CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
In today’s highly competitive global market place, the pressure on organization’s to find new ways to creating and delivering value to customers is growing stronger. ICT is today being applied in many organizations in a wide range and operations areas. It has provided new ways to store, process, distribute and exchange information both within companies and with customers and supplier in the supply chain (Somuyiwa and Oyesikun, 2010). Most SMEs in Nigeria use Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) to communicate their customers and by this build stronger relationship.
They realize that easy access to ICT and the delivery of their product or services are important drivers in developing and sustaining market competitiveness nationally and internationally. Business-to-Customer and electronicbusiness can help companies to achieve competitive advantages by providing customers with superior services. The source of competitive advantage is found in the ability of the organization to differentiate with eyes of the customer from its competition and again from operating at lower cost and hence at lower cost and greater profit. According to Haag et., al., (2002). For SMEs to address customer needs in this ever-changing environment and also to be winner in the market-place, timing and superior service are becoming the keys to attain competitive advantage. Customers nowadays are becoming more time sensitive and time oriented in terms of time and service delivery. Evidences from the literature like (Yang 2001;
Elegbeleye 2005; Ajiboye, et., al., (2007) showed that GSM has considerable impact on the economy being an emerging communication industry in Africa, with Nigeria rated as one of the fastest growing market in this field of communication. According to Ayo, et., al., (2007); Nigeria was the fastest growing telecoms nation in Africa and the third of the world. The country had experienced a phenomenal growth from a telecommunication density of 0.49 in 2000 to 25.22 in 2007. This trend had brought about a monumental development in the major sector of the economy, such as banking, telecoms and commerce in general. GSM is one of the most explosive developments ever to have taken place in the telecommunications industry (Wojuade (2005), Anyasi and Otubu (2009)).
Audile (2000) described GSM as part of evolution of wireless mobile telecommunication that includes high speed circuit, switched data, general packets radio system and universal mobile telecommunication service. The globalization of world economy has further amplified the importance of telecommunications to the economy. The Telecommunication Sector is one of the fastest-growing sectors in Nigeria as averred by Ajiboye et al. (2007). The phenomenal growth of GSM since it was introduced in Nigeria about ten years ago confirms this. GSM is indeed one of the major dividends of Nigeria’s transition to democracy. Since its invention, mobile phones have become a necessary product to many business owners and more users are expected and obviously the growing pace of worldwide mobile population will not slow down in the near future.
The global mobile telecom users will be about 3.2 billion; the 45% of the world’s population 2011 according to Total Midyear population forecast for the world. This is together with the substantial growth of mobile phone as Hsiao (2004) confidently claimed on the potential growth of the mobile internet users. When more mobile phone users adopt mobile internet services, the m-commerce industry has a better opportunity for business growth. In the off-line environment, it is common knowledge that the quality of services and products is a key determinant of customer satisfaction and loyalty (Parasiraman et al., 1988).
Recent empirical evidence shows that, this holds true also for electronic service providers. The quality of services delivered through a web site has become a more significant success factor than low prices or being the first mover in the market space (Reibstein, 2002). The extent to which the SMEs in Nigeria take the advantages of GSM for effective service delivery with their customers is the tenet of this study.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Studies on GSM impact on service delivery of SMEs are inadequate in Nigeria as at the time of this work. Many studies show that SMEs are the driving engine of growth, job creation, and competitiveness in domestic and global markets. To achieve their full potential in these areas SME’s in Nigeria needs to catch up with the new managerial and economic trade such re-business, the telephone system in Nigeria has been challenged for years.
Since the introduction of GSM, mobile telephoning has rapidly become the most popular method of voice communication in Nigeria; and the use of GSM in order to satisfy their customer wants most importantly the quality of their service delivery. The extent of GSM usage by SMEs and the effect on customers’ service delivery needed to be research into. There is a paucity of research in this area in Nigeria. Thus, this paper endeavors to investigate the usage of GSM as tool for improved service delivery in the Nigerian SMEs.