Global Journal of Management and Business Research, A: Administration and Management, Volume 23 Issue 1

therefore motivated to bridge the gap by establishing the effects of strategic management practices on customer satisfaction and loyalty of hotels in Kumasi. III. O bjective of the S tudy The main purpose of the study was to assess the effect of strategic management practices on the satisfaction and loyalty of customers of Hotels in the Kumasi. In pursuance of the main objective, the following specific objectives were set for the study. They are as follows: 1. To assess the strategic management practices evident in Hotels in Kumasi. 2. To examine the effect of Strategic Management Practices (SMP) on customer satisfaction of Hotels in Kumasi. 3. To examine the effect of Strategic Management Practices (SMP) on customer loyalty of Hotels in Kumasi. IV. R esearch Q uestions This study was guided by the following research questions: 1. What are the strategic management practices evident in Hotels in Kumasi. 2. What is the effect of Strategic Management Practices (SMP) on customer satisfaction of Hotels in Kumasi? 3. What is the effect of Strategic Management Practices (SMP) on customer loyalty of Hotels in Kumasi V. L iterature R eview a) Strategic Management All firms are involved in one form of strategy or the other but for the decision-making process to be proactive rather than reactive, it should be approached logically, systematically, and objectively (Branislav, 2014). Branislav (2014) further puts it as “art and science of formulating, implementing and evaluating cross-functional decisions that enable an organization to achieve its objectives”. As detailed in Adeyemi et al. (2017), this process is an iterative, continuous one and involves important interactions and feedback among five key facets: goal setting, analysis, strategy formation, strategy implementation and strategy monitoring. These activities, as argued in Koech and Were (2016), should be geared towards ensuring the achievement of the long- and short-term goals and objectives of the organizations concerned. Therefore, it is necessary for managers to first understand the strategic management practices that best suit ther firms and the way such practices affects their operations in a given industry; given that every organization, at any phase of its life-cycle, can be affected by some external environmental conditions and internal factors and as such finding ways to have competitive advantage is indispensable (Agwu, 2014). b) Customer Loyalty Many service organizations have developed customer loyalty programs as a part of relations development activities. Customer loyalty is a complicated concept. Oxford Dictionary defines loyalty as a state of true to allegiance. But the mere repeated purchase by customers has been mixed with the above- mentioned definition of loyalty. In service domain, loyalty has been defined in an extensive form as "observed behaviors" (Bloemer et al., 1999). Caruana (2002) argues that behavior is a full expression of loyalty to the brand and not just thoughts. However, behavior standards (such as repeated purchase) have been criticized, due to the lack of a conceptual basis of a dynamic process (Caruana, 2002). For example, the low frequency of repeated purchase of a special service may be resulted from different situation factors, such as non-availability or absence of a provider. According to this point of view, loyal behavior cannot offer a comprehensive conception of fundamental causes of loyalty. c) Consumer Satisfaction Consumers’ satisfaction has been considered one of the most important constructs (Morgan et al., 1996; McQuitty et al., 2000), and one of the main goals in marketing (Erevelles & Leavitt, 1992). Satisfaction plays a crucial role in marketing because it is a predictor of purchase behavior (repurchase, purchase intentions, brand choice and switching behavior). However, (Oliver, 1997) offered a deeper definition of satisfaction, “the consumer's fulfillment response. It is a judgment that a product or service feature, or the product or service itself, provided (or is providing) a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment, including levels of under- or over fulfillment”. Finally, Kotler (1997) defines satisfaction as “a person’s feeling of pleasure or disappointed resulting from comparing a product’s perceived performance (or outcome) in relation to his or her expectations”. Consumer satisfaction research began in the marketing field in 1970s and it is currently based on the “disconfirmation of expectations paradigm” (Cadotte et al., 1987). This paradigm says that consumer brand evaluation involves comparing actual performance with certain standards. VI. M ethodology a) Research Design Cooper and Schindler (2014) asserted that research design is the framework that can be used by a researcher in collecting and analyzing data to effectively The Effect of Strategic Management Practices on Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty in Selected Hotels in Kumasi 76 Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XXIII Issue I Version I Year 2023 ( ) A © 2023 Global Journals