Global Journal of Management and Business Research, E: Marketing, Volume 22 Issue 2

RQ4: Are Lebanese organizations following a customer- centric approach? H6: The majority of Lebanese organizations are following a customer-centric approach. XI. R esearch M ethodology Williams (2007) contends that "Quantitative researchers seek explanations and predictions with the intent to establish, confirm, or validate relationships and to develop generalizations that contribute to the theory understudy" (p. 66). Kothari (2004) asserts that "Quantitative research quantifies attitudes, opinions, behaviors, and other defined variables and generalizes results from a larger sample population. This approach applies to phenomena expressed by quantity" (p. 3). Based on the above reasoning, the researchers adopted quantitative research aiming for a scientific approach to measure the level of customer-centricity of a selected number of Lebanese organizations and determine the critical success factors of customer-centric organizations. Indeed, the main objective of quantitative research is to test theories or hypotheses. a) The Philosophy Saunders et al. (2009) and Hejase & Hejase (2013) contend that strat researcher considers the research philosophy. The current research follows the principles of positivism that "depend on quantifiable observations that lead to statistical analysis" (Collins, 2010, p. 38; cited in Dudovskiy, n.d.). Moreover, Hejase and Hejase (2013) contend that "Positivism is when the researcher assumes the role of an objective analyst, is independent, and neither affects nor is affected by the subject of the research." (Hejase & Hejase, 2013, p. 77). The positivist research paradigm assures an objective reality, valuing honesty and personal integrity that creates an environment of trust. The abovementioned entails a study trusted to correspond to reality (Saunders et al., 2009). The researchers adopted the deductive approach to validate the hypotheses set at the beginning of the research. In fact, "A deductive approach is useful if the general aim was to test a previous theory in a different situation or to compare categories at different periods" (Elo & Helvi, 2008, p. 107). c) The Strategy Research strategy is a blueprint for the research and forms the milestones needed in the research design. Research design can be exploratory, descriptive, or causal: (Hejase & Hejase 2013, p. 110). This research is exploratory and causal. "An exploratory design is conducted about a research problem when there are few or no earlier studies. The focus is on gaining insights and familiarity for later investigation or undertaken when problems are in a preliminary stage of investigation" (Labaree, 2013, p. 7). Moreover, Hejase & Hejase (2013, p. 115) find cause-effect relations between two or more variables indicated by causal research. d) Data Collection Techniques Secondary data The literature review provides a clear, timely, streamlined understanding of the subject of this research. More than 70 references were revised and analyzed using books, reviews, Internet sources, scholarly blogs, and articles. The purpose was to collect reported data, explore better the problem of investigation, and illustrate different views on customer centricity models and issues. e) Primary data A survey was the research tool used to collect primary data administered at a specific period. f) Population The target population of the survey questionnaire includes employees of all levels of different organizations in the Lebanese market. The authors covered various regions of Lebanon to formulate a representative view on the status of customer-centricity in Lebanese organizations. g) Sample selection and size This study uses a non-probabilistic sampling method. The basis of participants' choice was their willingness, free-will involvement, and ease of reach. Researchers distributed 250 questionnaires. The number of valid returned questionnaires reached 200. Fifty questionnaires were invalid due to being half- completed (35), erroneously filled (11), and those with a missing pages (4). Therefore, the response ratio was 80%. The administration of the questionnaires to respondents covers different ages and backgrounds at universities, places of work, and several organizations. h) Survey instrument or questionnaire The front page was composed of a brief introduction that explains the survey's purpose, the time required to complete it, the respect for confidentiality, and who is conducting it. Four sections divided the questionnaire covering the knowledge of customer- centricity, attitude towards customer centricity, implementation issues of customer-centricity, and demographics. Questions styles include multiple-choice questions and 5-level Likert scale questions for the attitude section. The questionnaire design aids in testing, validating the hypotheses, and thus answering the research questions. The researchers' choice of close-ended questions, such as two-point, multiple-choice, scaled, matrix, and contingency questions, is reasoned that people are more likely to answer a questionnaire if it An Assessment of Customer-Centricity Success Factors: Context of the Lebanese Market 11 Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XXII Issue II Version I Year 2022 ( )E © 2022 Global Journals b) The Approach