Journal of Global Management Research

Transcription

1
This journal strives to publish original articles of major interest to academicians, managers, consultants, politicians,
teachers, and students. This journal is published twice a year, in December and June. Special issues are released
following an international conference or devoted to a special theme. All papers submitted to the journal are subject
to strict review by the Editor followed by double blind peer review.
Editorial Review Board
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:
Dr. William Raynor, III.
State University of New York
Tel 1 (607) 746-4387
Email: [email protected]
ASSOCIATE EDITORS-IN-CHIEF
Dr. Matthew KUOFIE, College Of Applied Science And Technology, Illinois (USA)
Dr. Pascal PECQUET, professeur, Université de Montpellier (France)
Dr.Michel Plaisent, PhD
INTERNATIONAL EDITORIAL REVIEW BOARD
Dr. Raymond A. HACKNEY (Manchester Metropolitan University Business School)
Dr. Lucila PÉREZ, director, Graduate Studies Department, University CASA GRANDE, (Ecuador)
Dr. Geni Satiko SATO, Researcher at the IEA-Agriculture Economy Institut, and Mackenzie Presbyterian
University
Dr. Lin YANNING, Université de Paris I (Panthéon - Sorbonne), avocate à Beijing (Chine)
Dr. Jameleddine ZIADI, Enseignant-chercheur, Faculté des Sciences Economiques et de Gestion de Tunis
(Tunisie), président du World E-Management Consortium
Dr. Paul CHAVEZ, U of Mary Washington, ([email protected])
Dr. Roberto Giro MOORI, Mackenzie Presbyterian University ([email protected])
Dr. Samer HIJAZI, Florida Keys Community College ([email protected])
Julian MIRANDA, Universdad Autonoma de Guerrerro, ([email protected])
Ernesto OIEDA, Universidad de Carabobo, Venezuela , ([email protected])
Dr. Pierre SALENGROS, Université libre de Bruxelles
PUBLISHER:
Institut Fidal Inc.
CP 32089 Montréal, H2L 4Y5
URL=http://fidal.qc.ca
Technical Director :
Mireille Dubreuil
Copyright© Institut Fidal Inc (2011)
2
3
Vol 7 No 1 June 2011
TABLE OF CONTENT
ARTICLES
PAGE
5
ABOUT CGI
GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE DOES NOT HELP EXPORTS: THE CASE OF TAIWAN
L'AIDE GOUVERNEMENTALE N’AIDE PAS L’EXPORTATION : LE CAS DE TAIWAN
7
Dr. James Ming-Hsun CHIANG & José SALINAS
CONSTRUCTING A HARMONIOUS WORK RELATION ADJUSTMENT MODEL
CONSTRUIRE UN MODÈLE D’AJUSTEMENT SUR LA RELATION HARMONIEUSE AU
TRAVAIL
17
Pervaiz IQBAL, Zhang HUI-FENG
GROWTH AND SURVIVAL OF THE ENTERPRISE: A NON-LINEAR RELATIONSHIP
LA CROISSANCE ET LA SURVIE DE L’ENTREPRISE : UNE RELATION NON LINÉAIRE
23
Dr Ezzeddine TRIGUI
A CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH TO LEARN A PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE.
APPRENDRE UN LANGAGE DE PROGRAMMATION AVEC UNE APPROCHE
CONSTRUCTIVISTE
33
Lucila PEREZ, Dolores ZAMBRANO, Mariuxi ZEA
SERVICE QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN SRILANKA TELECOM
LA QUALITÉ DES SERVICES ET LA SATISFACTION DES CLIENTS DANS LES
TÉLÉCOMMUNICATIONS AU SRILANKA
45
Puwanenthiren PREMKANTH
L’IMPACT DE LA SATISFACTION SUR LA CONFIANCE DES CONSOMMATEURS A
L’ENSEIGNE DE DISTRIBUTION
THE IMPACT OF SATISFACTION ON CONSUMER CONFIDENCE TO RETAIL
COMPAGNIES
55
Hechmi NAJJAR & Imed, ZAIEM
SEE YOU IN FACEBOOK: THE EFFECTS OF INCORPORATING ONLINE SOCIAL
NETWORKING IN THE LANGUAGE CLASSROOM
LES EFFETS DE L’INTÉGRATION D’UN RÉSEAU SOCIAL DANS UNE CLASSE DE
LANGUE: LE CAS DE FACEBOOK
Yupaporn PIRIYASILPA
67
4
5
ABOUT CGI
Founded in 1976, CGI Group Inc. is one of the largest independent information technology and business process
services firms in the world. CGI and its affiliated companies employ approximately 25,000 professionals. CGI
provides end-to-end IT and business process services to clients worldwide from offices in Canada, the United States,
Europe, Pacific Asia as well as from centers of excellence in North America, Europe and India. CGI's annualized
revenue run rate stands at $3.6 billion (US$3.1 billion) and on December 31st, 2006, CGI's order backlog was at
$12.6 billion (US$10.9 billion). CGI shares are listed on the TSX (GIB.A) and the NYSE (GIB) and are included in
the S&P/TSX Composite Index as well as the S&P/TSX Capped Information Technology and MidCap Indices.
Website: www.cgi.com.
CGI provided financial support to this publication since 2006
À PROPOS DE CGI
Fondé en 1976, le Groupe CGI inc. figure parmi les plus importantes entreprises indépendantes de services en
technologies de l'information (TI) et en gestion des processus d'affaires dans le monde. CGI et ses entreprises
affiliées emploient environ 25 000 professionnels. CGI offre la gamme complète des services en TI et en gestion des
processus d'affaires à des clients du monde entier, à partir de ses bureaux au Canada, aux États-Unis, en Europe et
en Asie du Pacifique, ainsi qu'à partir de ses centres d'excellence en Amérique du Nord, en Europe et en Inde. Les
produits annualisés s'établissent actuellement à 3,6 milliards de dollars (3,1 milliards de dollars US) et, au 31
décembre 2006, son carnet de commandes s'élevait à 12,6 milliards de dollars (10,9 milliards de dollars US). Les
actions de CGI sont inscrites à la Bourse de Toronto (GIB.A) ainsi qu'à celle de New York (GIB). Elles figurent
dans l'indice composé S&P/TSX, dans l'indice plafonné de la technologie de l'information S&P/TSX et dans l'indice
des titres à moyenne capitalisation. Site Web : www.cgi.com.
CGI fournit un support financier à cette publication depuis 2006.
6
7
GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE DOES NOT HELP EXPORTS:
THE CASE OF TAIWAN.
L'AIDE GOUVERNEMENTALE N’AIDE PAS L’EXPORTATION :
LE CAS DE TAIWAN
Dr. James Ming-Hsun CHIANG
José SALINAS, C. Ph.D
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to determine if government assistance is an important factor in export performance of
electronic firms in Taiwan. It does achieve this objective by looking at the reasons why some of Taiwan‟s
electronics exporters have a better export performance than others. In particular, the research determines that
government assistance is not a factor to explain the export performance.
In order to see the impact of government assistance, this study looks at 13 factors generally found in the literature as
having an impact on export performance and able to explain the differences among the firms of the same industry.
Government assistance is one of them. The literature generally refers to these 13 factors:
Firm Characteristics
Firm Competencies
:
:
External forces
:
Firm Size, Export Involvement, and Export Experience.
Managerial Characteristics, Motivation to Export, Export Commitment, Export
Perception, Personal Characteristics of Manager, Product Characteristics, and
Export Marketing Strategy.
Industry Characteristics, Export Market Characteristics, and Government
Export Assistance (Nazar & Saleem 2009).
This comprehensive empirical study initially applied the viewpoint of the joint influence of environment,
organization and strategy in international business, and the internal and external forces affecting the export
performance, in order to search out the appropriate match between these factors that best facilitates the Taiwan‟s
electronics exporters and examine which factors are important to export performance.
Taiwan is a small country with a population of only 24 million people in 2010. However, its influence upon the
world has been much greater than its size. It has considerably more importance on the world electronics
manufacturing and trading activities than most other countries. Recent figures show Taiwan to be the world‟s 24 th
largest economy; its gross national product in 2009 reached US$ 358 billion, and it is also the 12 th biggest exporter
of electronics manufactured products (CIA, 2010). Taiwan has transformed itself from a wholly agricultural society
into a leader in the group of newly developing countries. Taiwan‟s economy is based on manufacturing and trading.
It performed remarkably well in the 1980s and is continuing to grow at about 4 percent annually (CIA, 2010).
Taiwan has gained wide attention as one of the most dynamic economies within the Asian region. Together with
Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea, it is one of the “Four Tigers” or New Industrialized Countries (NICs) that
have achieved impressive economic results.
Taiwan‟s natural resources are scarce and most raw materials and critical industrial equipment have to be obtained
from other countries. Now, one severe handicap for Taiwan‟s export expansion has been the lack of formal
diplomatic relations with many of the developed countries of the world. In 2010, only 23 countries keep official
diplomatic relation with Taiwan. Notwithstanding, this Taiwan‟s export market now embraces more than 150
countries. It may be odd that numerous countries have no official diplomatic tie with Taiwan; nevertheless, they
continue to increase their trade with the country. Taiwan‟s exporters have to improve their effort to keep going
under high global competition around the world market.
Recently, the economic environment in Taiwan has undergone tremendous changes. Unfavorable trade imbalances
with Japan have been expanding rapidly for many years, causing very negative effects upon Taiwan‟s foreign trade.
8
Furthermore, the protectionism has become a very serious threat from overseas markets to Taiwan exporters, and
competition in the market is getting much difficult than before. Taiwan must face the reality that direct and indirect
trade barriers have been imposed to restrict foreign goods and to protect domestic markets. Fourthly, income has
been rising quickly and Taiwan‟s labor cost and operation overhead are no longer cheap by comparison with some
other developing countries. Finally, after China‟s economic reform, the export sector is aggressive. China has
succeeded in this effort because of competition in the export sector, constant improvement in export incentives,
openness to foreign traders, and its competing with Taiwan directly (World Bank, 2009). Consequently, Taiwan‟s
electronics manufacturers must learn how to compete more advantageously in international markets. In this period
of high instability, Taiwan‟s electronics manufacturers must seek out new overseas markets and develop appropriate
strategies to cope with these challenges in order to enhance export performance.
Exports play a predominant role in Taiwan‟s economic development. The electronics industry is Taiwan‟s most
important industrial category and many people would say that the role of the government is crucial in its
development. In order to explore why some Taiwanese electronics exporters have better export performance than
others, and to examine the determinants of export performance, the present research attempts to examine the
relationship between, on the one hand, environment, strategy, firm characteristics and the managerial characteristics
of the firms engaged in export marketing and, on the other hand, their export performance. Export performance can
be conceptualized as a strategic response by management to the interplay of internal and external forces (Cavusgil,
Sinkovics & Ghauri, 2009).
The internal forces relate to organizational characteristics such as firm characteristics, product characteristics, and
type of management, while the external forces include industry characteristics, export market characteristics, and
government supporting relationships. The degree of coalignment of these forces with the strategy of the firm
determines the results of export performance, in line with the strategy-environment coalignment principle (Porter,
1980).
An empirical investigation of internal and external forces as regards Taiwan‟s electronics exporters was performed.
This was a cross-sectional study intending to examine and investigate the determinants of export performance
among Taiwan‟s electronics exporters as well as to analyze the internal and external forces of the exporters. In order
to complete this study, a survey research design was employed. A survey was made of 200 among Taiwan‟s
electronics exporters. The sampling selection used a stratified systematic process. Data was analyzed using simple
and multiple regression analysis.
The population in this study consisted of those electronics products manufacturers engaged in exporting for at least
one year. The participants were selected from Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturing Association. There
are 15 product categories in TEEMA‟s listing: 8 categories for electric products, and 7 categories for electronics
products. The sample size of 550 electronics exporters (about 20%) were chosen from 2,733 electronics exporters of
TEEMA‟s registered firms using a stratified sample method to select the sample. The sample in this research
population totaled 550 electronics exporters. The subjects of this study were randomly selected from the
membership regardless of the size of firm, the number of employees, age of the company, total sales of the company
and so forth. Management level positions (top managers or exporting managers) involved in electronics and
electronics manufacturers were selected as the respondents. A questionnaire in Mandarin was developed to
successfully measure the factors mentioned above.
In order to improve the effectiveness of the measurement instrument, content validity and reliability tests of the
Chinese version of the questionnaire were conducted. The content validity of a measuring instrument is the extent to
which it provides adequate coverage of the topic under study (Cooper & Schindler, 1998). For each variable group,
several conceptual items were investigated. The conceptual variables chosen have a strong foundation from the
literature and also are supported by previous empirical export performance studies. Each conceptual variable was
measured by multiple indicators items. The purpose of such a procedure is to allow the development of measures to
improve the validity and reliability of the measures (Churchill, 1991). In the pre-test, the results from the Cronbach
Alpha showed each section of questionnaire had relatively high coefficient alphas around 0.87. The score of the
fourteen constructs were 0.7050, 0.7280, 0.6715, 0.8704, 0.8728, 0.8732, 0.8728, 0.8729, 0.8729, 0.8729, 0.8728,
0.8727, 0.8731, and 0.8734. Following the validity and reliability test, several modifications were made in the
questionnaire based on the committee‟s comments and the results from the pre-tests.
9
The data was collected using a mailed questionnaire and follow-up personal calls to export marketing managers who
were involved in the exporting operations of exporters. The four-page questionnaire was pre-tested with experts and
non-experts to check primarily the wording and understanding of this research study. The follow-up personal calls
interviews were used in order to get a higher response rate for this research study.
The data was analyzed by both simple and multiple linear regression analysis. The simple linear regression
technique was used to analyze the results. The multiple regression analysis was conducted to find the best predictive
variable for the export performance of Taiwan‟s electronics exporters. Questionnaires were mailed to the export
marketing managers of 550 Taiwanese electronics exporters. These firms were chosen from 2,733 electronics
exporters. The questionnaires were returned by 211 of the 550, amounting to a response rate of 38.36 percent. Only
200 firms completed them in details worth analyzing. This amounted to a 36.36 percent effective response rate. The
questionnaire was divided into three sections. Section A was developed for a company profile which was based on
the export experiences. Section B was developed for examining the internal forces of Taiwan‟s electronics exporters.
Section C was developed for examining the external forces of Taiwan‟s electronics exporters.
Products
Computer & Peripheral
Telecommunication Equipment
Test and Measuring Instrument
Electronics Finished Products
Semiconductors
Optoelectronic Products
Electronic Components
Population
327
594
175
796
131
19
691
Sample
66
119
160
160
27
4
139
Response
28
44
70
70
7
2
40
TABLE 1 A multiple regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the prediction of export performance, and was used to
determine whether the internal and external forces were useful in explaining the export performance of the firms in
the sample. Export sales volume consisted in the measures of export performance. These are the results for the 13
factors listed above:
VARIABLE
Firm Size
Export Experience
Export Involvement
Firm Competencies
Export Motivation
Export Commitment
Export Perception
Personal Characteristics
Product Characteristics
Export Marketing Strategy
Industry Characteristic
Export Market Characteristics
Taiwan Government help
B
8.169E-02
6.488
0.424
5.836
14.541
25.935
34.478
6.901
14.063
-19.210
21.010
2.871
-1.745
SE B
0.14
0.933
0.086
8.360
15.199
10.541
12.328
12.027
15.078
14.719
10.525
11.617
8.551
β
0.393
0.446
0.331
0.050
0.068
0.173
0.195
0.041
0.066
-0.093
0.141
0.018
-0.015
R2
P
.,154
0.199
0.109
0.002
0.005
0.030
0.038
0.002
0.157
0.29
0.141
0.09
0.005
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.486
0.340
0.015
0.006
0.567
0.018
0.036
0.047
0.805
0.839
Relationship to
performance
yes
yes
yes
no
no
yes
yes
no
yes
yes
yes
no
no
TABLE 2 The findings showed that firm size, export involvement, export experience, expert commitment, export perception,
product characteristics, export marketing strategy, and industry characteristics have a direct impact on export
performance. The results revealed that export performance stemmed from relationships between many different
factors. Neither operation environment, firm managerial characteristics, nor export marketing strategy acting alone
could sufficiently explain the differences in export performance. The total annual sales and total number of
10
employees were chosen as a measure of firm size in this study. The positive relationship between firm size and
export performance has been confirmed by many previous studies (Axinn & Matthyssens, 2001).
The result suggested that there is a significant relationship between the size of firms and the export performance of
Taiwan‟s electronics exporters. Firm size seemed to be the most significant factor according to both the simple
regression and the multiple regression analysis. Firm size was extremely important in determining the export
performance of a firm. The large firms possess more managerial and financial resources, have greater production
capacity, and attain perceived risks in exporting business. In examining the impact of firm size on export
performance, we found that there is a general tendency for higher export performance to be associated with firm
size. The fourth highest R², at 15.4% of the export performance, was accounted for by its linear relationship with the
size of firms. The number of export staff was chosen as a measure of export involvement of a firm in this study.
Export involvement is used to describe the extent to which an exporter is dependent upon export activity for its
business (Bernard & Jensen, 2004).
There is a significant relationship between the export involvement of firms and the export performance of Taiwan‟s
electronics exporters. It was found that firms engaged in relatively high levels of exporting activities employ large
numbers of export staff and have better organized export departments, and that higher export involvement shows a
firm‟s greater capacity for developing the export operation. The greater the number of export staff, the more
probable it is that the firm would be an aggressive exporter. The number of export staff is positively related to export
sales, and a significant relationship is indicated between the number of export staff and export performance. The
standardized beta showed export involvement of firms to be the second highest beta associated with one of the
highest levels of significance at p = 0.000. Moreover, it yielded the fifth highest R², at 10.9% of the variance of the
export performance, and was accounted for by its linear relationship with the export involvement of firms. The
international experience of a firm has been shown to influence its export behavior (Cavusgil and Zou, 1994;
Leonidou 2000; Majocchi, Bacchiocchi, & Mayrhofer, 2005).
There is a significant relationship between the export experience of firms and the export performance of Taiwan‟s
electronics exporters. The relationship yielded the highest R square, at 19.9% of the variance of the export
performance, and was accounted for by its linear relationship with the export experience of firms. The standardized
beta showed export experience of firms to be the highest beta associated with one of the highest levels of
significance at p = 0.000. The present study found that firms that had extensive experience in international markets
tended to have better export performance than firms with limited experience; the export experience being one of the
key success factors of export business. With respect to the effect of export experience upon export performance, the
assumption of a significant relationship between export experience and export performance was confirmed. Multiple
years of export experience have a direct influence on export performance. The greater the number of years of export
experience, the better the export performance of the firm would be.
The firm competencies are probably more important in export operation; many studies suggest that firm
competencies are significantly related to the export performance. The firm competencies have been found to affect
export performance in the areas of export planning, technology level, quality control, and human resources. Several
studies confirmed that all these were important for export performance (Balabanis & Katsikea, 2003; Tan, Brewer,
& Liesch, 2007; Axinn, 1988).
No significant relationship is found betwen firm competencies and export performance. There was not a significant
relationship between the firm competencies and the export performance of Taiwan‟s electronics exporters. This
result was not consistent with the studies of Aaby & Slater (1989) and Zou & Stan (1998), who found firm
competencies to be an important determinant of export performance. Management‟s particular orientations do have
an impact on the firm‟s performance; specifically, export motivation is assumed to have an impact on export
performance. This result was not consistent with the studies of Albarm, Strandskov, & Duerr (1998) and Da Rocha
& Christensen (1994).
Export commitment has long been identified as an important construct in the export literature. The result shows that
there is a significant relationship between the firms‟ export commitments and the export performance of Taiwan‟s
electronics exporters. Firms with more managerial and financial resources can be expected to display high
commitment to export markets. By testing the impact of the two dimensions of export commitment on export
performance, the present study makes an important contribution. The standardized beta showed export commitment
11
of firms to be the fourth highest beta associated with one of the highest levels of significance at 0.015, while
commitment yielded only 3% of the variation in explaining the export performance.
Successful export performance for firms has been linked to management‟s positive expectations concerning the
effects of exporting on the business‟s profitability, as well as to negative perceptions about risk and potential
barriers to export (Cavusgil & Nevin, 1981; Ogunmokun, Chin, & McPhail, 2005). There is a significant
relationship between the firms‟ export perceptions and the export performance of Taiwan‟s electronics exporters.
This study has already confirmed that the managerial perceptions of export profit, export sales, and firm goal are
factors that affect the firm‟s export performance for Taiwan‟s electronics exporters. Success of Taiwanese
electronics exporters has been linked to management‟s positive export perceptions concerning export sales.
Personal characteristics of managers of exporting firms have not been studied in the Taiwanese exporting literature.
In general, Da Rocha and Christensen (1994) found no significant associations between export performance and the
top executive‟s formal education, knowledge of foreign languages, professional experience and amount of time
traveling overseas.
Four personal characteristics of managers have been included in this study: education level, overseas experience,
foreign language skills, and age. The result shows there is no significant effect on export performance. The most
interesting result in this study is that the personal characteristics of managers did not have any significant
relationship with export performance. Results reported in the literature indicate that personal characteristics of
managers may have an important effect (Deng & Benson, 2003).
The result suggested that there is a significant relationship between the product characteristics of firms and export
performance. R² was 5.7%, showing 15.7% of the variance of the export performance, and was accounted for by its
linear relationship with product characteristics. It is these characteristics of a given product that create in managers a
sense of opportunity as regards foreign markets, and these characteristics also build in managers a sense of need for
additional sales in foreign markets. The quality and price of the product are the key successful factors as regards
export markets. This study provides strong evidence for the influence of product quality and price on export
performance.
There is strong empirical evidence supporting the importance of the export marketing strategy for exporters.
Successful export marketing requires the development and implementation of marketing strategies responsive to
different markets worldwide. Understanding the link between export strategies and performance is crucial for the
success of multinational firms as world markets globalize (Aulakh & Kotabe, 2000).
There is a significant relationship between the export marketing strategy of firms and the export performance of
Taiwan‟s electronics exporters. In explaining the export performance, the relationship yielded the highest R² at 29%
of the variation. The international business environment is highly complex; the exporters have to assess their firms‟
resources and capabilities, changes in business conditions, the competitive environment, the regulatory environment,
and consumer behavior, as well as to implement their export marketing strategies. This study confirmed that all
components of export marketing strategies are very important for export performance.
The empirical studies have established that the relative contribution of industry structure, corporate and business
units affects performance (Christmann, Day, & Yip, 1999). Industry growth affects the extent to which competitors
have to compete with each other for sales growth. Industry growth has also been found to be related to high levels of
profitability. Technological leadership and substantial R & D are important for the international success of
exporters. Firms must analyze their industry structures and competitors, understand their buyer and the sources of
buyer value, diagnose their relative competitive positions, and seek to establish a sustainable competitive advantage
(Porter, 1986). The result of the test confirmed that there is a significant relationship between the industry
characteristics of firms and the export performance of Taiwanese electronics exporters. In explaining the export
performance, the relationship was a low R² of only 2% of the variation. But the standardized beta showed the
industry characteristics of firms to be the third highest beta associated with one of the highest levels of significance
at p = 0.044. The study suggested that industry characteristics are one of the key factors affecting the export
performance, and the degree of competition in industry is most important for export marketing. In evaluating export
performance, firms must pay attention to the effects of conditions beyond management‟s control, such as
macroeconomic and industry characteristics.
12
The role of market conditions as a determinant of firm performance is especially important to exporters; the export
market characteristics pose both opportunities and threats for exporters. Such exporters face many challenges not
faced by purely domestic competitors. The higher profit potential of high-growth markets should make these
markets more attractive to non-incumbent businesses. Trade barriers may determine the attainable profitability for
complete or only partial exporters (Bernard & Jensen, 2007).
Firms should be able to compete successfully in international markets, regardless of their general resources, the
technological intensity of their product, the type of market in which they operate. However, firms with large
resources and high technological intensity might expect slightly better export performance. In summary, the key
export market characteristics that can affect the choices of export marketing operations included amount of trade
barriers, physical distance to market, competitor pressures, economic development and market sizes in export
market, as well as cultural similarity to home markets. The result of the test confirmed that there was no statistically
significant relationship between the export market characteristics of firms and export performance among Taiwan‟s
electronics exporters.
In explaining export performance, the relationship yielded a low R² at only 9% of the variation. According to the
Hypothesis testing, the export performance of firms is not influenced by export market characteristics.
Government Export Assistance
The study looked at all the 13 factors, but our main interest is on government assistance. Generating exports is a
primary policy concern for most governments. Many dollars are devoted to export promotion programs designed to
increase the propensity of companies to export. Government export assistance refers to the policies that a
government puts forth to help exporters conduct international business (Weaver, Berkowitz, & Davies, 1998; Ghosh,
2003).
Typically, they help by providing information, sales leads, tax incentives, insurance, promotions, and financing
programs. In this study, there was three major government export assistance activities designed to support Taiwan‟s
electronics exporters: gathering marketing information, promotion and advertising, and financing and tax reduction.
The result confirmed that there was not a statistically significant relationship between Taiwan government export
assistance programs and export performance among Taiwan‟s electronics exporters. There was only a weak positive
relationship between Taiwan government export assistance programs and the export performance in Taiwan‟s
electronics exporters. This result was not consistent with the results of Czinkota and Ricks (1981) and those of Reid
(1983), which found that government export assistance could stimulate export activities by providing information,
promotion, and financial support (Gençtürk & Kotabe, 2001).
CONCLUSION
The performance of exporters is the result of the complex interaction of many factors of both the internal and
external environments at the firm level. Improving the understanding of the factors impacting export performance is
an important strategic concern in view of the rapidly changing global scope of business.
The study found that contrary to the literature and to the general beliefs, at least in the case of Taiwan, Government
Assistance is not a factor in export performance, in the electronic industry at any rate.
The findings confirmed that firm characteristics such as firm size, export involvement, and export experience can all
substantially influence a firm‟s export performance. Other managerial characteristics such as export commitment
and export perception have an impact on export performance, but export motivation and personal characteristics of
manager have weak positive relations with export performance. There is a lack of relationship between firm
competencies and export performance.
There is a growing belief that new and innovative products with competitive costs have a better than average chance
of developing strong export sales, and a significant relationship between product characteristics and export
13
performance was confirmed. A marketing strategy that emphasizes a new product may be an effective way for a firm
to build greater exporting sales.
Successful exporters require the development and implementation of an export marketing strategy responsive to
different environments. The present study was concerned with the choice of export market numbers and the
adaptation of the export marketing mix. This study confirmed that the export marketing strategies such as product
adaptation, pricing strategy, promotion adaptation, and distribution strategy can all substantially affect a firm‟s
export performance. The intensity of exporting activity and the nature of export marketing strategy vary
considerably across industries. Industry characteristics have been considered key determinants of a firm‟s strategy in
the exporting areas. This study confirmed that there is a statistically significant relationship between industry
characteristics and the export performance.
Governments seem to be searching for more effective ways to intervene to promote and support exporting. In the
present study, government export assistance was found to have no impact on a firm‟s export performance. Maybe
governments should review the way they assist in the export! Maybe they should focus on training the managers as
regards the factors indicated above, that is, the ones having an impact.
REFERENCES
AABY, N.E. & STANLEY, F.S. (1989). Managerial Influences on Export Performance: A Review of the Empirical
Literature 1978-88. International Marketing Review, 6(4), 7-26.
ALBARM, G.; STRANDSKOV, J. & DUERR, E. (1998). International Marketing and Export Management, (3rd
Ed.). England: Addison-Wesley.
AULAKH, P. & KOTABE, M. (2000). Export strategies and performance of firms from emerging economies
Evidence from Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. Academy of Management, journal 2000. Vol, 43, No. 3, 342-361.
AXINN, C. N. & MATTHYSSENS, P. (2001). Reassessing the Internationalization of the Firm. Advances in
International Marketing, v. 11.
AXINN, N.C. (1988). Export Performance: Do Managerial Perception Make a Difference. International Marketing
Review, 5 (Summer), 67-71.
BALABANIS, G.I. & KATSIKEA, E.S. (2003). “Being an Entrepreneurial Exporter: Does It Pay? ”, International
Business Review, Vol. 12, pp. 233-252.
BERNARD, A. & JENSEN, B. (2004). “Why Some Firms Export”, Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 86,
Num. 2, pp. 561–569.
BERNARD, A.; BRADFORD, J.; REDDING, S. & SCHOTT, P. (2007). Firms in International Trade. The Journal
of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 21, No. 3 (Summer, 2007), pp. 105-130
CAVUSGIL, S.; SINKOVICS, R. & GHAURI, P. (2009). Advances in International Marketing: New Challenges to
International Marketing. Vol 20 (forthcoming). Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2009.
CAVUSGIL, S. T. & ZOU, S. (1994). Marketing Strategy-Performance Relationship: An Investigation of the
Empirical Link in Export Market Ventures. Journal of Marketing, 58, January, 1-21.
CAVUSGIL, S.T. & NEVIN, J.R. (1981). Internal Determinants of Export Marketing Behavior: An Empirical
Investigation. Journal of Marketing Review, 18, February, 114-119.
CHRISTMANN, P.; DAY, D. & YIP, G. S. (1999). The Relative Influence of Country Conditions, Industry
Structure, and Business Strategy on Multinational Corporation Subsidiary Performance. Journal of International
14
Management, 5, 241-265.
CHURCHILL, G. A. (1991). Marketing Research: Methodological Foundations. (5th Ed.).
CZINKOTA, M. R. & RICKS, D. A. (1981). Export Assistance: Are We Supporting the Best Program? Columbia
Journal of World Business, 16 (Summer), 73-78.
COOPER, D. R. & SCHINDLER, P. S. (1998). Business Research Methods, (6th Ed). Chicago. IL: Irwin/McGraw
Hill.
DA ROCHA, A. & CHRISTENSEN, C.H. (1994). The Export Experience of a Developing Country: A Review of
Empirical Studies of Export Behavior and the Performance of Brazilian Firms, in Cavusgil, S.T. & Axinn, C. (Eds),
Advances in International Marketing, JPI Press, Greenwich, C.T. 6, 114-142.
DENG, J. & BENSON, J. (2003). The impact of human resource management on export performance of Chinese
manufacturing enterprises. Thunderbird International Business Review. July–August 2003. Volume 45 Issue
4, Pages 409 – 429
GHOSH, J. (2003). Policies for the External Sector. i. Social Scientist, Vol. 31, No. 9/10 (Sep. - Oct., 2003), pp. 95107.
GENÇTÜRK, E. & KOTABE, M. (2001). The Effect of Export Assistance Program Usage on Export Performance:
A Contingency Explanation. Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 9, No. 2 (2001), pp. 51-72, 2001.
LEONIDOU, L.C. (2000). “Barriers to Export Management: an Organisational and Internationalisation Analysis”,
Journal of International Management, Vol. 6, 121-148.
MAJOCCHI, A., BACCHIOCCHI, E. & MAYRHOFER, U. (2005). “Firm Size, Business Experience and Export
Intensity in SMEs: a Longitudinal Approach to Complex Relationships”, International Business Review, Vol.
14, pp. 719-738.
NAZAR, M. & SALEEM, H. (2009). Firm-Level Determinants of Export Performance. International Business &
Economics Research Journal. February 2009, Volume 8, Number 2.
OGUNMOKUN, G., CHIN, I. & MCPHAIL, J. (2005). “A Discriminate Analysis of Managers‟ Perceptions of the
Value of Marketing Research and Its Effect on Business Performance”. International Journal of Management, Vol
22 No 1, pp 32-40.
PORTER, M. E. (1980). Competitive Strategy. New York: Free Press.
PORTER, M. E. (1986). Competition in Global Industries. New York: Free Press.
REID, S. D. (1983). Managerial and Firm Influences on Export Behavior. Journal of Academic Marketing Science,
11(3), Summer, 323-332.
TAN, A., BREWER, P. & LIESCH, P.W. (2007). “Before the First Export Decision: Internationalisation Readiness
in the Pre-export Phase”. International Business Review, Vol. 16, Num. 3, pp. 294-309.
WEAVER, K. M., BERKOWITZ, D. & DAVIES, L. (1998). Increasing the Efficiency of National Export
Promotion Programs: The Case of Norwegian Exporters. Journal of Small Business management, 36(4), 1-11.
WORLD BANK (2009). World Development Indicators. The World Bank
ZOU, S. & STAN, S. (1998). The Determinants of Export Performance: A Review of the Empirical Literature
between 1987 and 1997. International Marketing Review, 15(5), 333-356.
WEBSITES
CIA. http://www.photius.com/rankings/economy/gdp_official_exchange_rate_2010_0.html (June 14 2010).
EMBASSY WORLD. http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/Taiwan/taiwan.htm (June 15, 2010).
TEEMA. http://www.teema.org.tw/index.asp (June 15, 2010).
WORLD BANK. http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/31435/world-bank-tells-asia-to-shift-tack
(June 22, 2010).
CZINKOTA, Michael. http://msb.georgetown.edu/story/1242661904416. "How Government Can Help Increase
U.S. Export Performance.” (April 28, 2010).
15
16
17
CONSTRUCTING A HARMONIOUS WORK RELATION ADJUSTMENT
MODEL
CONSTRUIRE UN MODÈLE D’AJUSTEMENT SUR LA RELATION
HARMONIEUSE AU TRAVAIL
Pervaiz IQBAL, China University of Mining & Technology, [email protected]
Zhang HUI-FENG, associate professor, School of Management, China University of Mining &
Technology Xuzhou-221008, [email protected]
ABSTRACT
One of the most important factors for constructing a harmonious society is to establish some kind of harmonious
work relation. In China, the non-harmonious phenomenon of work relations is very prominent, which has already
affected the entire economical development and the enhancement and development of enterprise benefit. China
should solve the problems of work relations by using a model where human resources management takes a leading
role and collective negotiations for work relations adjustments take an auxiliary role. Constructing harmonious work
relations is also the core of human resources management in theory and in practice.
KEY-WORDS: Labor Relation, Industry Relation Adjusting Pattern, Human Resource
Management
1. NECESSITIES OF CONSTRUCTING A HARMONIOUS WORK
RELATIONSHIP
Harmony of work relations is not only the premise of economical development, but also the objective of
constructing a harmonious society. The most important factor for constructing a harmonious society is to establish
harmonious work relations, because it is one of the most basic social relations; And the stability of the work relation
is the foundation and premise of the social harmony; whereas, the social harmony is also the incarnation and
warranty of the stable work relation. The human society is a total sum of various kinds of social relations. The basic
connotation of a harmonious society should be a harmony of various social relations, namely, the harmonious
society mainly refers to the harmony of various social relations among the members of different social classes and
between human beings and nature. Productive activity is the foundation of existence and development of the human
society; productive relations are the most important ones among the social relations; but work relations are the main
part of productive relations.
Work relations refer to the social economic relations established by workers and employers (including enterprises,
commercial individuals, institutions, etc.) in the course of labor realization. It is a kind of special social relations,
which refers mainly to the relationship between rights and obligations aroused by the workers and the organizations
because of labor. It is a kind of productive relations, and it is an essential factor in constituting the productive forces,
which are of a different nature and reflect the different economic forms in different historical periods and different
social systems1.
The harmonious society is an inevitable request when material civilization and spiritual civilization of human
society develop to a certain stage. At present, the marketwise work relations already occupied a dominant position in
China, but this does not mean that the work relations of the planned economy have already completed the transition
like the marketwise ones2. China's laws and regulations, mediation system, and labor disputes arbitration system,
have been widely acknowledged worldwide. However, despite all the achievements in both systems and practices,
some local authorities merely emphasize the development of economy and ignore the staff‟s rights and interests, or
even worse, get engaged in cahoots with business owners, which lead to illegal activities, or legal ones but without
strength and strictness. In view of China present situation in business management, unharmonious work relations
18
can be seen everywhere, whether macroscopically or microscopically, like laborers not being paid, problems of the
weak community, etc. All these show that uncoordinated work relations are at present already unusually prominent
in our country, and have already affected the development of entire economy and enhancement of enterprise benefit.
The harmony of work relations is relative and dynamic, and the factors affecting harmony will not wither away in
the course of development. Under the market economy conditions, laborers and employers are both relatively
independent subjects of interests, and their bilateral interests are either unified or contradictory: When an enterprise
is well operated, the income of investors and laborers can be assured, and at the end both sides will form a benefit
community; at the same time, in the market competition, enterprises always reduce costs by any means in order to
pursue the maximized benefit, but employees aim for stability of work and maximization of income, which will
inevitably arouse conflicts between the conflicting interests. Along with enhancement of the market economy
growth and acceleration of the industrialization advancement, more and more complicated problems will inevitably
appear in the domain of work relations. The background where contradictions between labors and employers take
place is profound, mechanically complex and it is a very difficult problem to solve. Since work relations obviously
take on the nature of economy and society, slight carelessness might turn a simple labor dispute into a sudden social
conflict, which would affect the harmony and stability of entire society. Therefore, an important part of constructing
a harmonious society is to construct the harmonious work relations.
As the fundamental component of productive relations, work relations deeply affect the formation and development
of productive relations. The overtop structure is decided by the economic basis, and the stability of social structure is
decided by the stability of the economic structure. Therefore, the state of work relations turns out to be the
barometer and wind vane that show whether the society is harmonious or not 3. If work relations are not harmonious,
the society will be not harmonious; if work relations are unstable and uncoordinated, to construct a harmonious
society is like setting up a tower on the sand. From this point of view, the harmonious work relation is the important
foundation of the harmonious society; while a harmonious society is the incarnation and guarantee of harmonious
work relations. The currently proposed construction of a harmonious society is, in fact, to establish the harmony
among the people, and macroscopically, to solve the problems of employment, as is the foundation of the livelihood
of the people. From the viewpoint of enterprise, harmonious management is absolutely necessary to establish a
harmonious society, because the harmonious society is consistent with the harmonious management. Where there is
a harmonious enterprise or a harmonious management, there is a harmonious society. If we are to establish a
harmonious society, we have to establish harmonious work relations4.
2. PRESENT SITUATION AND PHENOMENON OF CHINA’S
DISHARMONIOUS WORK RELATIONS
After 20 years of reform and development, China‟s work relations are in an unprecedented complicated state. On
the one hand, the marketionized work relations have been formed and have gradually attained a dominant position;
on the other hand, the things left by the planned economy need to be eliminated.
In the marketionized domain, the work relations also present an extremely complex situation: there are normative
enterprises that observe the laws, but also lots of enterprises who violate the labor laws and encroach upon the
workers basic rights and interests. But generally speaking, the adjusting mechanism and system that are fit for
adjusting the marketionized work relations have not yet been set up in the marketionized domain. The serious
unbalances between employers and employees powers, and the intensified contradictions between the employers
and employees, have already constituted serious hidden dangers for the stability and sustainable development of the
economic society5.
1st. The marketionized work relations have been formed and have gradually occupied the dominant position.
In the leading market department, i.e. in the non-public ownership domain, the work relations, from the start, are the
typically marketionized work relations: Both parties of the work relations are clearly identified and the relationship
is typically the one between laborers/employees and investors/employers; Since the disposition of labor forces is
completely decided by market price, the class, rank and status make no sense here and there is no discrimination
towards rural labor forces; Fixed status as managers and workers does not exist; the price of labor forces is
completely measured by the market, which reflects the scarceness of labor forces with different qualities and the
workers‟ actual contribution; both parties of work relations maintain an explicit contractual relationship, thus the
enterprise and its staff are both retaining the rights of dismissal and resignation according to the employment
19
contract, etc. Each kind of non-state-owned economy, especially the non-public ownership economy, has become an
important strength to impel the Chinese economy‟s development, and the number of employees has greatly
surpassed that of the state-owned enterprises. It can be seen, from the number of employees, that non-public
economy employed personnel in our country has greatly surpassed that of the state-owned enterprises and public
departments, and has become a main part of the employment in China. And the majority of employees being in
privately operated enterprises means at least that, in China, the marketization of work relations has attained the
dominant position in the quantity.
2nd. Things left by the planned economy need to be eliminated.
The status and rank systems formed during the planned economy still exist, which is reflected obviously by the
discrimination of agricultural laborers and the division between city and countryside laborers. Along with the
implementation of a countryside household undertaking system, the development of an urban non-public economy
and the expansion of the independence on the employment of state-owned enterprise, the policies that forbade
farmers to enter cities are now becoming flexible, even invalid. Until the end of last the century, millions of rural
labor forces entered cities. But, for a long time, city authorities have been discriminating agricultural laborers by
means of limitations with the original system of registered permanent addresses. A perfect social insurance system,
especially an unemployment insurance system and employment service system should be established for the staff in
state-owned enterprises to move towards the marketized employment, i.e. to create a macroscopic social
environment for their marketized employment. But the first problem to solve is the work relation between the staff
and enterprise, i.e. to prompt the staff in the state-owned enterprises to change their status by compensations and
other means.
3rd. In the marketionized domain, as the power between employers and employees is seriously unbalanced, the
workers rights and interests have been seriously aggrieved.
Laborers are working in miserable conditions since their basic rights and interests cannot be guaranteed. Problems
like: Seriously overtime working; Embezzled and delayed payment; Poor working conditions; Serious industrial
accidents; Poor safety and health conditions; Unceasing industrial accidents; Seriously violation of workers other
legal and personal rights.
The power between employers and employees is seriously unbalanced. In most privately operated enterprises, and
all the middle or small foreign, Hong-Kong, Macao and Taiwan capital enterprises, the workers are manipulated by
the capitalists and have no strength and ability to negotiate with them. One reason is that, in the labor force market,
supply is much bigger than demand; but the other important reason is that trade union's power is too weak, because
the trade unions established in these enterprises are mostly controlled by the bosses, and they do not represent and
maintain workers rights. Simultaneously most collective contracts signed in many enterprises cannot be
implemented.
Government intervention is not strong enough, and there exist problems in government's labor policies. Besides, on
the problems of work relations, some ideas and rules that appeared during the planned economy are still lingering.
Government intervention and investigation are insufficient against the widespread and serious irregularities of
coping with work relations, which is represented by insufficient enforcement of the labor laws and the labor dispute
processing system not meeting the needs in the situation. But more importantly, in the state of the serious
unbalanced power between laborers and capitalists, there lacks one explicit and correct labor policy, and to great
extent, the ideas and systems developed when the planned economy was in force still exist, such as treatment of
trade unions and "workers‟ three rights" (i.e. workers' unity, collective negotiation and going on strike).
3. CONSTRUCTING A HARMONIOUS WORK RELATION
ADJUSTMENT MODEL
The industrial relation adjustment model in market economy countries has experienced three phases in its nearly
300 years‟ evolvement: The first stage: The industrial relation model appeared during the capitalism primitive
accumulation time, i.e. primitive industrial relation adjustment model, which is also called free contract industrial
relation adjustment model; The second stage: The collective negotiation industrial relation model, which is also
called “investment-output” industrial relation model; The third stage: The human resources industrial relation
model.
20
The primitive industrial relation adjustment model, or free contract industrial relation adjustment model was in
vogue during the capitalism primitive accumulation time. Under this model, the workers sold their labor forces to
the capitalists in the name of “freedom” and “equality” in the labor force market and rented their labor forces to the
capitalists. But once the workers were engaged in the production process organized by capitalists, they would be
used merely as tools. The collective negotiation work relation model acknowledged the rights of both parties,
especially the "workers‟ three rights" (i.e. workers' unity, collective negotiation and going on strike) and established
the workers‟ rights to set up trade unions, to negotiate collectively and to go on strike. The reason why it is called
“investment-output model” is that it is established on the basis of “multi-viewpoints” of industrial relations, which
means that there are different benefit conflicts between employers and employees, and these conflicts are regarded
as “input” or “investment”; After bargaining, negotiations and contests, all parties of the industrial relations reach an
agreement on the protocols, rules and systems that would be observed by all of them. Those protocols, rules and
systems are considered as “output”. The "investment-output" model takes the adjustment of work relations as an
unceasingly circulation that begins with conflicts, results in rules and systems after transformation.” Since the end
of 19th century, especially in the 20th century, this industrial relation adjustment model has become principal in
western market economy countries, and was considered as a popular one under the market economy conditions.
In the later 20th century, western developed countries successively came into the knowledge economy time. The
work relations in western developed countries were gradually changing from the "input-output model" to the
“human resources management model”. The “human resources management model” is established on the common
interests of employers and employees, or capitalists and workers. This model connects the staff growth with their
enterprise development. The employer realizes his purpose of enhancing the productivity rate by means of meeting
the staff needs, stimulating their enthusiasm, while the staff put their hope in the expansion and development of the
company to raise their own income. The workers and investors don‟t need to reach balance through resistance and
dispute, but both can benefit from cooperation. Because of its obvious merit, it might take the place of the “inputoutput” model and become the primary model in adjusting the work relations. The drop of trade union participation
rate and the declining function of collective negotiations in developed countries precisely account for this tendency.
China had two big prominent problems in the work domain since the reform and opening-up: One is that the level of
income for workers income did not increase with the economical development and the capital accumulation, but, on
the contrary, dropped greatly in many places, especially in those developed areas with many private enterprises;
another is that in recent years, the labor disputes rose greatly in our country, which has become a primary factor that
affects our social stability. The work relations need to be established on basis of respecting the workers‟ basic
human rights and all labor rights, so as to enable all the laborers to share the achievement of progress of the society
and development of the economy, thus making the entire economy and society‟s develop harmoniously. In other
words, what kind of work relation adjustment model should be chosen and what kind of work relation adjustment
system should be established to achieve this goal?
The author believed that, China should not simply choose the “collective negotiation model” which has been
generally adopted in the market economy countries, but ought to solve the problems in the work relations domain by
establishing the model that takes the human resources management as leading, and takes the collective negotiations
work relation adjustment model as auxiliary. The reason is that the collective negotiation pattern is set up on basis of
the contest power of workers and investors, and the cost is high, it is an unavoidable choice to implement this model
even in the developed countries.
China has already carried on reforms and open policies for more than 20 years and has obtained huge achievements.
Moreover, the birth of China‟s market economy and the developing path are not certainly the same one as the west
market economy countries; therefore it is unnecessary for China to turn back and make up for a missed lesson in the
work relation adjustment model.
Undoubtedly, the human resources management model is more reasonable and more economical than the others, and
it has substituted the collective negotiation model and become the main model in the market economy countries.
But, in view of the immaturity of China‟s work relations, as well as the influence of China's systems and cultural
traditions, it is still essential for the government to be involved in the work relation adjustment. The human
resources management adjustment model is an ideal pattern, and it came into being and developed and substituted
for the collective negotiation model naturally with its interior causes and basis 6. It should be specially pointed out
21
that, the strengthening power of trade unions is another important reason why the human resources management
model can emerge. Because of the strengthening power of trade unions, the capitalists have to pay a very high price,
thus forcing the capitalists to seek another more economical managing method, which can stimulate the workers
enthusiasm at the same time. A very big motive for companies in the market economy countries to adopt the human
resources management model is to resist the trade unions and avoid high cost which collective negotiations create.
In other words, the existence trade union power itself is an important power and factor to implement the human
resources management model. Many big companies that have implemented the human resources management
model, do not completely abandon the collective negotiation adjustment form, but simply transform it.
In order to solve the problems in China‟s work relation domain, law enforcement and surveillance of the
government must be strengthened, and the idea and model of human resources management be propagandized and
promoted vigorously. But so far as China‟s present situation is concerned, the major problem is that the power of
trade union is too weak to protect workers.
In this case, in order to establish the work relations adjustment system that can present the spirit of modern market
economy and maintain effectively the rights and interests of workers‟, the main duty is to strengthen the power of
trade union so as to establish true collective negotiation system; to strengthen legislative construction, especially
strengthen the law enforcement and surveillance of the government; to strengthen the construction of labor
supervision and dispute processing system so that they can be more powerful, effective and convenient; and on
basis of the above two, the human resources management work relations adjustment model can be established.
4. CONSTRUCTING A HARMONIOUS WORK RELATION IS THE CORE
OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT THEORY AND PRACTICE
It can be seen from the history of human resources management that the U.S. have experienced about a hundred
years market economy and the work relations were already in a stable pattern. It is only then and on the basis of this
foundation that the so-called work relation human resources adjustment model was proposed. However, the subject
of China's human resources management is completely an imported product without taking into account the
domestic conditions when it was introduced: China's market economy has not experienced the industrial revolution,
and its work relations take its own characteristics compared with the western market economy countries, because
China emerged from a semi-feudal and semi-colonial country with an underdeveloped industry. Under this
background, copying mechanically and applying slavishly the US human resources management model, will
inevitably create the result that the personnel of human resources do not know how to manage the enterprise.
At present, the major job in many human resources sections is to process the lower-class human affairs in the
enterprises such as the staffing, deregulations, and turnovers, etc. Therefore, theoretical human resources
management is quite different with what Chinese enterprises practically need. Just on account of this, China must
currently introduce and develop the content of work relations in human resources management.
The objective of business management is to achieve the harmony through the management, including the harmony
between person and thing, and person and person. The last one of Tailor four big principles in the scientific
management is to advocate the staff and enterprise's sharing and double-wins, and this is the typical harmony
between laborers and capitalists. From the viewpoint of harmonious management and enterprise's development,
special attention must be paid to the humanist management; Humanist management is an important symbol of
appraising a successful management by whether or not the enterprise and the individual could realize their goals at
the same time.
From the viewpoint of management, the harmonious, coordinated work relations are the essence of human resources
management science. The authors believe that work relation management should be mainly embodied in the entire
process of human resources management in addition to the law and the policy. The harmonious work relations need
the joint efforts from the enterprise, the society and the government.
In the subject of human resources management, theories must be introduced and discussed from various angles and
aspects, on how to construct harmonious work relations; In the curriculums as well as in the teaching process, ideas
22
must be advocated to achieve the harmonious work relations, because most students raised in human resources
management will be employed in the labor department of the government, and in the enterprises in the future.
In the enterprises internal sections, advanced ideas of harmonious work relations must be introduced. In the
enterprise, the high /middle managers and HRM specialists, or whoever, should carry on harmonious work relations
from beginning to end in the human resources management; only by advocating the harmonious work relations in
the entire process can the enterprise guarantee the harmonious development.
In each section of the human resources management from recruiting, performance evaluation, prompting, salary to
labor protection, medical insurance, social insurance, in teaching students, carrying on research, suggesting the
government, consulting the enterprise, if the idea of harmonious work relations can be instilled into and realized in
the management practice, China will be able to have a big leap in the human resources management aspect.
REFERENCES
Research China Work Relations in Reforming Time (A), the Labor Science Institute (2004). Material origin:
"Economy Vital Reference", No. 15.
PAN HONG, Lin “Discussing on Constructing Harmonious Work Relations --- the Objective Demand of
Constructing a Harmonious Society”: The Guilin Municipal Administration Committee, the Guilin Passenger Train
Industry Group Company, http://www.gll-gx.org.cn/skl/.
LI, Ling-yun, “A Study of Constructing Harmonious Work Relations”, Material From: www.chinalawedu.com.
LU, Fu-cai, “Harmonious Work Relations Are Currently the Core of Human Resources Management in our
Country”, From: Forum Scene, www.XINHUANET.com, (2005/09/16).
ZHANG, Chang-sheng (2005). “Work Relations Decide Social Stability”, School of Chinese Communist Party,
Guangdong Province, Nanfang Daily
23
GROWTH AND SURVIVAL OF THE ENTERPRISE:
A NON-LINEAR RELATIONSHIP
LA CROISSANCE ET LA SURVIE DE L’ENTREPRISE :
UNE RELATION NON LINÉAIRE
Dr Ezzeddine TRIGUI, Maître assistant en sciences de gestion, Ecole supérieure de
Commerce Tunis, Université de la Mannouba, [email protected]
ABSTRACT
The relationship between growth and survival has been given a purely economic connotation for a longtime. But
more recently, growth supporters have avoided this apprehension to granted a much broader approach to the
relationship by introducing other multidisciplinary variables. These approaches are inspired from aspects relating to
the leader owner, to the organizational development, the corporate management and to the market. Our issue plans a
questioning of the approaches taken in an isolated manner in order to delimit the relationship between the concepts:
growth and survival of the enterprise. These concepts are part of the strategic management which includes issues
falling under the scope of the main areas of the firm life. So both the theoretical and the practical interest for the
topic is assured. Our contribution in this article is to construct the relational logic between the growth and the
survival of the enterprise. This contribution is based on a criticism of the theoretical approaches so as to improve an
incomplete explanation and to better the understanding. It is reinforced by empirical verification within Tunisian
enterprises
KEY-WORDS: Growth, survival, determinants.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION:
The concepts of growth and survival were approached by several disciplines. Economics has granted then more
interest. If they enjoy a voluminous literature, they lack a theoretical framework overview. This theoretical failure
arises actually from differences of apprehension expressed by followers of growth, enhanced by the multitude of
evaluation methods and the recent attempts of the interpretation of these concepts. These theoretical explanations
have not established a causal link between these concepts. However, the only relationship, expressly stated, is
derived from economic contributions. It assumes that growth is a survival condition for the company sustained
necessarily by investment. But, a company in difficulty means lack of growth, lack of resources, and lack of
capacities... How can such an enterprise keep its steady position on the market with so many problems? These are
the two main questions we arise for our issue.
1-is growth a necessary condition for the survival of the company, according to the classical model?
2-what maintains a firm in survival while its growth is absent?
Moving between theoretical knowledge and observations, we try to link answers in order to identify more factors
determining the relationship between the growth and the survival of the company. Therefore, to achieve these goals
let‟s state to say the two following assumptions:
H1: equipment/financial investment is not the only growth determinant.
H2: growth is not always a key to survival.
Our assignment will be presented in three steps. We will discuss at first growth within different perceptions
theoretical in order to identify the various factors that affect it. (Object of our first assumption). Secondly we will
steady the concept of survival as well as the various factors that determine it, in addition to growth. (Our second
assumption object). Thirdly, referring to the empirical study of a sample of Tunisian companies, we will verify
assumptions.
24
1. DEFINITION, PERCEPTION AND DETERMINANTS OF GROWTH
COMPANIES:
1.1 Definition of growth:
The study of the literature agrees on a perception of growth as being "a movement of development activity" of the
company. This motion reflects the actual capacity of the company to preserve or enhance its position in market
constituted by hostile forces (depending on the approach of Porter) positioning business.
1.2 Multiple perceptions of growth:
Initially, growth has been apprehended in the purely economic point of view. Then, this concept continues to grab
the attention of other disciplines to occupy an important place in the strategic management and organization.
However, it seems that the extent of these researches remains still limited. It is unable to agree on a single
perception. If growth enthusiasts agree, generally about the result of growth, they are demonstrating differences in
how they are approaching it. Therefore, different axes of growth analysis produce five categories of theoretical
approaches.
1.2.1 Investment centered approaches:
The Keynesian approach advocates the direct relationship between growth and investment in production assets.
Therefore growth is inevitably dependent on investment. But what we first seek to question is rather the weight of
the investment in the determination of growth. We look at the findings of the survey INSEE about the impact of the
rate of investment on that of growth, we observe both the correlation and paradoxes between these two variables.
Indeed, as shown in table 1 below:
Year
Investment rate
Growth rate
1970
1981
1983
18,50%
5,70%
12,60%
1,20%
11,60%
1 ,40%
TABLE 1, source: article without investment not growth.
The correlation is demonstrated after a decrease in the rate of investment in 1981, resulting in a decrease of 4.5%.
Besides, the paradox lies in the case of a reduction of 1% between 1981 and 1983, the rate of investment,
corresponding to an increase of 0.2% growth rate. These two situations make us doubt of the absolute validity of the
classical theory in the matter. Therefore, there are inevitably other variables that determine growth apart from
investment. We should perhaps update this traditional approach.
1.2.2 approach related to executive owners:
This approach selects characteristics of the leader, which are likely to influence the growth process. These
characteristics concern the intrinsic behavior of the leader (Woywode and Lessat, 2001; Delmar, 1997), his
education, his type of training (Woywode and Lessat, 2001; Jake, 2000), his experience and skills (Littunen and
Tohmo, 2003; Jake, 2000).
1.2.3 Approach related to organizational development :
This approach combines theories based on models of stages of development, by referring to: executive owner goals
(OECD, 2002; Jake, 2000; Kolvereid, 1992), models of the stages of companies‟ growth (Mitra and Pingali, 19991;
Churchill and Lewis, 1983) and research on the influence of networks (Littunen and Tohmo, 2003; OECD, 2002;
Mustar, 2001; Jake, 2000).
25
1.2.4 the management-centric approach :
This approach emphasizes the elements the management process as factors that could influence the growth process.
In fact, the work of Becchetti and Trovato (2002), of Mustar (2001) and Jake (2000) emphasize the availability of
resources as a factor affecting the process of growth; Julien works (2000) underline the influence of operational and
strategic planning on the growth of the company; the work of Littunen and Tohmo (2003), OECD (2002), Calvo and
Lorenzo (2001), of Mustar (2001), Woywode and Lessat (2001) and Jake (2000) point to the impact of the strategic
guidelines of the leader on the process of growth; Julien works (2000) insisted on the level of flexibility as a factor
influencing the growth enterprise.
1.2.5 approach linked to the market :
Some work has focused on the environmental aspects that may influence the process of growth. Indeed, we note:
constraints and sectorial issues determining the growth process; structure of the industry affecting the companies
growth. (Calvo and Lorenzo, 2001; Woywode and Lessat, 2001; Almus and Nerlinger, 1999); the potential growth
of different types of businesses (Delmar, Davidsson and Gartner, 2003; Littunen and Tohmo, 2003). These multiple
approaches explored the probable influence of variables other than the investment on the growth process. A census
of different determinants of growth based on the approaches is useful to our problem.
1.3 Research on the growth determinants:
At this level we can simply identify characteristics of the leader as well as those of the enterprise that might
influence the pace of business growth.
1.3.1 the characteristics of the leader:
"The company is often regarded as an extension of his personality" Mc Mahon and Forsaith (1996); this statement
illustrates the importance of the impact of personal features of the leader on the company's growth strategy. These
features called "the executive human capital" comprise age, training, and experience Woywode and Lessat, (2001)
the leader and "personal goals of leader-owners" that necessarily integrate in the strategic choices of the business
growth. A part from the “human capital”, the objectives of the leader determine the growth trend of the company;
because Kolvereid, (1992) belongs to him. If the values of the decision of growth seem conclusive, the intrinsic
characteristics of the company are also significant growth factors leader.
1.3.2 the characteristics of the company:
The summary of studies undertaken in the apprehension of the process of growth can be summed up through the
size of the company. The research resulted in contradictory results concerning the relationship between growth
and the size of the enterprise. Indeed, if conclusions at the outset, stressed an independence between the size of the
enterprise and the growth rate (Hart and Paris, (1956); Pashigian and Hymer, (1962); Bonini and Simon, (1958);
Chesher, (1979), others have found the opposite affirming the existence of a negative relationship between the size
and the growth rate of the company. Besides, adecision of growth cannot succeed and be maintained if it is not
supported by a human resource integrated in this process and characterized by a better qualification, competence,
motivation and profit-sharing, Saint-stone and Mathieu, 2003; Mustar, 2001. Together, these business characteristics
constitute an engine of growth and flexibility potential to better its position on the market. At on other level, that
innovation is an essential factor to improve adaptability capacities and the flexibility of a business. Indeed, several
studies have proven that this innovative capacity, i.e. in price and processes, is a growth track. This growth would be
much bigger than that of a company without this ability, Crepon and Lung 19991. Therefore, we say that innovation
stimulates growth, Saint-stone and Mathieu, 2003; Calvo and Lorenzo, 2001; Jake, 2001.
In conclusion, we have well-defined, initially, growth through theories and with its various determinants. We have
emphasized the invalidity of the old templates in any time and any structure. As among other things, to analyze our
first assumption which calls into question uniqueness of investment in the determination of the growth? In the
second paragraph we will answer the questions that arise through our second assumption: growth is not always
driving survival.
26
2. WHAT IS THE RELATION BETWEEN GROWTH AND SURVIVAL?
The owner-leader tends to favour the survival of his business on its growth. He combines the growth with a risky
situation which may cause the dilution of his asset. He may consider the growth to the extent that it does not
preclude the autonomy and sustainability of his business, (the Cornu, et al, 1996). The balance sheet of the company
tells us if the company is in recession (poverty) or growth (enrichment). In both cases, the company may be
considered in survival. Therefore, "survive" is the fact that a company is still alive in spite of threats of ending.
The company undergoing environmental hazards and the assault of competition behaves as a victim, justifying its
position of decay. It is a pessimistic perception of survival. Besides, one-dimensional and multidimensional
approach disagreed on how to approach the survival of the company. Indeed, while the multidimensional approach
rejects survival study based on a single variable, one-dimensional approach isolates the reserve variable as a
guaranteed for the business survival.
On an other level, by incorporating the time variable, we distinguish two approaches of survival.. Enterprise shortterm survival is motivated by the adoption of the enterprise of a policy fighting the causes that led the company to
difficulties namely an unfavourable environment and a marked incompetence. This strategic implementation
succeeds despite the maximum exploitation of the company resources and sometimes allowing the destruction or the
decrease of these resources. While the short-term business survival is ensured in spite of a premature destruction of
resources, the long-term survival should be increasingly supported by additional resources difficult to obtain
probably insufficient to allow a definitive reversal of the situation. So, under this approach, the question of survival
becomes more and more problematic.
2.2 The key determinants of the company survival:
Study of this paragraph is essentially based on the answer to this question: why have some companies managed to
perpetuate their activity while others failed? We need to identify the factors that determine the survival of the
company and verify the relationship between growth and survival.
The health of the enterprise depends on the profile of its creator, Bonneau and Francoz, 1995; Bruderl et al., 1992;
Storey, 1994; Cressy, 1996. Indeed the age between 39 and 49 helps the company to thrive, unlike the ages outside
of this range, characterized by the lack of experience and excessive rigidity. The study states that it is easier for a
graduate business creator to ensure the sustainability of the project. Besides, several studies have shown that the
strategic positioning of the company is a survival engine: a larger market and a larger number of customers strongly
influence the sustainability of the project. On other level, access to disposable and potential financial resources and
potential reinforces the strategic responsiveness of the business. It provides the tools needed to increase the
probability for survival of the company. However, those who suffer a limitation of access to external financing or
those that start without external financing are vulnerable, De Meza and Webb, 1998
2.3 Comparison between growth and survival:
Interactive logic between growth and survival is supposed positive: growth leading to survival which nourishes, in
its turn growth, survival is not always true. The dynamism of this relationship is done under the contractor's personal
choice and depends on the circumstances of the moment. Hence, It is not a matter of two dynamics resulting from
one another as supported by the neoclassical. The theoretical debate on this matter is based on divergent points of
view. However, it there is a perfect balance between the predominance of the environment on the dynamics of our
concepts. Whatever its degree of development, and its health, the business is exposed, significantly, to any
environmental movement. At the end of this paragraph, let‟s emphasize that exaggerated assistance of public
authorities in favour of firms in difficulty, creates a special, sometimes bizarre relationship between survival and
growth. This relationship will be the topic of the following paragraph. In which we will define a new approach to
growth which is better suited to the current context.
27
2.4 Growth threatens the survival of the enterprise?
The major issues to focus on are: the true correlation between survival and growth? Is it interesting to grow quickly
in order to survive? What unpredictable or binding factors could prevent growth?
The leader adopts a fearful and careful approach to the risk of endangering the survival of his firm. This attitude is
opposed to that of a rational leader seeking the continuity of his firm. Therefore the "no growth", resulting in a will
often not expressed by the business owner to stop the growth of his turnover, and of recruitment, may be his goal.
We agree here with the governance theory which explains this attitude as being the result of fear of the dilution of
the property of the change of decision-making processes, of the nuisance to the independence and the autonomy of
business leaders. Facing growth, the company encounters more and more urgent financial obligations. In case
growth reaches a sufficiently high level or a fast pace the may become unable to get necessary funds and incapable
of keeping up with the speed of growth resulting in incapacity to assure the growth.
In conclusion, the theoretical debate reveals that growth is necessarily a condition of survival for organizations as
the classic model advocated. Moreover, still later, its mismanagement is a threat to the desired sustainability. The
safest way is to identify different determinants, other than growth, which are likely to affect the survival of the
company.
3. GROWTH AND SURVIVAL OF THE COMPANY: EMPIRICAL
APPROACH:
We are beginning the empirical part, but we focus mainly on our problem to verify the questioning of old theories of
growth, demonstrating that the investment variable that has long interested the authors is the single factor explaining
the growth and survival of the business process.
First, we selected a sample of ten companies containing two categories, namely five companies among the industry
leaders and five others in difficulty. Then we tried to raise the key figures of these companies over the past five
years (2002-2008). This period seemed interesting to us because it was then that we started feeling the effects of the
crisis (statistical dismiss of companies in this sector). Therefore to collect the required data, a questionnaire was sent
to these companies. The topics were:
1-the General Organization of the business enterprise
2-the business environment its structure its technology
3-the strategic positioning of the company
4-The stimulating factors and the growth hinders
Responses were, given by companies‟ executives with 60% of accountants and 40% of Heads of management
department.
We synthesize all collected data in tables 2 and the following summary. Different responses are presented as a
percentage, depending on whether business is one of those growing or those in difficulty.
Type of business
Characteristic of the enterprise :
person legal
age less than 25 years
age between 25 and 49 years
age more than 50 years
Start up
Take over
forwarding company
50-250 employees
more than 250 employees
with growth
in difficulty
100%
20%
80%
20%
80%
100%
-
100%
60%
40%
20%
80%
20%
80%
28
Strategic position: scope of the market :
local
regional
national
overseas
international
40%
60%
40%
60%
-
TABLE 2 Summary of collected data
Type of business
Customer type :
Administration
small business
large private companies
Number of partners :
None
1 or more
Outsourcing activity :
Yes
Annex
No
Intention of recruitment :
Yes
No
can be
Strategic approach :
surveying
advertising
promotion (price)
Patent / license
customer redemption
no strategic approach
Evolution reasons :
external constraints/obstacles
internal constraints
market opportunity
no evolution
Means of financing:
credit
cash flow
Aid or subsidies :
Yes
No
Financial arrangements :
activity by debt financing
activity by joint financing
equity financing
with growth
in difficulty
100%
60%
40%
100%
100%
-
40%
60%
-
60%
40%
100%
80%
20%
20%
60%
20%
-
100%
-
40%
60%
-
60%
40%
-
100%
100%
-
100%
80%
20%
60%
40%
80%
20%
TABLE 2 (continued), collected data synthesis
29
Type of business
Operating constraints :
Opportunities issue
financial difficulties
production cost problems
business internal difficulties
other issues
no problem
Diploma :
Higher education degree
training
no diploma
Previous qualification :
Executive
firm management
employed
no activity
Motivation :
conception
entrepreneurship
job offer
job‟s search
Entrepreneurial background :
family
relatives
no one
Earlier creation :
none
with growth
in difficulty
20%
20%
60%
40%
60%
-
80%
20%
-
100%
-
20%
60%
20%
-
40%
60%
-
20%
80%
-
80%
20%
-
40%
60%
20%
80%
100%
100%
TABLE 2 (continued), collected data synthesis
This table 2 gives a clear and organized view all of the interest factors by ranking them in major topics as they have
been treated in theories. Interpretation of these results will finally allow us to reveal the common features of
growing businesses and of those in difficulty according to the factors studied to meet our challenges.
Let's start first, by tracing the relations between the evolution of the investment of VA and the average.
years
1
2
3
4
5
Average evolution
of added value
10,53 %
3,48 %
16,4 %
16,41 %
Evarage e volution
of investments
12,04%
5,72%
16,85%
10,59%
TABLE 3 : average evolution of VA and the investment
According table 3, the evolution of the indicator of growth shows an irregular trend which ends by stabilizing at a
rate of growth of approximately 16% from the 4th year of observation. Furthermore, a relatively low growth rate
has been registered in the second period (3.48%) compared to the rate recorded for the remaining periods. We will
therefore try to explain this variability in growth rates by referring to features emerged from these companies.
30
First, we believe that it would be interesting to trace the evolution of investment undertaken by these companies to
verify the empirical validity of traditional theories of growth. It may be noted again that the evolution of investments
is not stable from one period to another. It moves from 12% up to 5, 72% then up to16,85%. However, the intensity
of investments decreased during the last period to end with 10, 59%. This point of developments will be the largest
in our study because it is paradoxically accompanied by a stabilization of rates of growth at the same level as the
previous period. (See table 3). This encourages us to consider the reasons which led to maintain companies‟ growth
at such a high rate despite the considerable reduction of investment rates. Indeed, the division of investments in
tangible investment and intangible investment allows us to reach a first explanation to our poll. A significant
proportion of intangible investments in total investment incurred by companies during the fourth period justify the
previous phenomenon. It seems that the total investment rate declined during this period, the rate of growth is
maintained thanks to the importance of intangible dimension of investment. Indeed, the proportion of intangible
investment rose to reach20.6% of total investment. Therefore, this general observation of the evolution of all the
companies reveals the first important element to meet a part of our first assumption tangible investment is not the
only determinant of growth.
On other level, 80% of respondents have been a transfer of companies against 20% between a start up and a business
take over. Which should however be noted is the category of take over exists only among companies in difficulty.
While start up category exists among companies in growth, especially higher growing companies. Furthermore,
60% of young companies include a firm in difficulty, which has not yet reached the stage of maturity. Although this
business is growing, it found itself in difficulties because it has been surprised by the amplitude of its growth and
failed to handle it.
As for growing businesses, their support for such a situation is limited to a prior schedule, to an eventual recruitment
to increase production and progressive financing needed for this growth. It is limited to a few steps required to
achieve its development. But sustained growth remains ignored or even unknown by decision-markers of these
companies to optimize their growth and perpetuate their projects. Finally, we'll discuss major organizational,
structural and financial changes to be implemented so as to conclude this work.
GENERAL CONCLUSION:
Our theoretical research and our empirical study allowed us to review three important points relating to the growth
and survival of the company.
As a first step, the questioning of classical theories allowed us to draw the limit of the impact of tangible investment
on growth. The conclusion is that tangible investment namely purchase of production goods is not the exclusive key
to growth. It is certainly demonstrated that investment improves managerial capacities of the enterprise (improve its
technology, its productive capacities...), but when the company reaches its critical size, it becomes unnecessary to
invest in machines. However, investment should not be focused on the purely material aspects and should rather be
geared towards the immaterial, such as: R&d, innovation, improving the working conditions, the motivation of
employees, the purchase of patent and license... In short, to invest in any factor increasing the position of the firm on
the market on the level of product and production as wellas on the level of structure and organization. Because all
that is material is imitable and provisional. Therefore, growth depends on a very broad set of factors likely to
stimulate or hinder it.
The second very important point is that the survival of the enterprise does not depend not only on its growth. Indeed,
it dependents on a set of factors suitable to extend its longevity or hinder its sustainability.
To conclude let‟s note that the mismanagement of growth poses a threat to business unless a strong growth strategy
is implemented.
A question still needs answering. Indeed, in the case of financial barriers, public aid to creation and restructuring
measures promote the survival of companies, but seem to penalize their growth. 8o % of surveyed companies
benefit from public aid for the creation and restructuring. Aid can indeed enable these companies with low growth
potential to survive - beyond the average of life expectancy of non-assisted companies with the same profit. It may
31
also cause an endogenous selection of projects non-parformant, and this despite the public help filtering
mechanisms. In this respect, Duguet Crépon in their recent analyses consider that public aid to organizations
strengthens their capital and encourage entrepreneurs to take less risky initiatives resulting in a longer life for the
business. Public aids for the creation do not therefore aim at boosting growth, but rather at extending the life
expectancy of businesses. On the other hand, companies that do not benefit of these aids will be at risk of
disappearing. In fact, the motivation of these aids is creation and safeguard of labour.
REFERENCES :
ALBOUY M, (1999), theories, applications, and limits of measurement of value creation, French Journal of
management, Paris. N° 122.
ACS z. J AUDRETCH D.B, (1990), innovation and small firms, Cambridge mass MIT press.
BATES.T, (1990), contractor human capital inputs and small business longevity, Review of economics and statics.
Vol. 27 (4).
BLANCHARD.P, (2002), estimation of probity random effects on panel, erudite, working paper 01-0 data model.
BONINI, Simon, (1958), the size of business firms, the American economic review distribution. Vol. 48, n°4 sep.
BONNEAU, Francoz, (1995), the creator profile and survival of the enterprise, INSEE première. N° 415 nov.
BONNEAU, Gharbi and the IPO, (2002), intensity of the use of the debt, aggression, and sustainability of
companies, SINE investigations.
BOTTAZZI, (2003), firm, diversification and low of proportionate effect, working paper, January.
BOTTAZZI, GEFIS and DOSI (2002), corporate growth and industrial structures: some evidence from the Italian
manufacturing industry, industrial and corporate Exchange. Vol. 11 pp. 705-723
BRUDERL, PREISENDORFER and ZEIGLER (1992), "survival chances of newly finded business organization",
American sociological review.
BLACK. A; WRIGHT. P, BACHMAN. J. (1999), Paris, shareholder value management.
CARPENTER and Crawford (2002), is of small firms constrained by internal growth funds? review of economics
and statistics. Vol.84 n° 2 may pp. 298-309
CHESHER (1979), testing the law of proportionate effect, journal of industrial economics. N° 27 pp.403-411.
CREPON, LUNG (1999), innovation, employment and performance, document work G9904 INSEE, management
studies and economic summaries.
CREPON, ROSENWOLD (2001), investment and financial constraints the impact of business cycle year estimate of
French data, economies and statistics. July, pp. 341-342
CRESSY (1996), are business debt rationed starups? economic journal. Vol. 106 - 6048
DOSI and FABIANI (1994), convergence and divergence in the long term growth of open economies, Silverberg,
Soete, the economics of growth and technical change. N° 27 pp. 6048
DUNNE and Hughes, (1994), age, size, growth and survival: companies UK in the 1980s, journal of industrial
economics. June n° 2.
32
DUNNE, RROBERTS and SAMUELSON (1989), the growth and failure of the US manufacturing plants, the
quarterly journal of economics. Nov. n° 4 pp. 671-98
EVANS (1987), the alternative theories of firm growth, journal of political economy. August, n° 4 pp. 657-74.
GEROSKI, WALTERS and MACHIN (1997), corporate growth and profitability, the journal of industrial
economics. Vol. XLV, june n°2.
HART and OULTON (2005), growth and size of firms, economic journal. Déc.
HART and PRAIS (1964), the analysis of business concentration: a statistical approach, journal of theroyal
statistical society. Vol 127 n° 2.
HAY and LIU, (1997), the efficiency of firms: what competition make difference?, the economic journal. Vol 107
n° 442, may.
HECKMAN (1979), sample selection bias as a specification error, econometrica. Vol 47 n° 1 pp. 103-161.
JOVANOVIC (1982), selection and the evolution of the industry, econometrica. Vol 50, may, pp. 649-70.
LUCAS, (1978), on the size distribution of business firms, BJE, vol 9 n° 2, autum.
33
A CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH TO LEARN A PROGRAMMING
LANGUAGE
APPRENDRE UN LANGAGE DE PROGRAMMATION AVEC UNE
APPROCHE CONSTRUCTIVISTE
Lucila PEREZ, PhD, Universidad Casa Grande, Ecuador, [email protected]
Dolores ZAMBRANO, M Ed, Universidad Casa Grande, Ecuador,
[email protected]
Mariuxi ZEA, M Ed, Universidad Técnica de Machala, Ecuador, [email protected]
ABSTRACT
One of the main challenges of higher education institutions is to graduate professionals with the required knowledge
and skills to compete successfully in the labor market. In the information systems domain, professionals must be
able to design and build systems based on business or users needs. In order to develop students‟ competencies, it is
required to apply teaching and learning processes different to traditional ones, where students must be engaged in
real world situations to develop information systems using computer languages, such as Visual FoxPro.
A literature review shows that programming is a complex process, where students have to know not only a
programming language but also to solve problem situation and develop creative solutions. Several researchers claim
that constructivist strategies could improve the programming language learning process.
Applying a mixed approach, an action-research study was developed to demonstrate that a constructivist strategy
could facilitate students develop the professional competencies required in their field of work. The sample size was
34 information systems students from an Ecuadorian university and the research design was a pretest-posttest single
group. The results were analyzed by applying a Paired Sample T-test to the variables Individual Performance and
Group Performance. The findings show that constructivist methods did improve students´ learning outcomes.
KEY-WORDS: Problem Based Learning, Collaborative Learning, Action Research,
Constructivist Strategies, Pedagogical Innovation.
34
A CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH TO LEARN VISUAL FOXPRO
1. INTRODUCTION
In Ecuadorian universities, frequently, information systems teachers have no previous studies in pedagogy and their
learning experiences were based on traditional lecture classes, which are now the methods they use to teach. As a
result, teachers focus more on programming language codes and strategies to develop information systems and they
are not concern about teaching and learning methodologies to facilitate the integration of students‟ previous
knowledge with the new subjects they are studying to improve students‟ performance. Repetition, codes
memorization, individual work and feedback to correct wrong answers are the activities developed during classes,
which are based on the cognitive theory and knowledge fragmentation by subjects (Bandura, 1997). In this teaching
model, the teacher is the protagonist who knows, explains, sets rules, selects contents and states conditions. On the
other hand, the student is limited to listen, follow order and repeat; he is a reservoir of a certain amount of
information that will use to take a test, but he is not well prepared for a professional performance in the labor world
(Figl, 2010).
The use of constructivist strategies to teach programming languages is a new methodology that researchers and
practitioners are experimenting to facilitate learning and improve performance of students; however, research results
about this area is limited.
This research is a first approach to explore and explain how constructivist pedagogy can help students to learn
programming languages and develop information systems. A pedagogical innovation is proposed to redefine the
course of Programming I, which focus on teaching students Visual FoxPro language and tools. It is expected that
with this innovation, the student will be able to construct his own knowledge (Piaget, 1969) starting from what he
already knows to relate it with the new knowledge he is learning, meanwhile using real problems from the labor
world (Huang et al., 2010; Goel & Kathuria, 2010), and confronting with his pairs opinions and ideas, in a way that
it has some meaning for him (Vygotski, 1985), and allowing him to develop the competencies needed for his future
profession.
2. THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS AND RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
The learning process is an intentional act of acquiring knowledge and developing competencies where students and
teachers are the main components. Learning produces a behavior change, which is an intern, voluntary and
conscious act that involves a lot of professional work and time to obtain it. The objective is to encourage students to
be responsible of their professional growth.
Learning must be related to students‟ interest so that they can assimilate knowledge and apply it to real world
situations. As a result, learning must face students to real problems from their professional contexts and teach them
how to use textbooks as guides to adapt theories to practice (Huang et al., 2010).
In Information Systems undergraduate programs, the main objective is to confront students with problems related to
their professional context because they have to be able to develop computer programs from a problem situation
using appropriate tools and equipments such as software, hardware, database, and so on, by integrating them in a
computerized solution that meets users‟ needs (Figl, 2010).
2.1 Information Systems Development
An information system is compound for several elements that allow information automation and, in a limited sense,
this expression is used to name a “….a personal computer with its software” (Whitten, 2008). Software is defined as
the set of computer programs, procedures, rules, documents and data that are elements of an information system.
35
The System Life Cycle traditional approach to develop information systems is a conceptual model based on five
stages: Analysis, Design, Development, Testing and Documentation. It facilitates the construction of feasible and
efficient proposals to solve a problem, where the programming language plays an important role because it is the
tools developers use to translate the solution written on a paper in software that meets users‟ needs (Whitten, 2008).
Developing programs is an action to solve problems. The ability to resolve problems is not obtained by practicing
“solving problems”; it requires a set of planned activities that assure students a meaningful learning process. In this
way, when students face a problem, it is expected they understand it by reading the information given, identify the
main data, state the results they want to obtain, determine the unknown key factor, select and decide the activities to
do, decompose the problem in small pieces, carry out each operation, find the same result in a different approach
and verify the is accurate (Goel & Kathuria, 2010).
2.2 Constructivism
Knowledge construction is one of the most mysterious and complex problem that has been faced by human beings,
and has been object of philosophical concern since men have started to reflect about their own selves. Knowledge is
not the result of a copy of a preexisting reality; it is a dynamic and interactive process through which external
information is interpreted and re-interpreted by the mind which goes constructing progressively explicative models
more complex and powerful each time (Stone, 2005).
Constructivism emerges an innovative proposal based on the research work of Ausubel, Barlett, Bruner, Dewey,
Piaget and Vygotski, among others. Its postulates state that each person constructs learning according to his
experiences, mental structures and beliefs, forming a set of conceptions about how understand and know something,
which allows to design learning environments where exists relationship between previous experiences and the new
learning (Dede, 2008),.
The constructivism principles define learning as a process that occurs in the interaction of learners with the
environment where they operate (Piaget, 1969). According to Vygotski (1985), learning is obtained during the social
and cultural interaction, influenced by a guided discovery, models, training, previous knowledge, beliefs and
thoughts. Subsequently, the possibility of a person to learn in a social environment, his own knowledge and others
people‟s experience is what facilitates learning.
Teaching for understanding, problem-based learning, and collaborative learning are grounded in constructivism
philosophy and attempt to facilitate the social construction of learning. They are powerful learning strategies used to
develop real world learning environments.
2.2.1. Teaching for Understanding
Several studies have been done in pedagogy to develop new teaching strategies to help information systems teachers
to improve students´ learning, such as the Zero Project, which is based on the teaching for understanding pedagogy
(Stone, 2005), and it created communities of reflexive and independent students.
In the teaching for understanding approach, the teacher encourages students to construct their own knowledge
conception, which is the capacity to use their knowledge in diverse ways. In other words, teaching for understanding
is a pedagogical strategy that involves students in performances of understanding. It is possible to evaluate the
student‟s understanding about a domain just observing his performance on situations where he must apply his
knowledge about it (Stone, 2005).
Understanding performances are students‟ actions that show their comprehension about an issue and based on it
they have the capacity of doing other actions such as explain, demonstrate, give examples, generalize, state
analogies, and present again the same issue in a new way. In summary, a student evidences understanding about a
subject when it is able of applying what he knows in an innovative manner (Gorbaneff, 2006).
In order to get students‟ understanding, teachers have to review students‟ previous knowledge so that they can
associate it with the new problem they face, and as a result they can construct new knowledge and use it as a
36
spotlight to present efficient solutions to new situations in any context (Piaget 1969;Vygotski, 1985). Furthermore,
in this understanding process, identifying mistakes and learning from them is very useful because learning is a
permanent process and a mistake is an opportunity to understand actual comprehension and eventually modify it.
Oviedo (2002), in his study about Programming Languages Teaching, explains that programming is difficult, more
over when there is no difference between codifying a program and solving the problem that is the basis for this
codification. It is important that students first learn to develop a logical solution of the problem and then the details
about punctuations and syntaxes required by programming languages. According to Levine (2001), in the
programming cycle, the codification represents only one of the steps after the logical design phase and it allows
writing a set of commands in terms of a programming language that will be used by a computer.
Considering that the programming language is a complex process, researchers and practitioners are constantly
looking for new approaches to facilitate and improve students‟ learning. Papert (1981), among others, states that
learning a programming language based on constructivism strategies, such as teaching for understanding, help a
student to improve his learning process.
2.2.2. Problem Based Learning
Problem Based Learning (PBL) is defined as a “learning strategy based on the principle of using problems as a start
point to acquire and incorporate new knowledge” (Masek & Yamin, 2010), where the main actors of the learning
process are students, who assume the responsibility of being active participants.
It is assumed that the ABP approach may renew the zone of proximal development (ZPD), which is defined by
Vygostky (1985) as the imaginary distance between real development level (capacity of learning by own self) and
the potential development level of a person (capacity of learning with the support of others). The extent of the ZPD
limits the impact of instruction actions so that education must begin at the level of students‟ effective development
to help them to improve their learning, rise above their limits and create new knowledge.
The PBL teaching and learning strategy explains that knowledge is actively created by students that meet each
others to work in small groups, guided by a professor to analyze and solve selected problems to get some specific
learning objectives. During this process, students learn the knowledge related with the course they are taking and, in
addition, understand the importance of collaborative work, develop skills to analyze and summarize information,
and make commitment on their own learning (Morales & Landa, 2004; Vygotsky, 1985).
Based on the PBL method, the teacher guides students, identifies what they need to learn in order to better
understand a problem in which they are working, and looks for the information needed to allow them to find a
solution (Gorbaneff, 2006). The problem presented to students must be interesting and challenging to motive them
to look for a solution, and complex to require the collaboration of others participants of the group to solve it
efficiently. The level of difficulty has to be controlled by the teacher to avoid students divide the work and limit
their participation just to develop a small piece of it, as it always happens in group activities (Masek & Yamin,
2010)
PBL approach is valuable to promote the development of generic abilities such as team work, information research,
planning, coordination and organization. The problem solving strategy is closely related to collaborative work
because the knowledge construction in both methods is based on the interaction and synergetic work of participants.
2.2.3. Collaborative Learning
Researchers state that, independent of the domains they are studying, students learn best when they are actively
involved in small groups of work, and define this approach as collaborative learning (Goel & Kathuria, 2010).
The ACADOO software, which is based on collaborative work, was designed to help students to understand object
oriented analysis and design to develop information systems. This application, besides allowing the design of a
problem solution, help students to communicate and share doubts and expectations by chatting (Muñoz et al., 2005),
In the same manner, Redondo (2003) had combined collaborative learning and PBL methods in a software to help
37
students understand a problem and solve it by interacting with their peers and the teacher guidance. Furthermore,
other reseachers working with the same approach confirmed that students who work in group guided by their teacher
to solve specific problems become active learners and builders of their own knowledge (Huang et al., 2005).
Researchers and practitioners are applying diverse constructivism approaches to improve programming language
learning, and help information systems novices develop the abilities and skills they need. It is recommended to
combine several constructivist strategies to create a synergetic effect on the programming language learning process
due to the complexity and difficulty of the programming work. Even though, there are some evidences about the
benefits of constructivist strategies to improve learning, there are still several concerns about the magnitude of its
impacts on information systems students‟ performance.
Based on a constructivist framework, this research states the following question: The use of a pedagogical
innovation anchored in Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and collaborative learning approaches improve students‟
performance?
3. PEDAGOGICAL INNOVATION DESCRIPTION
In a constructivist class, students are encouraged to work with active techniques such as experiments, team solving
problems, and so on, using data from real world activities. Based on these considerations, a pedagogical innovation
was developed to motivate students to participate actively in their learning process working on real world data and
reflecting on their own experience to construct their new knowledge.
In contrast with the traditional course, which focused mainly on programming language syntax and codes, the
innovated course was based on understanding goals (Stone, 2005), and aimed to teach students to develop an
information system using the Visual Fox Pro language based on the Information Systems Life Cycle Development
method. In this way, students could incorporate their previous knowledge about information system development
process and programming logic to develop a system, starting from scratch to obtain a complete system with its
required manuals and documents.
The new course structure was composed of five Units and each unit had an understanding goal related with a phase
of the system development life cycle. Moreover, each unit had a specific number of sessions in function of the
complexity and amount of work to be done. In order to get the understanding goals, two kinds of activities were
implemented: a) Information Systems Cases to promote individual and team work, and b) Information Systems
Projects to consolidate team work in a real world business environment. The Table Nº 1 illustrates the five units of
the course, its understanding goals, cases and PBL activities, and the manner they interconnect each other.
38
Table Nº 1. Course Structure
Understanding Goals (TFU)
UNIT I: Manual vs
Automated Systems
UNIT II: System
Interface Design
UNIT III: System
Development
UNIT IV: System
Implementation and
Test
UNIT V: System
Documentation
Case Name (CL)
Project Activities
Understand when and why a
*Century Tool and Die, inc.
problem must be analized before the * Beck Electronic Supply
process automation
Analysis, description,
organization and specification of
problem data and processes
State differences between a friendly * Shuster and Petrie, Inc
system and a complex system
* Beck Electronic Supply
Design and development of a
graphic interface and a system
data base
Understand how to integrate the
* Wholesale Cost - Plus
analysis and design documentation * Richard & Sons, Inc.
to develop a system based on Object * Beck Electronic Supply
Oriented Programming
Develop modular and integrated
programs to input date and get
expected results
Understand programming logic and * Precious Jewels, Inc
syntax
Organize a tests and
debugging/troubleshooting
database of programming logic
Write system manuals for endusers and programmers
Understand the importance of
documenting a system to assure its
future update and maintenance
Note. * Cases taken from the book Systems Analysis and Design Methods (Whitten, 2008).
TABLE 1 – Course Structure
In the cases strategy, two kinds of cases were used: cases that focused a particular step of the information system
development process and a case which covered the whole information systems development process. The first types
of cases were used to help students to develop solving problem skills and team work skills. Students were assigned
these cases as homework to read and solve them individually, and then they had to present their results to their study
group, exchange ideas, discuss and got a consensus for the group solution to be explained in classes. The second
type of case was developed as team work covering one step of the IS development cycle each unit. The purpose of
this experience was to prepare students for the project activities they were developing simultaneously in a business
organization.
In the Information System development project approach, at the beginning of the semester, each student selected a
business organization, determined its needs and proposed an information system, which was built using Visual Fox
Pro language and based on knowledge and strategies studied in classes.
4. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
The following research hypotheses were stated:
H1: Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approach improves Performance of Programming I-course students.
H2: Collaborative Learning (CL) approach enhances Performance of Programming I-course students.
Based on the postulates of Perkins (1997), Performance was defined as the combination of Knowledge, Skills and
Motivation. This research focused only on knowledge and skills, not on motivation, considering that it is a
moderated variable which could be similar in the whole group.
39
Table Nº 2. Operationalization of the Dependent Variable
Variable name
Performance
Operacionalization
It was measured by the
changes observed on
students` behaivor as a
result of the intervention
Indicators
* Knowledge
* Skills
Categories
Excellent
Very Good
Good
Fair
Fail
Values
10 - 9.3
9.2 - 8.5
8.4 - 7.7
7.6 - 7.1
< 7.1
TABLE 2 - Operationalization of the Dependent Variable
The Knowledge indicator is the knowledge of facts, rules, principles and procedures that are required for successful
performance. The Skills indicator has the following components: reading comprehension (RC), critical thinking
(CT), logical reasoning (LR), and creativity (C).
4.1. Subjects
A Visual Fox Pro course was offered to Information Systems Engineering students at the Technical University of
Machala, in Ecuador. A total of 68 students were registered to this course and organized in two groups, 34 subjects
in each one. A group attended morning classes and the other attended evening classes. For this experiment the
morning group was selected considering that the percentage of absence was lower at this time, which helped to
avoid loosing participants during the semester.
The participants were students from the fifth semester who have previously taken courses on structured
programming languages, such as C++ and Java, but they have not taken courses on object oriented programming
languages, such as Visual Fox Pro.
4.2. Experimental Settings
A pedagogical innovation was implemented in a computer lab setting at the Information Systems building of the
Technical University of Machala, Ecuador. The action-research methodology was used to explore and reflect on
teachers´ pedagogical strategies to teach a programming language in order to improve the learning process.
The pre-experimental design for this study was a single group pretest-posttest. Its goal was to determine the effects
of a pedagogical innovation (independent variable) on the performance (dependent variable) of the target group. The
teachers-researchers worked with a convenience sample considering its easy availability to take part in the
experiment and that participants were assigned to groups before the research began. The disadvantages of this
approach are the lack of accuracy due to bias and restricted generalization of results.
The pre-experiment was organized as a regular six-credit course of the Information Systems Program. It consisted of
thirty two sessions of work, three hours per session, and two sessions per week. Two sessions were planned for
individual and group performance testing (pretest and posttest), eleven sessions for team work at the computer lab,
three sessions for Project review (individual work), and sixteen sessions were assigned for field work at business
organizations, where each student developed his final project (Figure Nº1). Each computer lab session was
organized in the following manner: half hour for reviewing the answers of the case questions assigned as homework
(individual work); one-and-a-half hour for team work (practice-case solving and developing Visual Fox Pro
programming codes, and testing at the computer lab); half hour for groups‟ presentations; and half hour for
reflection about groups‟ results and selection of the best solution.
40
FIGURE 1 - Sessions Planning
4.3. Experimental Tasks
Students working in teams solved business cases during computer lab sessions and develop business applications.
The cases were taken from the book Systems Analysis and Design Methods (Whitten, 2008). This book contains a
large set of cases based on real-world situations to facilitate students understanding and skills development about
computer applications to automate or optimize business process and systems, and covers an extensive range of
subjects related with the Information Systems Development strategies and methodologies. The complexity level of
the cases is established by the authors and their solutions are included in the instructor´s manual. Cases‟ solutions
were evaluated with an analytical rubric (Table Nº 3), which objective was to measure the level of knowledge and
skills each group has developed at the end of each unit. Furthermore, cases´ results were verified with the
instructor´s manual solutions.
During the semester, in addition, students developed a computer application based on Visual Fox Pro language
(Final Project). It was an individual work. Each student had to collaborate with a small business and develop an
information system based on its specific needs. At the end of the semester students had to implement the application,
test and improved it if it is necessary. The final project was also evaluated with an analytical rubric.
5. DATA ANALYSIS
The age of participants varies between 20 and 23 years old; 70.6% were male and 29.4% female; and all of them
were full time students, except 8.8% who worked as programmers at business organizations. Moreover, 79.4% were
taken this course for first time and 8.8% for the second time.
6. VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
6.1. Validity
A task-specific analytical rubric was used to evaluate students´ performance during individual and team work. In
order to be valid, an analytical rubric must measure important features of students‟ work, such as ability to use and
apply factual, conceptual, procedural and metacognitive knowledge based on qualitative performance criteria
(Zazueta & Herrera, 2003). The analytical rubric used is considered task-specific because it was designed to be
applied on particular tasks, solving information systems cases and projects. Table Nº 3 shows a brief version of the
analytical rubric used.
41
Scale
Accomplished
Criteria
Satisfactory
10 - 9.3
9.2 - 8.5
8.4 - 7.7
Unsatisfactory
7.6 - 7.0
< 7.0
Interface Design
User needs
Well identified and
satisfied
Aprox. 75%
identified and
satisfied
Less than 50%
identified and
satisfied
Data Dictionary
Complete data
description
Almost all data is
decribed
Data description is
limited
Process
Appropriate modular
processes
Some processes are
modular designed
Processes are not
modular designed
Variables
Sound standarized
Some variables are
standarized
Variables are not
standarized
Report Presentation
Written in
appropiate way but
less organized
Information is
relevant, but some
details are missing
Composition
Clearly written and
well organized
Content
Effective in
conveying ideas
Spelling
No spelling mistakes
Poor written and
unorganized
supporting details
and information are
unclear
Few spelling
mistakes
Several spelling
mistakes
Source: Adapted from Zazueta & Herrera (2003)
TABLE 3 - Analytical Rubric Sample
6.2. Reliability
A reliable instrument produces comparable results for diverse users. It was applied the interrater reliability approach
to determine the reliability of the analytical rubric because the similarity of raters´ results assure that performance
criteria and scale are clear, appropriate and easy to use (Hittleman & Simon, 2006). Working with a pilot sample of
ten students, it was calculated the Pearson correlation coefficient to verify the consistency of raters‟ evaluations
(Table Nº 4). The calculated r > 0.97 shows a high degree of correlation among raters‟ results.
Students
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
J
K
Expert1
Expert2
Expert3
7,70
7,65
7,50
7,93
7,63
7,78
6,78
6,53
6,83
8,35
7,98
7,95
6,50
6,53
6,63
7,68
7,43
7,70
8,55
8,40
8,35
6,95
6,65
6,90
8,53
8,10
8,20
7,68
7,43
7,68
Mean
Standard
Deviation
7,62
7,78
6,71
8,09
6,55
7,60
8,43
6,83
8,28
7,59
0,10
0,15
0,16
0,22
0,07
0,15
0,10
0,16
0,22
0,14
TABLE 4 - Raters‟ evaluations
42
7. HYPOTHSES TESTING
7.1. Null Hypothesis One
The first null hypothesis tested was: Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approach did not improve Performance of
Programming I-course students. A Paired Sample T-test was calculated to compare the mean score of pretest and
posttest results of the Individual Performance Variable. The results of the t-test confirm that there is a significant
difference between the mean scores of the pretest and the posttest for the variable examined (Table Nº 5). The
calculated t value is higher than the value of t critic (tc = 1.664), with a df of 33 and a p< 0.001. The pretest has a
mean score of 4.1294 with a standard deviation of 1.96878, and the posttest has a mean score of 7.3294 with a
standard deviation of 1.12695. Based on these results, the null hypothesis one is rejected because the mean score of
the posttest exceeds significantly to the mean score of the pretest.
Number
of cases
Variable
Performance - Individual
Pretest
Posttest
Performance - Team Work
TW initial
Mean
Standard
Deviation
34
4,1294
7,3294
Df
Sig.
(2-tailed)
15,039
33
p <0,001
10,682
33
p <0,001
1,96878
1,12695
34
TW final
t
value
5,6176
1,25565
8,1765
1,2666
TABLE 5 - Paired Sample T-Test
The effect size for a Paired Sample t-test was calculated applying the formulas for the indices D and Eta Square. The
D value is 2.579 and the Eta Square value is 0.873 (Table Nº 6), which means that the effect size of the Individual
Performance variable is large (Hittleman & Simon, 2006). The effect size results confirm the significance of the
growth between the pretest score and the posttest score.
Effect Size
Indices
Performance Performance
Individual
Team Work
D
2,579
1,832
Eta Square
0,873
0,776
TABLE 6 - Effect Size Test
The findings of this experiment confirm the results obtained in previous research works on constructivist approach
to learn a programming language (Gorbaneff, 2006; Morales & Landa, 2004), specifically applying PBL do improve
students performance. As a result, it is possible to conclude that PBL strategy is appropriate to learn a programming
language and must be used by teachers to create learning environments where students can face simulated or real
problems and develop an information system solution.
7.2. Null Hypothesis Two
The second null hypothesis tested was: Collaborative Learning (CL) approach did not improve Performance of
Programming I-course students. A Paired Sample T-test was calculated to compare the mean score of pretest and
posttest results of the Group Performance (TW) Variable. The results of the t-test confirm that there is a
considerable difference between the mean scores of the pretest and the posttest for the variable examined (Table Nº
5). The calculated t value is higher than the value of t critic (tc = 1.664), with a df of 33 and a p< 0.001. The TW
initial has a mean score of 5.6176 with a standard deviation of 1.25565, and the TW final has a mean score of
43
8.1765 with a standard deviation of 1.2666. Based on these results, the null hypothesis two is rejected because the
mean score of the TW final is higher than the mean score of the TW initial.
The effect size for a Paired Sample t-test was calculated applying the formulas for the indices D and Eta Square. The
D value is 1.832 and the Eta Square value is 0.776 (Table Nº 6), which means that the effect size of the Group
Performance variable is large (Hittleman & Simon, 2006). The effect size results corroborate the importance of the
increase between the pretest score and the posttest score of the Group Performance (TW) variable.
The experiment results of former studies claim that collaborative learning improves students performance because
they learn best when they are actively involved in small groups of work (Muñoz et al., 2005; Redondo et al., 2002 ),
which is confirmed by this research findings. Based on these results, it is likely to suggest that a constructivist
strategy such as collaborative learning must be applied to facilitate authentic learning based on group activities.
8. CONCLUSIONS
This research presents the experience developed in the Information Systems School at the Technical University of
Machala (Ecuador), where a language programming course was redesigned based on understanding goals and
learning environments grounded in constructivist strategies.
The first research question of this study considered the hypothesis that the use of PBL approach to learn Visual
FoxPro would enhance students´ performance. The results show that there was a relevant rise between the individual
performance pretest and the individual performance posttest. Consequently, the null hypothesis one is rejected. The
second research question considered the hypothesis that CL strategy to learn Visual FoxPro would improve students´
performance. The findings denote that the performance of students increase significantly when they work
collaboratively to solve programming problems. Then, the null hypothesis two is rejected.
Based on the results of this study, it is possible to conclude that constructivist approaches to learn a programming
language do facilitate students´ learning. It was demonstrated that the use of PBL allows students to be more
autonomous in solving problems, improving their capacity for critical thinking, to look for and analyze information
needed to propose a solution and develop an information system. Furthermore, CL strategy builds up students‟ team
work skills and communications abilities.
8.1. Limitations
Considering that this study was based on an action-research design and applied to a specific group under determined
conditions, its results can not be generalized. Furthermore, this experiment was developed with a convenient sample
and without control group, which means that there was not control on the external or intervenient variables that
could affect its results. Thus, it is not possible to assure that the findings of this research could be similar working in
different environments or with other target groups.
8.2. Theoretical and Pedagogical Implications of the Findings
During the last few years, there has been an increasing interest on the application of constructivist methodologies to
teach and learn the information technology domains, specifically in the programming languages area. This research
develops an accurate technique to learn a programming language combining constructivist strategies to improve the
individual and group performance of information systems students using classroom settings to simulate business
problems and real world situations at business organizations to face students with real information systems
problems. As a result, experiential learning based on constructivist environments help students to transfer
knowledge and skills developed in academic settings to real business situations.
The pedagogical implications of these conclusions are that Information Technology instructors and teachers could
enrich learning environments using constructivist approaches to learn programming languages and avoid traditional
techniques based on code programming language memorization that limits students‟ engagement and motivation.
44
REFERENCES
BANDURA, A. (1997). Aprendizaje social y desarrollo de la personalidad. España: Alianza Editorial.
DEDE, Ch. (2008). Theoretical Perspectives Influencing the Use of Information Technology in Teaching and
Learning. International Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education, 43-62.
SpringScience+Business Media.
FIGL, K. (2010). A Systematic Review of Developing Team Competencies in Information Systems Education.
Journal of Information Systems Education. Vol. October.
GOEL, S. & KATHURIA, V. (2010). A Novel Aproach for Collaborative Pair Programming. Journal of
Information Technology Education. Vol. 9, 183-196.
GORBANEFF, Y. (2006). Reseña de "El poder del aprendizaje basado en problemas". Innovar , 244 - 246.
HUANG, I., HWANG, G. & YANG, I. (2010). Optimization of a Cooperative Programming Learning System by
Using a Constructivist Approach. Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Computers in Education.
Putrajaya, Malaysia: Asia-Pacific Society for Computers in Education.
HITTLEMAN, D. & SIMON, A. (2006). Interpreting educational research: An introduction for consumers of
research. New Jersey: Pearson Education, 4th. edition, pág. 151.
LEVINE, G. G. (2001). Computación y programación moderna. México: Pearson Educación.
MASEK, A. & YAMIN, S. (2010). Problem Based Learning Model: A Collection from the Literature. Asian Social
Science, Vol. 6, Nº 8, 148-156.
MUÑOZ, J., ÁLVAREZ, F., GARZA, L. & PINALES, F. (2005). Modelo para el Aprendizaje Colaborativo del
Análisis y Diseño Orientado a Objetos. Red de Revistas Científicas de América Latina y el Caribe, España y
Portugal , 73-82.
OVIEDO, M. (2002). la enseñanza de la programación. México: IPN-UPIICSA.
PAPERT, S. (1981). Desafío a la mente, computadoras y educación. Buenos Aires: Galápagos.
PERKINS, D. (1997). La escuela inteligente. Barcelona: Gedisa, 64 - 71.
PIAGET, J. (1969). Psicología y Pedagogía. España: Ariel, Primera edició, pag. 81 - 99.
REDONDO, M., MENDEZ, A., MARCELINO, M., BRAVO, C. & ORTEGA, M. (2003). Planificación
colaborativa del diseño para el aprendizaje de la programación. 8vo. Taller Internacional de Software Educativo.
STONE W., M. (2005). La enseñanza para la comprensión: Vinculación entre la pedagogía y la práctica. Buenos
Aires: Editorial Paidos, 1era. Edición.
VYGOTSKI, L. (1985). Pensamiento y lenguaje. México: Alfa y Omega.
WHITTEN, J. L. (2008). Análisis y Diseño de Sistemas y Métodos. México: McGraw HIll.
ZAZUETA, A. & HERRERA, F. (2003). Rúbrica o matriz de valoración, herramienta de evaluación formativa y
sumativa. México: Centre d'Estudis Vall de Segó Joaquin Rodrigo.
45
SERVICE QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN SRILANKA
TELECOM
LA QUALITÉ DES SERVICES ET LA SATISFACTION DES CLIENTS
DANS LES TÉLÉCOMMUNICATIONS AU SRILANKA
Puwanenthiren PREMKANTH, Faculty of Management studies and Commerce, University of
Jaffna, Jaffna, Sri Lanka, [email protected]
ABSTRACT
The research on service quality and customer satisfaction in Sri Lanka telecom sector undertaken to find out that to
what extent the Service quality influence on the customer satisfaction.Tele communication has become extremely
competition in today‟s world. Service Quality focuses on the needs of the customers in the Communication sector.
The more expansion of Service Quality, services in communication sector creates the more opportunity for new
entrants by satisfying customer needs in proper manner. The finding of the study is, there is positive linear
relationship between the Service Quality and customer satisfaction. Best Service Quality will lead to the high
customer satisfaction. Customers are satisfied through the Service Quality in the Tele Communication sector. The
main favorable factors that are connected regarding Pricing strategy, Improve customer employee relationship,
Introduce new technologies, Improve existing facility in the Srilanka telecom should be carefully noted.
1. INTRODUCTION
This study is based on the services provided by Sri Lanka Telecom and the satisfaction rendered is its customers and
their effects. It is to identify activities which provide satisfaction to the customers by the services provided by the
organization.An organization involved in providing services could attract more customers if it could maintain at a
higher standard its quality and e economy in costs, speed and safety. Much satisfaction could be given through this
consequently the forget of the organization could be achieved. But if there is no efficiency and skill in the providing
of services the idea of customers‟ satisfaction will not be fruitful. Hence this is a ascertain as to how the Sri Lanka
Telecom provides the services and meets satisfactory approval of the customers.
1.1 Research Problem
Does the service of the Sri Lanka Telecom give the satisfaction to its customers?
1.2 Objectives of Study
1.
2.
To find out the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction
To find out the factor which determent customer satisfaction
1.3 Significance of the Study
Customer is the main person to be considered for the organizations to achieve their targets. Any organization
wishing to achieve its target should ensure customer satisfaction. The reality of the management is the concern of
the customer as to what they are looking for, about what they are thinking, about what they are desirous and
believes. Hence the organizations should be considered about the consumers‟ actual position, behaviors, their
expectations and environment. It is important for both the consumer and the organization to keep the level of
satisfaction on the provision of services higher than of other organizations. This research help future researcher and
Sri Lanka Telecom, Sri Lanka Telecom Ltd can know its objective and can achieve the it‟s goals and how are the
change its service customers can know Sri Lanka Telecom‟s services. That research in this connection is essential as
every organization is interested in the modern international world to satisfy its customers.
46
2. EMPIRICAL STUDY
Magnus Söderlund et al (1995) there is analysis Customer Satisfaction and Links to Customer Profitability. This
paper explores links between customer satisfactions; repurchase intentions, purchase behavior, and customer
profitability. The survey was conducted in July 1995. It comprised telephone interviews with randomly selected
customers. The analysis reveals a strong link between customer behavior and customer profitability, while modest
links exist between repurchase intentions and subsequent behavior. Only a weak and non-significant direct link can
be observed between customer satisfaction and customer profitability.
Yap sheau fena et al (-1998) there is analysis service quality and customer‟s satisfaction: - antecedents of customer‟s
re-patronage intentions.This study was designed to examine the relationship between service quality, customer
satisfaction and customer‟s re-patronage intentions in the context of the restaurant industry. The respondents were
377 restaurant patrons who completed the self-administered questionnaire. Pearson Correlation analysis indicated
that service quality and customer satisfaction had a direct positive effect on customer‟s re-patronage intentions.
Multiple Linear Regression highlighted customer satisfaction as a stronger predictor of re-patronage intentions
compared to service quality.
Nor Khalidah Abu (1996) in his study he says analysis Service Quality Dimensions: A Study on Various Sizes of
Grocery Retailers. The slow growth of grocery products in Malaysia since the Asian financial crisis and the influx of
multinational and large scale retailers since early 1990s allow Malaysian consumers to be more selective of their
choice of grocery stores. Smaller grocery stores in Malaysia are seen as offering more personal services but with
inadequate stocks and facilities; a contrast to the larger retailers which are seen as offering better merchandise
choice and public amenities but with standardized and non-personalized services. As grocery retailers are seen as
offering similar products in the store, improving service quality is seen as critical to ensure customer loyalty.
Despite the extensive research on the measures used by consumers to measure service quality in the service sector,
there is lack of empirical studies on it in the retail sector. A need to look into service quality dimensions for each
country is called for, as each country is believed to have its own unique set of quality dimensions. This conceptual
paper identifies the service quality dimensions critical to urban grocery shoppers for small, medium, and large-sized
grocery stores.
A.T. Stewart et al (1995) there is analyzed “ Tracking consumer satisfaction in the united states” based on the
analysis of ASCI results, business often make three common mistakes that lead to lower levels of customer
satisfaction. First, many firms continue to view customer service as a cost rather than as an investment. Second,
firms tend to forget that customer satisfaction is a constantly rising bar. Finally the third, most common mistake is a
firm‟s inability to link customer satisfaction to its bottom line. Some firms still do not see (or fail to appreciate) the
connection. However in customer retention rate translates into a 95% increase in customer net present value.
Dinuku Wijetunga et al (2003) there is analyzed “The customer satisfaction in Srilanka retail banking- The role of
the service quality” this study attempt to identify the determents of customer satisfaction in the Retail banking sector
of Srilanka. The findings indicate that service quality is more important in determining satisfaction than service
features or price of the different service quality dimensions. Relational quality & core services quality are found to
be more important than the other dimension (Empathy & Tangibles) The opinions of top level officers of the
banking sector regarding the important determination of satisfactions are found to be somewhat different to the
findings of the customer survey . Several studies have examined the important of various qualities determining
customer satisfaction (at the overall level) in a retail banking setting. Some of the studies have also examined other
determinants of satisfaction in retail banking.
Antaneo et al (2002) there is analyzed “The important of each „p‟ and classification of different market”. Each
business organization has several aims. But this study tries to explain how the bank achieve it‟s objectives by
increasing the customer orientation. The meaning that marketing mix will yield advantages profits was brought by
Calisan in 1948. Myrkethy in 1996, first he introduced 4 variables in marketing mix. Following Boden in 1964
brought 12 variables in marketing mix. It should be noted in all variables „p‟ is the 1 st letter. Generally 4p‟s means
product, place, price, promotion.
47
Parasuraman et al. (1985) there is looks at perceived quality of service as the difference between customers‟
expectation and their perceptions of the actual service received. Other researchers look at perceived service quality
as an attitude. Arnauld et al., (2002) defined perceived quality “whether in reference to a product or service” as “the
consumers‟ evaluative judgment about an entity‟s overall excellence or superiority in providing desired benefits” (p.
327). Hoffman & Bateson (2001) defines service quality as an attitude “formed by a long-term, overall evaluation of
a performance”. Attitude is defined as “a consumer‟s overall, enduring evaluation of a concept or object, such as a
person, a brand, or a service.”
3.0 CONCEPTUALIZATION FRAMEWORK
Pricing Strategy
Improve customer employee
relationship
Better services
Customer satisfaction
Introduce new technology
Improve existing facilities
3.1 Definition of Key Concepts
Customer Service
Customer service encompasses every thing a company deeps to satisfy its customers and to keep them realize the
greatest possible value from the good and service.
Customer Satisfaction
This is person‟s feelings at pleasures or disappointment resulting from comparing a product‟s perceived
performance in relation to his or her expectation.
Pricing Strategies
Pricing strategies is a strategic. Use to the organization achieving their objectives. Can he use following variables.
• Rate of Return
• Full cost plan
• Marginal
• Price
Improve Customer Employee Relation Ship
Every organization should improve customer employee Relationship. In order to provide better service to customers
satisfy their expectations.
Introduce new technologies
Every organization introduce new technologies in order to provide better service to customer satisfy their
expectation.
E.g:- Sri Lanka telecom service Change into Analog into Digital
Improve exiting Facilities
The organization improve existing facilities in order to provide better service to customer satisfy their expectation.
E.g: Cost reduces
48
3.2 Operationalization
Concept
Customer service
Customer
satisfaction
Variables
Pricing strategy
Improve customer
employee relationship
Introduce new technologies
Improve existing facility
Motive for new connection
Behavior
Stability with originations
Regular payment
Indicator
Questionnaire
Questionnaire
Measure
Questionnaire
Questionnaire
Questionnaire
Questionnaire
Questionnaire
Questionnaire
Questionnaire
Questionnaire
Questionnaire
Questionnaire
Questionnaire
Questionnaire
Questionnaire
Questionnaire
3.3 Hypothesis
The research falls following Hypothesis in research manner;
H1:- The higher Perceived quality the higher the Customer Satisfaction
H2:- The lower the Perceived Quality the Lower the Customer Satisfaction
3.4 Research Sample
It used questionnaires to collect information in order to evaluate the customer service, customer satisfaction which is
being provided by Sri Lanka telecom Ltd in Sri Lanka. Among the telecom contributor call area. Therefore my
research will be issued to different types of customers will be used to different type of customers according their
proportion in this area.
3.5 Data collection techniques
Data are independence for any research there could be collected in two ways.
They are.
1. Primary data
II. Secondary data
3.6 Methods of analysis
Various method are utilized to analyze the varies method information derived from this study.
1. Correlation analysis
2. Regression analysis
4.0 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ACCORDING TO THE AGE.
Age
range
15-29
30-44
45-49
Over60
Total
Respondents
(high)
15
08
07
30
Percentage
Respondents(low)
Percentage
Total
Percentage
16.48%
8.79%
7.69%
32.96%
30
16
07
08
61
32.96%
17.58%
7.69%
8.79%
67.02%
45
24
14
08
91
49.45%
26.37%
15.38%
08.79%
100%
49
On the basis of information obtained from questionnaires age distribution are 15 – 29, 30 – 44, 45 – 59 and over 60.
There are 15%, 8% and 7% samples are satisfied in high level and 30% 16% 7% and 8% of samples are satisfied in
low level.Here 15-29, 30-44, 45-59 and over 60 age range consist of 15,8,7 respondent in high level satisfaction and
30,16,7,8 respondents in low level satisfaction. As for as the over all 30 respondents are satisfied (33%) in 15 – 29
age range.
4.1 Customer satisfaction according to Gender
Gender
Male
Female
Total
high
Respondents
22
09
31
Low
Percentage
24%
10%
34%
Respondents
42
18
60
Percentage
46%
20%
66%
Respondents
64
27
91
Total
Percentage
70%
30%
100%
According to above table 4.5 22 male and 09 female are satisfied in high level. 47 male and 18 female are satisfied
in lower level. There 20% of male and 10% of female are satisfied in high level. 46% of male and 20% of female
are satisfied lower level.
4.2 Customer satisfaction according to their Profession
Profession
Farmers
Business Men
Wages earners
Government
officers
Others
Total
High
Respondents
03
10
02
12
Percentage
Percentage
3%
11%
02%
13%
Low
Respondents
05
22
03
24
Percentage
Percentage
05%
24%
03%
26%
Total
Respondents
08
32
05
36
Percentage
Percentage
09%
35%
05%
40%
04
31
04%
33%
06
60
07%
65%
10
91
11%
100%
People doing various types of occupation have been interviewed. Due to similarities between their occupations.
Researcher have categories them as farmer, business man, wage, varies about officers and others. It is shown above
table On the basis of information obtained from questionnaires no of categories occupation of 8 farmers, 32 business
man, 5 wage carrier 36 officers and 10 others. There are consist of 9% of farmer, 35% of business man, 5% of wage
carriers, 40% of govt. officers, and 11% of others in total sample. It is shown about table There are 03 farmers, 10
business man 02 wages carriers 2 govt. officers and 4 others are satisfied in high level. 5, 22, 3, 24 and 6
respondents are satisfied in lower level. There are 3% of farmers, 11% of business man, 2% of wage earners 13%
of govt officers of satisfied in high level. 5%, 24%, 3%, 26%, & 7% of respondents an satisfied in lower level.
4.3 Research information
Type of Service
Types of Services
Local only
IDD
Email
Internet
Is.N.D
Data Transmission
Total
Respondents
63
28
03
02
91
Percentage
69%
31%
03%
02%
100%
50
The type of service which is provided by S.L.T. Ltd to its customers and sample of 91 respondent‟s response in
relation to this service are given below. The customers, who have obtained in E- mail on internet service, also have
obtained local or IDD Service facilities. The service provided by S.L.T.Ltd in Sri lanka and data transmission have
not been implemented in Jaffna district. Further internet and E-mail have been implemented recently and have
earned popularity. But these service are not famous like local and 300 connection, because due to heavy
expenditure and are on fixed cost. This is because of two fact. That these are interconnected with computer system.
On the research carried on the 91 customers 63 person are interests in receipt in local call only. That means 61% of
the 91 respondents. The balance 28 in use of local and IDD service. This is equal to 31% more over out of the total
customers only 5% are using E – mail and internet service
4.4 The Unit Usage
The average unit Use per month were categorized in to four classes. 17 respondents call under the category of
below 200 units use for month, 21 respondents fall under monthly average unit range of 1000 – 3000 and 8
respondents use more than 3000 unit per month.
Unit Range
Below 200
201-1000
1000-3000
above 3000
Total
Resident
12
16
11
06
45
No Respondents
Business& Office
05
10
15
10
40
Respondents
17
26
26
16
85
Total
Percentage
20%
31%
31%
18%
100%
4.5 Customers
Potential customers waiting period is divided into 06 categories at present approximately 21% of total customers of
S.L.T.Ltd are waiting list for the purpose of getting telephone line connection by considering the sample of 19 future
customers response. Researcher was able to develop the following table
Waiting period
Below period
3 Month
6 Month
1 Year
03 Years
Over 03 years
Total
Responded
1
4
4
1
2
7
19
Percentage
5%
21%
21%
5%
11%
37%
100%
4.6 Level of the Service and satisfaction
To assess the service of S.L.T Ltd. customer‟s there were questionnaire question. from 7 – 35 out of the 80
question are statement to find the customer service, out of 11 question or statement to find the customer satisfaction.
the customer decision on strongly agree, uncertainly disagree, and strongly disagree. As representation, to study the
situation, 91 customers were interviewed on consulted to as certain their views and at least the study reveal
minimum satisfaction on S.L.T.Ltd‟s service among its customers. In order to measure the level of satisfaction of
S.L.T.Ltd customers regarding various activities and services. I have
51
4.7 Charges
On the basis of information obtained from the questionnaire, most of the respondent have reveal their uncertainly
level on this case. I am a shown in table as follow.
Discription
Charge payable
for Service
Updating of
payment
facility made for
payment
will regards to
for
Strong
Agree
Res
%
3
3
Agree
Unagree
Disagree
Res
30
%
33
Res
12
%
14
Res
36
%
43
Strong
Disagree
Res
%
10
11
Total
91
2
2
38
42
8
9
41
45
2
2
91
1
1
50
55
7
8
30
33
3
3
91
1
1
26
29
17
19
40
44
7
8
91
On the basis of the information obtain from questionnaire 2% are strongly agree, 40% are agree, 12% are
uncertainly, 41% are disagree and 6% are strongly disagree of total sample size with regarding overall charges made
by S.L.T Ltd. in relation to charges pay able for service. 3 respondents are strongly agree, 30 respondents are agree,
12 respondents are uncertainly, 32 respondents are disagree and 10 respondents are strongly disagree with regarded
to up dating of payment. There 2,38,8, 41, and 2 respondents are strongly agree, uncertainly, disagree and strongly
disagree. As for as overall charges is concern 41% of respondents are in disagree.
4.8 Customer – employee Relationship
Most of the respondents are on uncertainly in relation with customer employer relationship. In gathered
data from questionnaire in given below in table
Description
Behaviour of employee
Expected helps
Suggestion and explanation
Percentage
Strong
agree
10
6
7
8
Agree
48
39
37
45
Un
certainly
24
30
30
32
Dis
agree
7
14
7
10
Strong
Disagree
2
2
5
5
Total
91
91
91
100
Any organization on it business employee to help in it business. It‟s motive is to do a better business and to achieve
the target. therefore it is a most, request the employee to be courteous with the customers. This sort of behavior will
benefit on the customer employee relationship. It the employee does not behavior decently with the customers, for
example in a rood on rough way the customer may not come to the organization when the customer come in the
business will flourish. On a research carried out on the customer employee relationship out of the 91 questionnaire
the respondents receiver have been analysis that is strongly agree 8% agree 45% uncertain 32% disagree 0% and
strongly disagree 5%. There are based on the behavior of employee, there cooporation and assistance on compliance
is made.
4.8 Technology
Technology in this aspect at samples have been analysis in the basis of information collected from questionnaire, I
have formulate the table to present the data regarding the technical facility.
52
Description
Distrubance ,noice, unclearness
Last advance technology
Percentage
Strong
agree
2
1
2
Agree
27
23
28
Respondents
Un
Dis
certainly
agree
50
08
34
31
46
21
Strong
Disagree
4
2
3
Total
91
91
100
On the basis of the information from questionnaire 2% are strongly agree, 25% are strongly, 46% are uncertainly,
21% are disagree and 3% are srongly disagree of the total sample size. On the basis of the information collected
form questionnaire most of the customer have revealed their uncertainly levels on the case.
I have taken into
consideration on installing telephone connection. As and when you design, motivation for installing. A new
telephone connection and notice for payment or disconnection for the purchase of anglicizing to satisfaction level
on the existing facility. It can be summarize in a table. There 4% or strongly agree 33% of agree. 44% of
uncertainly, 17% of disagree and 3% of strongly disagree
5.0 FINDINGS OF THE RESEARCH
Analysis regarding SLT‟S service Quality and Customer Satisfaction are carried out totally and independently on the
basis of data gathered from 91 customer of the Srilanka telecom
According to the analysis presentation the following findings could be stated.
There is positive relation ship between service Quality and Customer Satisfaction.
In age group 15-29 years, 16.48% Customers is getting high level of Satisfaction
24% male are enjoying high level Satisfaction.
In age group over 41 years, are getting fully satisfying motivation.
25% female employees are reached fully satisfying motivation.





5.1 Discussion of finding
When Customer Satisfaction is correlated with total Service Quality the correlation is 0.756182. Since the
correlation is higher positive. There is a positive relation ship between two variables that is Service Quality and
Customer Satisfaction Further only 57% of variance in Customer Satisfaction (R 2 0.5781) is accounted by total
service Quality of the organization.When Customer Satisfaction is correlated with pricing strategy, the correlation is
0.74, since the correlation is higher positive. The relation ship between Pricing Strategy and Customer Satisfaction is
positive that is organization have provide Proper Pricing Strategy the Customer Satisfaction will also be high.R2 is
0.5327 this means that only 53% of variance if Customer Satisfaction is accounted for by Pricing Strategy of the
organization.
1.



When Customer Satisfaction is correlation with Introduce new technologies the correlation is 0.61 since the
correlation is positive. There is a positive relation ship between two variables. That is the organization have
reasonable level of Technologies, Customer Satisfaction will also be average high.
R2 is 0.3361 this means that only of variance if Customer Satisfaction is accounted for by Technology of
the organization.
In age group 15 – 29 years, 16.48% customers are getting high level of Satisfaction Other age group which
30 –49and over 60 are 8.79% and 7.69 Customer are getting respectively.
25% female are enjoying high level Service other are lower level reward system.
In age group over (15-29) years, 16.48% Customer are getting fully satisfying service there are no others
(age group (29-44), (45 -49) are in fully satisfying service
53
REFERENCE
AHMED, sM and KANGARI, R. (1995). Analysis of client satisfaqction factors in Construction Industry journal of
management in Engineering Vol 11 no 2 pp 36-42
ANDERSON, E. W. and SULLIVAN, M. W. (1993). The antecedents and Consequences of Customer Satisfaction
for firms marketing management Vol 12 No 2 pp 125-143
BARON, Steve and HARRIS (1995). “Service Marketing”.
BROCKMANN, C. (2002). Modeling customer satisfaction for the ACE Industry AACE International Transections
pp 36-44
IRELAND, LR. (1992). Customer satisfaction The project manager‟s role International Journal of Project
management vol 20No2 pp 123-127
KOLTER, Philip (2003). “Marketing Management”, 11th edition.
“Marketing”, study pack, Certificate of Banking Course, Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka.
R.EVANS, Juel. “Principles of Marketing”, 4th edition.
54
55
L’IMPACT DE LA SATISFACTION SUR LA CONFIANCE DES
CONSOMMATEURS A L’ENSEIGNE DE DISTRIBUTION
THE IMPACT OF SATISFACTION ON CONSUMER CONFIDENCE TO
RETAIL COMPAGNIES
Hechmi, NAJJAR, Faculté des sciences économiques et de gestion de Tunis,
[email protected]
Imed, ZAIEM, Faculté des sciences économiques et de gestion de Nabeul,
[email protected]
ABSTRACT
The object of this article is to show the superiority of the causal link Satisfaction
Trust in retailing. To do, an
empirical study was developed from a sample of 400 Tunisian consumers. The validation of causal model allows to
verify the significance of these links and to propose recommendations for supermarkets‟ operators.
KEY-WORDS: Satisfaction, Trust, Store, Sem
RÉSUMÉ
L‟objectif de cet article est de montrer la supériorité du lien causal Satisfaction
Confiance dans le domaine de la
grande distribution. Pour ce faire, une étude empirique a été élaborée auprès d‟un échantillon de 400 consommateurs
tunisiens. La validation du modèle causal permet de vérifier la significativité de ces liens et de proposer des
recommandations en faveur des opérateurs de la grande distribution.
MOT-CLEFS: Satisfaction, Confiance, Enseigne De Distribution, Equations Structurelles
1. INTRODUCTION
La satisfaction et la confiance représentent deux concepts extrêmement importants au niveau du paradigme
relationnel. Dans le domaine de la grande distribution, les chercheurs et les praticiens en marketing accordent à ces
construits relationnels une importance particulière car ces variables permettent l‟élaboration des stratégies capables
de développer et de conserver des relations durables et rentables entre les consommateurs et les enseignes de
distribution. A cet égard, les orientations théoriques émergeantes ont déjà montré que la satisfaction et la confiance
représentent deux composantes incontournables de la qualité relationnelle, favorisant ainsi le développement de la
relation entre les partenaires de l‟échange (Mimouni et Volle, 2003 ; Rauyruen et Miller, 2007).
Par conséquent, l‟étude de la relation entre la satisfaction et la confiance constitue une préoccupation majeure dans
le champ du marketing relationnel. D‟ailleurs, la majorité des travaux de recherches en marketing (notamment
Dixon et al, 2005; Opsomer et Kaâbachi, 2006 ; Chumpitaz et Paparoidamis, 2007) ont pu démontrer l‟existence
d‟une relation positive et significative entre ces deux construits relationnels.
Cependant, la question du sens de causalité n‟a pas été résolue théoriquement. En effet, « la satisfaction peut être
considérée comme étant un élément de résultat et de renforcement de la confiance » (Sirieix et Dubois, 1999). Cet
aboutissement crée une controverse au niveau des orientations théoriques et rend cette relation beaucoup plus
complexe (Audrain et Evrard 2001, Georges et Decock Good 2004, Zboja et Voorhees 2006). En effet, les tentatives
de synthèse et de comparaison entre les modèles de causalité ont abouti en conséquence à des résultats
contradictoires concernant le lien entre la satisfaction et la confiance. En plus, les justifications relatives au choix du
sens de causalité sont moins nombreuses et d‟autant plus limitées (Selnes 1998, Chouk et Perrien 2003).
56
Dans cette perspective, l‟examen de cette relation présente un intérêt croissant et constitue une opportunité majeure
aux marqueteurs permettant de mieux comprendre la nature et les spécificités de cette relation dans le contexte du
marketing relationnel. A cet égard, le présent article s‟attache à montrer la significativité et l‟importance du lien
causal entre la satisfaction et la confiance, et de vérifier la supériorité du sens de cette relation dans le domaine de la
grande distribution.
2. CADRE THEORIQUE
2.1 Les fondements conceptuels de la satisfaction
La satisfaction représente une notion incontournable en marketing. Les travaux de Fécikova (2004), ont montré que
la satisfaction nécessite une culture orientée vers le marché, une organisation centrée sur le client, des personnels
compétents, un processus autonome, un travail en équipe et une collaboration entre les partenaires.
Au regard de la littérature, plusieurs définitions ont été avancées pour présenter ce concept. Selon Oliver (1981), la
satisfaction est « un état psychologique où il y a une différence entre l’émotion émergente et l’attente anticipée et
accumulée du client à l’égard de ses achats accomplis ». Pour Halstead et al (1994), la satisfaction désigne « une
réponse émotionnelle associée à une transaction spécifique qui résulte de la comparaison entre un résultat de
consommation et un standard avant achat ».
Par ailleurs, les premiers travaux sur la satisfaction se sont développés en se basant sur le paradigme de non
confirmation des attentes (Allagui et Temessek, 2005). Ce paradigme stipule que le client est satisfait lorsque
l‟expérience vécue dépasse ses attentes (Boss, 1999).
En partant d‟une perspective relationnelle, la satisfaction cumulée représente l‟ensemble des expériences vécues par
les consommations. En effet, les satisfactions éprouvées par le consommateur après plusieurs actes d‟achats et de
consommations ne sont pas indépendantes les unes des autres (Ben Youssef et al, 2005).
Sur le plan managérial, les entrepreneurs ont élaboré un ensemble d‟actions pertinentes en vue d‟atténuer les
conséquences négatives d‟insatisfaction des consommateurs. Selon Fécikova (2004), le traitement des plaintes réduit
la défection des clients. En outre, l‟identification des principales causes d‟insatisfaction rend l‟entreprise capable de
faire face à ses conséquences négatives (Lendrevie et al, 2003).
2.2 Les fondements conceptuels de la confiance
La confiance représente un vecteur principal en faveur des orientations relationnelles et contribue énormément à
l‟évolution de la théorie des échanges (Guibert, 1999). Sur le plan conceptuel « la confiance est l’ensemble de
croyances confrontant le client que les intentions ainsi que les comportements de son partenaire d’échange
produiront les résultats attendus » (Frisou, 2000). Selon, Scheer et Stern (1992), la confiance est considérée comme
étant « la croyance que le partenaire est capable de réaliser à long terme ses obligations conformément aux besoins
et aux intérêts de ses clients ».
Par ailleurs, la confiance représente une variable clé dans le développement de la relation avec les clients (Yoon,
2002). En effet, la confiance garantit la stabilité des échanges (Gatfaoui et Lavorata, 2001), réduit l‟incertitude dans
un environnement incertain (Chaudhuri et Holbrook, 2001) et représente un moyen de sécurité pour les clients
(Georges et Decock Good, 2004). A ce propos, les travaux de Morgan et Hunt (1994), ont montré que la confiance
forme un indicateur pertinent de la volonté et la capacité du partenaire à respecter ses engagements envers ses
clients. Les travaux de Ganesan (1994), et de Bories (2006), ont montré que la confiance favorise l‟interaction entre
les partenaires.
Dans le domaine de distribution, les travaux d‟Opsomer et Kaabâchi (2006), prouvent que la confiance exerce un
rôle primordial au niveau de la relation entre le consommateur et l‟enseigne. La confiance constitue alors une source
d‟information, un indicateur de qualité et un moyen de garantie pour les consommateurs.
57
Sur le plan managérial, la confiance garantit la continuité des investissements à long terme (Abbes, 2006). Selon
Guibert (1999), la confiance favorise les bénéfices à long terme. Ainsi, la confiance constitue une source d‟avantage
compétitif (Barney et Hansen, 1994) et un axe stratégique pertinent pour les opérateurs de la grande distribution.
2.3 Relation entre la satisfaction et la confiance
Le lien entre la satisfaction et la confiance a fait l‟objet de plusieurs travaux en marketing. En effet, un grand
nombre de chercheurs (notamment Geyskens et al 1999, Bloemer et Odekerken – Schröder 2002, Bigne et Blesa
2003, Benyoussef et al 2005, Chumpitaz et Paparoidamis 2007) ont mis l‟accent sur l‟importance que revêt cette
relation au niveau des mécanismes relationnels. Ainsi, le tableau 1 synthétise les contributions théoriques les plus
récentes concernant la relation entre la satisfaction et la confiance.
Auteurs
Sirieix et Dubois
(1999)
Georges et Decock
Good (2004)
Allagui et Temessek
(2005)
Dixon et al (2005)
Abbes (2006)
Résultats de la littérature en marketing
La confiance du consommateur à la marque agit
positivement sur la satisfaction des clients.
La satisfaction exerce un effet positif sur la confiance
des clients.
La confiance agit positivement sur la satisfaction des
internautes.
La satisfaction agit positivement sur la confiance des
clients au point de vente.
La confiance en les intentions, la confiance en les
relations et la confiance globale de l‟enseigne agissent
positivement sur la satisfaction à l‟enseigne.
Contextes
d’application
Mc Donald‟s (Mc).
Quick (Q).
Relation fournisseur –
service client.
Le cas des e – services.
Relation consommateur
– magasin.
– enseigne de
distribution.
Béjaoui et M‟henna
(2006)
La satisfaction exerce un effet positif sur la confiance.
Secteur hôtelier.
Opsomer et Kaâbachi
(2006)
La satisfaction cumulée agit positivement sur la
confiance à l‟enseigne de distribution.
– enseigne de
distribution.
Zboja et Voorhees
(2006)
Chumpitaz et
Paparoidamis (2007)
La satisfaction à la marque agit positivement sur la
confiance à la marque.
La satisfaction au distributeur agit positivement sur la
confiance au distributeur.
La satisfaction relationnelle agit positivement sur la
confiance.
Milieu Business to
Consumer.
Milieu Business to
Business.
TABLEAU 1: Le lien entre la satisfaction et la confiance
Comme le montre le tableau 1, les recherches antérieures s‟accordent sur l‟existence d‟une relation positive, directe
et significative entre la satisfaction et la confiance. Toutefois, le sens de causalité représente la principale source de
divergence entre les chercheurs en marketing. Les tentatives de synthèse et de comparaison entre les différentes
alternatives ont abouti à des résultats contradictoires concernant le sens de causalité entre la satisfaction et la
confiance. En effet, les résultats de Geyskens et al (1999), menés des travaux d‟une méta – analyse, ont montré que
la satisfaction agit positivement sur la confiance. Par contre, la démarche comparative de Bigne et Blesa (2003),
basée sur la comparaison entre deux modèles antagonistes en se basant sur l‟ajustement comme étant un critère
d‟évaluation pertinent, a montré la supériorité du lien confiance → satisfaction au niveau de la relation producteur –
distributeur.
Au regard de la littérature, l‟étude du lien causal entre la satisfaction et la confiance a été argumentée par un
ensemble de justifications théoriques permettant de favoriser un sens de causalité.
D‟une part, plusieurs orientations théoriques ont justifié l‟importance de la satisfaction dans l‟explication de la
confiance. Selon Béjaoui et M‟henna (2006), « la satisfaction a été auparavant une finalité en soi ». Par conséquent,
58
les objectifs ont été axés sur la satisfaction des clients pour faire face à la concurrence. L‟avènement du paradigme
relationnel a rendu le rôle de la confiance plus important au niveau de la chaîne relationnelle. Par conséquent, la
confiance représente une conséquence majeure de la satisfaction dans le mécanisme relationnel.
Selon Georges et Decock Good (2004), la continuité des expériences satisfaisantes entre les partenaires forme un
déterminant important de la confiance. Pour Opsomer et Kaâbachi (2006), les expériences satisfaisantes à l‟égard de
l‟enseigne de distribution favorisent la confiance des consommateurs. Selon Garbarino et Johnson (1999),
l‟orientation relationnelle des clients favorise l‟impact de la satisfaction sur la confiance.
Finalement, les travaux de Geyskens et al (1999), ont montré que le lien entre la satisfaction et la confiance s‟intègre
dans le cadre d‟une perspective longitudinale au niveau de la chaîne relationnelle. Ces auteurs se sont basés sur le
cycle de vie relationnel de Dwyer et al (1987) afin de justifier l‟impact de la satisfaction sur la confiance.
D‟autre part, Plusieurs chercheurs ont prouvé que la satisfaction représente une variable subséquente de la
confiance. En effet, les travaux de Sirieix et Dubois (1999), ont montré que la confiance représente un médiateur
incontournable entre la qualité et la satisfaction. Autrement dit, lorsque le consommateur accorde sa confiance à la
marque, il éprouve une satisfaction plus élevée. Ainsi, la confiance permet de mieux comprendre le lien entre la
qualité et la satisfaction du consommateur.
Finalement, les travaux de Allagui et Temessek (2005), ont montré que la confiance permet la formation des
jugements évaluatifs des consommateurs. Ces auteurs se sont basés sur la théorie de l‟action raisonnée d‟Ajzen et
Fishbein (1980), pour justifier l‟impact de la confiance sur la satisfaction. Cette théorie stipule que les réactions du
consommateur suivent la séquence croyance – attitude – intention – comportement. Etant donné que la confiance
représente une croyance et que la satisfaction reflète une variable attitudinale (Allagui et Temessek, 2005), les
auteurs ont montré que la confiance détermine la satisfaction des consommateurs à l‟égard du e-service.
3. METHODOLOGIE
L‟objectif de cette recherche est de mieux comprendre la nature et les spécificités de la relation entre la satisfaction
et la confiance d‟une part, et de vérifier la supériorité d‟un sens causal entre ces deux variables. Pour ce faire, une
enquête en face à face a été administrée auprès d‟un échantillon de convenance composé de 400 personnes (dont
51% sont des hommes et 49% sont des femmes). Le questionnaire s‟adresse aux consommateurs tunisiens qui
fréquentent les hypermarchés et qui habitent dans la région de Grand Tunis.
L‟opérationnalisation des variables relationnelles a été fondée sur l‟utilisation des échelles de mesure multi-items
validées en marketing. Chaque item a été évalué sur une échelle de Likert allant de 1 (pas du tout d‟accord) à 5 (tout
à fait d‟accord).
A cet égard, nous avons fait appel à l‟échelle de Gurviez et Korchia (2002), pour mesurer la confiance à l‟enseigne
de distribution. Par ailleurs, nous avons eu recours à l‟échelle de mesure de la satisfaction cumulée d‟Oliver (1980).
Cette échelle a été développée en anglais et comporte six indicateurs de mesure de la satisfaction. Par conséquent,
nous avons retenu la version française traduite par Vo et Jolibert (2005). Conformément aux préconisations de
Devellis (2003), nous avons éliminé l‟item correspondant au sentiment de déception du consommateur afin de faire
face au problème de la multidimensionnalité artificielle.
Par la suite, l‟ensemble de ces items a été soumis à une analyse préliminaire en vue d‟optimiser les propriétés
psychométriques de nos échelles de mesures. Après analyse, l‟item « Sat 5 » a été éliminé car il dispose d‟une
qualité de représentation relativement faible.
Finalement, les données collectées ont été soumises à une analyse exploratoire dans le but d‟identifier la structure
des variables latentes. Nous avons adopté la démarche en deux étapes d‟Anderson et Gerbing (1988), qui consiste à
valider le modèle de mesure moyennant une analyse confirmatoire, puis tester les relations linéaires entre les
variables latentes moyennant une analyse structurelle.
59
Les paramètres sont estimés par la méthode des moindres carrées généralisés (GLS). Selon Roussel et al (2002),
cette méthode d‟estimation est plus robuste aux problèmes de la multi-normalité des indicateurs de mesure.
4. LES RESULTATS
4.1 Les résultats des analyses exploratoires
Les analyses exploratoires permettent de détecter les variables latentes et de déterminer la cohérence interne de ces
variables relationnelles. Les résultats de l‟ACP (tableau 2) indiquent une bonne qualité de représentation des
indicateurs de mesure. Le KMO (0,8) permet d‟aboutir à une solution factorielle acceptable Les composantes après
rotation Varimax montrent que la première dimension intègre les items relatifs à la variable satisfaction. En plus, la
crédibilité, la bienveillance et l‟intégrité forment les dimensions de la variable confiance.
Finalement, l‟examen du coefficient Alpha de Cronbach ( ), permet de vérifier la fiabilité de chacune de ces
dimensions au niveau exploratoire. Les résultats montrent que les valeurs de ( ) sont supérieures à 0,6 pour les
dimensions obtenues. Par conséquent, nous pouvons déduire que les mesures de la satisfaction et la confiance sont
fiables au niveau exploratoire.
Items
Qualité de
représentation
0,647
0,666
0,611
0,606
0,691
0,826
0,746
0,716
0,708
0,740
0,843
0,856
Satisfaction
Sat 1
0,802
Sat 2
0,782
Sat 3
0,777
Sat 4
0,771
Conf 1
Conf 2
Conf 3
Conf 4
Conf 5
Conf 6
Conf 7
Conf 8
Valeurs propres
4,16
Alpha de Cronbach
0,795
KMO = 0,805
Signification de Bartlett = 0,000
Pourcentage de la variance expliquée = 72,119 %.
Composantes après rotation Varimax
Crédibilité
Bienveillance
0,780
0,847
0,842
0,812
0,788
0,826
2,23
1,18
0,834
0,801
Intégrité
0,873
0,880
1,09
0,827
TABLEAU 2 : Résultats de l‟analyse exploratoire
4.2 Les résultats des analyses confirmatoires
L‟analyse confirmatoire permet de tester la fiabilité et la validité des construits (tableau 3). En effet, le Rhô de
Jöreskog indique des valeurs supérieures à 0,7 pour chacun des dimensions obtenues. Par ailleurs, la procédure de
Fornell et Larcker (1981), a été suivie pour calculer la validité convergente et la validité discriminante. Le Rhô de la
validité convergente indique des valeurs satisfaisantes qui dépassent le seuil minimal de 0,5. En plus, les conditions
de la validité discriminante sont respectées (Tableau 3). Par conséquent, nous pouvons affirmer que les dimensions
obtenues de la satisfaction et la confiance sont fiables et valides.
60
Fiabilité (Rhô de
Jöreskog)
Dimensions
Validité convergente
Satisfaction (Sa)
0,81
0,51
Crédibilité (Cr)
0,84
0,64
Bienveillance (Bi)
0,83
0,71
Intégrité (In)
0,81
0,59
Validité discriminante
0,51> δ2Sa – Cr = 0,08
0,51> δ2Sa – Bi = 0,04
0,51> δ2Sa – In = 0,05
0,64> δ2Cr – Sa = 0,08
0,64> δ2Cr – Bi = 0,24
0,64> δ2Cr – In = 0,31
0,71> δ2Bi – Sa = 0,04
0,71> δ2Bi – Cr = 0,24
0,71> δ2Bi – In = 0,23
0,59> δ2In – Sa = 0,05
0,59> δ2In – Cr = 0,31
0,59> δ2In – Bi = 0,23
TABLEAU 3 : Vérification de la validité convergente et de la validité discriminante
4.3 Les résultats des modèles de causalité
Les résultats de l‟analyse structurelle montrent l‟existence d‟une relation positive entre la satisfaction et la
confiance. L‟examen des indices obtenus montre que les modèles de causalité présentent un bon ajustement. Afin de
vérifier la supériorité du lien causal « Satisfaction → Confiance » dans notre contexte d‟étude, nous avons comparé
entre les coefficients de régression standardisés pour chacun des modèles structurels M1 et M2 (figure 1). Par
conséquent, les résultats montrent que les coefficients de régression du modèle M1 sont significatifs et plus
importants que ceux du modèle M2. Ainsi, ces résultats constituent un appui aux orientations théoriques selon
lesquelles la satisfaction détermine la confiance entre les partenaires de l‟échange.
cr
Modèle : M1
Crédibilité
,70
conf1
conf2
conf3
e1
e2
e3
,84
conf7
conf8
e4
e5
,73
conf4
conf5
conf6
e6
e7
e8
,62
,89
,50
e9
sat1
e10
sat2
,77
,65
e11
sat3
e12
sat4
bi
,71
Satisfaction
,76
,39
Bienveillance
,68
,46
in
Intégrité
,67
,69
61
e1
e2
e3
conf1
conf2
conf3
,56
,87
,65
Crédibilité
,18
S
e4
e5
conf7 1,52
conf8
,72
,75
,39
Bienveillance
,05
Satisfaction
conf4
conf5
conf6
e9
sat2
e10
sat3
e11
sat4
e12
,68
,68
,12
e6
e7
e8
sat1
,65
,63
,69
Intégrité
Modèle : M2
FIGURE 1 : Comparaison entre les modèles M1 et M2
Modèle: M1
Modèle: M2
Satisfaction → Confiance
Confiance → Satisfaction
Liens de causalité
Test de Student
P
Liens de causalité
Test de Student
P
Satisfaction →
Crédibilité →
5,57
0,000
2,13
0,033
Crédibilité
Satisfaction
Satisfaction →
Intégrité →
5,32
0,000
1,42
0,155
Intégrité
Satisfaction
Satisfaction →
Bienveillance →
4,47
0,000
1,11
0,266
Bienveillance
Satisfaction
P < 0,05 (Significatif)
Ajustement des modèles structurels
Chi2/ ddl
GFI
AGFI RMSEA
IFI
CFI
Chi2/ ddl
GFI
AGFI RMSEA
IFI
CFI
2,64
0,944
0,914
0,06
0,82
0,82
2,86
0,939 0,907
0,06
0,8
0,79
TABLEAU 4 : vérification de la supériorité du lien Satisfaction → Confiance
5. DISCUSSION DES RESULTATS ET CONCLUSION
Les résultats empiriques nous ont permis de conclure que la satisfaction exerce un impact positif et significatif sur la
confiance à l‟enseigne de distribution. Ces résultats sont cohérents avec ceux de Dixon et al (2005), et d‟Opsomer et
Kaabâchi (2006), établis dans le domaine de distribution. Ainsi, notre postulat dispose d‟un double intérêt dans le
cadre de la théorie en marketing relationnel. D‟une part, il permet de confirmer que l‟ensemble des expériences
gratifiantes vécues par les consommateurs favorise l‟instauration et la cristallisation d‟un climat de confiance envers
l‟enseigne de distribution dans le temps. De ce fait, l‟évolution positive de la satisfaction cumulée améliore les
présomptions de crédibilité, de bienveillance et d‟intégrité des consommateurs envers le distributeur.
D‟autre part, notre recherche permet de justifier la supériorité du lien causal (Satisfaction → Confiance) dans
champ du marketing relationnel. En effet, les justifications proposées dans la théorie sont souvent restrictives
moins nombreuses. Par conséquent, la procédure comparative que nous avons utilisée prouve que c‟est
satisfaction qui exerce un effet positif sur la confiance des consommateurs à l‟enseigne de distribution. Ainsi,
prédominance de ce sens de causalité constitue un appui aux travaux de Dwyer et al (1987), de Geyskens et
le
et
la
la
al
62
(1999), de Dixon et al (2005), et d‟Opsomer et Kaabâchi (2006). Ces auteurs ont souligné que la confiance forme
une conséquence majeure au niveau du paradigme relationnel.
5.1 Implications managériales et recommandations
Sur le plan managérial, cette recherche permet de présenter les leviers sur lesquels les responsables doivent agir en
vue d‟entretenir une relation durable et rentable entre les consommateurs et les enseignes de distribution.
Par conséquent, les résultats ont été prometteurs en ce qui concerne la significativité des liens de causalité entre la
satisfaction et la confiance comme ils permettent aux praticiens de mieux comprendre et analyser les mécanismes
qui valorisent le comportement de magasinage en vue d‟accroître le capital clients et d‟assurer la rentabilité des
enseignes de distribution. A cet effet, la satisfaction permet l‟appréciation de la performance perçue par les
consommateurs à l‟égard des hypermarchés et forme une opportunité pour comprendre les conséquences des
expériences de consommation lors de la visite des enseignes de distribution. De même, la confiance représente une
variable clé car elle contribue à la stabilité de la relation dans le temps.
Compte tenu des résultats du modèle causal, il est devenu nécessaire pour les marqueteurs de prendre en
considération la contribution de la satisfaction à la confiance des consommateurs lors de la fixation des objectifs
stratégiques et opérationnels des enseignes de distribution.
C‟est la raison pour laquelle les responsables doivent assurer un climat de confiance favorable à la continuité de la
relation notamment par la diversification des choix, l‟amélioration de la qualité des services ainsi que la mise en
place d‟une communication crédible.
5.2 Apports, limites et Voies futures de recherche
Notre recherche dispose d‟un apport considérable au niveau de la recherche en marketing relationnel. En effet, la
contribution de la satisfaction à la formation de la confiance constitue un axe de recherche prometteur dans le
domaine de la grande distribution. Par ailleurs, notre recherche permet de tester et justifier empiriquement la
supériorité du lien causal (Satisfaction → Confiance) dans le contexte du marketing relationnel.
Toutefois, la méthode d‟échantillonnage de convenance adoptée constitue la principale limite de notre recherche. De
ce fait, il est fortement préconisé de généraliser les résultats avec précautions.
Finalement, les perspectives de recherche laissent penser qu‟il serait possible d‟intégrer un ensemble de variables
modératrices (notamment les variables individuelles ou situationnelles) afin de tester la stabilité du lien de causalité
entre la satisfaction et la confiance. Par ailleurs, notre recherche constitue un point de départ vers l‟intégration
d‟autres variables relationnelles permettant d‟étudier les déterminants et les conséquences de la confiance des
consommateurs à l‟enseigne de distribution.
REFERENCES
ABBES, Molka (2006). Une approche structurelle pour l‟étude des liens de causalité entre la confiance,
l‟engagement et la satisfaction : cas de la relation consommateur-enseigne de distribution. 5ème Congrès sur les
tendances en Marketing. Venise, 1-33.
AJZEN, Icek & FISHBEIN, Martin (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting Behaviour, Prentice-Hall,
Englewoods Cliffs N.J, 278 p.
ALLAGUI, Anis & TEMESSEK, Azza (2005). La fidélité des utilisateurs des services d‟un portail Internet :
Proposition et test d‟un modèle intégrateur. Actes du 4 èmeCongrès International sur les tendances du Marketing en
Europe. 1-29.
ANDALEEB, Syed, Saad (1996). An experimental investigation of satisfaction and commitment in marketing
channels: the role of trust and dependence. Journal of Retailing. Vol 72, No 1, 77-93.
63
ANDERSON, James, C. & GERBING, David,W. (1988). Structural equation modelling in practice: A review and
recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin. Vol 103, No 3, 411-423.
AUDRAIN, Anne-Françoise & EVRARD, Yves (2001). Satisfaction des consommateurs : précisions conceptuelles.
Actes du 17ème Congrès de l‟AFM, Deauville. IAE de Caen-Basse Normandie.
BARNEY, Jay, B. & HANSEN, Mark, H. (1994). Trustworthiness as a source of competitive advantage. Strategic
Management Journal. Vol 15, 175-190.
BÉJAOUI, Adel & M‟HENNA Mohamed, Amine (2006). La relation satisfaction, confiance, engagement :
Application au secteur hôtelier. Actes du 4ème Congrès International de l‟ATM. Tunis.
BEJOU, David, ENNEW, Christine, T. & PALMER, Adrian (1998). Trust, ethics and relationship satisfaction.
International Journal of Bank Marketing. Vol 16, No 4, 170-175.
BENYOUSSEF, Hatim, HOFFMANN, Jonas, André & VALETTE-FLORENCE, Pierre (2005). Les antécédents
relationnels de la fidélité : Le cas des utilisateurs de logiciels propriétaires vs utilisateurs de logiciels libres. Actes du
21ème Congrès AFM, Nancy. 1-28.
BIGNE, Enrique & BLESA, Andreu (2003). Market orientation, trust and satisfaction in dyadic relationships : a
manufacturer-retailer analysis. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management. Vol 31, No 11, 574-590.
BLOEMER, Josee & ODEKERKEN-SCHRÖDER, Gaby (2002). Store satisfaction and store loyalty explained by
customer and store-related factors. Journal of Consumer Satisfaction Dissatisfaction and Complaning Behavior. Vol
15, 68-80.
BORIES, Denis (2006). Le processus de création, développement et maintien de la confiance dans le cadre des
relations acheteur-vendeur. Actes du 5ème Congrès International sur les Tendances en Marketing. 1-31.
BOSS, Jean-François (1999). La contribution des éléments du service à la satisfaction des clients. Revue Française
du Marketing. No 171, 115-128.
CHAUDHURI, Arjun & HOLBROOK, Morris B (2001). The chain of effects from brand trust and brand affect to
brand performance: the role of brand loyalty. Journal of Marketing. Vol 65, No 2, 81-93.
CHOUK, Ines & PERRIEN, Jean (2003). Les déterminants de la confiance en marketing : Panorama, questions en
suspens et pistes de recherche. Actes du 3ème Congrès sur les tendances en marketing.
CHUMPITAZ, C Ruben, PAPAROIDAMIS, Nicholas G (2007). Service quality, relationship satisfaction, trust,
commitment and business-to-business loyalty. European Journal of Marketing. Vol 41, No 7/8, 836-867.
DEVELLIS, Robert F (2003). Scale Development theory and applications, SAGE Publications. 2 ème édition.
DIXON Jane, BRIDSON, Kerrie, EVANS, Jody & MORRISON, Michael (2005). An alternative perspective on
relationships, loyalty and future store choice. International Review of Retail Distribution and Consumer Research.
Vol 15, No 4, 351-374.
DWYER, Robert F, SCHURR, Paul H, OH, Sejo (1987). Developing Buyer-Seller Relationships. Journal of
Marketing. Vol 51, No 2, 11-27.
FECIKOVA, Ingrid (2004). An index method for measurement of customer satisfaction. The TQM Magazine. Vol
16, No 1, 57-66.
FORNELL, Claes & LARCKER, David (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variable
and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research. Vol 18, No 1, 39-50.
64
FRISOU, Jean (2000). Confiance interpersonnelle et engagement : une réorientation béhavioriste. Recherche et
Applications en Marketing. Vol 15, No 1, 63-80.
GANESAN, Shankar (1994). Determinants of Long-Term orientation in Buyer-Seller relationships. Journal of
GARBARINO, Ellen & JOHNSON, Mark S (1999). The different roles of satisfaction, trust and commitment in
customer relationships. Journal of Marketing. Vol 63, No 2, 70-87.
GATFAOUI, Shérazade & LAVORATA, Laure (2001). De l‟éthique de l‟enseigne à la fidélisation du
consommateur : Le rôle de la confiance. Revue Française du Marketing. No 183/184, 213-226.
GEORGES, Laurent & DECOCK GOOD, Christel (2004). La qualité de la relation prestataire de service / client :
proposition et test d‟un modèle dans le domaine des services comptables. Actes du 16ème Congrès International de
l‟Association Française du Marketing, St Malo.
GEYSKENS, Inge, STEENKAMP, Jan.-Benedict & KUMAR, Nirmalya (1999). A meta-analysis of satisfaction in
marketing channel relationships. Journal of Marketing Research. Vol 36, No 2, 223-238.
GUIBERT, Nathalie (1999). La confiance en marketing : fondements et applications. Recherche et Applications en
GURVIEZ, Patricia & KORCHIA, Michael (2002). Proposition d‟une échelle de mesure multidimensionnelle de la
confiance dans la marque. Recherche et Applications en Marketing. Vol 17, No 3, 41-61.
HALSTEAD, Diane, HARTMAN, David, SCHMIDT, Sandra L (1994). Multisource effects on the satisfaction
formation process. Academy of Marketing Science Journal. Vol 22, No 2, 114-129.
LENDREVIE, Jacques, LEVY, Julien. & LINDON, Denis (2003). . Mercator, 7ème édition, Dalloz.
MIMOUNI, Aida & VOLLE, Pierre (2003). Bénéfices perçus de la fidélisation et qualité relationnelle : une
application exploratoire au secteur du transport aérien. Actes du 19 ème congrès International de l‟AFM. GammarthTunis, Mai, 1-28.
MORGAN, Robert M & HUNT, Shelby D (1994). The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing. Journal
of Marketing. Vol 58, No 3, 20-38.
OLIVER, Richard L (1980). A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of satisfaction decisions.
Journal of Marketing Research. Vol 17, No 4, 460-469.
OLIVER, Richard L (1981). Measurement and Evaluation of Satisfaction Process in Retail Setting. Journal of
Retailing. Vol 57, No 3, 25-48.
OPSOMER, Claire & KAABACHI, Souheila (2006). Pour une approche relationnelle de la fidélité du
consommateur à l‟enseigne de distribution alimentaire : le rôle essentiel de la confiance. Actes du 4ème Congrès
International de l‟ATM. Tunis, 1-32.
RAUYRUEN, Papassapa & MILLER, Kenneth E (2007). Relationship quality as a predictor of B2B customer
loyalty. Journal of Business Research. Vol 60, No 1, 21-31.
ROUSSEL, Patrice, DURRIEU, François, CAMPOY, Eric & EL AKREMI, Assaad (2002). Méthodes d’équations
structurelles : Recherches et applications en gestion. Edition ECONOMICA, Paris.
SCHEER, Lisa K & STERN, Louis W (1992). The effect of influence type and performance outcomes on attitude
toward the influencer. Journal of Marketing Research. Vol 29, No 1, 128-142.
65
SELNES, Fred (1998). Antecedents and consequences of trust and satisfaction in buyer-seller relationships.
European Journal of Marketing. Vol 32, No 3/4, 305-322.
SIRIEIX, Lucie & DUBOIS, Pierre-Louis (1999). Vers un modèle qualité-satisfaction intégrant la confiance ?.
Recherche et Applications en Marketing. Vol 14, No 3, 1-22.
VO, Thi Thanh Huyen & JOLIBERT, Alain (2005). Le rôle modérateur de l‟implication durable sur la relation entre
la satisfaction et la fidélité du consommateur. Actes du 21ème Congrès AFM. mai, NANCY, 1-29.
YOON, Sung-Joon (2002). The antecedents and consequences of trust in online-purchase decisions. Journal of
Interactive Marketing. Vol 16, No 2, 47-63.
ZBOJA, James j & VOORHEES, Clay M (2006). The impact of brand trust and satisfaction on retailer repurchase
intentions. Journal of Services Marketing. Vol 20, No 6, 381-390.
ANNEXE : Les échelles de mesure adoptées après purification
Echelle de mesure de la confiance (Gurviez et Korchia, 2002)
Crédibilité
Conf 1 : L‟offre de cet hypermarché m‟apporte de la sécurité.
Conf 2 : J‟ai confiance envers la qualité de l‟offre de cet hypermarché.
Conf 3 : cet hypermarché assure la garantie des produits achetés.
Intégrité
Conf 4 : cet hypermarché est sincère envers les consommateurs.
Conf 5 : cet hypermarché est honnête envers ses clients.
Conf 6 : cet hypermarché montre de l‟intérêt pour ses clients.
Bienveillance
Conf 7 : Je pense que cet hypermarché réalise toujours des améliorations pour tenir compte des progrés de la
recherche.
Conf 8 : Je pense que cet hypermarché cherche continuellement à améliorer ses réponses aux besoins des
consommateurs.
Echelle de mesure de la satisfaction (Oliver, 1980 ; Vo et Jolibert, 2005)
Sat 1 : Le choix de cet hypermarché a été un bon choix.
Sat 2 : Je suis globalement satisfait de cet hypermarché.
Sat 3 : Visiter cet hypermarché représente généralement une bonne expérience.
Sat 4 : Si je devrais refaire mon choix, je choisirais cet hypermarché.
Sat 5 : Ce point de vente propose exactement ce dont j‟ai besoin. (Item purifié)
66
67
SEE YOU IN FACEBOOK: THE EFFECTS OF INCORPORATING
ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKING IN THE LANGUAGE CLASSROOM
LES EFFETS DE L’INTÉGRATION D’UN RÉSEAU SOCIAL DANS UNE
CLASSE DE LANGUE: LE CAS DE FACEBOOK
Yupaporn PIRIYASILPA, Rajamangala University of Technology Isan, Khon Kaen Campus
[email protected]
ABSTRACT
Recent advances of technology have been employed in many contexts, including educational contexts. Especially,
the development of these technological advances is currently playing an important role in the language classroom to
help students better learn the language. For successful application, it is important for the language teacher to
examine their efficiency and two possible ways to do so are: by investigating students‟ attitudes toward the
application of technology and by investigating the nature of language used by students in this new way of
communication. This paper discusses the effects of the application of the Facebook activity as part of the language
classroom by examining students‟ opinions toward the activity and the use of language in their interaction. It was
found that the activity was useful for students to create their social network and keep connected with friends and was
also beneficial for them in terms of language learning. Students stated that training in the use of Facebook and useful
expressions is needed to support them in more successful communication. Based on the findings, some implications
in terms of language learning will be discussed for future study to successfully employ this activity in the language
classroom.
1. INTRODUCTION
Many of the latest technological advances, including mobile broadband, web blogs, virtual reality and different
kinds of social networking tools are currently employed in many classrooms and have been playing an important
role in many social contexts, including educational contexts. There have been a number of studies reporting the
benefits of the application of new technologies (for example, Chuarayapratib, 2009b; Firth, 2009; Horizon, 2008;
Yun-hong, 2009) and the purposes for the application vary in different social settings, for example: to create
collaborative learning (Bisenbach-Lucas, 2004; Greenfield, 2003), to promote cultural exchange (e.g Fedderholdt,
2001; Liaw & Johnson, 2001), or to increase students‟ participation (e.g. Absalom and Marden, 2004). Yun-hong
claims that the application of emerging technologies in the classrooms can be grouped in four modes:
The use of computer as tutor in stand alone training programs;
The use of computer as input, providing unprecedented access to motivating, authentic, topical material;
The use of computer as output, offering through websites and online publication a real audience and
communicative purpose for target-language production;
The use of computer as social environment, to promote interaction among the participants and to promote a
wealth of possibilities for communication.
(2009: 113-114)
The application of technology in the classroom has resulted in a rapid change in the way students communicate and
the role they perform during the process of communication. In other words, in addition to communicating in
speaking or writing in traditional ways, people also communicate via text messages, online chatting or conferencing
and these ways of communication create new social spheres and require them to perform different roles. This leads
to a number of educational effects in the classroom, for example, (1) creating networked interactivity between
students, (2) enabling autonomous learning, and (3) enhancing the feeling of social presence during the
communication.
68
2. TECHNOLOGIES AND THE LANGUAGE CLASSROOM
The development of new technologies is also having a great impact on the teaching and learning of language in the
classrooms. The most common types of online mediums which have been used in the language classrooms are:
online discussion (e.g. Chuarayapratib, 2009a; Chun, 1994; Paulus, 2005; Piriyasilpa, 2007; Piriyasilpa, 2009;
Watson Todd, 2003), emails (e.g Greenfield, 2003; Leahy, 2001; Li, 2000; Liaw, 1998; Tori-William, 2004), web
blog (e.g. Horvath, 2009), chat program (e.g Almeida d'Eça, 2003), and video conferencing (e.g. Hanson-Smith,
2007).
As far as language learning is concerned, the application of new technology in the language classroom can enable
two significant changes: an increased opportunity for authorship and social networking (cf. Horizon, 2007).
Communication websites such as Wikipedia or YouTube allow participants to perform dual roles in communication.
That is, they not only perform the passive role as a reader, but also have the freedom to become an author, creator or
even film maker. This new way of communication allows learners to exercise their learnt knowledge in real
experiences out of class and represents a new form of contribution and an increasing trend towards authorship
(Horizon, 2007: 6). On the other hand, communication through different types of technology allows students to use
language to participate in and collaboratively create their own communities, where they can connect with friends,
colleagues, teachers or even native speakers for different purposes, for instance, to exchange ideas and knowledge or
to practice their language.
The purpose of this study is to observe the effects of providing students with opportunities for social networking as a
means to using language learnt in the classroom. To address this goal, a Facebook activity was employed as an
adjunct to the classroom so that students and teacher could communicate out of class time.
Facebook is a kind of online social networking activities that has been currently used by a number of students to
meet up and socialize with friends. Facebook is similar to hi5 in many ways, but one significant difference between
the two is that while personal information of hi5 members can be viewed by others who share the same friend if they
forget to set up “privacy”, personal information of Facebook members cannot be viewed by other participants who
are not friends though sharing the same friends. This means that Facebook allows the participants to keep their
“privacy” and if designed properly, the activity can be beneficial for students to exercise language learnt in the
classroom. However, observations of its application are still at an early stage. This study investigates the effects of
employing the Facebook activity as part of the language classroom taking two perspectives: by examining students‟
opinions toward learning this way and through the teacher‟s observation of how language is used by students in this
new way of communication. Based on the findings, some implications in terms of language learning and the
application of Facebook activity in the language classroom will be discussed.
3. THE STUDY
The study was conducted at a university in Thailand during June-September 2009. The participants were 134 firstyear students, aged between 18 and 24 years old, who were undertaking the English 1 compulsory course. The
course was provided to all undergraduates in the university during their first year. It aimed to equip students with the
overall proficiency in the four skills of language: listening, speaking, reading and writing. The course ran for 16
weeks and students met once a week for the period of 3 hours. In this study, I employed the Facebook activity as
part of an English curriculum to provide students with an alternative choice to use the language learnt from the
classroom and to assist them to better learn the language. The topics for discussion were advised by the teacher and
students were asked to make comments or discuss their opinions on the teacher‟s wall. Prior to the beginning of the
activity, the purposes of the activity were negotiated and Facebook program was introduced to students. The activity
lasted for a period of one semester and a questionnaire was distributed at the end of the semester to investigate
students‟ opinions toward the activity. This paper discusses students‟ opinions toward the use of the Facebook
activity as part of the English course and examines how language is used in students‟ interaction when participating
in the activity. Table 1 below presents the research timeline of the Facebook activity.
Dates
25-29/5/09
1-5/6/09
8-12/6/09
15-19/6/09
22-26/6/09
29/6 –
3/7/09
6-10/7/09
13-17/7/09
20-24/7/09
27-31/7/09
3-7/8/09
10-14/8/09
17-21/8/09
24-28/8/09
31/8 –
4/9/09
7-11/9/09
14-18/9/09
18
21-25/9/09
Content
Course
Introduction
Facebook Introduction
Unit
1:
Greeting
Introduction
&
and
69
Facebook Activity
Facebook activity was introduced to students and the learning
goals were negotiated.
Self Introduction: Students wrote a short introduction about
themselves and took turn to make comments.
Unit 2: Using Dictionaries and
Word Tackle Skills
Students wrote about their favorite kind of new inventions and
took turn to make comments.
Unit 3: Reading Newspaper
Students wrote about their impressive news and took turn to
make comments.
Midterm Exam
Students wrote about their daily routines and took turn to make
comments.
Students wrote about their impressive experiences and took
turn to make comments.
Unit 4: Present Tense
Unit 5: Past Tense
Students wrote about their future plans and took turn to make
comments.
Unit 6: Future Tense
Final Exam
TABLE 1 - Research timeline of the Facebook activity
4. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The study aims to answer the following questions:
1.
2.
What are students‟ attitudes toward the application of the Facebook activity in the language classroom?
How is language used by the students to participate in the Facebook activity?
To obtain the answers to the above research questions, the questionnaire was divided into different sections
which will be discussed as follows.
4.1 The Questionnaire
The questionnaire was divided into three main parts, namely: demographic, five-point Likert-scale, and open-ended
questions. The initial part focused on students‟ personal information, the second on students‟ opinions toward the
benefits of the program and the last included open-ended questions, asking students to reflect their opinions on
different issues. In this study, 134 students participated in the Facebook activity, but 95 of them responded to the
questionnaire. A sample of the questionnaire can be found in Appendix.
4.1.1 Five-point Likert-scale questions
The five-point Likert-scale questionnaire investigated students‟ attitudes toward the benefits of the Facebook
activity. The potential benefits that students might gain from participating in the activity were measured. Students
were asked to decide at which level they agreed that they have gained the benefits (1 = the least and 5 = the most).
70
4.1.2 Open-ended questions
The open ended questions aimed to examine students‟ attitudes and further comments on the Facebook activity. The
questions focused on the problems that students faced when participating in the activity and how they solved the
problems. Students were also asked to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of the activity. Finally, they were
asked whether or not they planned to continue participating in the activity again in the future.
5. THE FINDINGS
5.1 Demographic Data
Gender:
Male (n = 63)
Female (n = 32)
Age:
19 (n = 51)
20 (n = 9)
23 (n = 1)
24 (n = 1)
Unspecified (n = 3)
5.2 Answers to Research Questions
Research Question 1: What are students‟ attitudes toward the application of the Facebook activity in the
language classroom?
The answers to the above research question were obtained from students‟ responses to the five-point Likert
questionnaire reflecting their attitudes toward the benefits of the Facebook activity (see 5.2.1 below) and from their
responses to the open ended questions asking them to comment on the activity (see 5.2.2 below).
5.2.1 The findings from a five-point Likert questionnaire
After the Facebook activity, a questionnaire was distributed to investigate at which level students think they benefit
from the activity. The results are presented in Table 2 below:
Question: At which level do you think the Facebook activity is beneficial for you?
(1= the least – 5 = the most)
Benefits
X
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
Improving computer and Internet skills
Learning more vocabulary
Improving writing skills
Improving reading skills
Increasing the knowledge of grammar
To make new friends
4.13
3.89
3.87
3.89
3.68
4.15
g.
h.
i.
To create good relationship with peers
To exchange knowledge or attitudes with peers
To increase motivation in learning English
4.04
3.88
3.92
TABLE 2 - Students‟ attitudes toward the benefits of the Facebook activity
71
Table 2 shows that all of the benefits gained from the Facebook activity were rated by students at high level. This
means this activity was viewed by students as being useful for them. While the primary focus of this study was on
language learning, the development of language skills was also rated at high level by the students. Interestingly
though, they rated other benefits (i.e. making new friends, creating relationship with friends, and improving their
computer and Internet skills) as the most beneficial for them in participating in this Facebook activity. The findings
highlight the nature of the Facebook activity as a useful medium to create social network among the participants (cf.
Horizon, 2007). This unique nature of the activity is important for the language teacher to be aware of in order to
create appropriate activities to support students‟ learning.
5.2.2 Students‟ comments toward the application of the Facebook activity
To examine students‟ feedback or comments, the third part of the questionnaire was organized as open-ended
questions asking them to make comments on different matters (see Appendix for sample of the questionnaire).
The data from students‟ comments showed consistent findings with those from the five-point Likert questionnaire.
That is, a significant number of students viewed the Facebook activity as having two important strengths. The first
involved the practice of the learnt language out of class (62.10%) and the second included the creation of social
network and socializing among friends (57.85%).
While a number of students stated that the Facebook activity allowed them an opportunity to practice the learnt
language, many however mentioned the use of language as one of the difficulties that obstructed them from
participating successfully (66.31%). When being asked how they solved the problem of language as mentioned
above, many students said that they revised the learnt knowledge from the classroom (31.32%), some opened a
dictionary (14.73%) or asked for help from peers (11.57%). Further comments were also made by some students that
useful expressions to communicate in the Facebook activity should be taught in the classroom. The findings reflect
that while the primary goal of practicing the learnt language was acknowledged by many students, the language per
se was the main obstacle for some students to communicate successfully. This means that it is important for the
language teacher to ensure that students have sufficient knowledge of useful language to express their opinions in
the activity. To do so effectively, useful language or expressions may be trained in the classroom as requested by
some students prior to exposing them to the Facebook activity.
Another obstacle that students faced when participating in the Facebook activity was problems with IT (50.52%).
This included students‟ limited knowledge of the Facebook activity (since they were new users) and the slow
connection of the Internet system on campus. To solve the IT problem, some students went to the Internet café
(14.73%) while some said that more training was necessary. As Facebook was still new to many students, they
needed longer time to practice and get familiar with the program.
With regard to students‟ suggestion of how to employ the Facebook activity more successfully, some said that the
teacher should provide a greater variety of activities for them to participate. For example, games, quizzes or
questions may be posted asking the students to answer or discuss their opinions. Alternatively, some movies may be
posted on the teacher‟s wall to attract students‟ visits or discussion.
Finally, almost all of students (94.73%) said that they will continue using the Facebook account and the main
purpose was to maintain the social network and to keep in touch with their friends (62.10%) while some said that
future participation in the Facebook activity may help them improve their language skills (15.78%).
The findings showed that the Facebook activity is viewed as being useful by the students and its benefits in building
social network with friends are clearly seen. This finding is consistent with the claims of a previous study (e.g.
Horizon, 2007). Another benefit which is also viewed as important by this group of students is the development of
their language skills. To do so effectively, however; training of useful language and IT knowledge is needed prior to
exposing students to the activity.
Research Question 2: How is language used by the students to participate in the Facebook activity?
The answer to this research question was found through the teacher‟s observation of students‟ interaction in the
activity. The discussion of this follows.
72
5.2.3 The findings from the teacher‟s observation
5.2.3.1 Teacher – student interaction
It is clear from the data that the Facebook activity helped to create interaction
between teacher and students and this interaction was made in a less formal way than that organized in the
classroom. Table 3 below exemplifies this (students‟ names are pseudonyms).
Name
Yupaporn Piriyasilpa
Puwadol
Tossapon
Puwadol
Surapol
Alitsara
Text
Hi everyone, How did you go with the final exam?
Hope you found it easy :))
likes this.
I can't do the exam.
Ohhh h h.. !!
I can do it teacher .
I think it's east . =^^=Thanks you so much Aj
Yupaporn . :)))
I' think it's easy. ^^
I can do it.......:))
because it's easy.....hu..hu..!!!
Glad to hear that most of you found it easy :))
and I know Tossapon will reply with this answer
(nothing new :)
TABLE 3 - Sample of teacher-student interaction, demonstrating the construction of a less formal relationship
than in the classroom
Table 3 shows that both teacher and students use emoticons (e.g. :), ^^, =^^=, !!) and informal language in
their conversation (e.g. „Ohhh h h.. !!‟ „hu..hu.‟) to express feelings. Moreover, teasing is also made by the
teacher to one student (i.e. „I know Tossapon will reply with this answer (nothing new :)
). The teasing from the teacher serves to create relationship and closeness between teacher and students (solidarityStenglin, 2004) and the language features in this conversation reflect the informal way of interaction between
teacher and students which does not appear in the formal classroom teaching. Tables 4 and 5 below illustrate further
examples of teacher-student interaction organized in a less formal way than in the classroom.
Name
Puwadol
Puwadol
Nipa
Text
HBD to teacher ^^.
I hope you will happy happy and very pretty
forever. : )))
likes this.
don't beleave
Thanks alot Puwadol :)) Hope you enjoy the long
break!
TABLE 4 - Further example of teacher-student interaction, demonstrating the construction of a less formal
relationship than in the classroom
Name
Puwadol
Yuttana
Somsak
Apisak
Nipa
Puwadol
Tossapon
Puwadol
73
Text
Hi teacher !! =^^=.
I'm Puwadol . EEP (student’s number)...
My Homework.
two years ago.In winter, I had plan to go to play
basketball with my friends.
At that time I have math Basketball in school. I
need to the winner.
While I was playing basketball when I won in this
math.
I was champian in this math !! . I have very
happy so much.
^_________________^"
So good my friend. 555+
Ohh!! Really?
Good job. 5555551
I play basketball too. : )))
I don't belive.
555+
Ohhh ! My friends. 555
Hello old Saw
That s good, Puwadol! Please check your
sentences. In the last 2 lines, we may say 'while
I was playing basketball, I told myself that I
must win the game'. Try again and tell me more
about your experiences.
Ahhh. Thanks you teacher : )))
TABLE 5 - Further example of teacher-student interaction, demonstrating the construction of a less formal
relationship than in the classroom
Tables 4 and 5 show that there is a frequent use of lower case instead of capital letter, misspelling (e.g. „beleave‟,
„thanks you‟), informal way of greeting or leave taking (e.g. „Hi teacher !! =^^=’, ‘Hellow old
Saw’), and abbreviations (e.g. „HBD‟) in students‟ language. These features share similar characteristics with
spoken language (see Burns, Joyce, and Gollin, 1996; Eggins, 2004) and cannot be found in students‟ compositions
submitted to the teacher in a traditional classroom assignment. This means that the teacher-student interaction
created in the Facebook activity contains less-formal features of language than that constructed in the traditional
classroom activity. This less formal way of interaction helps to create good relationship between the teacher and
students which will in turn create students‟ motivation in learning the target language.
5.2.3.2 The practice of learnt language from the classroom
Consistently with students‟ comments, the findings showed that the Facebook activity provided students with an
opportunity to practice the learnt language. One possible reason that enabled students to use the language from the
classroom was the topic assigned by the teacher asking them to discuss something which required them to use the
learnt language structure. Table 6 below is the example of students‟ posting after learning Unit 4 (Present Tense:
Daily Routines) from the classroom.
Name
Neeranut
74
Text
I gets up at 06:00 pm
I bathe at 06.30 pm
I dress to 07.00 pm
I eat breakfast at 07.30 am.
07:50 I go to school.
I re-enter, at 8:30.
I eat food at 12:00 pm.
I start school again at 13:00 am
I quit school I return home 16:00 pm 16:30 pm
I read 17:00 pm.
I play online computer game music at 21:00 pm and I
bathe brush teeth 21:30
I go to bed 22:00 pm
I take a bath and to sleep at 22:30 pm
Very good, neeranut! In the first sentence, we say
'I get up' not 'I gets up'. :)
TABLE 6 - Example of student‟s posting containing the features of language learnt from the classroom
(Unit 4: Present Tense)
In Unit 5, students learnt about Present Simple Tense and were practicing writing daily activities. A week later, the
teacher asked students to post or discuss their daily routines in Facebook. Table 6 shows that Neeranut uses the
knowledge of language learnt from the classroom to describe her daily routines and her contribution is made in this
way due to the teacher‟s assignment. The findings imply that the Facebook activity can be an alternative choice for
students to exercise the language structure taught from the classroom, and this can be enabled through the teacher‟s
tasks or assignments. Further examples of this are given in Tables 7 and 8 below.
Name
Nipa
Text
Good evening teacher.
I'am <student’s class> <student’s ID>
My homework.
Nipa
5 years ago. At that time I was coming back to
home. Wilhe I was
sitting mortercycle, an accident happened.
Motorcycle collided with an automobile. It caused
me to be injured.
I stayed at hospital 7 days.
From that event I'am not drive suddenly because I
fear will be accident.
Oh! it was a bad experience with motorcycle,
Nipa. How old were you at that time?
I was 14 years old.
So, this happened last 4 years??
TABLE 7 - Further example of student‟s posting containing the features of language learnt from the classroom
(Unit 5: Past Tense)
Name
Sompong
Sompong
75
Text
Good morning teacher, I'm Sompong <student’s
number>.. <student’s class>
In the future
I'm going to read a book for final test.
I'm going home next week.
Last, I'll intend to study for mother
Bye bye teacher....
see you agian to next time.............
Good boy :))
thank teacher.
I'll make best........
see you again to next time............
bye sweet dream......
TABLE 8 - Further example of student‟s posting containing the features of language learnt from the classroom
(Unit 6: Future Tense)
The extracts from Tables 7 and 8 above demonstrate the use of students‟ language in sharing their personal
information under the topic assigned by the teacher. Though some grammatical mistakes can still be found, the data
clearly show that the learnt language structure from the classroom (Unit 5: Past Tense and Unit 6: Future Tense)
appear in their contributions. This shows that if task is designed properly by the teacher, the Facebook activity can
allow students a chance to exercise the learnt knowledge of language out of class (cf. Piriyasilpa, 2008).
5.2.3.3 The reflection of students‟ understanding of the learnt language
Even though previous studies claim that less formal language or the use of grammatical mistakes are common
features found in the language used in online communication (e.g. Hewings and Coffin, 2004; Piriyasilpa, 2007), the
use of students‟ language in this new way of communication can still help to reflect how well students understand
the learnt language from the classroom. The teacher‟s feedback on students‟ use of language in Table 5 (see 5.2.3.1)
and Table 6 (see 5.2.3.2) above exemplify this. Further illustrations of students‟ use of language which helps to raise
the teacher‟s awareness of how well they understand the lesson are given in Table 9 below.
Name
Sirinapa
Text
I get up about 7:00 o'clock every morning. I shower,
clean my face and brush my teeth. Next time. I have
breakfast. Igo to university about 7:50 am. I study
callculusI form 8.00 o'clock to 11.00 o'clock. I
have lunch . I study English form 13.00 o'clock to
15.00 o'clock. I go to home at 16.00 o'clock . I
have dinner at 21.00 o'clock. I sleep at 23.00
o'clock
Well done, Sirinapa. How about the weekend?? What do
you like to do??
TABLE 9 - Example of students‟ posting which reflect their understanding of the learnt language
5.2.3 Problems found in the application of the Facebook activity
The use of L1
Though rules were set in the beginning asking students not to use L1 to communicate, it was found that the use of
L1 or Karaoke language still appeared sometimes throughout the activity. This reflects students‟ limited knowledge
76
of the target language and supports the students‟ comments made in the open-ended part of the questionnaire that the
training of useful language and expressions are needed prior to exposing them to the Facebook activity.
Plagiarism
Since the postings of all students were visible to other participants, it was found that some students made
contribution by copying their peers‟ work. This reflects that while the activity was viewed as highly beneficial by
many students, its benefits may not be realized by some students who only participated because they were asked to.
This means that some students were not aware of the learning goals. To create the desire to participate and enable
them to learn more successfully, it is important for the teacher to negotiate the goals of the activity explicitly from
the beginning. Furthermore, the comments from students asking the teacher to add more interesting activities (see
students‟ comments in 5.2.2) means that various kinds of activity or topics are needed to motivate them to visit the
program.
IT problem
IT problems included the low connection of the Internet system and students‟ familiarity with the Facebook activity.
This reflects that while the application of technology is currently being promoted in many educational contexts,
technology itself can be the problem if the system is not well equipped to serve students. Furthermore, Facebook is
still new to many students in this study as they are more familiar with other programs, for example hi5, Facebook
training is therefore necessary and longer time may be provided for students to practice and get familiar with the
program (see students‟ comments in 5.2.2).
Timing
In this study, teacher‟s timing was also the problem. Due to a high teaching load, the teacher could not participate in
the activity on a daily basis and this resulted in late responses to students. Moreover, some students who posted their
comments early also missed responses from the teacher. The students said that many times the teacher missed out
their comments because those early comments were hidden behind the later ones. This may discourage students to
participate in the activity and reflects the problem of including too many groups of students into one Facebook
activity. To solve the problem, the teacher may split the members into minor Facebook groups and include only one
or two classes into each Facebook community.
6. IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE STUDY
The findings showed that Facebook is a useful activity and can be beneficial to students if designed properly by the
teacher. This part discusses some implications of how the Facebook activity can be effectively employed in the
language classroom.
To begin, it is important to ensure that the learning goals are realized by students to create successful learning and to
motivate students‟ participation. To do so effectively, goals need to be negotiated with students from the beginning
of the activity. Secondly, training is also important. As Facebook activity is still a new kind of invention for
students, students are more familiar with hi 5. So it would be useful to provide at least 2 weeks for them to become
familiar with the program before being exposed to the activity. In addition, useful language needed for the
participation in the activity should be taught to provide students with sufficient input of language to help them
successfully communicate. In the meantime, tasks need to be designed carefully by the teacher based on the learning
goals set from the beginning to enable them to use the target language learnt from the classroom. Finally, the teacher
may apply for more than one Facebook account and include only one or two classes of students as members to
reduce the problem of late responses to some students‟ messages.
7. CONCLUSION
This paper discusses the effects of the application of the Facebook activity in the language classroom. The findings
from students‟ responses and from the teacher‟s observation are consistent in that the Facebook activity is a useful
medium for students to create their social network and keep connected with friends. Moreover, the activity can also
be used for language teaching if designed properly by the teacher and importantly training in both IT and useful
language expressions are needed prior to exposing students to this activity.
Notes
1. 555 signifies laughter in Thai.
77
REFERENCES
ABSALOM, M. and MARDEN, P.M. (2004). Email communication and language learning at university – An
Australian case study. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 17 (3-4), 403-440.
ALMEIDA D‟EÇA, T. (2003). The Use of Chat in EFL/ESL. TESL-EJ, 7 (1).
BISENBACH-LUCAS, S. (2004). Asynchronous web discussion in teacher training courses: Promoting
collaborative learning- or not? AACE Journal, 12(2), 155-170.
CHUARAYAPRATIB, N. (2009a). Cultural dimensions and asynchronous online discussion. Paper presented at the
First International Conference on Foreign Language Learning and Teaching (FLLT 2009), The Language Institute of
Thammasat University, 16-17 October.
CHUARAYAPRATIB, N. (2009b). How Thai students search for information from English websites. Language
Institute Journal, 4, 76-94.
CHUN, M. D. (1994). Using computer networking to facilitate the acquisition of interactive competence. System,
22(1), 17-31.
EGGINS, S. (2004). An introduction to systemic functional grammar (2nd ed.). London and New York: Continuum.
FEDDERHOLDT, K. (2001). An email exchange project between non-native speakers of English. ELT Journal,
55(3), 273-280.
FIRTH, M. (2009). Can Facebook Engage Students in Critical Analysis of Academic Theory?. A paper presented at
the International Conference on the Role of Universities in Hands-On Education, Chiangmai, Thailand, 23-29
August.
GREENFIELD, R. (2003). Collaborative exchange for teaching secondary ESL: A case study in HongKong.
Language Learning and Teaching, 7(1), 46-70.
HANSON-SMITH, E. (2008). Trends in Digital Media 2007. TESL-EJ, 11 (4).
HEWINGS, A. & COFFIN, C. (2004). Grammar in the construction of online-discussion messages. In C. Coffin &
A. Hewings & K. L. O‟Halloran (Eds.), Applied Linguistics English Grammar: Functional and Corpus Approaches,
London: Hodder-Arnold.
HORIZON. (2007). The horizon report. Austin, Boulder: The New Media Consortium and EDUCAUSE Learning
Initiative.
HORIZON. (2008). The horizon report. Austin and Boulder: The New Media Consortium and EDUCAUSE
Learning Initiative.
HORVATH, J. (2009). Hungarian university students‟ blogs in EFL: Shaping language and social connections,
TESL-EJ, 12 (4).
LEAHY, C. (2001). Bilingual negotiation via email: An international project. Computer Assisted Language
Learning, 14(1), 15-42.
LI, Y. (2000). Linguistics characteristics of ESL writing in task-based email activities. System, 28(2), 229-245.
LIAW, M-L. (1998). Using electronic mail for English as a foreign language instruction. System, 26(3), 335-351.
78
LIAW, M-L and JOHNSON, J.R. (2001). Email writing as a cross-cultural learning experience. System, 29(2), 235251.
PAULUS, T. (2005). Collaborative and cooperative approaches to online groupwork: The impact of task types.
Distance Education, 26(1), 111-125.
PIRIYASILPA, Y. (2007). Identifying generic features of EFL students’ online discussion postings. Paper presented
at the 4th International Symposium on Genre Studies – Siget, Tubarao, Brazil.
PIRIYASILPA, Y. (2008). Genre and discourse in online discussions: A study of online discussion postings in a
Thai EFL writing course. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Macquarie University Sydney.
PIRIYASILPA, Y. (2009). Online hybridity: Some implications for language teaching. Proceedings on the
International Conference on the Role of Universities in Hands-On Education, Chiangmai, Thailand, 23-29 August.
STENGLIN, M. K. (2004). Packaging curiosities: Towards a grammar of three dimensional space. Unpublished
PhD Thesis, Sydney University, Sydney.
TORI-WILLIAMS, E. (2004). Incorporating the use of email into a language program. Computer Assisted Language
Learning, 17(1), 109-122.
WATSON TODD, R. (2003). Student Interaction through Bulletin Boards and Discussion Lists; www.it-links.org.;
Retrieved November, 27th, 2003.
YUN-HONG, B. (2009). On university students‟ attitudes towards computer-aided English learning. Sino-US
English Teaching, 6 (9), 32-36.
79
APPENDIX
Section 1: Personal Details
Name ………………………………………………………………….
Gender
Male
Female
Age …..……………
Section 2: Please answer the questions below.
1. At which level do you think the Facebook activity is beneficial for you?
(1= the least – 5 = the most)
Benefits
1
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
Improving computer and Internet skills
Learning more vocabulary
Improving writing skills
Improving reading skills
Increasing the knowledge of grammar
To make new friends
g.
h.
i.
To create good relationship with peers
To exchange knowledge or attitudes with peers
To increase motivation in learning English
j.
Others, please specify
2
3
4
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
2. What are the problems you have encountered in participating in the Facebook activity?
Computer Usage
Internet Connection
Timing
The use of language in expressing your opinions
Others, please specify……………….……………………………………………
3. How did you solve the problems above? Please explain.
………………………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
5
80
4. What do you think are the strengths of the Facebook activity?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
5. What do you think are the weaknesses of the Facebook activity?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
6. Please make some suggestions of how the Facebook activity can be employed more effectively in the language
classroom.
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
7. Will you continue participating in the Facebook social network in the future? Why?
Yes, because .……………………………………….………………………………
…………………………………………………….…………………………………..
…………………………………………….……………………………………………
No, because….………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
8. Further comments about this activity.
.………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Biography
Yupaporn Piriyasilpa teaches English at Rajamangala University of Technology Isan, Khon
Kaen Campus, Thailand. In 2009, she completed her PhD in Linguistics at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
Her main research interest is genre and discourse in online communication.

Journal of Global Management Research

Transcription

Documents pareils

Revue de presse ANGLAIS Semaine du 24 au 30 octobre 2011

master de communication internationale - Univ

“What We Stand to Lose” Poster Lesson Plans

4228 Holland Dr Des Moines, IA 50310 | Home for Sale | Real

Jacksonville State University College of Arts and Sciences Updated

Education Outreach Programme – The study of

To - Permalaser

B.O.I Hist.Geo written 2010

feb newsletter

DUT FC - Evaluation #1

ECS G41T-M7 - PC Upgrade

handmade luxury candles