5 Nov 2014

Top 10 countries in the World

Was going through some lists and there were some interesting findings. highlighted in Pink are countries which occur on all four lists.


A. Top 10 highest on the 2014 Global Gender Gap Index

  1. Iceland
  2. Finland
  3. Norway
  4. Sweden
  5. Denmark
  6. Nicaragua
  7. Rwanda
  8. Ireland
  9. Philippines
  10. Belgium

B. Top 10 Happiest Countries according to the 2013 World Happiness Report 

  1. Denmark
  2. Norway
  3. Switzerland
  4. The Netherlands
  5. Sweden
  6. Canada
  7. Finland
  8. Austria
  9. Iceland
  10. Australia

C. Top 10 Best countries for doing business Forbes 2013
  1. Ireland
  2. New Zealand
  3. Hong Kong
  4. Denmark
  5. Sweden
  6. Finland
  7. Singapore
  8. Canada
  9. Norway
  10. The Netherlands
A number of countries occur in at least 2 of the lists. However, the 4 Scandinavian countries: namely, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, occur in all three lists. This means that these 4 countries are the richest, happiest and most equal societies in the World. It is also no wonder that Iceland with its strong Scandinavian heritage, is also included in two of the lists. So if we are looking for a good societal model to follow, maybe we should study the societies in these four countries.

Any thoughts?

17 Oct 2014

New University New Job

After working for nearly four years as a lecturer with the Department of Marketing and Advertising, Coventry Business School, Coventry University, I have moved several thousand miles away to warm and sunny Malaysia to join the Nottingham University Business School, The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. 

I had offers from a few other private educational institutions here but finally decided on Nottingham based on their competitive compensation package and of course their reputation as one of the leading Universities in the World. 

I started in my new role as Senior University Teaching Fellow at the business school in the first week of September and will start teaching from next semester (in February 2015).


22 Sept 2014

Article on online loyalty published

One of my papers has finally been published in the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services (ABS 1* / ABDC A). With co-authors Ezlika Mohd Ghazalib, Bang Nguyen and David Arnott, the paper titled 'Online loyalty and its interaction with switching barriers', expands on Oliver׳s 4 stage loyalty model to include online switching.

The abstract is given below:

The results of empirical research on online retail switching tendencies is quite mixed and only a few have specifically examined the presence, frequency or impact of switching barriers and switching inducements in the context of online services. Empirical evidence shows that there is “stickiness to certain sites” experienced by online customers and that they do less comparative shopping than might be expected. This paper conceptualises online switching behaviour as the interaction of barriers and inducements (both real and perceived) using Oliver׳s four-stage loyalty model. It also highlights the need to re-examine the concept of online loyalty and its interaction with switching barriers and inducements in the online context.

To access the article click the link below:

Mutum, D. S., Ghazali, E.M., Ngyun, B. and Arnott, D. (2014). Online loyalty and its interaction with switching barriers, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 21(6), 942-949.

31 Aug 2014

Inviting Contributors to a Services Marketing Case Study Book

Following the success of our book on 'Marketing Cases from Emerging Markets', edited by Mutum, D.; Roy, S. K. & Kipnis, E., Springer has commissioned Dr. Sanjit Roy, Dr. Bang Nguyen, and I to edit a book entitled 'Services Marketing Cases in Emerging Markets'.

The book is a comprehensive collection of case studies by seminal authors that provides key reviews and analyses on the leading thinking in services marketing across Asia. We believe you would be an excellent contributor and would like to kindly invite you to contribute a chapter on a topic of your choice (please see list in the attachment). If you are able to accept, the deadline for final submission is 15 May 2015.

Please do not hesitate to contact me> should you require further information.

Our timelines are as follows:
Expression of Interest with description of case (1 page or less): 15 October 2014
Full Case Submission: 15 May 2015

20 Aug 2014

Introduction to SEM using AMOS 20.0 - Workshop at University of Malaya

Just helping to create some buzz for a workshop on structural equation modelling(SEM) using AMOS 20.0. The workshop is run by Dr. Mohd Awang Idris, a Senior Lecturer in Work Psychology, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, University of Malaya and is organised by CCISUM (Communication and Cultural Innovation and Support, University of Malaya). This is part of their series of Super Sessions.

More information about the workshop:

Date: 21-22, August 2014
Time: 9:00 - 5:00pm
Venue: Computer Lab, Faculty of Science, University Malaya

Click the link below for more information:

AMOS workshop


13 Jul 2014

Paper presented at Academy of Marketing Conference 2014

Attended the Academy of marketing conference 2014 which was hosted by the University of Bournemouth. The venue was the Bournemouth Highcliffe Marriott - with lovely views of the coast.



I had a minor hiccup during registration- I will not go into the details but really happy that the organisers were extremely helpful.

I had two papers this time - one titled 'Consumer Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility: Study of An Oil and Gas Company in Nigeria', which I co-authored with Ikechukwu Obialor (my ex student) and Ezlika Ghazali. I presented this paper on the 9th and had some great feedback and comments. Thinking of taking this paper further and proceed to submit to a journal and maybe expanding the research with a funding application.

Here is the abstract:
"This paper presents the results of an exploratory study into the the perceptions and feelings of consumers towards the corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts of an American oil and gas MNC in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. It examines the concerns and some of the links between ethics and CSR. Some managerial implications and recommendations for further study are presented."
The second paper was presented by my colleague, Hsiao‐Pei Yang (Sophie) and the paper was titled The Impact of Internal Information on EWOM in Online Forums for University Selection: A Study of Taiwanese Students. She presented this paper on the 10th. I was unable to attend the session as I had to leave early.

Here is the abstract of this paper:
"This study compares two student groups to examine the impact of internal information on the use of electronic word‐of‐mouth (eWOM) from online forums.
The data of this study reported findings from 34 in‐depth interviews and reveals how potential students, as opinion seekers and receivers of eWOM, use online forums to reduce perceived risks in university selection. The findings compared the similarities and differences between the use of eWOM of two student groups, suggesting that due to the limited internal information and higher perceived risks associated with studying overseas, participants who are international students value reviewers' expertise more and rely more on eWOM from online forums than their counterparts who are home‐based students. Participants from both groups evaluate reviewers' comments on courses by filtering overly positive or negative reviews and examining valence and volume of eWOM for judging teaching quality of preferred universities." 
Only found out later that they were giving away electronic versions of the proceedings in smart drives on the 10th. I wish they have it up on a site like the ACR conferences.

Anyway, one of the highlights of the conference was the "Meeting the editors" session. Learnt a few new things on getting papers accepted and I do need to get some papers out in high raking journals.

Also met some old friends which I have not seen for years and also made a few new friends as well.

This was my 4th AM conference and it definitely was the best so far.

2 Jul 2014

Quantitative Mehods: Which statistical test to use?

I wrote this post in another blog a couple of years ago and thought I should share this here as well:

If you are going to statistically analyse your data, knowing the right statistical test is absolutely essential. However, even if you have taken a couple of statistical courses, it is often difficult to decide which ones are the most relevant or correct tests.

If you are in that position you might find these links useful:

Don't be surprised if your data can be analysed in many different ways depending on your objectives and hypotheses.

4 Jun 2014

UK University league table results: The rise of Coventry University

You may not like it, you may not agree with it and you may even hate it but the fact is that, as Academics, we cannot ignore the UK University league tables.

Choice of University is often made on the basis of these league tables and quite often than not, we are also judged by where we work.

I recall not long ago, when I first joined Coventry University, there were a lot "Why?" and "You can do better" just because I had a PhD from Warwick University. The fact is that at that time, I was a foreign PhD student with a wife and 2 kids to support, without a permanent job, running between various part time jobs. So, I was delighted to get a job as a Lecturer after literally hundreds of applications and a few unsuccessful interviews. That was in 2011 when Coventry University was ranked 75 on The Guardian University league tables.

That's why I am delighted that in their latest update - University league table 2015, Coventry University has broken into the top 30 coming 27th overall (6 places up from last year). Coventry University also retains it's position as the UK's top modern university. We are even ranked higher than some of the Russell Group of Universities, considered to be an equivalent of the Ivy League in the US by some.

I quite like the Guardian's criteria as they look at student satisfaction, facilities provided and more important, careers of students after they complete their degrees. I guess, this is where the Guardian's tables differ from other tables, like The Times and Sunday Times Higher Education rankings (ranked 45 in 2014) and  The Complete University Guide - University League Tables 2015 (ranked 51).

If you are a student or academic, would love to hear your thoughts on the University rankings.



17 Mar 2014

Australian Business Deans Council - ABDC Marketing Journals List 2014

Note: This is the old 2014 list. View the updated ABDC 2022 Marketing journals list here

The list of marketing journals is compiled from the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) Journal Quality List 2013.

Journals are ranked into four categories of quality, namely, A*, A, B, C, with journals listed under A* considered the best in terms of quality.

Comparing the ABDC list with the ABS ranking of Marketing Journals, the guys from the Land Down Under mostly agree with the Brits. However, there are some clear differences of opinion regarding certain journals. For example, the European Journal of Marketing, which is a 3* ABS journal is listed as A*.

Much more surprising was the fact that five journals which are ranked 1* in the ABS list, are listed as an A journals in the ABDC list. This includes Electronic Markets, International Journal of Consumer Studies, Journal of Brand Management, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, and Marketing Intelligence and Planning, which are all 1* journals in the ABS list. There are also five 2* ABS journals listed as A as well.

I also notice that their list of Marketing journals is much longer and they list several journals not included in the ABS list including sports, services and digital marketing journals, which I personally think is a good thing as they are underrepresented in the ABS list.

A*
European Journal of Marketing 3* ABS
Industrial Marketing Management 3* ABS
International Journal of Research in Marketing 3* ABS
Journal of Consumer Research 4* ABS
Journal of Retailing 4* ABS
Journal of Marketing 4* ABS
Journal of Marketing Research 4* ABS
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 3* ABS
Marketing Science 4* ABS
Journal of Service Research

A
Electronic Markets 1*
International Journal of Consumer Studies 1*
International Marketing Review 3*
Journal of Advertising 3*
Journal of Advertising Research 3*
Journal of Brand Management 1*
Journal of Business Research 3*
Journal of Consumer Psychology 4*
Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management
Journal of Interactive Marketing 2*
Journal of International Marketing 3*
Journal of Marketing Management 2* 
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 1*
Journal of Services Marketing 2*
Journal of Strategic Marketing 2*
Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing
Journal of Vacation Marketing
Marketing Intelligence and Planning 1*
Marketing Letters 3*
Marketing Theory 2*
Psychology and Marketing 3*
Quantitative Marketing and Economics 2*
Journal of Macromarketing

B
Academy of Marketing Science Review 2*
Advances in Consumer Research 2*
Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics
Australasian Marketing Journal 1*
Consumption, Markets and Culture 2*
Corporate Communications: An International Journal 1*
International Journal of Advertising 2*
International Journal of Bank Marketing 1*
International Journal of Market Research 2*
International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management 1*
International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research 1*
International Journal of Sports Management and Marketing
Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing
Journal of Consumer Behaviour 2*
Journal of Consumer Marketing 1*
Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior
Journal of Financial Services Marketing 1*
Journal of Interactive Advertising
Journal of Marketing Communications 2*
Journal of Marketing Education
Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice
Journal of Product and Brand Management 1*
Journal of Social Marketing
Qualitative Market Research: an international journal 1*
Services Marketing Quarterly
Sport Marketing Quarterly
Young Consumers

C
Advances in International Marketing
Arts Marketing
Asian Journal of Marketing (SING)
Asian Journal of Marketing (USA)
Canadian Journal of Marketing Research
International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing
International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising
International Journal of Management and Marketing Research
Irish Marketing Review 1*
Journal for Advancement of Marketing Education (JAME)
Journal of Euromarketing 1*
Journal of Food Products Marketing
Journal of International Consumer Marketing
Journal of International Marketing and Exporting
Journal of International Marketing and Marketing Research
Journal of Islamic Marketing
Journal of Management and Marketing in Healthcare
Journal of Medical Marketing
Journal of Relationship Marketing
Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing
Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship
Review of Marketing and Agricultural Economics
Review of Marketing Science
Social Marketing Quarterly
The Marketing Review

Related Links:

ABDC Journal Rankings Access

Note: Please let me know if I missed any journal.

17 Jan 2014

Personal Blog Marketing: Chapter in book on Marketing in the Cyber Era

A new book titled "Marketing in the Cyber Era: Strategies and Emerging Trends" has just come out. The book is published by IGI GlobalQuite excited as it has a chapter which I co-authored with Dr. Ezlika Ghazali, titled 'Personal blog marketing".

I have extracted this chapter from my PhD thesis and expanded on some of the key issues.

Here is the abstract:

This chapter looks at the commercialization of personal blogs and also defines some of the key terms that have emerged as a result of this phenomenon, including “sponsored posts.” Despite their importance, the authors feel that not enough attention has been paid by academics to the development of marketing in the blogosphere. The chapter also examines the concerns that marketing communications on blogs may be contributing to the shadow economy around the world. The uniqueness of this new form of advertising medium is emphasized, and it is hoped that this chapter will also add to the understanding of why the study of blogs and their commercialization is absolutely essential.

10 Jan 2014

Where and why do you shop? Choice of retailer.

Last evening I was shopping at the Lidl store in Foleshill, Coventry and realised that I had been shopping there quite frequently in the past few months. This made me wonder about the stores I normally shop at and whether I am actually loyal to a store. The answer seems to be a big "No!".

It was quite different a couple of years back - I shopped almost exclusively at Tesco. This was probably due to the fact that there was a Tesco Metro very near to my house and maybe partly due to the fact that I was getting Tesco loyalty card points every time I shopped.

I did shop at Sainsburys and Morrisons sometimes but hardly ever shopped at Asda. This changed when an Asda opened very near to the Tesco Metro near my house. I started shopping there quite often and maybe even more so than at the Tesco. At first this was due to convenience as finding parking near the Tesco store can be quite hard while the Asda store has their own dedicated parking space.

Distance from our house to various stores in the area

Tesco Metro 0.3 miles

Asda 0.3 miles

Aldi 0.8 miles

Lidl 1.7 miles

Tesco Extra 1.8 miles

Morrisons 1.8 miles

Sainsbury 2.4 miles

Sainsburys 3.5 miles

The distance of the store may have something to do with my choice of store but I hardly ever visit the Aldi store which is nearer than Lidl or Tesco Extra. Moreover, I do not think that this was the only reason, as I hardly ever visited the Netto store which was at the same location before Adsa took over. Netto was simply depressing. Choice of products, store layout and overall ambiance of the store does matter.

I think it has got a lot to do with pricing as well - I found out that a lot of the products sold at Asda are cheaper than at Tesco and I am not talking about the store brands but other products they sell. For example, my favourite white bread - Warburtons Medium Sliced White Bread, costs only £1 at Asda while it is £1.45 in Tesco. The staff are really helpful as well.

This brings me to Lidl. I first explored it when it first opened their store in Foleshill and there was nothing special - just felt like another Aldi which has a store in our area which I hardly visit as well. The store layout and aesthetics is nothing to shout about.  However, I noticed that they had a small selection of organic vegetables and fruits. As we consume a lot of organic food this was the initial attraction. I normally buy meat, chicken (Halal) and rice from one of the local stores along Foleshill road (cheaper than in Tesco).  Lidl has also started carrying a number of other products including clothing and  tools among other products. What really surprised me was that the quality of these products (almost all of them are made in Germany) are quite good yet very affordable. It is no wonder that the German stores are really doing well. Read: German Aldi and Lidl crush British 'big four' supermarkets at the checkouts over Christmas.

The big Tesco Extra store at the Arena park has still got the best variety/ range of choices in the whole of Coventry and has probably the best selection of organic food among all the stores. They have undergone a major oerhaul of the entire store layout and I am slowly getting used to it. I realise I still do a major proportion of my monthly shopping  there. However, it is not the only store I go to now and even though loyalty cards and store aesthetics do matter, I realise that convenience and price does play an important role in my shopping habits.

Would love to hear your opinion. What is your favourite store and why do you shop there?

Related Academic Sources:

Tang, C. S., Bell, D. R., & Ho, T. H. (2001). Store choice and shopping behavior: how price format works. California Management Review, 43(2), 56-74.

Fotheringham, A. S. (1988). Note—Consumer Store Choice and Choice Set Definition. Marketing Science, 7(3), 299-310.

Walsh, G., Shiu, E., Hassan, L. M., Michaelidou, N., & Beatty, S. E. (2011). Emotions, store-environmental cues, store-choice criteria, and marketing outcomes. Journal of Business Research, 64(7), 737-744.

Reardon, J., Mikller, C. E., & Coe, B. (2011). Applied scale development: measurement of store image. Journal of Applied Business Research, 11(4), 85-93.

9 Jan 2014

Why you should do a PhD?

I obtained my PhD in Marketing from the Warwick Business School in 2011 and was reflecting back. Though there were times when I nearly gave up and even tears were shed, those 4 years were definitely worth it.

Sharing an interesting infographic "Doctorate Degrees: Are They Worth It?"

Are Doctorate Degrees Worth It
Source: Online-PhD-Programs.org

1 Jan 2014

Pillars of morality: Frans de Wall on Moral behaviour in Primates

Really interesting video I recently came across which I simply had to share. Animals do show empathy, cooperation, fairness and reciprocity - pillars of the concept of morality.

Events in January 2024

The first event of this year was an online seminar for staff and PG students at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Techn...