The relative influence of organisational commitment and job-satisfaction on service quality of customer-contact employees in banking call centres

An inter-disciplinary approach is adopted to provide a deeper understanding of the human resource-service quality relationship. The paper tests the relationships organisational commitment and job satisfaction have with service quality of customer-contact employees. Hypotheses are constructed by reviewing literature in the areas of human resource management and services marketing. A study comprising 342 employees was conducted in four telephone call centres of a major UK retail bank. Investigates how different forms of organisational commitment and job satisfaction influence the service quality delivered by contact employees. Findings indicate that job satisfaction and organisational commitment of employees have a significant impact on service quality delivered. The affective component of commitment was found to be more important than job satisfaction in determining service quality of customer-contact employees.

Comparing methods to separate treatment from self-selection effects in an online banking setting

The literature discusses several methods to control for self-selection effects but provides little guidance on which method to use in a setting with a limited number of variables. The authors theoretically compare and empirically assess the performance of different matching methods and instrumental variable and control function methods in this type of setting by investigating the effect of online banking on product usage. Hybrid matching in combination with the Gaussian kernel algorithm outperforms the other methods with respect to predictive validity. The empirical finding of large self-selection effects indicates the importance of controlling for these effects when assessing the effectiveness of marketing activities.

An investigation into the acceptance of online banking in Saudi Arabia

Although a regional leader, Internet banking in Saudi Arabia is yet to be fully utilised as a value-adding tool to improve customer relationships and achieve cost advantages. The aim of this study was to identify the factors that encourage customers to adopt online banking in Saudi Arabia. The research constructs were developed based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) and incorporated some extra important control variables. The model was empirically verified to examine the factors influencing the online banking adoption behaviour of 400 customers. The findings of the study suggests that the quality of the Internet connection, the awareness of online banking and its benefits, the social influence and computer self-efficacy have significant effects on the perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) of online banking acceptance. Education, trust and resistance to change also have significant impact on the attitude towards the likelihood of adopting online banking. The implications of the findings are discussed and suggestions for future research are presented.

Corporate governance and accounting conservatism:evidence from the banking industry

Research Question/Issue: In this paper, we empirically investigate whether US listed commercial banks with effective corporate governance structures engage in higher levels of conservative financial accounting and reporting. Research Findings/Insights: Using both market- and accrual-based measures of conservatism and both composite and disaggregated governance indices, we document convincing evidence that well-governed banks engage in significantly higher levels of conditional conservatism in their financial reporting practices. For example, we find that banks with effective governance structures, particularly those with effective board and audit governance structures, recognize loan loss provisions that are larger relative to changes in nonperforming loans compared to their counterparts with ineffective governance structures. Theoretical/Academic Implications: We contribute to the extant literature on the relationship between corporate governance and quality of accounting information by providing evidence that banks with effective governance structures practice higher levels of accounting conservatism. Practitioner/Policy Implications: The findings of this study would be useful to US bank regulators/supervisors in improving the existing regulatory framework by focusing on accounting conservatism as a complement to corporate governance in mitigating the opaqueness and intense information asymmetry that plague banks.

Service employee clusters in banking:exploring Ind's typology considering behaviour, commitment and attitude about leadership

Purpose: Ind suggests front line employees can be segmented according to their level of brand-supporting performance. His employee typology has not been empirically tested. The paper aims to explore front line employee performance in retail banking, and profile employee types. Design/methodology/approach: Attitudinal and demographic data from a sample of 404 front line service employees in a leading Irish bank informs a typology of service employees. Findings: Champions, Outsiders and Disruptors exist within retail banking. The authors provide an employee profile for each employee type. They found Champions amongst males, and older employees. The highest proportion of female employees surveyed were Outsiders. Disruptors were more likely to complain, and rated their performance lower than any other employee type. Contrary to extant literature, Disruptors were more likely to hold a permanent contract than other employee types. Originality/value: The authors augment the literature by providing insights about the profile of three employee types: Brand Champions, Outsiders and Disruptors. Moreover, the authors postulate the influence of leadership and commitment on each employee type. The cluster profiles raise important questions for hiring, training and rewarding front line banking employees. The authors also provide guidelines for managers to encourage Champions, and curtail Disruptors. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Brand orientation and brand values in retail banking

This exploratory study seeks to provide an appreciation of brand orientation in retail banking. Through in-depth interviews at head office and branch level, we explore managers' brand mind-set. We also surface managers' views about the relationship between market and brand orientation. Further, we examine managers' perceptions about the role of brand values as resources in creating a brand orientation. In a large-scale study of front-line employees, we examine the level of agreement with brand values, and describe differences in brand buy-in across employee clusters. © 2013 Copyright Westburn Publishers Ltd.

The value of risk reporting:a critical analysis of value-at-risk disclosures in the banking sector

This paper critically reviews the evolution of financial reporting in the banking sector with specific reference to the reporting of market risk and the growing use of the measure known as Value at Risk (VaR). The paper investigates the process by which VaR became 'institutionalised'. The analysis highlights a number of inherent limitations of VaR as a risk measure and questions the usefulness of published VaR disclosures, concluding that risk 'disclosure' might be more apparent than real. It also looks at some of the implications for risk reporting practice and the accounting profession more generally.

Duties and discretions in banking law

Duties owed in banker customer relationships, with reference to Greenwood duty, duty to inform customers of new accounts and services, duty of confidentiality, drawing cheques on insufficient funds and restricting lender's discretion.

Technical efficiency determinants within a dual banking system:a DEA-bootstrap approach

The purpose of this study is to provide a comparative analysis of the efficiency of Islamic and conventional banks in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. In this study, we explain inefficiencies obtained by introducing firm-specific as well as macroeconomic variables. Our findings indicate that during the eight years of study, conventional banks largely outperform Islamic banks with an average technical efficiency score of 81% compared to 95.57%. However, it is clear that since 2008, efficiency of conventional banks was in a downward trend while the efficiency of their Islamic counterparts was in an upward trend since 2009. This indicates that Islamic banks have succeeded to maintain a level of efficiency during the subprime crisis period. Finally, for the whole sample, the analysis demonstrates the strong link of macroeconomic indicators with efficiency for GCC banks. Surprisingly, we have not found any significant relationship in the case of Islamic banks.

Within-role, extra-role and anti-role behaviours in retail banking

Purpose: This paper aims to explore front line employee performance in retail banking and presents distinct components of employee performance, including extra-role and sabotage behaviours. Design/methodology/approach: Data was collected from Irish bank employees. Usable responses were received from 404 respondents and subjected to exploratory factor analysis. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to undertake a confirmatory factor analysis of the emergent five-factor model. Findings: Results indicate front line employee performance is multi-faceted and comprised of civility, assurance and reliability, customer orientation, as well as extra-role behaviour and anti-role behaviour, or sabotage. Research limitations/implications: This exploratory study focuses on the Irish banking sector. To explore the generalisabilty of results, replication studies among other samples of branch banking employees in other countries are in order. Moreover, our survey is limited to the views of branch employees. We advocate research among bank managers and customers to triangulate potentially divergent views about performance. Practical implications: Findings have implications for recruitment, training and rewards. To ensure new hires are service minded, managers must consider their potential for extra-role or sabotage behaviour. Employees who demonstrate extra-role behaviours must be rewarded to encourage the adoption of such behaviours. Managers must also seek to minimise job stress in order to curtail anti-role behaviours. Originality/value: This paper offers insights into employees' views about their own performance at the front line. It extends the conceptualisation of service quality, by considering extra-role behaviour and sabotage as components of employee performance. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

The influence of culture and market orientation on services brands:insights from Irish banking and retail firms

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the influence of the culture of the service firm on its interpretation of the role of the brand and on the development and implementation of its brand values. Design/methodology/approach: A grounded theory approach was used. Interviews were conducted with 20 managers within two leading banking firms in Ireland and two leading grocery retailers in Ireland. Findings: The development of the brand, and its role within the firm, is closely related to the firm's culture. The research shows obstacles and opportunities created by the cultural context of firms wishing to disseminate and embed a set of brand values. The paper presents an "involvement model" of brand values implementation and outlines changes required to implement brand values. Research limitations/implications: The study was bound by access to firms, and managers' availability. The authors sought an insight into the relationship between each firm's culture and its brands. They advocate quantitative research to further investigate the findings within these service sectors and to test proposed antecedents (transformational leadership, employee involvement) and outcomes (employee-based brand equity and consumer-based brand equity) of values adoption. Practical implications: The paper identifies aspects of retail and banking cultures which support or detract from brand development. In particular, it presents the learnings from successful brand values implementation in a clan culture, aspects of which are applicable across other cultures. Originality/value: The paper provides valuable insights into the role of the brand within the service firm and the positive and negative influence of context on brand values and their development and implementation. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

A Tale of Three Countries: Recovery after Banking Crises

Highlights: • Iceland, Ireland and Latvia experienced similar developments before the crisis, such as sharp increases in banks’ balance sheets and the expansion of the construction sector. However the impact of the crisis was different: Latvia was hit harder than any other country in the world. Ireland also suffered heavily, while Iceland came out from the crisis with the smallest fall in employment, despite the greatest shock to the financial system. • There were marked differences in policy mix: currency collapse in Iceland but not in Latvia, letting banks fail in Iceland but not in Ireland, and the introduction of strict capital controls only in Iceland. The speed of fiscal consolidation was fastest in Latvia and slowest in Ireland. • Economic recovery has started in all three countries and there are several encouraging signals. The programme targets in terms of fiscal adjustment, structural reforms and financial reform are on track in all three countries. • Iceland seems to have the right policy mix. • Internal devaluation in Ireland and Latvia through wage cuts did not work, because privatesector wages hardly changed. The productivity increase was significant in Ireland and moderate in Latvia, yet was the result of a greater fall in employment than the fall in output, with harmful social consequences. • The experience with the collapse of the gigantic Icelandic banking system suggests that letting banks fail when they had a faulty business model is the right choice. • There is a strong case for a European banking federation.