THE ROLE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN BUILDING CUSTOMER LOYALTY IN BANKING: (A CASE STUDY OF AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT BANK LTD., SUNYANI) (Published)
The banking industry is constantly facing increasing competition partly due to financial liberalization and technological developments. To survive in an environment of intense competition more Banks have adopted technology – based service options in order to provide excellent customer service to enhance customer loyalty. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Agricultural Development Bank Ltd. in Sunyani to satisfy and retain its customers, who are often demanding improved quality services. Failure of the Agricultural Development Bank in Sunyani to efficiently adopt information technology like ATMs, branch networking, etc in the delivery of banking services has slowed down the processes of delivery of banking services leading to queuing and unnecessary service failures which may make it difficult to satisfy and retain the customers. The purpose of the research was to investigate the role of information technology in the development of loyalty in banking. Empirical data for the study were collected through interviews and questionnaires. The results of the study indicate that despite the introduction of IT in service delivery by the Agricultural Development Bank Ltd. in Sunyani, service quality is still low. However, IT has played the role of enhancing customer loyalty by making banking services more personalized, convenient and time–saving. The management of Agricultural Development Bank Ltd. in Sunyani needs to concentrate much of its efforts in terms of time and financial resources to provide quality services by improving the perceived performance of the electronic banking facilities so as to enhance customer loyalty
Keywords: Customer, Development, E-Zwich, Information, Loyalty, Technology