Ahmed Tolba - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Ahmed Tolba

The ultimate objective of the chapter is to provide a conceptualized model to showcase the differ... more The ultimate objective of the chapter is to provide a conceptualized model to showcase the differential effect of aging, religiosity, and cultural differences on consumers’ emotions. Further, the downstream consequences of these antecedents (aging, religiosity, and cultural differences) on consumers’ actual behavior in the market place are to be demonstrated. The mediating role of emotions in explicating the relationship between the proposed antecedents and consequences will serve as an integral part of the model to illustrate the underlying mechanism. The introduced model will provide both marketers and academicians with a clear understanding of major factors affecting consumer behavior and, importantly, the emotional mechanisms through which these factors exert differential impact on actual consumption behaviors.

Banking & Insurance eJournal, 2015

Amidst increasing competition and deregulation, retail banks are looking for ways to differentiat... more Amidst increasing competition and deregulation, retail banks are looking for ways to differentiate their services in the eyes of their customers and to attain high levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty. Due to the high customer welfare implications of financial services and the significant role of a bank’s sales employees in this regard, ethical sales behavior plays an important role as a source of customer satisfaction with a bank’s services and of loyalty to the bank. This study examines the dimensions of ethical behavior by bank employees and how they impact levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty. Moreover, the roles of perceived service quality and bank image are also examined, due to the salience of these constructs in the literature. Based on a thorough review of the literature, a conceptual model is developed and tested on a sample of retail banking customers of eight prominent banks in Egypt. The results show a significant impact of ethical sales behavior on b...

The main objective of this research is to identify and validate the factors that significantly in... more The main objective of this research is to identify and validate the factors that significantly influence customer loyalty during the complaint handling process in Egypt. The literature alludes to the effect of perceived justice of the complaint handling process on customer satisfaction and loyalty after the complaint. These relationships are tested and validated in the Egyptian context over ten different industries. The outcome of this research gives further validation to the finding of previous empirical studies in a novel context. The results will benefit Egyptian companies in different sectors to better handle customer complaints, as they will recognize the major variables that they should address

The MENA Journal of Business Case Studies, 2016

CSC is a computer assembling startup which first made its appearance in the Egyptian market in th... more CSC is a computer assembling startup which first made its appearance in the Egyptian market in the mid 90's. With the rising global trend of technology, as well as internet awareness and dependency, computers were recognized as being a household necessity. However, seeing as how the average Egyptian family could not afford buying a household PC at its original price, CSC sought to cater to this inconvenience by providing Egyptians with assembled computers at almost 40% cheaper. By buying the computer parts from places such as China and Taiwan, CSC was able to provide its consumers with a more affordable means by which to join the global technological movement. However, as other means of technology (such as the mobile phone and the laptop computer) are rising in popularity, how does CSC plan on integrating itself within this wider framework, past the mere assembling of PC parts?

The MENA Journal of Business Case Studies, 2015

Islamic Perspectives on Marketing and Consumer Behavior: Planning, Implementation, and Control

The ultimate objective of this chapter is to provide a new conceptualization that encompasses Isl... more The ultimate objective of this chapter is to provide a new conceptualization that encompasses Islam as a religion, Islamic culture, and Islamic politics to provide both academicians and practitioners with a multidimensional understanding of interrelated factors in Islamic marketing. It illustrates how cultural factors and political associations intersect with Islamic teachings and rules to shape the Muslim consumer behaviors and decision-making process; consequently, business and marketing strategies aimed at targeting Muslim consumers are either threatened or reinforced.

International Journal of Marketing Studies, 2011

Several studies attempted to conceptualize and measure brand equity. Brand equity constructs iden... more Several studies attempted to conceptualize and measure brand equity. Brand equity constructs identified include awareness, associations, perceived quality, and loyalty, among others. Further, brand performance has been operationalized in terms of market share, ability to charge price premium, and distribution coverage. While most studies focused on consumer-based constructs, few researchers tested the effect of distribution intensity on brand performance. This study advances a model that links distribution intensity with brand preference and loyalty, and empirically tests it on the fuel industry in Egypt. First, in-depth interviews with industry experts were conducted to validate research hypotheses. Then, online surveys were distributed to test model relationships on four leading brands. Results revealed that affect, satisfaction, perceived quality, as well as distribution intensity significantly affected brand preference; which in turn was the key driver to brand loyalty. It is recommended that firms consider the role of distribution while developing marketing strategies and brand-building activities.

Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications

This case study examines the past and present challenges facing Ariel, a long-time market leader ... more This case study examines the past and present challenges facing Ariel, a long-time market leader in the detergent sector in Egypt whose market share has started to slip. In particular, it examines the marketing strategies and performance of Ariel High Suds, which is witnessing a declining market share as well as a decline in the overall high-suds market due to fierce competition and the growing low-suds market in Egypt.

Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization, 2012

The objective of this report is to assess the current status of entrepreneurship in Egypt, and to... more The objective of this report is to assess the current status of entrepreneurship in Egypt, and to offer strategic and actionable recommendations that will enable entrepreneurship and significantly impact the Egyptian economy. The report offers a fresh look at entrepreneurship in Egypt and the support mechanisms currently at play, assesses the initiatives and challenges at hand, and provides multilevel recommendations on how to tackle them. On a deeper level, this work aims to constructively question the entire model by which we view the tasks of entrepreneurial support in Egypt and develops a new mechanism to replace the existing model currently in operation. This is a more dynamic, comprehensive, and flexible model that allows both for a feedback mechanism and for customization, acknowledging that new businesses demand different types of support based on their stage of development and that of the industry in which they operate. This report starts with a brief introduction that explains the importance of entrepreneurship and its potential for driving economic growth. Sections I and II offer a transversal snapshot, an assessment of the Egyptian economy and its entrepreneurial sector and the problems it faces. Sections III, IV, and V present three levels of recommendations, from the most paradigm altering to the most punctual. Section I discusses Egypt's economic and entrepreneurial fundamentals, seeking to give an overview of the local economy and put it in perspective by making of international comparisons gathered from the most recent surveys. With high levels of unemployment and underemployment, as well as a strong predisposition for private work and below-trend new business creation ratio, Egypt displays both

Cases on Branding Strategies and Product Development: Successes and Pitfalls

Branding in pharmaceutical markets is more challenging than any other market due to the enormous ... more Branding in pharmaceutical markets is more challenging than any other market due to the enormous regulations and restrictions from governmental bodies like MOH, Ministry of Health. This case tackles a real challenge that one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in Egypt is facing. Since the company has a well-established brand that has been in the market for more than 30 years, this brand has strong brand equity and is well known by consumers, end users. In the past 5 years with the devaluation of the Egyptian currency, the price of the active ingredients increased. Accordingly, the gross margin of the brand was highly affected, to the extent that it reflects losses in the net operating income. In any other market, it might be an option to increase the price and enhance the gross margin, but in the pharmaceutical industry, companies are price takers and only MOH has the right to set the price.

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Several research studies attempted to study and analyze the factors that affect innovation diffus... more Several research studies attempted to study and analyze the factors that affect innovation diffusion. However, the focus was on the innovation attributes rather than the individual factors that help or prevent innovation acceptance and diffusion. This paper advances a conceptual model that integrates individual and cultural factors that affect acceptance and diffusion of innovations. Individual factors include the roles of lead users and opinion leaders, while cultural factors are represented by uncertainty avoidance and individualism. This model aims to link all factors in order to help managers manage the innovation process optimally in different markets. It is recommended to identify the key groups that would support the process; including lead users (inventors) and opinion leaders (promoters); as well a unique groups that combines both characteristics (champions). Online communities are the contemporary tool that could be used in order to best utilize the above groups. Further, cultural factors, such as individualism and uncertainty avoidance should be considered in order to optimize the efforts and maximize innovation diffusion.

World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 2018

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has a desire to include more people in entrepreneurship, ... more The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has a desire to include more people in entrepreneurship, especially women, youth, and unemployed. The question here is, how are gender, age, and occupation affecting entry, including entry pulled by opportunity and pushed by necessity? The study analyses a large representative sample of adults around MENA, surveyed by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Analyses show in detail how occupations depend on gender and age, and show the potential for turning intention into upstarts, especially in disadvantaged segments. Policies for entrepreneurship in MENA may utilise some of the findings. Notably, the study shows that inclusion of women, youth, and unemployed may be potentially be considerably enhanced through policies. These disadvantaged segments frequently intend to become entrepreneurs, but they tend not to enact their vocational intents.

World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 2018

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has a desire to include more people in entrepreneurship, ... more The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has a desire to include more people in entrepreneurship, especially women, youth, and unemployed. The question here is, how are gender, age, and occupation affecting entry, including entry pulled by opportunity and pushed by necessity? The study analyses a large representative sample of adults around MENA, surveyed by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Analyses show in detail how occupations depend on gender and age, and show the potential for turning intention into upstarts, especially in disadvantaged segments. Policies for entrepreneurship in MENA may utilise some of the findings. Notably, the study shows that inclusion of women, youth, and unemployed may be potentially be considerably enhanced through policies. These disadvantaged segments frequently intend to become entrepreneurs, but they tend not to enact their vocational intents.

The ultimate objective of the chapter is to provide a conceptualized model to showcase the differ... more The ultimate objective of the chapter is to provide a conceptualized model to showcase the differential effect of aging, religiosity, and cultural differences on consumers’ emotions. Further, the downstream consequences of these antecedents (aging, religiosity, and cultural differences) on consumers’ actual behavior in the market place are to be demonstrated. The mediating role of emotions in explicating the relationship between the proposed antecedents and consequences will serve as an integral part of the model to illustrate the underlying mechanism. The introduced model will provide both marketers and academicians with a clear understanding of major factors affecting consumer behavior and, importantly, the emotional mechanisms through which these factors exert differential impact on actual consumption behaviors.

Banking & Insurance eJournal, 2015

Amidst increasing competition and deregulation, retail banks are looking for ways to differentiat... more Amidst increasing competition and deregulation, retail banks are looking for ways to differentiate their services in the eyes of their customers and to attain high levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty. Due to the high customer welfare implications of financial services and the significant role of a bank’s sales employees in this regard, ethical sales behavior plays an important role as a source of customer satisfaction with a bank’s services and of loyalty to the bank. This study examines the dimensions of ethical behavior by bank employees and how they impact levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty. Moreover, the roles of perceived service quality and bank image are also examined, due to the salience of these constructs in the literature. Based on a thorough review of the literature, a conceptual model is developed and tested on a sample of retail banking customers of eight prominent banks in Egypt. The results show a significant impact of ethical sales behavior on b...

The main objective of this research is to identify and validate the factors that significantly in... more The main objective of this research is to identify and validate the factors that significantly influence customer loyalty during the complaint handling process in Egypt. The literature alludes to the effect of perceived justice of the complaint handling process on customer satisfaction and loyalty after the complaint. These relationships are tested and validated in the Egyptian context over ten different industries. The outcome of this research gives further validation to the finding of previous empirical studies in a novel context. The results will benefit Egyptian companies in different sectors to better handle customer complaints, as they will recognize the major variables that they should address

The MENA Journal of Business Case Studies, 2016

CSC is a computer assembling startup which first made its appearance in the Egyptian market in th... more CSC is a computer assembling startup which first made its appearance in the Egyptian market in the mid 90's. With the rising global trend of technology, as well as internet awareness and dependency, computers were recognized as being a household necessity. However, seeing as how the average Egyptian family could not afford buying a household PC at its original price, CSC sought to cater to this inconvenience by providing Egyptians with assembled computers at almost 40% cheaper. By buying the computer parts from places such as China and Taiwan, CSC was able to provide its consumers with a more affordable means by which to join the global technological movement. However, as other means of technology (such as the mobile phone and the laptop computer) are rising in popularity, how does CSC plan on integrating itself within this wider framework, past the mere assembling of PC parts?

The MENA Journal of Business Case Studies, 2015

Islamic Perspectives on Marketing and Consumer Behavior: Planning, Implementation, and Control

The ultimate objective of this chapter is to provide a new conceptualization that encompasses Isl... more The ultimate objective of this chapter is to provide a new conceptualization that encompasses Islam as a religion, Islamic culture, and Islamic politics to provide both academicians and practitioners with a multidimensional understanding of interrelated factors in Islamic marketing. It illustrates how cultural factors and political associations intersect with Islamic teachings and rules to shape the Muslim consumer behaviors and decision-making process; consequently, business and marketing strategies aimed at targeting Muslim consumers are either threatened or reinforced.

International Journal of Marketing Studies, 2011

Several studies attempted to conceptualize and measure brand equity. Brand equity constructs iden... more Several studies attempted to conceptualize and measure brand equity. Brand equity constructs identified include awareness, associations, perceived quality, and loyalty, among others. Further, brand performance has been operationalized in terms of market share, ability to charge price premium, and distribution coverage. While most studies focused on consumer-based constructs, few researchers tested the effect of distribution intensity on brand performance. This study advances a model that links distribution intensity with brand preference and loyalty, and empirically tests it on the fuel industry in Egypt. First, in-depth interviews with industry experts were conducted to validate research hypotheses. Then, online surveys were distributed to test model relationships on four leading brands. Results revealed that affect, satisfaction, perceived quality, as well as distribution intensity significantly affected brand preference; which in turn was the key driver to brand loyalty. It is recommended that firms consider the role of distribution while developing marketing strategies and brand-building activities.

Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications

This case study examines the past and present challenges facing Ariel, a long-time market leader ... more This case study examines the past and present challenges facing Ariel, a long-time market leader in the detergent sector in Egypt whose market share has started to slip. In particular, it examines the marketing strategies and performance of Ariel High Suds, which is witnessing a declining market share as well as a decline in the overall high-suds market due to fierce competition and the growing low-suds market in Egypt.

Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization, 2012

The objective of this report is to assess the current status of entrepreneurship in Egypt, and to... more The objective of this report is to assess the current status of entrepreneurship in Egypt, and to offer strategic and actionable recommendations that will enable entrepreneurship and significantly impact the Egyptian economy. The report offers a fresh look at entrepreneurship in Egypt and the support mechanisms currently at play, assesses the initiatives and challenges at hand, and provides multilevel recommendations on how to tackle them. On a deeper level, this work aims to constructively question the entire model by which we view the tasks of entrepreneurial support in Egypt and develops a new mechanism to replace the existing model currently in operation. This is a more dynamic, comprehensive, and flexible model that allows both for a feedback mechanism and for customization, acknowledging that new businesses demand different types of support based on their stage of development and that of the industry in which they operate. This report starts with a brief introduction that explains the importance of entrepreneurship and its potential for driving economic growth. Sections I and II offer a transversal snapshot, an assessment of the Egyptian economy and its entrepreneurial sector and the problems it faces. Sections III, IV, and V present three levels of recommendations, from the most paradigm altering to the most punctual. Section I discusses Egypt's economic and entrepreneurial fundamentals, seeking to give an overview of the local economy and put it in perspective by making of international comparisons gathered from the most recent surveys. With high levels of unemployment and underemployment, as well as a strong predisposition for private work and below-trend new business creation ratio, Egypt displays both

Cases on Branding Strategies and Product Development: Successes and Pitfalls

Branding in pharmaceutical markets is more challenging than any other market due to the enormous ... more Branding in pharmaceutical markets is more challenging than any other market due to the enormous regulations and restrictions from governmental bodies like MOH, Ministry of Health. This case tackles a real challenge that one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in Egypt is facing. Since the company has a well-established brand that has been in the market for more than 30 years, this brand has strong brand equity and is well known by consumers, end users. In the past 5 years with the devaluation of the Egyptian currency, the price of the active ingredients increased. Accordingly, the gross margin of the brand was highly affected, to the extent that it reflects losses in the net operating income. In any other market, it might be an option to increase the price and enhance the gross margin, but in the pharmaceutical industry, companies are price takers and only MOH has the right to set the price.

ww.aabri.com

Several research studies attempted to study and analyze the factors that affect innovation diffus... more Several research studies attempted to study and analyze the factors that affect innovation diffusion. However, the focus was on the innovation attributes rather than the individual factors that help or prevent innovation acceptance and diffusion. This paper advances a conceptual model that integrates individual and cultural factors that affect acceptance and diffusion of innovations. Individual factors include the roles of lead users and opinion leaders, while cultural factors are represented by uncertainty avoidance and individualism. This model aims to link all factors in order to help managers manage the innovation process optimally in different markets. It is recommended to identify the key groups that would support the process; including lead users (inventors) and opinion leaders (promoters); as well a unique groups that combines both characteristics (champions). Online communities are the contemporary tool that could be used in order to best utilize the above groups. Further, cultural factors, such as individualism and uncertainty avoidance should be considered in order to optimize the efforts and maximize innovation diffusion.

World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 2018

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has a desire to include more people in entrepreneurship, ... more The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has a desire to include more people in entrepreneurship, especially women, youth, and unemployed. The question here is, how are gender, age, and occupation affecting entry, including entry pulled by opportunity and pushed by necessity? The study analyses a large representative sample of adults around MENA, surveyed by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Analyses show in detail how occupations depend on gender and age, and show the potential for turning intention into upstarts, especially in disadvantaged segments. Policies for entrepreneurship in MENA may utilise some of the findings. Notably, the study shows that inclusion of women, youth, and unemployed may be potentially be considerably enhanced through policies. These disadvantaged segments frequently intend to become entrepreneurs, but they tend not to enact their vocational intents.

World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 2018

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has a desire to include more people in entrepreneurship, ... more The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has a desire to include more people in entrepreneurship, especially women, youth, and unemployed. The question here is, how are gender, age, and occupation affecting entry, including entry pulled by opportunity and pushed by necessity? The study analyses a large representative sample of adults around MENA, surveyed by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Analyses show in detail how occupations depend on gender and age, and show the potential for turning intention into upstarts, especially in disadvantaged segments. Policies for entrepreneurship in MENA may utilise some of the findings. Notably, the study shows that inclusion of women, youth, and unemployed may be potentially be considerably enhanced through policies. These disadvantaged segments frequently intend to become entrepreneurs, but they tend not to enact their vocational intents.