Hegazy, Ahmed PhD thiese -final version

352 Pages·2015·3.66 MB·English

Stirling Management School

Service Brand Equity in Developing Economies:
The case of Egyptian Banking Sector

By
Ahmed Elsayed Galal Hegazy
A thesis submitted to the Stirling Management School in
fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

September 2014

Declaration
This thesis is submitted in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy in Stirling Management School at the University of Stirling, Scotland,
United Kingdom. I declare that this thesis is based on my own original work except for
quotations and citations which I have duly acknowledged. I also declare that this thesis
has not been previously or concurrently submitted, either in whole or in part, for any
other qualification at the University of Stirling or other institutions. I am responsible for
any errors and omissions present in the thesis.
Signed
Ahmed Hegazy
September 2014
Acknowledgements
Alḥamdu-lillāh - praise belongs to God: the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy, who
taught man what he did not know. Above all, all praise belongs to Allāh, the Lord of the
worlds, for His most bounteous guidance throughout the various stages of this research
and giving me the strength and courage to complete the journey of my PhD. Indeed, the
completion of this project has come true with the help and support of a number of
people, whom I would gratefully like to acknowledge.
My heartfelt thanks go to my principal supervisor, Dr. Adelina Broadbridge, for
encouraging me to have faith in my ability to complete this project from the outset and
for providing me with precious advice, support and friendship throughout the various
stages of this research. I would also like to thank her for her support in both academic
and personal issues and for sharing her experience and knowledge generously and
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openly; I will remain grateful to her forever. My sincere gratitude also goes to my
second supervisor, Dr. Jonathan Elms, for his willingness to listen and his calm support
throughout the various stages of this research. It has been a great privilege, joy and
learning experience to work under their guidance and with their encouragement.
Thanks also to all my PhD colleagues, and office mates, particularly Aleksandra Webb
and Jonavan Barnes and the departmental staff for their continuous support. Special
thanks should also go to all Egyptian and Muslim communities at the University of
Stirling for their trust and for electing me as the president of their two communities.
My deepest appreciation also goes to my family to whom I owe a huge debt of
gratitude, particularly my beloved mum and the soul of my dad. Both have given me
their unwavering support throughout my life. Your wholehearted love, prayers, and
constant encouragement at every stage in my life are the source of inspiration, love and
success in my life. I will forever remain grateful to both of them. My gratitude also goes

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to my brothers: Brigadier-General Khaled and Judge Tamer, and to my uncles and
aunts, particularly Professor Ahmed Adel, for their emotional support throughout the
various stages of this journey.
Words are not enough to thank my wife for her permanent love and support and for
sharing me my wish to achieve this goal. I can never underestimate how important it
has been to have her with me on this (and every) journey. I would also such as to
express my heartfelt thanks to my daughter Mariam and my son Abdel-Raḥmān for
their sacrifice and understanding and for filling my heart with great happiness and love
– I hope that one day I will be able to make them half as proud of me as I am already of
them. I am also deeply indebted to my parents- and brothers-in-law who have always
shown genuine care and interest in the progress of the project and my progress! Without
the blessings and support of my whole family, this thesis would not have been possible.
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I love them, and I always will.
My gratitude also goes to University of Stirling, Stirling Management School for its
never-ending support throughout the various stages of this research. Special thanks also
go to the staff in all departments and particularly to all library staff.
I am also thankful to all the research respondents who participated in my fieldwork
studies and to the Egyptian Banking Institute, particularly the library staff for their
support. Special thanks should also go to the Egyptian Cultural and Educational Bureau
in London and to the Egyptian government.
Thanks are also extended to all my friends, professors, academic and non-academic
staff at the Faculty of Commerce, Al-Azhar University, Egypt with special thanks to the
soul of Mr Said Kamal. Finally, a special note of remembrance for all Egyptian martyrs
of the Revolution– they will always be remembered.

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I would such as to express my most sincere gratitude to all participants in the
workshops and conferences at which I presented my work in the various stages of my
research. I gratefully acknowledge the constructive advice received from Professor
Mark Saunders at the early stage of this study. I also owe heartfelt thanks to Professor
Khaled Hussainey for his helpful comments and recommendations. Moreover, I would
such as to thank Professor Riyad Eid for his support before and after arriving the UK. I
would also such as to record my special thanks and gratitude to Dr. Ahmed Shaalan for
his constructive discussion and advice throughout this research. I should also
acknowledge the helpful comments received from the participants at the 7th Scottish
Doctoral Management Conference at the University of St. Andrews, 2011, where I was
awarded the best paper, the doctoral conference at Stirling University, June 2011,
EDAMBA Summer Research Academy, July 2011, France, the BAA Scot-Doc
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conferences (Edinburgh, 2011), British Academy of Management Conference, Aston
University, Birmingham, 2011and Cardiff , 2012, Academy of Marketing Conference,
University of Southampton, 2012, Doctoral Retreat at the Business School, the
University of Glasgow, April 2012, EGOS Conference, Montréal, Canada, 2013, and
the Corporate and Marketing Communications Conference, April 2014 at the Università
Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. Milan, Italy.
Ahmed Hegazy

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Dedication

This thesis is dedicated
To the soul of my Father and to my lovely Mother
To my father-in-law and to the soul of my mother-in-law
To my lovely wife Samāh
To my beautiful daughter Mariam and my lovely son Abdel-Raḥmān
and
To my brothers
(Khalid and Tamer)
Thanks for your love and patience

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List of Publications
The following papers based on this PhD research and other projects have been
presented at different conferences and published in conference proceedings:
Journal Articles
 Kholoud Al-Qeisi, Charles Dennis, Ahmed Hegazy, Muneer Abbad. How
Viable is the UTAUT Model in a Non-Western Context? International Business
Research (3*, forthcoming March 2015).
 Hegazy, A and Broadbridge, A. ''Emerging methodological issues'' for
submission to The Journal of Business Ethics (ABS 3*).
Conference Proceedings
 Hegazy, A., Broadbridge, A., Shaalan, A. "Empirical Evidence of Consumer
Based Brand Equity in Emerging Economics: The Case of Egyptian Banking Sector"
19th Corporate and Marketing Communications Conference, CMC, Milano, Italy, 2014.
 Hegazy, A., Broadbridge, A., Elms, J. "Service Brand Equity in Egyptian
Banking Sector, methodological approach". EGOS Conference, Montréal, Canada,
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2013.
 Hegazy, A., Broadbridge, A., Elms, J. "Service Brand Equity in Egyptian
Banking Sector". Academy of Marketing Conference, University of Southampton,
2012.
 Hegazy, A., Broadbridge, A., Elms, J. Management School „Consumers‟
Preferences of Service Brands in Egyptian Banking Sector‟‟ British Academy of
Management Conference, Aston University, Birmingham, 2011.
 Hegazy, A., Broadbridge, A., Elms, J. ''Consumers‟ Preferences of Service
Brands in Egyptian Banking Sector'' EDAMBA Summer Research Academy, 20th –
26th July 2011 France.
 Hegazy, A., Broadbridge, A., Elms, J. "‟Consumers‟ Preferences of Service
Brands in Egyptian Banking Sector‟‟ presented at the 7th Scottish Doctoral
Management Conference at the University of St. Andrews, 2011, where it was awarded
the best paper award in the area of Marketing, in recognition of quality and originality.

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Abstract
The brand equity concept is one of the most significant concepts for branding and
marketing and its model and measurement have interested many academics and
practitioners. Most of the research on brand equity has focused on physical goods, with
a dearth of studies on the service sector in general and particularly in the banking
sector. The dearth of research in this area appears paradox as branding could be argued
to play a distinctive role particularly in the service sector. This is because strong brands
increase consumers' trust of the imperceptible purchase and reduce their perceived
monetary, social, or safety risk in buying services, which are difficult to evaluate prior
to purchase and for which it sometimes takes a long time after purchase to confirm the
brand promise. Consequently, many scholars have called for an investigation of brand
equity in the service sector. In addition, most of the research on brand equity has
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focused on developed countries which would suggest a regional focus on developing
countries. To sum up, despite the importance of brand equity in the service sector, there
is lack of empirical evidence in the service sector in general and specifically in the
banking sector, particularly for developing economies. Furthermore, there is lack of
studies that examined and compared service brand equity across bank type (local
public, local private and foreign banks) to provide a benchmark especially for foreign
banks.
Contributing to scholarly attempts to fill the gaps in the brand equity literature. this
thesis examines consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) in the Egyptian banking sector
in general and based on each bank type: public, private and foreign. In addition, the
study aims to find out the similarities and differences on brand equity based on bank
type. The regional context of the study is Egypt As the largest Arab country and the
entry point for the Middle East and Africa Egypt appeared to be of high practical

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relevance and be a suitable regional research context. Unlike previous researches, a
mixed method approach was employed to achieve the research aims. Qualitative data
was used to triangulate the quantitative data and gaining a richer understanding of the
quantitative findings. Four hundred and sixty-eight self-administered questionnaires
were collected by offline and online modes, and 14 semi-structured face-to-face
interviews provided details about how consumers perceived consumer-based brand
equity in Egyptian banking. Data was analysed using SPSS19. Different types of
statistical applications were used, such as descriptive analysis, factor analysis and
multiple regressions. Content analysis using NVivo10 software was used to analyse the
interview data.
The main findings reveal that CBBE is applicable in the Egyptian banking sector. The
results show that brand awareness, reliable staff, brand association and brand loyalty are
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the most effective variables on overall value of brand equity in the Egyptian banking
sector, while within public banks, reliable staff, brand association and brand loyalty
have the most influence on the overall value of brand equity. However, private and
foreign banks share the same variables which affect the overall value of brand equity;
these variables are brand awareness, brand loyalty and brand personality. The findings
reveal that there is a significant difference between public banks and private and foreign
banks; however, there is no significant difference between private and foreign banks.
The qualitative findings support and add meaning to the quantitative results.
The current research contributes to knowledge in the field of service brand equity research
and extend our understanding in developing economics and adding to the debate on the area
of brand equity.Furthermore, it contributes methodologically by using mixed methods and
mixed modes (offline and online). In addition, the study overcomes the limitations of
previous studies in three ways. Firstly, different types of brand association were
incorporated and real consumers were approached rather than relying on students‟ samples.

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