Customer Service Essentials is a must-read and a definitive source of information on effective management of customer service in Africa and beyond. Leveraging on unique concepts and practices developed in the field of customer service management, this book uses case studies and vignettes to reinforce learnings, drawing parallels to real life experiences. The book is a valuable resource for individuals and organizations, in the quest to achieve excellent customer service, increased productivity and enhanced employee satisfaction. It explores the practical challenges of customer service in Africa, examines critical success factors and provides guidelines for effective customer engagement in this evolving highly networked digital era. Policy makers, directors, managers and students will gain valuable and actionable insights on service management as they navigate the chapters.

This book is an excellent resource for academics and students interested in ethics and accountability in the public sector, as well as for practitioners, NGO workers and policymakers. Over the last decades, issues in ethical leadership have become central to the global call for higher moral standards on the part of corporate organisations and their leaders and managers. The book's chapters investigate these concerns in Africa, where governance gaps often reflect poor leadership. Parenthetically, in 2001, a UNDP report found difficulties in applying anti-corruption laws and managing public institutions in the continent. Twenty years on, significant efforts have been made to improve the situation, yet extensive challenges still subsist. In this first volume, contributors discuss the practice of ethics, anti-corruption, and performance management, and propose solutions, some general to the continent and others country-specific.

Green marketing has risen in prominence over recent years as corporations face calls to lower their carbon footprint, engage in socially responsible practices, and promote sustainable ways of conducting business. In emerging economies, social, economic, and environmental problems resulting from rapid industrialisation requires urgent attention. Promoting environmentally responsible practices through green marketing has been identified as a key solution. This book provides theoretical and practical insights into how businesses in emerging economies can integrate green objectives into their marketing activities to achieve sustainable outcomes and attain green-focused goals. It discusses green marketing from strategic and operational perspectives, which considers target consumers, products, processes, promotion and sustainability of resources and presents the institutional logic of embedding greenness across organisational marketing activities. Issues concomitant to green marketing such as consumer buying behaviour of green products, green integrated marketing communication, green product management, green initiatives in logistics social responsibility, greenwashing and the need for transparency, and green marketing orientations and firm performance, are covered in the book. Ultimately, this collection contributes to and extends theoretical conversations on green marketing while also providing actionable recommendations for organisations and the larger society in emerging economies. Chipo Mukonza is a Lecturer at the Tshwane University of Technology in Polokwane, South Africa. Ogechi Adeola is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria. Isaiah Adisa is a management researcher and consultant based in Nigeria. Robert E. Hinson is a Professor and Head of the Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship at the University of Ghana Business School. Emmanuel Mogaji is a Senior Lecturer in Advertising and Marketing Communications at the University of Greenwich, United Kingdom.

This book provides a management perspective on the full historical, contemporary, and geographic landscape of hospitality and tourism (H&T) in Africa. In so doing, it critically assesses and challenges the applicability of Western theories within the African context and draws attention to the insights offered by African management concepts. A variety of key topics are examined, including, for example, H&T management practices and management innovation in Africa, the drivers of and variation in uptake of Western management practices, policies and strategies to promote the development of H&T organizations, the influence of management practices on the competitiveness of African countries as tourism destinations, and areas for improvement of H&T organizations in Africa in the digital age. The approach is multidisciplinary. Both local and global perspectives are presented by authors from Africa, Europe, North America, and Asia, with inclusion of intra- and inter-country comparisons. This book will be essential reading for scholars, students, businesses, and policy makers with an interest in H&T in Africa.

In a fast-moving era of increased international competition, frontier markets must devise innovative ways to meet demanding sales targets and maintain profitability. These efforts will only succeed when local businesses abandon the concept of sales as a checklist of persuasive arguments that lead a customer to make a purchase and accept that building enduring customer relationships is the key to achieving sales goals. To understand what it means to sell successfully, sales representatives must develop a solid foundation in selling skills and an understanding of the critical elements needed to achieve sales goals. By delving into the foundational concepts related to leveraging sales as a tool for organisational profit, the authors give readers important insights into the critical elements of the sales process, including consultative selling, sales force management, qualities of effective leadership in sales, and the use of technological tools such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Sales Force Automation (SFA) systems. This book includes insightful contributions from leading sales and marketing practitioners across the continent of Africa on characteristics of successful salespeople and how to recruit them, the crucial role of sales leadership, sales team training methods and strategies for developing customer relationship management programs. Case studies tie theory to practice and short quizzes help readers test their understanding of the material. Written in an accessible and reader-friendly format, this book is primarily aimed at undergraduate students with a secondary audience comprised of postgraduate students and business practitioners.

The first of this two-volume work brings to the fore marketing communication theories and concepts that are prominent in emerging economy contexts, and highlights the opportunities and challenges within these markets. Offering a distinctive meaning and importance to both the practice and the theory of marketing communications in emerging economies, this collection introduces the foundational issues of marketing communications as well as the broader marketing communication environment and how they impact on communication strategy development and implementation. With contributors from diverse disciplines, the book establishes the importance of linking customer value creation, national culture and the management process with the marketing communications strategy. It highlights the critical role of research, the changing trends in marketing communication in the digital age and the communication opportunities for small and large brands. This book is a useful tool for orporate executives, educators, students, policymakers and businesses on marketing communication in emerging markets.

This book explores the issues around small business and entrepreneurial activities in Africa within the context of frequent collapse of businesses, seizures by governments, lack of access to capital and raw materials as well as the reliance on the informal sector. All these issues, the Editors argue, have been exacerbated by the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, entrepreneurship must be at the heart of efforts to transform Africa’s economic prospects to ensure sustained economic growth and decent work for all. In looking at the development of entrepreneurship for Africa’s growth, contributors to this edited collection take an evolutionary approach by focusing on entrepreneurial intentions (where entrepreneurial ideas are formed), customer management (which is central to all entrepreneurial business success) and by also focusing on local and entrepreneurial business development. The book then ends with a discussion around technological innovations in small business development in Africa. Covering topics such as social entrepreneurship, international joint ventures and the impact of digital platforms, this conceptual path provides rich contemporary insights for students, researchers, and policy makers and contributes to the achievement of SDG 8 targets.

Adverse environmental impacts such as greenhouse gas emissions and chemical spills have put the topic of green business firmly on the sustainability agenda. Despite the burgeoning literature on green business and green marketing from the globalised north, there is relative parsimony of green business literature in the global south. This book offers a greater understanding of what green marketing is, as well as the various levels of practices and the implementations thereof. It places specific emphasis on the people through which green marketing excellence can be achieved. Contributors argue that, given the complexity of green marketing, people management plays a key role in achieving green marketing success, and the chapters consider the role that green human resource management practices play in marketing. Providing a unique perspective on the successful implementation of green marketing, this book is an important resource for students, researchers and practitioners. It is of particular interest to those who desire a greater understanding of how organisations deal internally and externally with increasing pressure to become more socially responsible and embed 'greenness' in all their marketing activities.

Advances in technology and changes in consumer buying patterns have forced businesses to alter their traditional marketing approach to incorporate contemporary ideologies that will drive customer satisfaction, meet societal expectations, and boost business performance for competitive advantage. Interest in marketing communication and brand development has increased in recent years due to the proliferation of productions, changing consumer behaviour, increased competition, and technological advancement. Recognising the complexity of these challenges, it has become imperative for firms in emerging economies to understand contemporary issues in marketing to compete effectively and create value for consumers and stakeholders. The first of this two volume work provides insights into this critical issue in a changing world, including destination brand management, brand avoidance, sponsorship, health and personal branding, and offers a futuristic perspective on marketing communications, including the influence of neuromarketing, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality. Meanwhile, Volume II focuses specifically on the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, social responsibilities, and emerging technologies. Taken together, this two-volume work is a definitive resource for scholars and students of marketing, branding and international business.

This book analyses and evaluates the accomplishments, challenges, and approaches associated with the New Public Management (NPM) in Africa towards establishing context-specific interventions for public sector institutions' performance. Taking the reader through various business and management approaches, including leadership in the public sector, digitalisation, market orientation and trust building, this book provides an understanding of the key issues facing public sector organisations in Africa and offers novel ways of approaching public management in a changing socio-economic landscape to drive improved performance of public institutions. The book offers students, practitioners and researchers important insights on NPM and public sector institutions in Africa. The recommendations of the book will help government and policymakers implement appropriate public sector management policies for strengthening public sector service delivery in Africa.

This book is a fascinating treatment of ethics, governance, and anti-corruption initiatives from a public sector management perspective and is especially relevant for an Africa looking to benefit from the recently launched Africa Continental Free Trade Area. This second part of a two-volume set spans a wide array of contemporary issues. Chapters explore the challenges related to building an ethical climate in Africa's public sector, what the imperatives of anti-corruption initiatives should be in Africa, ethical orientation in promoting project performance, corporate governance in Zimbabwe's local authorities and the role of NGOs/CSOs in promoting public sector accountability. On digitalisation, the book discusses the management of Tanzanian public service integrity in the digital era and digital innovation towards sustainable public sector administration in Africa. Public sector management, ethics and corporate governance academics, students, managers and policy makers will find this edited volume critical to improving public sector management in Africa.

The dynamics of the world's pervasive digital technologies is transforming organisations and enabling enterprises to create sustainable competitive advantage. This presents huge economic opportunities for Africa. This book responds to the need for African enterprises and organisations-particularly those in the service sector-to fully exploit the inherent potential in digital platforms by putting in place processes to respond effectively to changing consumer demands. Digital service delivery is conceptualised as a key driver of effective management and service delivery across the value chain of businesses. The authors offer insights into the opportunities, drivers, structures, and models of digital service delivery specific to the African context, using case studies and country-based themes that highlight how the adoption of digital platforms and practices can transform service delivery for value-creation. The book examines the scope and applications of digital businesses, emphasising the emergence, value-creation, and strategic implications for Africa's private and public enterprises. Students, entrepreneurs, IT innovators, academics, and policymakers will gain a greater understanding of how digitalisation is shaping consumer expectations, industry practices, and service delivery in Africa.

Marketing in Healthcare-Related Industries captures the concepts and complexities of marketing healthcare in today's environment. The book provides detailed conceptual and practical insights that will be of great benefit to healthcare scholars and practitioners. Topics on healthcare marketing have been carefully selected to provide wide coverage and are illustrated by mini-cases with a highly practical marketing tool kit for healthcare managers included. The healthcare sector in the 21st century face a multiplicity of challenges, which include changing disease patterns, more technology-driven health interventions, a more assertive and quality conscious clientele, as well as a rapidly growing for-profit segment of the industry. This places more responsibilities on healthcare service providers in both the public and private sectors, to deliver value-for-money services at competitive costs. To respond to the changing business environment, a carefully crafted marketing approach is needed by all players in the industry to create value and sustain the confidence of clientele and stakeholders.

Advances in technology and changes in consumer buying patterns have forced businesses to alter their traditional marketing approach to incorporate contemporary ideologies that will drive customer satisfaction, meet societal expectations, and boost business performance for competitive advantage. Interest in marketing communication and brand development has increased in recent years due to the proliferation of productions, changing consumer behaviour, increased competition, and technological advancement. Recognising the complexity of these challenges, it has become imperative for firms in emerging economies to understand contemporary issues in marketing to compete effectively and create value for consumers and stakeholders. The first of this two volume work provides insights into this critical issue in a changing world, including destination brand management, brand avoidance, sponsorship, health and personal branding, and offers a futuristic perspective on marketing communications, including the influence of neuromarketing, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality. Meanwhile, Volume II focuses specifically on the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, social responsibilities, and emerging technologies. Taken together, this two-volume work is a definitive resource for scholars and students of marketing, branding and international business. 

Literature on green marketing continues to gain traction in the sustainability discourse, focusing on core subject areas such as green product development, green marketing strategy and green advertising. Achieving green marketing success encompasses influencing, orientating, and communicating green offerings of an organisation to the consumers. Emerging markets particularly provide unique opportunities for green product innovations to thrive due to their rapid industrialisation and economic growth; hence the value proposition of organisations must be rightly communicated to the consumers. The book is part of a multi-volume work that highlights the goals of green marketing, such as influencing consumers' green adoption, behaviour, and attitude towards sustainability practices. This book provides insights to researchers, students and practitioners interested in marketing and sustainability initiatives in the context of emerging markets. It is also recommended for marketing managers and brand consultants who desire an in-depth understanding of how to communicate their organisation's green offerings while positioning the organisation as a green brand to influence consumers' green purchasing behaviours.

Green marketing has risen in prominence over recent years as corporations face calls to lower their carbon footprint, engage in socially responsible practices, and promote sustainable ways of conducting business. In emerging economies, social, economic, and environmental problems resulting from rapid industrialisation requires urgent attention. Promoting environmentally responsible practices through green marketing has been identified as a key solution. This book provides theoretical and practical insights into how businesses in emerging economies can integrate green objectives into their marketing activities to achieve sustainable outcomes and attain green-focused goals. It discusses green marketing from strategic and operational perspectives, which considers target consumers, products, processes, promotion and sustainability of resources and presents the institutional logic of embedding greenness across organisational marketing activities. Issues concomitant to green marketing such as consumer buying behaviour of green products, green integrated marketing communication, green product management, green initiatives in logistics social responsibility, greenwashing and the need for transparency, and green marketing orientations and firm performance, are covered in the book. Ultimately, this collection contributes to and extends theoretical conversations on green marketing while also providing actionable recommendations for organisations and the larger society in emerging economies. Chipo Mukonza is a Lecturer at the Tshwane University of Technology in Polokwane, South Africa. Ogechi Adeola is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria. Isaiah Adisa is a management researcher and consultant based in Nigeria. Robert E. Hinson is a Professor and Head of the Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship at the University of Ghana Business School. Emmanuel Mogaji is a Senior Lecturer in Advertising and Marketing Communications at the University of Greenwich, United Kingdom.

This book provides a management perspective on the full historical, contemporary, and geographic landscape of hospitality and tourism (H&T) in Africa. In so doing, it critically assesses and challenges the applicability of Western theories within the African context and draws attention to the insights offered by African management concepts. A variety of key topics are examined, including, for example, H&T management practices and management innovation in Africa, the drivers of and variation in uptake of Western management practices, policies and strategies to promote the development of H&T organizations, the influence of management practices on the competitiveness of African countries as tourism destinations, and areas for improvement of H&T organizations in Africa in the digital age. The approach is multidisciplinary. Both local and global perspectives are presented by authors from Africa, Europe, North America, and Asia, with inclusion of intra- and inter-country comparisons. This book will be essential reading for scholars, students, businesses, and policy makers with an interest in H&T in Africa.

This edited volume seeks to examine how enterprises in Africa can utilize digital technologies and innovations in creating value for their customers and clients in order to increase effectiveness and efficiency. Through social media, businesses are increasingly reaching and engaging their customers in several ways and so enterprises in Africa must harness the opportunities in the digital space if they want to remain competitive, earn profit, and meet their customers' needs. Accordingly, this book looks at how digital technologies are helping shape the financial, educational, and advertising sectors in Africa. As digital technologies raise challenges, the chapters that follow will discuss ethical and social practical frameworks to effective digital business in Africa. This volume promises to fore both theoretical underpinnings, and practical implementations of digital technologies in the African business context.

Advances in technology and changes in consumer buying patterns have forced businesses to alter their traditional marketing approach to incorporate contemporary ideologies that will drive customer satisfaction, meet societal expectations, and boot business performance for competitive advantage. The unplanned ravaging effects of the covid-19 pandemic, the vulnerability of our planet due to unsustainable living, and the changing digital landscape require that businesses are strategically aligned to these realities in order to adapt and effectively communicate their offerings. The second of this two-volume work examines marketing communications and brand development in an uncertain and changing world. With specific focus on the covid-19 pandemic, social responsibilities, and emerging technologies, this book examines how organisations in emerging economies can effectively engage in marketing communications and brand activity challenges posed by a changing world. Meanwhile, Volume I provides insight into contemporary issues in marketing such as brand avoidance, health and personal branding, and offers a futuristic perspective on marketing communications. Taken together, this two-volume works is a definitive resource for scholars and students or marketing, branding and international business.

Literature on green marketing continues to gain traction in the sustainability discourse, focusing on core subject areas such as green product development, green marketing strategy and green advertising. Achieving green marketing success encompasses influencing, orientating, and communicating green offerings of an organisation to the consumers. Emerging markets particularly provide unique opportunities for green product innovations to thrive due to their rapid industrialisation and economic growth; hence the value proposition of organisations must be rightly communicated to the consumers. The book is part of a multi-volume work that highlights the goals of green marketing, such as influencing consumers' green adoption, behaviour, and attitude towards sustainability practices. This book provides insights to researchers, students and practitioners interested in marketing and sustainability initiatives in the context of emerging markets. It is also recommended for marketing managers and brand consultants who desire an in-depth understanding of how to communicate their organisation's green offerings while positioning the organisation as a green brand to influence consumers' green purchasing behaviours.

This edited volume seeks to examine how enterprises in Africa can utilize digital technologies and innovations in creating value for their customers and clients in order to increase effectiveness and efficiency. Through social media, businesses are increasingly reaching and engaging their customers in several ways and so enterprises in Africa must harness the opportunities in the digital space if they want to remain competitive, earn profit, and meet their customers’ needs. Accordingly, this book looks at how digital technologies are helping shape the financial, educational, and advertising sectors in Africa. As digital technologies raise challenges, the chapters that follow will discuss ethical and social practical frameworks to effective digital business in Africa. This volume promises to fore both theoretical underpinnings, and practical implementations of digital technologies in the African business context.

Drawing on the expertise of multi-disciplinary scholars from emerging economies, this volume aims to share fascinating perspectives on marketing communications by discussing the shift in the power of public relations, and highlighting how the small and local use communication effectively to improve performance and shares useful lessons on how to communicate hope by responding to customer emotions during uncertainties. The book contains valuable lessons and insights on communicating corporate social responsibility, effective social media communication, enacting brand purpose through communication, and using aesthetics in point-of-purchase advertising to drive purchase intention. It is the first of its kind to highlight key conceptual issues and provide critical empirical evidence on marketing communications in and from emerging economies. Corporate executives, educators, students, policymakers and businesses would find this book a useful tool on marketing communication as it lays bare some important strategic and operational insights specific to emerging markets.

The first of this two-volume work brings to the fore marketing communication theories and concepts that are prominent in emerging economy contexts, and highlights the opportunities and challenges within these markets. Offering a distinctive meaning and importance to both the practice and the theory of marketing communications in emerging economies, this collection introduces the foundational issues of marketing communications as well as the broader marketing communication environment and how they impact on communication strategy development and implementation. With contributors from diverse disciplines, the book establishes the importance of linking customer value creation, national culture and the management process with the marketing communications strategy. It highlights the critical role of research, the changing trends in marketing communication in the digital age and the communication opportunities for small and large brands. This book is a useful tool for orporate executives, educators, students, policymakers and businesses on marketing communication in emerging markets.

This book analyses and evaluates the accomplishments, challenges, and approaches associated with the New Public Management (NPM) in Africa towards establishing context-specific interventions for public sector institutions' performance. Taking the reader through various business and management approaches, including leadership in the public sector, digitalisation, market orientation and trust building, this book provides an understanding of the key issues facing public sector organisations in Africa and offers novel ways of approaching public management in a changing socio-economic landscape to drive improved performance of public institutions. The book offers students, practitioners and researchers important insights on NPM and public sector institutions in Africa. The recommendations of the book will help government and policymakers implement appropriate public sector management policies for strengthening public sector service delivery in Africa.

Drawing on the expertise of multi-disciplinary scholars from emerging economies, this volume aims to share fascinating perspectives on marketing communications by discussing the shift in the power of public relations, and highlighting how the small and local use communication effectively to improve performance and shares useful lessons on how to communicate hope by responding to customer emotions during uncertainties. The book contains valuable lessons and insights on communicating corporate social responsibility, effective social media communication, enacting brand purpose through communication, and using aesthetics in point-of-purchase advertising to drive purchase intention. It is the first of its kind to highlight key conceptual issues and provide critical empirical evidence on marketing communications in and from emerging economies. Corporate executives, educators, students, policymakers and businesses would find this book a useful tool on marketing communication as it lays bare some important strategic and operational insights specific to emerging markets.