Browsing by Author "Tegambwage, Amani G."

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    An assessment of the applicability of servqual and servperf in the higher education context of Tanzania
    (The University of Dodoma, 2014) Tegambwage, Amani G.
    SERVQUAL and SERVPERF are the most widely used instruments to measure service quality across various service sectors. However, these scales have been designed and successfully used in the retail sector with a commercial perspective; hence little is known about their applicability to the higher education sector. In addition, there is much debated controversy in the extant literature about the superiority of these models and their dimensionality across different settings and contexts. This study was designed to (a) examine the applicability of SERVQUAL and SERVPERF in higher education, (b) compare their measurement ability, and (c) examine the causal relationship between perceived service quality, customer satisfaction, and recommend intentions. The study was conducted at two public universities in Tanzania. The SERVQUAL and the SERVPERF were modified and then administered personally to 250 randomly selected students from each of the two universities under study. Structural equation modeling was used to perform the analysis. The study found out that a two factor structure of both the SERVQUAL and the SERVPERF, as modified for this study, is appropriate for higher education. However, the modified SERVPERF performed better with respect to psychometric properties, while the modified SERVQUAL possessed superior diagnostic power. This study recommends that, when the interest is only to assess the overall service quality, the modified SERVPERF should be preferred. On the other hand, when the interest is to identify service quality shortfalls for improvement, the modified SERVQUAL should be employed.
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    Social business environment and transnational corporations’ loyalty: the executives’ perceptions in Tanzania
    (The University of Dodoma, 2023) Rwamuhuru, Mshindi A.; Magai, Petro S.; Tegambwage, Amani G.
    The economic growth of the host low-income countries, which depends on foreign investments, among other things, has been impacted by the disloyal behaviours of foreign firms, including transnational corporations (TNCs). The demonstrated disloyal behaviours include the closure of operations and productions, scaling back expansion plans, and shifting income-generating operations to other countries with favourable business settings. This study examines the influence of the social business environment (SBE) on TNCs loyalty towards the host country, Tanzania. A cross-sectional design was employed to collect data from 131 TNCs in Tanzania using a structured questionnaire. The hypotheses were tested by hierarchical regression analysis. Findings reveal that the SBE has a positive and significant effect on TNCs loyalty through social attitudes, language, consumer preferences, and attitudes towards foreign businesses. Other dimensions of SBE, including age structure, gender roles, and the population’s literacy level, have negative and insignificant effects. Among all dimensions of the SBE, language is the best predictor of TNCs loyalty in Tanzania, followed by social attitudes, customer preferences, and attitudes of society towards foreign businesses. Based on the results, it is suggested that policymakers establish consistent social policies that encourage favourable social attitudes and beliefs, local and international language usage and proficiency, predictable customer preferences, and amicable attitudes of society towards foreign businesses to stimulate high TNC loyalty in Tanzania, which is crucial for sustainable economic development.
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    The Effect of Attitudes Towards Money on Over-Indebtedness Among Microfinance Institutions’ Customers in Tanzania
    (Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2024) Kasoga, Pendo S.; Tegambwage, Amani G.
    Microfinance institutions (MFIs) are believed to be the best source of finance for lifting the poor from poverty. However, the vast majority of MFIs’ customers in the world appear to be over-indebted. This study investigates the effect of the four attitudes towards money (FAM), namely security, love, freedom, and power, on over-indebtedness among MFIs customers in Tanzania. This relationship has not been investigated in previous studies. The study used an analytical cross-sectional design involving a survey of 428 MFI customers using a semi-structured questionnaire. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed for data analysis. The findings show that power (β = 0.432, p = 0.000), love (β = 0.114, p = 0.004), and freedom (β = 0.101, p = 0.02) significantly and positively affect over-indebtedness, while security (β = -0.243, p = 0.003) negatively and significantly affects over-indebtedness. This study provides an alternative way for MFIs to reduce over-indebtedness by focusing on borrowers’ attitudes towards money. This will, in turn, enhance loan repayment rates, sustainability of MFIs, poverty reduction and quality of life among MFI customers.