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Purpose Relying on social identity and social exchange perspectives, the present study aims to investigate the role of employee branding dimensions in stimulating employees’ brand citizenship behaviour (BCB) directly and indirectly through job satisfaction and affective brand commitment. Design/methodology/approach A field-survey method was used to target customer-contact employees of luxury chain hotels. Regression-based approach and bootstrap method (via PROCESS MACRO, Model 6) were applied to test the direct and indirect effects. Findings The results show that perceived external brand prestige has a strong direct effect on BCB. Through mediation analysis, this study observes that job satisfaction and affective brand commitment have significant mediation effects (i.e. individual, parallel and sequential) between employee branding dimensions and BCB. Analysing the results precisely, job satisfaction and affective brand commitment have the lowest sequential mediation effect and the greatest parallel mediation effect concerning the said relationships. Originality/value This study is novel in applying a three-path mediation model in the Indian hospitality context, considering a multi-dimensional perspective of employee branding to capture its diverse impact on BCB directly and indirectly through job satisfaction and affective brand commitment. Moreover, this study advances employee branding research by considering the under-investigated mediating (individual, parallel and sequential) role of job satisfaction and affective brand commitment.

In this paper, classical as well as Bayesian estimation of stress strength reliability (η) of Dagum distribution under progressive type-II censored sample is done. Maximum likelihood estimators (MLEs) of η are also obtained along with asymptotic, bootstrap-p (boot-p) and bootstrap-t (boot-t) confidence intervals. Bayes estimators of η along with highest posterior density (HPD) credible intervals based on informative and non-informative priors are also obtained. Symmetric as well as asymmetric loss functions are considered for the Bayesian estimation. Monte Carlo simulation study is carried out to check the performance of estimators. Real life data sets are considered for illustration purpose.

Internal marketing (IM) has revolutionized in the manner by which organizations across the globe look forward to achieve their objectives purely through working head by focusing on information, education, development and motivation of their employees. Internal marketing, thus, having realized such indispensable and significant relevance which plays a pivotal role in the higher educational institutions (HEI’s). Therefore, an attempt has been made to develop a scale in order to identify the various key constituents of IM in HEI’s. The data for the study was compiled from primary sources. Factor Analysis was used for the purpose of analysis. The results of factor analysis portrayed that internal communication, internal market research, training and development, psychological factors, HR and rewards, sociological factors, empowerment and vision are the important factors being the constituents of IM practices in HEI’s in India. The study recommended that the authorities in HEI’s should pay additional emphasis on the aforesaid factors in order to boost faculties continued commitment levels and to create comprehensible and practical job as well as organizational objectives.

Purpose This paper aims to revisit the role of perceived risk in online banking, using an alternative view on trust as a moderator on the relationship between perceived risk and behavioral intention (BI). With this aim, the conceptual model was proposed to examine the impact of perceived risk on BI directly and indirectly via unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 along with its interactionist relationship with trust. Design/methodology/approach Structural equation modeling technique is used to analyze data collected from 677 bank customers via personal contact using a self-administered questionnaire. Findings The results indicate that perceived risk as a multi-dimensional construct has a direct and indirect impact on BI via performance expectancy, social influence, hedonic motivation and price value. Moreover, it was found that trust moderates the relationship between perceived risk and BI. Practical implications This study suggests that banks should create a trust-building mechanism in the online banking environment and develop certain risk management strategies such as providing detailed and thorough information, money-back guarantee and reassurance services to enhance confidence among the customers to use such services. The banks should also devote valuable efforts in designing website interface with improved security features to facilitate usability and reliability of online banking services. Originality/value The present study makes an important contribution to the existing literature on e-commerce, especially in the field of online banking, by proposing an interactionist model between perceived risk and trust. The proposed model has never been examined in the relevant literature and could be used to provide a solid theoretical foundation in the context of online banking adoption.

Bayesian estimators and highest posterior density credible intervals are obtained for two popular inequality measures, viz. the Gini index and the Bonferroni index in the case of the Dagum distribution. The study considers informative and non-informative priors, i.e. the Mukherjee-Islam prior and the extension of Jeffrey’s prior, respectively, under the presumption of the Linear Exponential (LINEX) loss function. A Monte Carlo simulation study is carried out in order to obtain the relative efficiency of both the Gini and Bonferroni indices while taking into consideration different priors and loss functions. The estimated loss proves lower when using the Mukherjee-Islam prior in comparison to the extension of Jeffrey’s prior and the LINEX loss function outperforms the squared error loss function (SELF) in terms of the estimated loss. Highest posterior density credible intervals are also obtained for both these measures. The study used real-life data sets for illustration purposes.

The aim of this research was to devise an instrument that achieves complete dimensionality of bank selection attributes considered by Indian customers in choosing a particular bank and assess how these dimensions differ across demographic subgroups. A quantitative methodology was used in the analysis of responses given by 683 bank customers, acquired by focus-group interviews and a well-structured questionnaire. The results showed that determinants of bank selection, such as convenience and service delivery, differ significantly by gender, age, educational level, occupational level, income, and the type of bank. The originality of the research was its novelty in investigating demographic differences in the bank selection decisions of Indian customers to guide India’s banking management toward more effective marketing and services. The study augmented the theoretical body of knowledge in the area of bank selection decisions. The results provide practical implications for bank managers, marketing experts, and advertising executives to devise appropriate marketing strategies to accommodate their customers’ preferences. Banks can use the research findings to efficiently channel their demographic-driven marketing to win over the targeted customers.

Purpose This paper aims to develop, refine and validate a multidimensional scale for measuring students’ attitude toward educational debt for higher studies in Punjab (India) and the impact of this attitude on the satisfaction of students. Design/methodology/approach The study uses interview and survey approach. The sample comprises 417 students from four public and four private universities of Punjab (India). Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis have been used to develop and validate students’ attitude toward education loan scale (Morgado et al., 2017). Further, structural equation modeling (SEM) has been used to analyze the impact of factors of students’ attitude on their satisfaction. Findings The scale has been tested for both reliability and validity. Analysis has revealed six factors of students’ attitude toward educational debt, namely, economic empowerment, social empowerment, utility, procedural requirements, risk and stress. These, six independent variables and one dependent variable, i.e. students’ satisfaction, were entered into structural equation model. The structural equation model shows that procedural requirements, economic empowerment and utility have a positive, whereas stress has a negative and significant impact on the students’ satisfaction. Practical implications Education financing is a gigantic problem nowadays due to the high cost of self-financing courses in Punjab. To make higher education accessible to all students, education loan plays a vital role. Thus, the attitude of students is of great importance to policymakers to bring reforms in education loan scheme. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the foremost study for developing a validated tool to measure the students’ attitude toward educational debt in India.

The paper develops Bayesian estimators and HPD intervals for the stress strength reliability of generalised inverted exponential distribution using upper record values. For prior distribution, informative prior as well as non-informative prior both are considered. The Bayes estimators are obtained under both symmetric and asymmetric loss functions. A simulation study is conducted to obtain the Bayes estimates of stress strength reliability. Simulated data sets are also considered here for illustration purpose.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop, measure and empirically validate a scale that captures the full dimensionality of selection attributes considered by customers when choosing a bank. Design/methodology/approach Focus group interviews were conducted and a well-structured questionnaire was designed. The validity of this scale was tested in accordance with the psychometric scale development procedure. Findings Contrary to some assertions in past literature, the results suggested service delivery and cost/price as among the most important determinants of the bank selection decisions of consumers. Practical implications The practical implications drawn from this study involve the seven constructs which could be adopted by the bank managers, advertising executives and marketing experts in providing good quality services resulting in overall higher levels of customer satisfaction. These decision makers can apply the constructs from the study to identify factors most appealing to both potential and existing customers and build up effective marketing strategies to attract new customers and retain existing ones. Originality/value This research paper signifies the leading studies for advancing a validated tool to measure the customers’ selection decisions for banks. As a result, this valid and reliable scale would bring standardization to research conducted in the field of bank selection attributes.

The paper develops Bayesian estimators and credible intervals for the reliability function and hazard rate function of Topp-Leone distribution under Type-II censored data by considering informative...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine factors influencing customers’ usage of electronic banking (e-banking) services. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted to collect information from bank customers regarding their perceptions about e-banking services and their demographics. Multiple regression analysis is used to test the hypothesised relationships. Findings E-banking usage is found to be high for female, more educated, younger, and middle income customers. Among the 11 perceptual variables studied, only six variables, namely: information, performance, self-interest, service quality, satisfaction, and experience are found to be significantly and positively associated with e-banking usage. Practical implications This study identifies factors which may be focussed on by bankers during the formulation of their operations and marketing strategies to provide the best e-banking experience to their customers, enabling bankers to augment bank profitability through the strategic use of technologies. Originality/value Past studies have seldom examined the combined influence of demographics and other factors on e-banking services usage in the context of developing countries. Most of the earlier studies have considered single service or examined the adoption as only a binary variable.

Gini Index is a powerful tool for analysing income or wealth distribution within a country or aregion. In the present article, a test for Gini indices against an umbrella ordered alternativ...

Road safety is very important in our day to day life. Every year thousands of accidents happen during the driving of vehicles. For many accidents, reasons are not identified. There is need of device for recording vehicle evidences when the person is on the way and safe the people from malicious activities i.e. accidents, kidnapping etc. The system having acquisition system on the board is designed to monitor and record the vehicle speed, video recording, acceleration, steering input etc. This device is robust due to its design and work in different temperatures also. This device helps in investigations of road accidents, vehicle theft and kidnappings etc. Initially this system is fabricated in car.

Banks in today's era have initiated many change management activities such as rebranding for enhancing their financial performance which, if successfully implemented, will upgrade finance based brand equity. The present research aims to empirically evaluate the differences in post-rebranding financial performance as compared to pre-rebranding financial performance of Axis Bank (name and logo change) and Canara Bank (logo change) that exercised rebranding activity during 2007. The data gathered for this study is divided into two event windows: pre-rebranding period (2003-2007) and post-rebranding period (2009-2013). Two levels of analysis have been performed on selected financial performance indicators. First, the performance trend patterns are examined across pre-rebranding period and post-rebranding period. Second, the paired sample t-test statistics is applied on pre- and post-rebranding financial performance. The findings indicate that the changes in name and logo yield significant addition to a firm's value and offer valuable insights to bankers and brand strategists.

Purpose: The biggest challenge for the banking industry is to tangibilize the intangible banking experience. One way of overcoming this challenge is creation of strong brands. It has been well recognized that Brands are regarded as most important corporate asset but recently serious attempts have been made by various organizations in order to estimate their brand value (Farquhar, 1989). Academic literature has revealed that high brand value resulted in increased financial returns and shareholder value, which leads to superior financial performance. This research focuses on the investigating the impact of brand value on various financial indicators on of banks. Design/ Methodology/Approach: The investigation is designed as a quantitative study and is based on the brand value of Indian banks. The sampling frame constituted Top 10 banks listed by Brand Finance, a leading brand valuation agency. Five banks were selected on the basis of highest brand values reported in Brand Finance Banking 500, (2014) from Public sector as well as Private sector banks. In public sector banks, State Bank of India, Punjab national bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India and Canara bank were selected. Amongst private sector banks, ICICI, HDFC, Axis, Kotak Mahindra and Yes bank form the sample of the study. The data of Brand values were collected from the report of Brand Finance Banking 500 published during 2009-2014. Multiple Regression analysis has been applied in order to analyze the impact of Brand value on various financial indicators such as Return on Assets (ROA), Return on equity (ROE), Return on Investments (ROI), Stock Prices and Earnings Per share (EPS). Findings: The findings revealed that Brand value has significant impact on the financial performance of banks. Brand value has significant negative impact on ROA, ROI and ROE. This negative phenomenon indicates the marginal diminishing returns of the bank's brand advantage, ceteris paribus (Tsai and Chang, 2012) whereas brand value has significant positive impact on Stock Prices and EPS. Originality/Value: This is the most comprehensive quantitative study in the field of branding and financial performance of the banking sector. There has been limited research on the impact of brand value on the financial performance of banks. This study provides new insights for marketing managers and brand valuation agencies.

The financial services sector has come a long way from arguing that banks are beyond branding to a phase where banks and other financial institutions are using branding strategically—like any other business. Banks have adopted various customer-centric strategies in order to develop a positive perception in the minds of customers. To develop and implement customer-centric strategies, banks need to provide a consistent brand experience to prevent customers from switching to rival banks. In order to understand the customer perception towards bank brand, there is a need to understand the concept of customer-based brand equity and its main determinants. The customer-based brand equity is a set of brand-related associations held by the consumers in their memory (Keller, 1993). The current article aims to identify the various determinants of customer-based brand equity in the banking industry and to verify whether these determinants vary across bank types. For this purpose, a structured questionnaire was developed and a sample of 120 respondents was taken from selected public sector banks and private sector banks of Jalandhar. Factor analysis produced six factors, that is, brand investments, brand performance, brand salience, brand verdict, brand feelings and brand unfamiliarity, which accounted for 73 per cent variance. The findings revealed that out of the six factors extracted from the study, brand verdict emerged as the most significant factor that led to the determination of customer-based brand equity. The results of independent sample t-test showed no significant differences in the perceptions of customers of public and private banks with respect to customer-based brand equity. Correlation analysis was also conducted on the study variables and the results indicated that there are strong, positive and significant relationships between brand performance and brand feelings, and between brand performance and brand verdict. The multiple regression results showed that only brand performance, brand salience and brand feelings have a significant influence on brand verdict, whereas brand investment had a significant negative impact on brand verdict.

Structural changes in the Indian banking sector in the past few decades have reshaped the banking industry in India. Changes such as consolidations, mergers, technological up-gradations, changes in ownership and number of firms in the market, have replaced the dominance of the public sector banks with the competition among public, private and foreign sector banks. All this has impacted the market concentration and competition as well. The present paper measures the extent of market concentration in Indian banking sector for the period 1997-2017 using Herfindahl Herischman Index and k-bank concentration ratios in terms of total assets, deposits and advances. We find the result in support of decreasing concentration and intensifying competition during the study period.

This study seeks to develop and empirically validate a customer retention model. Based on past studies in the marketing research, we compiled a comprehensive set of constructs and hypotheses and established causal relationships between them. To measure the variables enumerated in the conceptual framework, a well-structured questionnaire was designed. Evaluation of the model with the help of AMOS-SEM was considered initially; however, due to the complexity of causally interlinked relationships in a conceptual framework (as the presence of serial and simple mediations), the results were analyzed using AMOS-SEM and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach together. Contrary to some assertions in the past literature, the results suggested inertia has a positive relationship with customer satisfaction. Furthermore, quantitative analysis supported by empirical qualitative pieces of evidence from the survey exhibited that partial mediations were found among the constructs. The empirical results as hypothesized illustrate (a) customer loyalty was positively influenced by customer satisfaction, switching barriers, perceived price fairness, and trust and (b) inertia has no significant influence on customer retention and customer loyalty but found to be positively associated service quality. In conclusion, the managerial implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are provided.

Bayesian estimators of Gini index and a Poverty measure are obtained in case of Pareto distribution under censored and complete setup. The said estimators are obtained using two noninformative priors, namely, uniform prior and Jeffreys’ prior, and one conjugate prior under the assumption of Linear Exponential (LINEX) loss function. Using simulation techniques, the relative efficiency of proposed estimators using different priors and loss functions is obtained. The performances of the proposed estimators have been compared on the basis of their simulated risks obtained under LINEX loss function.

Bayes estimators are obtained in case of Pareto distribution for its shape parameter, mean income, Gini index and a Poverty measure for both censored and complete setup. The said estimators are obtained using Jeffreys’ non-informative invariant prior and the extension of Jeffreys’ prior information. Using simulation techniques, the relative efficiency of proposed estimators with the existing estimators using two-parameter exponential prior is obtained. It turns out that the Bayesian method with Jeffreys’ non-informative invariant prior results in smaller expected loss function as compared to existing estimators using two-parameter exponential prior.

Haar Wavelets has become important tool for solving number of problems of science and engineering. In this paper a computational scheme is implemented using Haar matrices to find the numerical solution of differential equations with known initial and boundary conditions. We also presented exact solution, numerical solution and absolute error. Numerical experiments presented here are comparable with the available data. The algorithm used in this is very simple and easy to implement.

Air quality indices (AQIs), used to classify and report the ambient air quality all across the world, computed for pol- lutants SPM, RSPM, NO2 and SO2 for the city Chandigarh using 24-hourly data revealed, RSPM as one of the main responsible air pollutants. Three time series models viz. ARIMA, ARFIMA and Holt and Winters (HW) smoothing techniques are employed to assess and predict the air quality status with respect to responsible pollutant RSPM. Various model selection criteria like Mean Absolute Error, Mean Absolute Percentage Error, Root Mean Square Error, and Bias corrected Akaike's information criterion (AICC) suggested ARFIMA as the appropriate model. Different long memory tests also justify the use of ARFIMA model and its comparison with ARIMA and HW smoothing techniques yield improved estimators/predictors for the responsible pollutant RSPM.

The article is an exploratory attempt to have an insight towards awareness of stock market investments and the financial literacy level of the individual stock investors. Additionally, the study gauges if there is any significant difference in the financial literacy of the respondents regarding stock market traits across the demographics, that is, age, income, occupation and qualification. A pre-tested, well structured questionnaire was administered personally to 100 individual stock investors in Punjab and their responses were sought in terms of frequencies, percentages and weighted average scores. Chi-square test has been applied to test the differences in the financial literacy regarding stock market traits across demographics. Equity has been found as the highly aware investment. The investment in Mutual funds is amongst the moderate level of awareness. The slightest level of awareness is found among investors for ULIP’s and SIP’s and the investments, that is, Bonds, Derivatives/Futures/Options/ Swaps, Commodities and Debentures are among unaware investments. Stock investors in Punjab have highest level of knowledge regarding Benefits of diversification, Shares closing price, Current Market indices (NSE/BSE), Inflation and return. Technical analysis and market efficiency, Transaction costs, Mutual fund returns, Inflation and prices, Common Stock returns, P/E ratio and EPS, Mutual fund and market risks are the stock market traits regarding which investors have a moderate level of knowledge. Investors have slightest and least level of knowledge regarding Settlement period, Stock split, Interest rates on debentures/bonds and Bonds. The understanding of the literacy level will provide implications to financial service providers on how to enhance the knowledge of individual investors and help them find suitable investments for their portfolio and guide them towards right direction.

In chemical engineering, deflection of beams and other area of engineering the two point boundary value problems with Neumann and mixed Robbin’s boundary conditions have great importance. It is not easy task to solve numerically such type of problems. In this study a B-spline finite element has been introduced to get the solution of two point boundary value problem. Some test examples are considered for the applicability of the purposed scheme. Further the results are compared with simple Galerkin-finite element method and with the exact solution of the problems. Throughout the discussion, it is observed that the proposed technique is performing well.

A nonparametric test for the several-sample scale problem is proposed, based on ranked-set data. The proposed test has the advantage of not requiring the several distribution functions to have a common median, but rather any common quantile of order α , 0 α 1 (not necessarily 1 / 2 ), which is assumed to be known. It is shown that the new test is uniformly more efficient than its simple random sample analog.

Three nonparametric tests for several sample scale problem against umbrella alternative, when the peak of the umbrella is known, are proposed. The proposed statistics have the advantage of not requiring the several distribution functions to have a common median, but rather any common quantile of order α , 0 ≤ α ≤ 1 , (not necessarily 1 / 2 ) which is assumed to be known. The proposed tests are compared with each other in the Pitman asymptotic relative efficiency sense for different distributions.

The article is an exploratory attempt to analyse investment pattern of individual stock investors of Punjab. For the purpose, the preferences for various financial products, factors influencing such preferences, time spent on monitoring investments and the sources of information chased by them before investing are gauged. An in-depth analysis is carried out to find out whether demographic variables, that is, age, gender and income, exert a significant impact on the choice of various investment avenues. A pre-tested, well-structured questionnaire was administered personally to 250 individual stock investors in Punjab and their responses were sought for further analysis. The responses have been analysed in terms of frequencies, percentages and weighted average scores and factor analytic techniques. Bank fixed deposits have been found as first preference followed by gold as the second preference and then stocks as the third preference. The results of the factor analysis revealed four factors, that is, projected benefits, personal financial need, taxation benefits and security needs. Internet, Investment advisors and family-member recommendations are their most preferred sources of information. Large numbers of investors have been found monitoring their investments monthly. The current research will be helpful for financial service providers in understanding the investment preferences of individual stock investors and tracking the factors that influence individual investors to invest and suggesting investment options to them as per their needs.

Microfinance has been evolving as an indispensable tool of poverty eradication and rural improvement. At present, almost all the commercial banks have delved into the microfinance foray and offer various lucrative schemes designed for the rural poor, specifically, to carry out their own small economic activities. This paper attempts to study the extent to which the commercial banks are participating in the microfinance business. An empirical study has been carried out in the state of Punjab. The objective is to analyse the nature and extent of microfinance services provided by the banks in the rural areas of Punjab. The study also highlights the bankers' perceptions of microfinance. L'intervention du secteur des banques dans le monde de la microfinance : une etude de la perception et du travail de proximite des banquiers dans le domaine de la microfinance en Inde, concernant plus particulierement l’Etat du Punjab La microfinance a connu une evolution comme outil indispensable de l’eradication de la pauvre...

A class of nonparametric test statistics for several sample scale problem is proposed by considering extrema of subsamples of size c. The proposed class of statistics has the advantage of not requiring the several distribution functions to have a common median, but rather any common quantile of order α, 0 ≤ α ≤1, (not necessarily 1/2) which is assumed to be known. The proposed class of tests is compared with other known tests already existing in the literature in the Pitman asymptotic relative efficiency sense for different distributions. Some results of Monte Carlo power study are also presented.

A nonparametric test for the two-sample scale problem is proposed by considering the subsample medians of three observations. The proposed statistic has the advantage of not requiring the two distribution functions to have a common median, but rather requiring them to have any common quantile of order α , 0 ≤ α ≤ 1 (not necessarily 1 / 2 ), which is assumed to be known. Pitman efficiency considerations indicate that the proposed test performs well relative to tests already existing in the literature for heavy tailed distributions.

Gini index is one of the most popular indices employed for measuring inequality in income and wealth. In this article, we propose a multi-sample test for testing Gini indices against simple-ordered alternatives. The exact critical points through simulation were computed for the proposed test in case of two-parameter exponential distribution; however, the proposed test can be applied even in case of other distributions like Pareto, Weibull, etc. Construction of simultaneous one-sided confidence intervals (SOCIs) was proposed along with an illustration. Power of the test is computed and some power comparisons are also made.

Micro financing has been recognized as a biggest intervention in the financial world to overcome the problem of poverty. It is providing a hope to the poor who have the ability to manage their financial resource but in the lack of finance they fail to improve their livelihoods. In the recent years, apart from the unorganized financial sector, the organized financial sector has been emerging in a big way to participate in the micro finance movement, specifically in the rural areas. However, a lot of efforts are still required to pave the way for this movement among the formal financial sector. The present paper reviews the various issues which so far have been addressed in the literature of microfinance. These issues relate to, Formal and Informal finance, Outreach and performance of microfinance programs, Impact assessment of the microfinance intervention on the ultimate borrowers, Financial awareness and customers’ perception, Women empowerment and Effect of gender in microfinance