the structural equations modeling technique.

The study's findings show that consumers' perceptions of brand coolness have a positive influence on their communal brand connection and brand commitment. The study also discovers that brand commitment influences brand loyalty, whereas communal brand connection influences brand commitment, loyalty and trust, respectively. Similarly, brand commitment and communal brand connection are identified as important mediating variables in the relationship between brand coolness and both brand loyalty and brand trust.

The study underlines the significance of developing cool brand images and communicating same effectively to current and prospective customers, along with other stakeholders.

The study highlights the fact that properly creating cool brands can lead to increased communal brand connection, brand commitment, and, consequently, brand trust and loyalty.

The study examines the effects of behavior-based and outcome-based control systems on service-sales ambidexterity, role conflict, emotional exhaustion and job performance in salespeople.

Data are collected from 704 salespeople in Ghana. The proposed hypotheses are tested through the structural equations modeling technique.

The study finds that both behavior-based and outcome-based controls have positive and significant effects on service-sales ambidexterity in salespeople. Similarly, the study discovers that service-sales ambidexterity has a positive and significant impact on both role conflict and emotional exhaustion in salespeople. The study also finds that role conflict and emotional exhaustion both have a negative impact on job performance. Finally, the study finds that salespeople's grit moderates the negative relationship between emotional exhaustion and job performance.

The results imply that while salespeople's service-sales ambidexterity may be beneficial to their individual and firm performance, it may also lead to role conflict and emotional exhaustion.

The current study demonstrates how control mechanisms can lead to service-sales ambidexterity in salespeople and how this can lead to role conflict and emotional exhaustion.

This paper aims to systematically analyze the weaknesses of public procurement in Malaysia as reported in the Auditor General’s Reports from 2011 until 2018. Specifically, the study examines the types of weaknesses, the modes of public procurement involved with the weaknesses, the procurement categories involved with the weaknesses and the key recommendations to mitigate the weaknesses in public procurement.

A document analysis was adopted in achieving the objective. The Auditor General’s reports and the reports of activities of federal ministries/departments published by the National Audit Department, Malaysia from the year 2011 until 2018 are the main documents used in this study. The data gathered were analyzed using frequency distribution and displayed with descriptive statistics and relevant graphs.

The findings of the study revealed that the top five reported are non-compliance to scope, specifications and terms of contracts; delayed completion/non-completion of project; poor documentation; low quality of products, service and work; and little or no prior planning. It is also found that direct negotiation mode was reported with the highest issues of public procurement, while the procurement mode with the least public procurement weaknesses is direct purchase. Moreover, it was found that work category is the highest with public procurement issues reported compared to supplies and services. The top recommendations given by the Auditor General were to improve internal control, to enhance monitoring, to establish planning in details, to improve assets management and to take appropriate actions toward contractors and procurement officers when needed.

This is among a few studies that attempted to systematically examine the main issues regarding the public procurement activities in Malaysia. This study highlighted pertinent aspects of the public procurement activities, which need close attention by the relevant authorities to ensure efficient and effective public procurement.