Brand Loyalty in Bangladesh: Customer Satisfaction, Brand Trust, Social Media Usage in Electronic Home Appliances

By Dr. Md. Uzir Hossain Uzir, Profession Dr. Abu Bakar Abdul Hamid, Dr. Ts. Dr. Ahmad Shaharudin Abdul Latiff and Israq Jerin

A brand is a valuable asset, and loyalty to a particular brand is the source of revenue and profitability of the business. Brand loyalty is significant for the business growth and expansion of companies in the electronics sector. A populated country, Bangladesh has a substantial expenditure on electronic appliances, and the demand for these household items increases over the period; however, customers are not always loyal to a particular brand. Marketing literature shows that customer satisfaction and brand confidence directly affect brand loyalty, and brand trust mediates their relationship. Due to the technological advance of social media, technology has an essential role in the customer's decision to buy household appliances. The existing literature has not focused on this massive demand for electronic appliances, customer satisfaction, loyalty, trust, and social media's significant role in consumer buying behavior. The book shoed the investigation of the effect of customer satisfaction and brand trust of electronic home appliances on brand loyalty and the mediating role of brand trust in customer satisfaction and trust relationship. The study also examined the extent to which customers believe social media information influences them. The study gathered data from 523 Bangladeshi respondents from Dhaka by conducting a survey. The data were analyzed with SPSS and CB-SEM (AMOS) for the hypothesis test. The findings revealed that customer satisfaction and brand trust significantly impact brand loyalty, and social media moderates those significant relationships. The result of the study contributed to the expectancy-disconfirmation theory, trust-commitment theory, brand loyalty theory, and theory of reasoned action by presenting empirically-based insight into customer satisfaction, brand trust, and brand loyalty constructs in electronic home appliances in Bangladesh. In addition, the results provided a practical insight into marketing and brand management. They suggested the practicing managers in developing product quality with customer preference, building trust through maintaining brand image and creating awareness among the customers, and considering the significance of social media and its usage. The research used probabilistic sampling techniques, both rural and urban customers, only a single home appliance, and PLS-SEM statistical tool for analysis. Future researchers could focus and include other variables such as price or advertising; consider loyalty separately, and use both urban and rural customers to have better predictions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: May 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9781543764765

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Copyright © 2021 by Uzir, Hamid, Latiff, Jerin.

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Contents

Acknowledgments

Dedication

About Author

List of Abbreviations

Chapter 1 Brand, Brand Loyalty, Electronic Home Appliance and Bangaldesh

1.1 Background of the Study

1.2 Statement of the Problem

1.3 Research Questions

1.4 Research Objectives

1.5 Scope of the Study

1.6 Significance of the Study

1.7 Definition of Terms

Chapter 2 Brand Loyalty and Its Thoeries and Conceptual Framework

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Constructs

2.3 Previous Studies on Brand Loyalty

2.4 The Relationship Between the Various Brand Loyalty Factors

2.5 Theories Related to Brand Loyalty

2.6 Adopted Theories

2.7 Conceptual Framework and Hypotheses Development

2.8 Conceptual Framework

2.9 Home Appliances and Brand Loyalty

2.10 Chapter Summary

Chapter 3 Brand Loyalty Research: Methods and Settings

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Research Paradigm

3.3 Research Philosophy

3.4 Research Approach

3.5 Research Methodological Choice

3.6 Research Strategy

3.7 Research Time Horizon

3.8 Research Design

3.9 Population

3.10 Sources of Data Collection

3.11 Sampling Plan

3.12 Measurements

3.13 Pilot Test

3.14 Exploratory Factor Analysis:

3.15 Validity and Reliability

3.16 Confirmatory Factors Analysis

3.17 Statistical Techniques

3.18 Assessment of Mediator Analysis

3.19 Assessment of Moderator Analysis

3.20 Norms and Ethic Consideration

3.21 Chapter Summary

Chapter 4 Research Data, Its Evaluation and Findings329

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Descriptive Analysis

4.3 Preliminary Data Analysis (PDA)

4.4 Inferential Statistics

4.5 Summary of Chapter

Chapter 5 Discovery and Discourse

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Discussion of the Findings

5.3 Contribution

5.4 Limitations of Research

5.5 Recommendation for Further Research

5.6 Conclusions

Publications

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Like others, this thesis writing has been one of the most challenging tasks I have faced. I have been blessed with the support, patience and guidance of the following people in this journey; without whom I would have faced difficulties and could not have made my dream in reality. I am to acknowledge with my deepest gratitude that I owe them.

Above all, praises be to the Almighty ALLAH Ta’ala for providing me the strength and patience to undertake the whole PhD journey so that today I can stand proud with my head held high.

I would like to express my honour to my dearest parents, in-laws and siblings who were the sources of motivation, inspiration and appreciation. Now I am very pleased to mention the name of the person whose all-out effort, drive, and hardship made a difference in my life: my spouse, Ishraq Jerin. She sacrificed on many fronts to enable me to achieve this degree. She has been motivating and inspiring me every inch of the way towards new horizons in our life. Without her it would be difficult to be who I am today.

I wish to express my sincere and humble gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Dr. Abu Bakar Abdul Hamid. He is a man of inspiration, devotion and a light house for students. I thank him for his continuous support throughout my Ph.D. journey and research, for his patience, motivation, enthusiasm, and immense knowledge. His guidance helped me in all the stages of research and the writing of this thesis. I could not have wished for a better advisor and mentor for my Ph.D. study. I would also like to convey my gratitude to my co-supervisor, Dr. Ahmad Shaharudin Abdul Latiff. I am really indebted to this humble and kind person. His immense support, valuable suggestions and unbiased inspiration has helped me to smoothly travel the adventurous PhD journey. I likewise want to thank Prof. Dr. Zulkormnain Yusop, the president and chief executive officer, Putra Business School for his continuous academic support and eternal motivation. I will always remember the kind assistance and unimpeded guidance of Prof. Dr. Rosli Mahmood. I wish to thank Prof. Dr. Murali Sambasivan for unboxing my knowledge domain; and I am also grateful to PBS official and staff.

Finally, I extend my respect to my parents, my paternal and maternal grandparents and all elders in the family. I can’t imagine a life without their love and blessings. I consider myself the luckiest person in the world to have such a supportive family, standing behind me with their love and support.

DEDICATION

I dedicate this work to the Omniscient, the Omnipotent, the Almighty, Ever-Magnificent, ALLAH to whom all glory shall always be, for His grace and strength that helped me to accomplish this work. I also dedicate this work to my family for all their love, support, and encouragement throughout this process. To my dear wife Ishraq Jerin and my beloved daughter, who have provided me with unconditional love and encouraged me to always do my best to educate. They constantly inspired me toward my goals with their enduring love. I am eternally grateful to my parents, my in-laws, sisters and brothers who provided much assistance, patience, support, and encouragement to persist and attempt to be of interest. And especially to my wife, Ishraq Jerin, for her understanding, patience, sacrifices, and love, enabling me to see this dissertation through to completion. Thank you for being my Dad, my Teacher, and my Friend.

ABOUT AUTHOR

Md. Uzir Hossain Uzir has recently completed his Doctoral program on Brand Loyalty at Putra Business School (PBS) Malaysia. He has obtained his Master’s and Bachelor’s in Marketing and a two-year professional Master’s in Disaster Management (MDM) from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Previously, he had been serving in a private commercial bank in Bagladesh for more seven years. Dr. Uzir is an expert in statistics and data analysis (e.g. SPSS, SmartPLS, AMOS, MS Word, MS Excel). He successfully conducted several workshops in Malaysia and his homecountry. He participated in many seminars and symposiums, career expos, and workshops. He attends a seminar of Marketing Guru Prof. Philip Kotler in 2011. He secured a score of 4.00/4.00 in three course-works and was selected as best presenter in two consecutive colloquiums in Putra Business School. He has published articles in the International Journals in Social Sciences: International Journal of Business Excellence (Inderscience Publishing) and Heliyon (CellPress-Elsevier), Sustainability, Global Business Review, Corporate Governance, Indian Journal of Corporate Governance, International Journal of Scientific Research and Management, Interciencia Journal, The International Technology Management Review, Universal Journal of Educational Research, etc. He has peer-reviewed several articles from high tier journals- The Journal of Total Quality Management (TQM), Heliyon (Elsevier), Technology in Society (Elsevier), Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics (Emerald), and Electronic Research Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities; a Book chapter proposal for Quality of Life: An Interdisciplinary Perspective, He is a sole proprietor of ‘Barakah Research Consultancy and Digital Marketing - BRCDM’, government approved firm.

Prof. Dr. Abu Bakar Abdul Hamid chose academia as his profession in 1992, beginning as a lecturer and later rising to a Professor of Marketing and Supply Chain Management. He holds a BBA and an MBA from Northrop University (USA) and a PhD from the University of Derby, UK. He has demonstrated an excellent record of teaching and supervision for more than 25 years in the academic field, at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Above all, his achievement in graduating more than 40 PhD candidates proves his ability, capability, and passion in postgraduate supervisions. He has also produced impactful research and publications which directly strengthen his expertise in his area of interest. In particular, he has published more than 300 articles in competitive international journals, proceedings, books, and book chapters. He also managed to secure several competitive national grants and consultancies for various projects. Such commitment is truly a landmark of an academician. His accolades, academic recognition, and leadership demonstrate his level of professorship. His notable contributions are recognised locally and internationally, as proven by the multiple invitations he has received to be an invited speaker, reviewer, editor in journals, external assessor, and internal or external examiner. With such calibre, he has much to contribute to any academic institution in the world.

Ts. Dr. Ahmad Shaharudin Abdul Latiff has many years of experience in the corporate and banking sector since 1988 involving internal and operational auditing as well as internal control reviews. He had handled internal audit and corporate services responsibilities of several public-listed companies in Malaysia before embarking into entrepreneurial activities in the ICT industry. He went into entrepreneurship activities since 1999 and has been awarded numerous projects by the government and private sectors. Before joining PBS, he was a fellow of the Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan and had taught entrepreneurship and IT-related subjects. He was also appointed as the Deputy Director of the university’s entrepreneurship centre, UMK Entrepreneurship Institute, and had taken the role of organizing and providing entrepreneurship training and activities for the university’s students. He obtained his PhD in Information Technology and Quantitative Sciences at the Universiti Teknologi Mara, Shah Alam, Malaysia with his research on ontology development for the Islamic banking using adapted software engineering approach.

Ishraq Jerin is a Ph.D. student of Putra Business School (PBS), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) in Management. She has been teaching Human Resource Management in a university college in Bangladesh since June 2018 and joined the Ph.D. program in PBS. Ms. Jerin is a business graduate from the University of Dhaka (BBA-Management and MBA-HRM). Her interested areas are HRM, Sustainability, Marketing Management, Corporate Governance, etc. She has a few articles published in various journals. She is a social activist. She was the founder secretary of Dhaka University Women Entrepreneurship Development Club (DUWEDC), worked general member of Dhaka University Social Business Society and the vice president at Viqarunnisa Noon Science Club. She achieved the lifelong membership award from Viqrunnisa Noon in 17th Science Festival in 2014 and general scholarship in HSC (higher secondary) Examination 2011 from Dhaka Board, Bangaldesh. She was awarded the best worker award from Viqrunnisa Noon 14th Science Festival in 2010 and Certificate and Award from Dainik Prothom Alo (a daily newspaper) for Obtaining GPA 5 in SSC Examination in 2009.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CHAPTER 1

Brand, Brand Loyalty, Electronic Home Appliance and Bangaldesh

1.1 Background of the Study

A brand is a valuable intangible asset and a conspicuous differentiator from competitors by building trust and confidence among the consumers (Aaker, 1991, Chung et al., 2013). The essence of a brand is that it delivers on its promises (Rajavi et al., 2019). In the competitive business world the rate of new competitors entering the market and offering different products and services is too high. Due to the high cost of searching for new customers, retaining existing customers is very important (Nasab & Alroaya, 2013). Therefore, brands are the most valuable assets to all firms because they are winning and profit making instruments. This role of the brand is proven from the report of brand consultancy Kantar Millward Brown. According to this report, the value of the 100 most valuable global brands alone stood at $4.4 trillion in 2018 (Millward, 2019).

Brand loyalty is a traditional marketing idea for building and maintaining a long-term customer relationship (Mabkhot et al., 2017) and is a basis for the continued profitable growth (Light, 1994); however it is complicated (Yang et al., 2017). As a strength of the brand, loyalty is achieved over time amid goodwill, name recognition, and untiring effort (Vitez, 2013); with which a company increases sales and profit-margin compared to those of competitive brands (Yousaf et al., 2012). Thus, brand loyalty has become a pivotal point in which the practitioners, academics, and marketing researchers show interest (Chinomona, 2016). Previously, Fournier & Yao (1997) led the consensus that brand loyalty is a focal element in marketing tactics and strategies.

Brand loyalty is an aftermath of the customer-business relationship (Yang et al., 2017). Time has kept a signature on this relationship. Due to the rapid changing of the marketing environment (Kotler, 2017), businesses are facing a tough challenge to ensure customer value (Shamsudin et al., 2018b) and their satisfaction (Hassan & Shamsudin, 2019). Consumers are interchangeably used as customers (Shamsudin et al., 2018b) and as a human beings they are accustomed to doing what others do (Feng et al., 2019, Gligor et al., 2019). A loyal customer affects other people such as family members, friends, relatives, and peer groups by encouraging them to purchase the same or similar products from the same brand (Belwal & Amireh, 2018, Ghazzawi & Alharbi, 2019, Herhausen et al., 2019) and contributes to higher sales and business profit (Razak et al., 2019). A loyal customer who trusts their favourite brand spends more (Shamsudin et al., 2018b). S/he is not greatly concerned about price (Gerpott & Bicak, 2016), is ready to pay a higher price (Iwashita et al., 2011), and does not switch to a competitor’s brand (Aw et al., 2019, Yan et al., 2019). According to Ahmed et al. (2017), it requires investing less to retain an existing customer than attracting new customers. Losing a customer to a competitive brand causes reduced sales and profit (Khamis & Abrashid, 2018). It takes a longer time to build trust and relationships with customers. Customer brand loyalty is achieved if customers are satisfied (Yu & Yuan, 2019). A company can build trust for the customers (Shafiq et al., 2019), and in return, a customer possesses a belief in the brand (Biscaia et al., 2017).

Being loyal to a particular brand or company is not permanent or fixed. As a human being, customers may switch to other brands if they have not appreciated (Zhang et al., 2019). A loyal customer having a strong, positive, and psychological attachment with the preferred brand spends 37% of their total spending. Therefore, small or large, all types of businesses require a significant number of loyal customers. Kim et al. (2019) mentioned that brand loyalty ensures profits and hard cash for organizations, especially for small companies. Thus, brand loyalty is the backbone of any firm’s financial success (Rita et al., 2019) and delivers benefits to the organization with life-long profit generation and access to funds (Hamzah et al., 2016), business growth and expansion (Adams et al., 2019), provision of higher dividend for shareholders and with maximization of shareholder assets (Lee et al., 2020).

This present study focused on the brand loyalty of electrical household appliances (both brown and white goods), namely consumer durables such as television, fridge, fan, air conditioner, geyser, washing machine, water heater, coffee maker, pressure cooker, dishwasher, lighting bulbs, oven, micro oven, iron, rice cooker, sewing machine, etc. Household management in this modern era is an integral part of family life, and no one can ignore social life and efficiency in household management. (Braegger, 1977) mentioned that efficiency is an essential value in home management and home appliances’ adoption saves time and reduces labour. Therefore, nowadays, every household purchases and use home appliances. Manufacturing and marketing companies of the home appliances are finding customer retention to be a big challenge because customers do not buy these useful daily items frequently or regularly. These appliances last a long time unless additional service or replacement is required (Lobo, 2016).

As electronic home appliances are high involvement products, consumers are more likely to search for and be better informed about these appliances than about non-durable goods (Sweeney et al., 1997). Prior research found that consumers tend to read manuals for more complex and expensive products like new home appliances (Wogalter et al., 1998, Wright et al., 1982) for technical support and usage directions. Additionally, the electrical appliances’ purchase decision is more likely to be rational and well-considered, and consumers are relatively straightforward when responding to questions about this type of product (Sweeney et al., 1997).

As the markets are currently competitive, business organizations face increased competition due to more demanding customers, technological changes, and a globalized market (Ehsani & Ehsani, 2015). With the pace of time and technological advancement, electronics items are available everywhere. Customers from all walks of life (urban, rural, the poor or the rich) are using these essential products because these electronic home appliances and household durables have made users’ daily lives more comfortable (Mohan, 2007) and have reduced human labour (Braegger, 1977).

However, these electronic items are costly (Bayus, 1992). As these products require considerable expenditure, customers become more concerned, vigilant, and alert about purchasing decisions. As the pre-requisites of the purchase decision, they use their own experience, follow the recommendations of friends and family members, observe advertisements in various media, and search for the company’s history and its image in the market. Moreover, they evaluate the product’s quality (durability, features, after-sales service). Customers develop an impression about the brand, namely the company, while they make any purchasing decision. Customer brand experience, brand awareness, and company image or brand image play a conspicuous role in the buying-decision to buy household items bypassing competitors’ products.

The local consumer electronics market has grown substantially in the last few years. This increased market contributed to the country’s economy and ensured the employment opportunities for millions of citizens, more importantly, to many women in the country. A research conducted by Ghosh (2017) mentioned that the Indian TV and consumer durables market has been growing big, primarily driven by imports (Ghosh, 2017). Like the Bangladeshi market, the household appliance market in Bangladesh is expanding rapidly due to increasing demand. Even local manufacturers are willing to invest and grow their manufacturing base to serve domestic needs and export to gain scale.

The present research concentrates on brand loyalty of electronic home appliances in the Bangladeshi context. As known, Bangladesh is the 8th largest populated country in the world. This large population spends above USD 130.00 billion annually with a growth rate of 6% per annum. According to a study of. BCG (2015) it is assumed that the middle class and affluent class would be around 34 million by 2025. Therefore, gradually the potential customers of electronic home appliances will increase over the period. (Mohan, 2007) illustrated that upper and middle class families use home appliances in India for comfort and social identity. He also mentioned that consumer durables play a vital role in improving lifestyles. Although Bangladesh is a rural and agri-based country, the wave of technological development has reached remote areas, and modern facilities are also available to rural people. Another significant social change is that the family structure has changed from the extended family to the nuclear family (Renugadevi et al., 2016).

All families require a new household setting with modern accessories. In many families, both men and women are now working in various organizations (Renugadevi et al., 2016, Surya & Maala, 2018). Thus, they have less time to spend in the kitchen. They expect easy and handy appliances. This paradigm change of family strikes the human life and consumer behavior (Renugadevi et al., 2016). As a result, families create a demand for electronic home appliances for their comfort and ease in their busy daily lives.

Moreover, the demand for automation in household chores is growing in rural, peri-urban areas, and especially in urban areas. Family members are engaged in various economic activities - businesses, and jobs (Renugadevi et al., 2016); therefore, family income has increased, which instigates the use of costly house items for their comfort. Besides, the expansion of electricity and electrification facilities creates demand for these useful items. This facility covers 70% of the country’s household families. When comparing consumer behaviour of Bangladeshwith that of the close countries like India, Singh et al. (2014) mentioned that many houses have refrigerators, washing machines, microwave ovens, dishwashers, etc. and they expect value for their spending on quality products. Similarly, in Dhaka city, every family has a TV, fridge, washing machine, fan, kitchenware, etc. Many financial institutions (like banks) offer credit and loan facilities to their customers to purchase household durables. Some electronics companies offer equal monthly instalment (EMI) credit facilities for their valued customers to buy these products. As a result, customer demand for electronic home appliances has increased in Bangladesh.

This increased demand for household items is produced and marketed by local Bangladeshi companies or international companies (foreign brands). Among them, affluent families prefer international brands to match their family status and seek quality products. They are ready to spend more for better quality and high customer service.

On the other hand, low-income families choose local brands because they are concerned about the price and have less purchasing capacity. These low-income customers search for reasonable and affordable prices. In some cases, price is more important to them than a long-term warranty and after-sale-services.

1.1.1 Electronic Home Appliances in Bangladesh and Familiar Brands

According to Sugunavalli (2019), home appliances are electrical/mechanical equipment used to accomplish household activities, such as cleaning and cooking. Home appliances are categorized into major appliances or white goods, small appliances or brown goods, consumer electronics, or shiny goods. This categorization is also conspicuous in the repair and maintenance of these appliances. Small commodities (namely brown goods) typically need technical knowledge as well as skills. In contrast, white goods (namely major appliances) require a practical skill to manage and use, and the equipment is repaired with heavy tools. The domestic application related to home appliance is defined by (Daniele et al., 2015) as an instrument or device designed for a particular use or function. More specifically, Collins dictionary defines home appliance as devices or machines, usually electrical, that are used in homes and which a household uses to do jobs such as cleaning or cooking. Home appliances are used for domestic purposes from consumer electronics and stoves, refrigerators, toasters, and air conditioners to light bulbs and well pumps.

Sakthivel & Nachimuthu (2019) mentioned that consumer durables (TV, fridge, washing machine, air conditioners, oven, fans, kitchenware, and other devices or appliances in households) continue to be useful for three or more years and there are long periods between successive purchases. Another characteristic of home appliances is that it does not require replacement repairs or maintenance for a long period post purchasing; and they increase the beauty of a household. Thus, Uma & Sasikala (2014) found that home appliances play a significant role in the stylish appearance in household decoration.

Home or household appliances are mechanical appliances or technical equipment with which household members perform their household activities. These items are expensive and do not wear out quickly (Bayus, 1992). Kaur & Chadha (2014) mentioned that TV, fridge, A/C, washing machine, electric kettle, kitchenware, electronic coffee machine, and microwave are the major household appliances.

Multinational companies occupy a significant market share in the South Asian consumer durable market. Several studies found that in the South Asian market, the consumer durables market is very competitive; both local and foreign companies are striving in these countries (Surya & Maala, 2018, Sathya et al., 2019). They found that this competition enables companies to offer better products at a reasonable price (Balakrishnan et al., 2013). Local companies are trying to compete with international rivalry brands for a greater market share. Case et al. (2012) mentioned that lower cost household items with similar quality and features by local brands are introduced to penetrate the market. However, Chattopadhyay & Laborie (2005) illustrated that local brands stand apart from the international brands due to technology, performance, and quality.

A study conducted by Babu et al. (2018) mentioned that many foreign and domestic brands are currently available in the market, such as Samsung, LG, Minister, Walton, Konka, Philips, Jamuna, MyOne, Hitachi, Singer, Sony, Vision, etc. Among these brands, Sony, Samsung, Hitachi, Singer, Konka, and LG are widely known foreign brands. Some domestic brands include Walton, Jamuna, MyOne, Minister, Transcom, and so on (Babu et al., 2018). According to Databd’s website (Databd, 2020), consumer electronics consist of four major categories: televisions, refrigerators, air conditioners, and other household appliances (including kitchen appliances, washing machines, and microwaves). This consumer electronics market size is large and ever-expanding; and as of 2017 was USD 1.38 Billion. This market size is growing at 15% rate per annum (Industrial Policy, 2016). The prominent market is categorized into: televisions - USD 414.22 million (30%); refrigerators - USD 549.11 million (40%); air conditioners - USD 164.57 million; and other home appliances - USD 251.41 million. The report also showed that the Business Confidence Index (BCI) of Bangladesh is 32.57 on the scale of -100 to +100. It suggests that, on average, electronics businesses are optimistic regarding their business performance. It indicates future growth of a business.

1.1.2 Major Brands in the Market and Product Categories

This section demonstrated various categories of home appliances and their brand. As a competitive market, consumer electronic products are very famous and have a wide array, such as local brands and international brands; from small items to big items; from cheap products to costly products. International brands enjoy customer priority due to their brand credibility, brand image, and superior service. On the other hand, local brands are forerunners for low prices and high sales volume. Table 1.1 depicts a scenario of both domestic and international brands:

Table 1.1: Product Category and Brand

Source:(Databd, 2020)

These products (all categories) have been recently increasing and covering a more significant market and customer base. Fridge and TV markets are more promising in market growth. The demand for electronics items for household usage has drastically increased for several reasons: working women (36%); competitive market and financing opportunities (EMIs and bank loans); availability of retail shopping at doorsteps; and highly advanced electronic items. A report (shown in Table 1.2) demonstrated that the market is increasing and has forecasted the growth. Based on the year 2020, the growth is estimated at 29% (TV), 29% (refrigerators), 45% air conditioners, and 30% (others home appliances) for the year 2022. Similarly, based on the year 2018, the growth forecasted of 69% (TV), 60% (refrigerators), 138% (air conditioners) and 69% (other home appliances) for the same year 2022. The growth indicated future usage of electronic home appliances. According to another report, the current industry has forecasted growth of 15% in customer durable goods like home electronics. The study intended to measure how the increased demand will be managed and various brands will harvest their market share and profit with goodwill.

Table 1.2: Bangladesh Consumer Electronics Market Growth Forecast

Source: LightCastle Primary Research (2017-2018)

A report showed that local companies are dominating market-share in turnover and revenue due to lower prices. As a local brand, Walton is in a leading position with a market share of 27% of the television market (Table 1.3). Other local and international brands, especially Chinese brands, occupy the remaining market. Similarly, Walton possesses a lion share of the refrigerator market (54%) in Bangladesh. Singer, a local brand and challenger, occupies the second position. The air conditioner market is led by international brands such as LG, General, and GREE. Recently, Walton conquered the hearts of customers with affordable prices and higher customer service.

Table 1.3: Bangladesh Consumer Electronics Market Share by Category

Source: LightCastle Primary Research (2017-2018)

Bangladesh is a fast growing country economically and an attractive place for foreign direct investment (Ziauddin, 2019). Besides, Bangladesh government has declared this country as a digital Bangladesh (tribunenewsparer.com). Around 170.48 million people live in Bangladesh (Countrymeter, 2020) and this large population, rapid economic growth, and technological development are the sources of adopting and using electronic products for their daily lives.

1.1.3 Customers of Electronic Home Appliances in Bangladesh

Customers are becoming more informed and knowledgeable about products, price, quality, and associated services. While selecting the product and brand, they comply with their own choice, and that of friends and family. The role that friends and family play in purchasing decisions is found in Deloitte’s study. Deloitte’s research reveals that customers collect product/service information: maximum from friends/family (60%), customer reviews (60%), and independent product/service (43%) (Deloitte, 2014). Surya & Maala (2018) mentioned in their study in India on consumer durable (electronic home appliances) that when customers intend to purchase, they receive the suggestion from their friends and family. Even in some cases, customers check company websites, compare the product features, and share a post/status in social media seeking their followers’ suggestions. Collectively, their own choice, friends and family suggestions and comments from social media help the customers make a purchase decision. Therefore, customers are influenced by others’ choice and suggestions as well.

In Bangladesh, national poverty has been substantially eradicated, moving from 14.8% in 2016 to 9.2% in 2019 (Adb, 2020). This improvement in the poverty line indicates a growth in the customer’s buying capacity for lower-class and middle-lower classes. In studies conducted in India by Mohan (2007) and Surya & Maala (2018) it was demonstrated that middle-class families prefer to use consumer durables for their comfort and in daily life. These people expect to use electronic gadgets for their family lives at a lower price but higher quality. The cultural context of South Asian countries (specifically Bangladesh) is strikingly different from the Western countries (Hofstedeinsights, 2020). Previous research on brand loyalty has been done in developed and western country contexts. All theories have been developed to test and recheck the assumptions in highly educated individuals and contexts. As a developing country, Bangladesh has a distinctive social culture, buying behaviour, and usage pattern apart from Western countries.

For instance, the influential cross-cultural theorist and Dutch social psychologist, Gerard Hofstede (2020) illustrated that Bangladesh has a high score of 60 for the uncertainty avoidance index (UAI). This score means that Bangladeshi society preserves rigid codes of belief and behaviour. People are generally intolerant of unusual behaviour and ideas, which leave them with a high preference for avoiding uncertainty and anxiety about the future (Hofstedeinsights (2020). In long term orientation index (LTOI) Bangladesh scores 47, which has no clear direction of high or low. But still, it is a lower score than mid-point meaning that it is a normative society. For example, Bangladeshi society prefers to maintain the time-honoured custom and traditions with social norms and views social change with suspicion. Bangladeshi customers are mostly low income and show their price sensitivity. For long term investments such as purchasing a TV, fridge, AC, kitchenware, and other home appliances, they are very conscious of quality with a minimum price.

In the case of durable products, customers need to invest a significant amount of money. Therefore, the buying decision for these items is made after extensive consideration (Srivastava & Sharma, 2013). Grewal et al. (2004) mentioned two main reasons for purchasing consumer products that consumers regularly do. Firstly, forced buying or planned obsolescence. Marketing companies eagerly make some existing products obsolete and introduce new products with more facilities or features. So, existing durable products lose their attraction. Secondly, unforced or fashion technological obsolescence. Any technological development in durable products creates excitement in consumers and consumers are attracted to newly developed and latest version of the product.

1.1.4 Social Media and its Usage in Bangladesh

The company and retailer needs to understand the role of social media and the reasons behind being popular. Once it is understood, they can exploit the critical benefits of social media marketing. Social media is an invisible connector between vendors and their customers, and trust is the base of this relationship (Arora et al., 2019). Social media can easily reach potential customers with offerings and demonstrate the product features and user benefits and draw them to same. Social media curbs a digital signature in the product (the brand) and conveniently communicates with existing and new customers.

According to a survey, social media platforms are growing in number and increase their users worldwide, like in Bangladesh. From a recent report, there are about 40.70 million users of social media as of March 2020. Interestingly, Facebook