Generally, the current scenario in the hyperactive corporate world, and specifically in the telecom sector, renders companies to compete concurrently on two fronts: Expansion of their customer base and the retention of their current customers. In order to explore and examine the latter concept, the current study hypothesizes the effects of sustainable service quality on customer loyalty with a mediating role of customer satisfaction conceptualized through the reciprocity theory. The study also considers the suggested moderating role of switching cost by theorizing the Apostle model. Pertinently, the satisfied customer may not be loyal if the switching cost is low, since the dynamics of the switching cost provide a useful insight into the phenomenon of retaining the customers through customer satisfaction. The research opts for explanatory study where data were conveniently collected. The study has used the PROCESS macro model 4 and 14 to analyze the data. Findings reveal that the role of customer satisfaction is significant but the effect of the switching cost was considered to be insignificant, elucidating that a satisfied customer will remain loyal even if the switching cost is low. It means that sustaining service quality longitudinally did not affect customer loyalty in the presence of a low switching cost. With a view to complement the study, managerial implications of a switching cost have also been discussed.

No abstract

Innovation has become core driver of cost-effective, sustainable growth in today's hypercompetitive business climate. Industry understood the need to have a well-defined innovation strategy for its business success. No one can rest on yesterday's success and expect lunch today. "Innovate or die" has become a rallying cry. Firms must be productive to keep the profit growing or to continue going good in the market. To become an innovative institution, one need to have a culture that inspire, build and nurture innovative minds. Thus, setting up the right innovation culture has become crucial for every organization. This research study takes organizational culture and explores its effect on innovativeness of IT firms. The study conducts a culture audit among selected 8 IT firms and assesses its innovativeness. The study tests the culture-innovation relationship through the data collected from these IT firms. The findings offer significant facts on the effects of organizational culture on firm's innovativeness.

Purpose This study assessed the roles of atmospheric harmony, human crowding and sensation seeking towards hedonic value to determine re-patronage intention amongst mall consumers. Additionally, this study aims to investigate the moderating roles of past experience amidst mall consumers within the context of Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach The study data were collected from 334 mall consumers of Rawalpindi/Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi by using the judgemental sampling technique. Data analysis was performed using SmartPLS 3 via partial least squares structural equation modelling. Findings This study revealed that atmospheric harmony and human crowding displayed positive and adverse impacts, respectively, on hedonic value. The sensation seeking tendencies exerted by the consumers displayed no significant impact on hedonic value in light of mall habitat. The hedonic value exhibited a mediating role for the relationships of re-patronage intention with atmospheric harmony and human crowding. Besides, a significant interaction was noted between hedonic value and past experience in light of re-patronage intention. Originality/value The proposed model embeds hedonic value as a second higher-order construct, apart from amalgamating environmental and psychological factors of the mall shoppers to determine their re-patronage intentions. The study outcomes posit that mall re-patronage intention is built on several factors that offer mall managers an opportunity to enrich the hedonic consumption experience among mall consumers, aside from ensuring their re-patronage intention.

No abstract