IMPACT OF POS ON PROMOTING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN NIGERIA (A CASE STUDY OF CALABAR MUNICIPAL)

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

INTRODUCTION

Our focus in this chapter is to critically examine relevant literature that would assist in explaining the research problem and furthermore recognize the efforts of scholars who had previously contributed immensely to similar research. The chapter intends to deepen the understanding of the study and close the perceived gaps.

Precisely, the chapter will be considered in two sub-headings:

• Conceptual Framework
• Chapter Summary

2.1 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is generally described as the ability of an individual or a group of individuals to create or discover an opportunity and utilize it to the benefit of the society, which, in turn, will bring success to the innovators and their organization. According to Dau and Cuervo-Cazurra (2014), the authors take a legalistic view of entrepreneurship and define it ‘as the creation of fresh businesses a stable collection of people who coordinate their efforts to produce fresh value-added economic activity’. The relationship between entrepreneurship and economic growth of a country has increasingly gained a lot of interest from economists and policy makers over the years. However, while some view it as a direct relationship, others see it as an indirect kind of relationship. According to Sarkar (2014), this interest has been fuelled by the desire to understand how entrepreneurship influences the economy of a country. Both the economists and policy makers recognize the effect of entrepreneurship on the economy of a country. In fact, entrepreneurship has been considered as the engine of economic growth and it has come to be perceived as a catalytic agent for expansion and promotion of productive activities in every sphere of economic life all over the world. The role and significance of entrepreneurship development in numerous nations worldwide were quite significant. Numerous countries leaders and scholars have proposed that entrepreneurship can be a remedy for empowerment, job creation, economic transformation, and poverty eradication. Nigeria as a country has numerous business and investment potentials due to the abundant, vibrant and dynamic human and natural resources it possesses. The performance and effectiveness of entrepreneurs in the country as an instrument of economic growth and development has long been under scrutiny. This intense scrutiny has been against the backdrop of the low performance and inefficiency that characterized small business particularly in assessing its role on economic growth and development. A nation’s ability to generate a steady stream of business opportunities can only come about when its people take to entrepreneurial activities. Good entrepreneur can create a strong economy. Nigerians have equally made their marks in diverse fields such as science, technology, academics, business and entertainment. Entrepreneurship activities and innovative ingenuity in Nigeria have developed enterprises in areas such as agriculture/agro-allied, solid minerals, transportation, information, and telecom, hospitality and tourism business, building and construction etc. According to Nkechi, Emeh, and Okechuku (2012), these human and natural resources notwithstanding, Nigeria is still one of the poorest countries in the world and has one of the highest rates of youth unemployment in Africa despite its alleged strong economic growth. In respect of the above sad and deplorable situation, the government has done little to reduce the misery and frustrations of the citizenry. This has foisted a state of hopelessness on majority of young and old people who have resorted to any means including crime to succeed in life. They resort to vices because they are not gainfully engaged. In order words, they are unemployed; not because they lack the qualification but because the system has been crippled politically, economically, socio-cultural and even religiously Nkechi etal (2012). The need for entrepreneurship development in the country today is necessitated by the fact that entrepreneurship development is a major factor in economic growth and development and also the permanent cure for extreme hunger and poverty necessitated by unemployment. Entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are people who have the ability to see as argued by Abdullahi (2008), stands as a vehicle to improve the availability of life for individuals, families, communities and to sustain a healthy economy and environment.

Evolution of Entrepreneurship in Nigeria

In the beginning, entrepreneurship started when people produced more products than they needed, as such, they had to exchange these surpluses. For instance, if a blacksmith produced more hoes than he needed, he exchanges the surplus he had with what he had not but needed; maybe he needed some yams or goat etc. he would look for someone who needed his products to exchange with. By this way, producers came to realize that they can concentrate in their areas of production to produce more and then exchange with what they needed. So through this exchange of products, entrepreneurship started. A typical Nigerian entrepreneur is a self made man who might be said to have strong will to succeed, he might engage the services of others like; friends, mates, in-laws etc. to help him in his work or production. Through this way, Nigerians in the olden days were engaged in entrepreneurship. Nigeria was traditionally an agricultural country, providing the bulk of its own food needs and exporting a variety of agricultural goods, notably palm oil, cacao/cocoa, rubber, and groundnuts (peanuts). At this time, the place called Nigeria had entrepreneurs who had the entrepreneurial mind-set prevalent at the time. The peoples of Hausa, Ibo, Yoruba and Benin all had their own entrepreneurs (13th-19thcentury), who were exposed to entrepreneurship opportunities outside their native areas. The Hausas had astute entrepreneurs who managed workers with skills in tanning, dyeing, weaving, and metalworking which were highly developed. The Hausas have long been famous for wide-ranging itinerant trading, and wealthy merchants shared the highest social positions with the politically powerful and the highly educated. In Hausa land, entrepreneurial success in Islam is not merely measured by the end result but also by the way and means of achieving them (Ebo 2012). The Ibos also specialized in buying and selling goods and have perfected their entrepreneurial expertise in inventory control, management and distribution – which up till today, has remained their prevalent way of entrepreneuring. The Yoruba are predominantly town dwellers who practiced small-scale, domestic agriculture and are well known as traders and craftspeople. Since the 13th century, Yoruba artists have been producing masterpieces of woodcarving and bronze casting. Like the Ibos, the finished products were traded on as business ventures and enterprises.

The Portuguese, the first Europeans to traverse the coast of western Africa, were attracted to Benin City in 1486. The Oba established trading contacts with the Portuguese and initially sold them some war captives, which the Portuguese sold as slaves (another sad reminder) to the Akan of Asante (modern Ghana) in exchange for gold. Later, Benin’s trade with Europeans in the 16th and 17th centuries was in palm oil, ivory, pepper, and textiles. Dutch traders to Benin City in the 17th century remarked about the astute entrepreneurs they met in Benin kingdom (Ebo 2012).

Recent Development of Entrepreneurship in Nigeria

The role of government in entrepreneurship development in Nigeria became significant only after the Nigeria civil war (1967-70). Since the mid-1980s there has been an increased commitment of government to entrepreneurship development especially after the introduction of the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) in 1986. Added to this is the establishment of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), National Open Apprenticeship Scheme (NOAS) and, the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Association of Nigeria (SMEDAN) (Thaddeus, 2012). Fundamentally the Nigerian government promotes entrepreneurial culture through initiatives that build business confidence, positive attitude, pride in success, support and encouragement of new ideas, social responsibility, providing technological supports, encouraging inter-firm linkages and promotion of research and development. In the early 2000s, entrepreneurship studies were introduced into the Nigerian educational system especially in higher institutions as a mandatory course. The Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (CED), which has the objective of teaching and encouraging students of higher institutions (especially in science, engineering and technological (SET)) to acquire entrepreneurial, innovative, and management skills, was established. The Centre’s goal is to make the graduates self-employed, create job opportunities for others and to generate wealth (Thaddeus, 2012). He continued that entrepreneurship development in Nigeria became significant only after the Nigerian civil war. At the end of the war the 2nd National Development Plan focused on the development of the 3Rs objectives of Reconstruction, Re-development and Reconciliation. The activities in the plan challenged/tasked the ingenuity and inventive skill of the individuals. This early period witnessed an economic development ideology of industrialization as the ultimate source of economic growth, and industrialization itself as the product of technical progress and investment. Technical progress or capital growth on the other hand is seen to be a function of, and the result of, entrepreneurial effort. In particular, evidence from the developed world indicates that economic growth is entirely due to the quality and efficiency of the entrepreneur. Thus after independence in 1960 there was the need by the government of Nigeria to promote indigenous entrepreneurs. The Government never loses sight of the tripartite relationship between entrepreneurship, industrialization and economic growth. Entrepreneurship is often carried out by micro and small scale businesses and therefore SMEDAN’s focus is on the development of micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) where it co-ordinates and integrates MSME activities in order to develop their full potential and competitiveness (Thaddeus, 2012). In the past forty years or so, the government had established various support institutions specially structured to provide succor and to assist SMEs to contend with some of the hurdles along their growth path. Some of these specialized institutions include the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB), the Nigerian Bank for Commerce and Industry (NBCI), the National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND), the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Industrial Development Coordinating Centre (IDCC), Peoples Bank, Community Banks, Construction Bank, Family Economic Advancement Programme (FEAP), State Ministries of Industry SME schemes, the Nigerian Agricultural and Cooperative Development Bank (NACDB),BOI[bank 0f industry] etc. These support institutions and other incentives created by the government notwithstanding, policy instability and reversals in addition to high turnover and frequent changes in government have impacted negatively on the performance of the primary institutions responsible for policy formulation, monitoring and implementation resulting in distortions in the macro-economic structure, low productivity and dismal performance of SMEs (Nwachukwu, 2012). Other major problems which have contributed to the poor performance of SMEs include: limited access to long-term capital, high cost of even short-term financing, poor partnership spirit, dearth of requisite managerial skills and capacity, illegal levies, street urchins‟ harassments, over-dependence on imported raw materials and spare parts, poor inter and intra-sectoral linkages that make it difficult for the SMEs to enjoy economies of scale production, bureaucratic bottlenecks and inefficiency in the administration of incentives that discourage rather than promote SME growth, weak demand for products arising from low and dwindling consumer purchasing power, incidence of multiplicity of regulatory agencies and taxes that have always resulted in high cost of doing business and poor corporate governance and low entrepreneurial skills arising from inadequate educational and technical background for many SME promoters (Nwachukwu, 2012).

Step by Step Guide on How to Start and manage a Business in Nigeria

If one is ready to take the bold step to become an entrepreneur, there is the need for a step -by- step guide for a perfect business plan on how to successfully start and manage a business in Nigeria. These steps will help you to plan, manage, and prepare your business for success. Many guides are available for adoption. Among these guides are, Nwaokorie (2015) which he tags “How to start a company in Nigeria” with six steps. The steps in this guide is too short. Another guide with twelve steps was tagged “How to Start Oil and Gas Business or Company in Nigeria. Step by step guide”. This is guide is specifically for oil and gas business. Gabriel (2017)’ guide “Step By Step Guide On How to Start Poultry Farming in Nigeria” which is specifically meant for Poultry Farming has four steps”. In a related submission, Caron (2016), named his guide with ten steps as “Starting a Business? 10 Steps Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know”. However, the following steps as suggested by Edom (2016), as a guide on how to start and manage a business in Nigeria is supported and recommended for adoption and use because is relevant to all types of business and also all other guides are subsumed into it:

1. Have A Great Business Idea: Your first and most important task is to have the right business idea. Take your time to determine what you really want to do, and if you’d be able to put in the work to achieve it. In arriving at your business idea, ensure that the business would be solving a problem people experience every day, involves a skill that you can easily hone or are already good at, and is something people are willing to pay for. You could also focus on starting out as a franchise for another successful brand. The advantage of franchising is that people already know and trust the brand, so it would be a lot easier for you to start up and start generating revenues from day one. When you’ve settled on the business idea you want to start up, you can proceed to writing a business plan.

2. Write A Business Plan: The next thing is to write a business plan. Your business plan will help you determine what key problem your business is going to solve, how it adds value to your target customer, the business lifespan, how you intend to generate revenues in the short term and subsequently profits on the long term, how you intend to achieve market penetration & growth, how you will raise startup capital, and a lot more. A comprehensive business plan will keep you focused on the goal and guide you towards achieving what your business has set out to become. Your initial business plan may not be the final plan your business works with, but it’s mandatory that you create one before you start your business.

3. Choose A Location: After you’ve written a comprehensive and highly intuitive business plan, you must determine where your business will be located. Ideally, your business must be close to your target customers, not your competition. Where you choose to locate your business office, customer demographic and all must be decided. The location you choose must be around the people with the highest chances of paying for your products or services. The location you choose is highly important and must be customer-friendly. It is not realistic to expect the business can meet the needs of everyone, no business can. - Choose the target market carefully: Overlook this area, and it is guaranteed the business will be disappointed with the performance of your business. Get this right and you will be more than pleased with the results.

- Needs: what unmet needs do your prospective customers have? How does your business meet those needs? It is usually something the customer does not have or a need that is not currently being met. Identify those unmet needs.

- Wants: think of this as your customer’s desire or wish. It can also be a deficiency.

- Problems: remember people buy things to solve a specific problem. What problems does your product or service solve?

- Perceptions: what are the negative and positive perceptions that customers have about you, your profession and its products or services? Identify both the negative and positive consequences. You will be able to use what you learn when you start marketing and promoting your business.

4. Raise A Business Startup Capital: Before you start out your business, you must have a clearly defined means of how to financially run your day to day operations, acquire merchandise and promote your brand, and a lot more. These things require capital to be executed.

There are various ways to raise startup capital for your business; ranging from angel investors, to personal finance, friends & family, and a lot more. Once you have a clear means to raise your business startup capital and have acquired a part of it, you can move on to determining the kind of legal business structure you want to setup.

5. Choose Your Legal Business Structure: Before you decide the legal business structure you want to setup, you need to know the various types, and how they could suit you. If you’re going to majorly be the only person in the business, a “sole proprietorship” model is what you should go for. You can register a “partnership” if you’re going to have more than one partner in the business. This means that both partners are going to be liable to the business. If you want to separate your personal liability from your company’s liability, you’d have to setup a “corporation”. Understanding the legal structure that you want formed around your business, is important before you proceed to register the business with the appropriate government bodies.

6. Register Your Business with the Government: The next step is to register your business with the government. If you’re going to be registering a company, you would need to get an article of association. This usually contains a lot of information about your business. To register a limited liability company, you’d have to use a lawyer for everything. If you don’t want to register a company, you can simply register it as just a business. In Nigeria, you don’t compulsorily need a lawyer to register a business name. In other parts of the world, the laws are different.

7. Register With The Federal & State Tax Offices: After your company or business registration, you’d have to register with the federal and state tax offices.

When you register with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), you’d be provided with your Tax Identification number which you will use for many other purposes like opening a bank account and a lot more.

8. Get A Business Bank Account: After successfully registering your business and getting your Tax Identification Number (TIN), you will need to setup a business bank account to save your business startup capital and revenues.

9. Hire The Right Team: The next step is to hire the right employees to co-run your business. If you’re starting a small business in Nigeria, you’d mostly not need more than one employee to take off with. But no matter how many employees you need to work with, make sure they’re the smartest people you can find.

10. Start Your Business: After all the legal paper works are complete and thoroughly validated, you’d need to focus on growing your brand and acquiring customers. At this stage, you’d need to let your target customers easily and quickly identify the problem you’re solving for them. Let them know how your business adds value to their lives, so you can start generating some revenue, and get feedback on what you’re doing right and wrong. Identifying these factors and correcting them early on would set you up for success on the long run.

11. Grow Your Business: After you’ve started running your business and have successfully satisfied your first set of customers in your initial test market, the next step would be to reach a wider audience. At this point, you’d need to create more awareness, expand to newer locations, and a lot more.

12. Promotions and marketing: The higher the volume of business exposure the greater the volume of sales, the power of quality advertisement cannot be overemphasized. Aside from employing the basic techniques of mass media advertisements, the internet gives us a huge potential to reach millions with a click. Whichever way suits best, go for it. If it is buying of advert space on radio, TV that’s ok, then choose it. If it is internet marketing that does it best, then consider it. You can also give out flyers and mount billboards conveying your messages.

Here are few steps to creating a marketing strategy for your business:

1. Identify All Target Markets: define WHO your ideal customer is or target market. Most companies experience 80% of their business from 20% of their customers. It makes sense then to direct your time and energy toward those customers who are most important.

2. Qualify the Best Target Markets: the purpose of this step is to further qualify and determine which customer profile meets the best odds of success. The strategy is to position your business at the same level as the majority of the buyers you are targeting. It is critical to figure out who your best customers are and how to best position your company in the marketplace.

3. Identify Tools, Strategies and Methods: a market you cannot access is a market you cannot serve. Marketing is the process of finding, communicating and educating your primary market about your products and services. Choose a combination of tools and strategies, that when combined, increase your odds of success.

4. Test Marketing Strategy and Tools: the assumptions we do not verify are typically the ones that have the potential to create business problems. Take the time to test all business assumptions, especially when you are making major expenditures.

Why Start up a Business?

Some of the reasons given for starting up businesses, according to Akpojevwe (2002) include:

1. Entrepreneurs are their own bosses, they make their business decisions, and they choose whom to do business with and what work they will do. They decide what hours to work, as well as what to pay and whether to take vacations or not.
2. Entrepreneur offers a greater possibility of achieving significant financial rewards than working for someone else.
3. It provides the ability to be involved in the total operation of the business, from concept to design and creation, from sales to business operations and customer response.
4. It offers the prestige of being the person in charge.
5. It gives an individual the opportunity to build equity, which can be kept, sold, or passed on to the next generation.
6. Entrepreneurship creates an opportunity for a person to make a contribution. Most new entrepreneurs help the local economy. A few through their innovations contribute to society as a whole.

Significance Of Startup Businesses In Entrepreneurial Development In Nigeria

The entrepreneurship existing in Nigeria is an indigenous type. In many parts of the world, the importance of entrepreneurship business in the process of socio-economic development has been documented. Entrepreneurship play transformative role in achieving sustainable development. Recent economic development around the world especially in the developing countries has led to the realization that large scale enterprises have not played and cannot let alone be expected to play the dynamic roles that are supposed to be played in the development of the economy. The importance of small scale enterprises includes among others, substantial contribution of the sector to the gross domestic product (GDP), employment generation, increasing local value added, and technological development in Nigeria. Since the entrepreneurship operated in Nigeria is indigenous, the operators understand the indigenous more than the foreign bodies. It generates employment opportunities for the country with the engagement of young school leavers; it reduces crime to a considerable extent, and reduces immorality in the country.

Another significance of entrepreneurship in Nigeria is retained earnings or plough back profit. This is when entrepreneurs re-invest their profit into the business in-stead of taking them to foreign countries. When such profits are retained in Nigeria, they help in the development of the whole country. The establishment of entrepreneurship business encourages social interaction and promotes peace in the country. Entrepreneurship business in the country has also helped in increasing the level of local technology in the county. It can be seen that the industrialist has gone out virtually to acquire recent technology for the production of goods and services. With the introduction of this technology, it has helped in the area of development of locally produced goods rather than relying solely on imported goods. Another importance is the low level of capital requirement needed for its establishment.

A more equitable re-distribution of income is usually achieved in small scale enterprise. Inventions, adaptations, general technological development are more common in small-scale industries. Entrepreneurship business is very essential since it serves as the spring board and training ground for others. It is generally agreed that the strength of an economy to a large extent depends on the strength of its small business brought about by the development of entrepreneurship in such a country.

The Evolution Of The Nigerian Payment System

The Nigerian payments system has evolved over the past few decades. The modern payments system started being completely paper-based with the use of banks notes, payment orders, and cheque. In 1996, the payments system was modified to include card-based e-payment products. This was followed by the introduction of pay card in 1997. By 1999, card based payment products assumed an open platform with authorization from the CBN for the floating of two card service companies by a consortium of over 20 banks. In 2003, the CBN, in collaboration with the Bankers Committee, launched the first major initiative to modernize the payment system, granting approval to a number of banks to introduce international money transfer products, telephone banking, and online banking via the internet on a limited scale. Today, virtually all banks have introduced electronic funds transfers (EFT), debit and credit cards, internet banking, mobile banking and deployed Automated Teller Machines (ATM). The Nigerian payments system has further evolved with the introduction of the Payments System Vision 2020, launched in 2007 to facilitate a wider range of electronic payment methods such as POS terminals, facilitated by a wider range of service providers. By 2007, the payment system had transitioned from being cash-heavy to a bulk payer status, which is a combination of cash, and some electronic instruments, mainly Automated Teller Machine (ATM). Post 2007, Nigeria continues to embark on measures to increase the use of electronic channels in its journey to a cash lite society with efficient payment systems. In 2011, the CBN launched a cash policy to modernize Nigeria’s payment system (in line with the country’s vision 2020), reduce the cost of banking, foster economic growth and improve the effectiveness of monetary policy. The cash policy is to reduce the rate at which cash is physically moved in the country. The cashless economy, as explained by NIBSS (2015) is aimed at reducing and not eliminating the stock of paper currency circulating within the economy. It does not refer to an outright absence of cash transactions in the economic setting but one in which the amount of cash-based transactions are kept to the barest minimum. Several electronic payment systems such as payment cards (smart card) and paper-based instrument that were introduced by the CBN gave rise to significant growth in the use of electronic payment systems. The CBN strategic plan on e-payment system is to ensure that a larger proportion of currency in circulation is captured within the banking system, thereby enhancing the efficacy of monetary policy operations and economic stabilisation measures. E-payment initiatives such as the establishment of switching companies that facilitate inter-connectivity, introduction of payment instruments such as Automated Teller Machine (ATM), web transaction, e-money products such as credit and debit cards and Point of Sale (POS) have drastically helped reduce the volume of cash transactions and the flow of cash in the Nigeria economy. Electronic payment systems that have been introduced in Nigeria are Automated Teller Machine (ATM), web transaction, electronic money products (such as credit and debit cards), and POS. These e-payment systems provide a better audit trail than transactions which involve physical cash and thus reduce the amount of currency in circulation (Adeoti & Oshotimehin, 2012). POS is one of the e-payment systems introduced in Nigeria to further the course of cashless policy. POS is an electronic payment device which enables individuals to make purchases with electronic cards. POS accepts ATM cards for payment of goods and services. This card stores account information on microchips. The microchip contains a purse in which monetary value is held electronically. The card can be used to make purchase of goods and services online, in supermarkets, shopping malls, and other market places. POS allows cardholders to have a real time online access to funds and information in their bank account through debit or cash cards. POS deployment is projected to hit 350,000 in 2014 from 120,191 in 2013, reflecting growing acceptance of POS and electronic card payments. This is because between 2012 and 2014, it was found that the volume of transactions conducted via POS increased by 183% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) suggesting significant adoption and usage of POS (NIBSS, 2015).

The Mechanics of the Cashless Policy in Nigeria

The cashless initiative is an alternative to cash transactions through electronic means using information and communications technology (ICT). Ndifon and Okpa [Ndifon E 2014] maintain that the future of all business, particularly those in the service industry lies in information technology. This technology as far as cashless policy is concerned is not only computer. Information technology for banks takes different forms; computerization of customers’ accounts and account information storage and retrieval; deposit and withdrawal through Automated Teller Machines (ATMs); and networking to facilitate access to accounts from any branch of the bank, bio-metrics, use of mobile phones to consummate transactions, internet, and websites. It also involves the use of credit cards, debit cards, mobile pay and many other forms of payment, but always only in digital ways, as paper currency does not come into play. Babalola [Babalola 2008] identified seven different electronic payment channels in Nigeria, Automated Teller Machines (ATM), points of sales terminals, mobile voice, web, inter-bank branch and kiosks. Ogbuji et al. [Ogbuji 2012] noted that ATM allows a bank customer to conduct his/her banking transactions from almost every other ATM machine in the world. In this type of economy, the amount of cash in one’s wallet is not relevant. One can pay for purchases by any one of the forms of transactions in cashless economy which includes the use of credit cards or bank transfer. Cashless economy is enhanced by e-finance, e-money, e-brokering and e-exchanges Moses-Ashike, [Moses 211]. Central Bank of Nigeria introduced Point of sale and gave the guidelines in 2011 with maximum service commission of 1.25% or a maximum of NGN2000 and limiting the role of connecting and maintaining POS devices only to licensed Payment Terminal Service Providers (PTSPs). These POS terminals serve like the Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) across commercial points in the country. At the completion of a transaction and the value ascertained, the amount is entered into a POS terminal into which the electronic card has been slotted. The cash equivalent of the amount will be automatically transferred from the payer’s account into the account of the payee’s account. In Nigeria today, private enterprise, religious bodies, educational institutions and other service providers such as hotels, transport firms etc. have embraced the POS option in their transactions. Users are issued with a card (the electronic purse). The electronic purse is topped up using revaluation terminals. There are different types of terminals: coin & note, credit card and payroll deduction terminals. The cards are simply inserted into the revaluation terminal and certain programmed instructions are followed, and money is added onto the electronic purse. This can then be used to pay for goods/services by inserting them into the POS terminals. When the card is inserted into the POS, and the transaction amount entered, the reader reads the amount and is quickly deducted from the e-purse (the card) (Akhalumeh and Ohiokha, 2011). It can be used to pay for school fees, shopping bills, utility bills and others bills. The aspect of cashless policy streamlining the permitted limits of cash transactions for individuals and institutions beyond which charges apply cover all accounts types especially savings and current with exception of government revenue generation; primary mortgage institutions, microfinance banks and embassies’ accounts. The policy clearly states that the cash withdrawal and deposit limit for individuals is N500, 000 and N3,000,000 for corporations, although the policy does not prohibit withdrawals above the stipulated amounts, but such transactions will be subjected to cash handling charges. The interesting thing about the way banks are implementing this policy is that at the end of each transaction, they send alert to the customer indicating the amount withdrawn and the balance. Banks have equally made available different types of cards to enhance the electronic transactions which consist of Verve, Master, Platinum cards; some customized means of making payments include: pay pal and payoneer and so many others. It is good to mention that these e- transactions are not without charge. This policy facilitates fund transfer, thereby reducing time wasted in bank(s). The transactional ease and other advantages of cashless economy may explain its growing popularity. For instance, Wizzit, a fast growing mobile banking company in South Africa has over three hundred thousand customers across South Africa. Likewise, M-PESA was introduced in Kenya as a small value electronic system that is accessible from ordinary mobile phones. It has experienced exceptional growth since its introduction by mobile phone operator (Safaricom) in Kenya in March, 2007 and has already been adopted by nine million customers, which is about 40% of Kenya’s adult population. The success of M-PESA has been attributed to its flexibility enabling users to carryout financial transactions across long distances with their cell phones, thereby reducing their travelling costs, eliminating the risks of carrying cash and also avoiding most banking charges (Akintaro, 2012). In Sweden, it is almost impossible to find a shop that does not accept electronic payment cards, and most locals almost never carry any cash on them.

Forms of Electronic Banking

There are various forms of electronic banking which include:

Mobile banking: This is a form of E-Banking that involves using mobile phones to carry out banking transactions. This is a system that offers information to customers and other bank services. Some of the services which are provided through mobile banking include account balance inquiry, payment of bills, short message service (SMS). It enables transactions to be done anywhere in the world and at the customer's convenience. This banking is also called ‘motion banking'. It allows the customer to form banking transactions at any time as long as a mobile phone is present Ayodele, [2015].

Internet/ Online Banking: This is a form of E-Banking whereby the internet is used for dissemination of information and also allowing customers to perform banking transactions. Tools such as computers, laptops that have access to the internet are used for this process Ngango, Mbabazize, Shukla, [2015]. The bank’s website is used to advertise services. When conducting E-Banking, the instruction of customers is taken and then attended to via the same platform, The Internet. Through this product, customers are now able to enjoy 24/7 services from banks. Another advantage of the internet banking is it helps reduce the cost of operations for banks, unlike traditional banks. Just as internet banking agent banking is mainly driven by technology and transactions can be made via mobile phones, point of sales(POS) e.tc Achugamonu, Taiwo, Ikpefan, Olurinola & Emena, [2016].

Automated teller machine (ATM): An ATM is an electronic device which can be used to carry out bank transactions. Some of the services offered by an ATM include withdrawal of funds, account balance inquiry, transfer of funds, and top-up on airtime for mobile phones etc. An ATM is operated with an electronic card. Each card has a Personal Information Number (PIN) which gives access to the account of the owner of the card. The first ATM that was offered to the public was in 1969 at the chemical bank in Rockville Center, New York. ATM'S were introduced into Nigeria in the year 1989. It was installed by national cash registers (NCR) for the society General Bank of Nigeria.

Point of sale (POS): This is a form of e-payment that handles balance inquiry, payment for goods and service, electronic fund transfer at a specific point of sale. The device allows customers to make payment for goods and services purchased without the physical use of cash. At POS terminals, when a customer slots in his card into the POS, he inputs his details and in the case of payment for goods or services, his account is debited at that point resulting in a transfer of funds to the service provider's account.

Electronic cards: these are cards that contain integrated circuits which can process data and are used for conducting financial obligations. Electronic cards could be debit or credit cards. The difference between debit and credit cards is; debit cards are used for payment of purchases made and the money comes from the customer’s account directly. On the other hand, payment for goods or service using the credit card is based on borrowing. The most preferred cards used by Nigerians are the master and visa cards.

POS

According to Rose et al (2008:113), point of sale terminals are computer facilities in stores that permit a customer to instantly pay for goods and services electronically by deducting the cost of each purchase directly from his/her account. The customer presents an encoded debit card to the store clerks who insert it into a computer terminal connected to the financial firm’s computer system. The customer’s account is charged for the purchase and funds are automatically transferred to the store’s deposit account. Adeoti et al (2012:10) described a POS machine as a terminal, a box that allows a merchant to accept payments by means of cards from his customers. It works almost like an ATM machine except that in this case, the machine is designed to accept payments only on behalf of the merchant which is mostly the registered company which has an account with bank. Rose and Hudgins (2008:113), state that current Point-of-Sale network are divided between online and offline POS systems. The offline accumulates all of the customer’s transaction until day’s end and then the total of all transactions is subtracted from the customer’s account. In contrast, online system deducts each purchase from the customer’s account as that purchase is made. Customers and financial firms would generally prefer offline POS system, but online system appears to reduce the frequency of customer overdrafts and, thus may be less costly in the long run.

A point of sale (POS) terminal is a computerized device in replacement for a cash register, much more complex than the cash registers of even just a few years ago. The POS system can include;

a) The ability to record and track customer orders.

b) Process debit and credit cards.

c) Connect to other systems in a network and

d) Manage inventory.

Generally, a POS terminal has as its core, a personal computer, which is provided with application-specific programs and 1/0 devices for the particular environment in which it will serve. A POS system for a restaurant, for example, is likely to have all menu items stored in a data base that can be queried for information in a number of ways. POS terminals are used in most industries that have point of sale such as a service desk, including restaurants, lodging, entertainment, and museums. Okechi and Kepeghom (2013:12) describes POS as an electronic device that is used for verifying and processing credit transactions typically connected via highly reliable performance. A retail point of sales system typically includes a computer, monitor, cash drawer, and receipt printer, customer display and barcode scanner, and the majority of retail POS system also includes a debit/credit card reader. It can also include a weight scale, integrated credit processing system, a signature capture device and a customer pin pad device. More and more POS monitors use torchscreen technology for ease of use and a computer is built into the monitor chassis for what is referred to as an all-in-one unit. According to Central Bank of Nigeria (2013:3) the approved minimum standard for POS card acceptance services include that all industry stakeholders who process and /or store cardholder information shall ensure that their terminals, applications and processing systems comply with the minimum requirements of the following standards and best practices (for PCI, the minimum requirement will be level 2.1). In addition, all terminals, applications and processing systems should also comply with the standard specified by the various card schemes. Each vendor must provide valid certificates showing compliance with these standards and must regularly receive status of all its terminals to ensure they are still compliant as standards change. There will be a continuous review and recertification on compliance with these and other global industry standard from time to time.

Benefits/Importance of POS

POS payment platform confers several benefits to users. Some of these benefits are summarized below:

a) Better and faster way of making payments.

b) Convenient to use for all amounts as cash payment could be bulky.

c) Deposits money electronically into your account without having to go to the bank.

d) Reduces risks of theft and cash handling.

e) Transactions can be monitored online real time.

f) MIS report can be generated anytime on the PoS terminal for you.

g) Increases sales as customers buy more with cards than cash at hand.

h) The economy now demands card payment as a preferred option to cash with large handling charges imposed on individuals and companies who withdraw and pay in cash.

Types of POS Systems

The following are some of the best POS systems for inventory management:

Square Inventory Management

Square is one of the best all-around inventory apps and it is free. It's fast and you can manage your inventory from anywhere. It also allows you to manage bulk inventory. You can load Excel spreadsheets into the application. This system sends you alerts if you are low on inventory. Square is particularly good for new and small businesses.

Vend POS Inventory Management

Vend, which is an iPad app and cloud-based, is perhaps the best POS app for retail inventory management. It can be used at checkout, out on the sales floor, and is also suitable for mobile use. Vend is widely used all over the world for retail inventory management. It is easy to use, intuitive and will scan barcodes. One downside is the price. Vend ranges between $99-$159 per month.2

TouchBistro Inventory Management

TouchBistro Inventory Management was developed specifically for the restaurant industry. It is an iPad POS system that increases your efficiency since you can move around the dining room floor to take payments, take orders, and move tables. It is also affordable although you have to connect with TouchBistro to get a quote.

Shopify Inventory Management

Shopify is a popular inventory management app that can be powerful for e-commerce, and can be used for in-person transactions. You can also use it to create your online store. Prices start as low as $29 per month and go up from there depending on the features you need.3

Other Uses

In addition to the basics of managing inventory, POS systems offer some other features, but you have to look for them. It is difficult for a business owner to track the effect of promotions on sales unless they use a POS inventory management system. You can track the effect of coupons, discounts, and other promotions easily.

Another feature of some POS systems is the ability to easily make and automatically record markdowns, which are recorded as sales are made.

Challenges to the efficient use of point of sale (POS) terminals in Nigeria

The role and importance of efficient payment systems has been closely monitored and promoted by monetary authorities in all countries. However, the Nigerian payment system that is cash-driven cannot and has not guaranteed the much needed efficient and effective transactions required for a sustainable economic development. Among the problems often associated with cash transactions are armed robberies, use of counterfeit bank notes, frauds, inconveniences of carrying large quantities of currency notes, long period of waiting in bank halls, frequent trips to banks, frequent printing of bank notes (Nnanna and Ajayi, 2005). Most economies of sub Saharan Africa countries is cash based. This is often associated with high cost of cash management in these countries. For example in Nigeria, over 90% of funds circulate outside the banking sector (Ojo, 2004; Ovia, 2005). According to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN, 2011), the cost of cash management in 2009 was N114.6 billion and grew to N135 billion and N166 billion in 2010 and 2011 respectively. The apex institution projected that the cost of managing cash will hit N192 billion by 2012. These cost arises from frequent printing of currency notes, currency sorting, cash movement, keeping large amount of cash, security cost of checking high incidences of robbery and burglaries to mention a few. This has made Nigeria cash-dependent, cash loving and cash carrying society, as an average Nigerian businessman prefer cash transactions. Reliance on cash based economy has however been found to be risky and cumbersome because money outside the banks cannot be subjected to regulatory and operational procedures, and the ability of monetary policy to achieve set objectives in the presence of sizeable currency out of Bank (COB) is therefore limited. This cash carrying character of the economy is also responsible for large pool of money in the hands of the unbanked citizens. In order to reduce the volume of cash in circulation and reduce the risk of going about with cash, the CBN introduced electronic payment system such as payment cards (smart card) and paper- based instrument to the country. This has encouraged e-payment initiatives such as the establishment of switching companies that facilitate interconnectivity, introduction of payment instruments such as point of sale (POS) terminal and automated teller machine (ATM) which gave rise to significant growth in the use of electronic payment systems (Salimon, 2006). Speculation however exists on the possible challenges to the use of the payment system. This concern necessitate this study which is aimed at providing information on possible challenges to the use of POS terminals and the characteristics of its consumers that could influence such challenges. Generally, electronic payment system (e-Payment) refers to an electronic means of making payments for goods and services procured online or in supermarkets and shopping malls. It enables websites and shopping malls to securely process transactions in real time. It operates on a smartcard that stores information on microchips. The microchip contains a purse in which monetary value is held electronically. The electronic payment system takes several forms. This payment system provides a better audit trail than transactions that involve physical cash and thus reduce the amount of currency in circulation. The CBN strategic plan on payment system is to ensure that a larger proportion of currency in circulation is captured within the banking system, thereby enhancing the efficacy of monetary policy operations and economic stabilization measures. While there is volume of studies on e-payment system such as ATM, there has been dearth of literature on POS especially factors influencing its adoption among the consumers. In spite of the practice of modern payments system in the world with their attendant advantages for both consumers and financial institutions, it has not become mainstream activities in Nigeria (Kolodinsky, 2004). Nigerian consumers and banks apparently still regard “in-person banking” as a more important method for money transactions. This cash-based payments system is responsible for the N545.8 billion currently in circulation (CBN, 2004). This represents about 90% of the total volume of cash in circulation compared to 4 and 9% in the UK and the USA respectively (Ovia, 2005). Despite the overwhelming superiority of electronic payment options, business–to– business transactions are still pre-dominantly consummated in Nigeria with the use of cash and to a limited extent bank’s cheque or certified cheque. The unintended social and economic costs (risks and inconveniences) associated with cash transactions are alarming. The most obvious has to do with insecurity (considering daily loss of lives from the activities of fraudsters, and armed robbers) as enhanced and encouraged by cash payments system. There is also the inconvenience of carrying larger volume of currency notes, the use of counterfeit banknotes, time loss as a result of long period of waiting and making frequent trips to banks. The monetary authorities also bear the high cost of printing bank notes due to the short life cycle of notes, and the cost of moving large amount of cash from banks to banks and across the country. Overdependence on cash for transaction also implies that much cash is held outside the banking system, which naturally reduces the capacity of banks to lend to the productive sectors of the economy. It is for some of these reasons that a forward-looking economy should seriously think of embracing the modern payments system, such as credit card, electronic money, electronic fund transfer, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) and debit card. Debit card is particularly important in a growing economy as Nigeria. For instance, debit card will promote better services to customers, because it is a very fast and speedy means of financial transaction. It is more efficient than cash, and, there will be drastic reduction in the printing of bank notes. It will remove the high cost of handling and printing notes. It will also increase profitability due to considerable reduction in overheads and most importantly, it will enhance security of life and property from armed robbery incidences that have become a common phenomenon in the country. Debit card will also make it possible for more money to be available to lend to the productive sectors of the economy. This will bring about positive impacts on economic growth and global competitiveness. However, to ascertain the enumerated benefits of this payment instrument, there is a need to analyze possible challenges to the efficient use of POS terminals determine. In fact the global trend in the use of electronic payment system, particularly the growing popularity of ecommerce calls for studies such as this. However, the empirical studies that are related to the use of debit card, as a payment instrument are foreign researches conducted in advanced countries of the world.

POS Systems in Retail Stores

POS systems are useful in retail stores, and are generally located where customers pay for the inventory they are buying from your store. At the least, a retail operation's POS system needs to consist of a terminal, a scanner for barcodes, a credit card processor, and a printer for receipts. Useful features include:

Ability to Track Inventory

Nothing can drag down the profitability of a business like carrying the wrong amount of inventory. An inventory tracking system as part of a POS system can help a business know when to order inventory to prevent stockouts and how to avoid having too much inventory on hand, which can eat into profitability.

Generation of Sales Reports

Retail stores need to be able to view sales data on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis. They should be doing industry analysis along with trend analysis to find out if their inventory management is hitting its mark.

Marketing and Customer Service

It is important for many retail stores to keep customer data on hand in order to make shopping a more personal experience. POS systems can do that for you while also giving you the ability to create advertising and marketing plans for your business. You can also use it for loyalty card and marketing programs like generating discounts and coupons for customers.

POS Systems in Restaurants

POS systems are often used in restaurants. Like retail stores, restaurant POS systems should have the ability to generate sales reports along with having strong marketing and customer service features. Restaurants need two additional features:

Back Office Inventory Management

Restaurants may sell a few products at the register. Perhaps more importantly, though, inventory management as a software feature helps with tracking your stock and supply. The inventory feature should also support tracking those items in the kitchen that are used in the production process.

Time Management

Restaurant activity moves fast and fluidly. The POS system in the restaurant has to be simple and efficient enough to maintain and utilize while making reservations, ringing up orders and sales, and providing receipts.

POS for Inventory Management

Using the right POS system for managing inventory is one of the best decisions a business can make. Particularly in retail operations, but also for any business that sells products, inventory management using a POS system can save money for small businesses.

Inventory is the most expensive asset that a small business can hold. If businesses hold on to inventory too long, it may become obsolete. If they don't have enough inventory on hand, the business is in danger of stocking out and damaging customer goodwill.

Here are some tips for using effective inventory management using a point-of-sale system in your small business.

Lower Ordering Costs

The cost of ordering inventory is one of two costs associated with holding inventory of the product or products sold by a small business. A small business cannot maximize its profit without continuing to keep ordering costs low. They include a portion of wages and benefits for the person ordering the inventory, administrative costs, and costs of taking delivery. A POS system helps keep ordering costs low by telling you when exactly to order.

Lower Carrying Costs

Carrying costs are the costs of storing the inventory. These storage costs can be expensive depending on the product. Considerations are whether it needs special conditions for storage and the size of the product. Not only can storage costs be high if you have too much inventory on hand, but you can also run into the problem of obsolescence. Both can be a drain on business profitability.

Perpetual and Just-in-Time Inventory Systems

A perpetual inventory tracking system records adjustments to inventory balances after every transaction through POS inventory systems. A perpetual inventory system allows you to access the balance in your inventory account at any time.

The just-in-time inventory system allows you to order inventory only as you need it. Both inventory systems may minimize the costs of ordering and carrying inventory.

The Power of POS Improving Growth, Profit, and Customer Service in a Retail Business

When updating from manual processes, the first system necessary is the POS system because it is the core for business analytics by providing management with access to comprehensive historic sales information. POS software helps to identify “not only daily and weekly POS performance, but also inventory levels by SKU and location, order status, in-stock percentage (in-stock in a store as a percentage of shelf capacity), and warehouse and store out-ofstocks” (Shapiro, 2008). Further research shows that a POS system streamlines the process of entering inventory into a computer upon completion of sales, thereby allowing for expedited inventory management for companies still doing this counting manually (Casison, 2013). POS data can be used to create expected sales forecasts based upon previous demand. This will impact purchase orders, which “should be determined by how much end-users are likely to demand, so POS data can be used to forecast what end-users will buy” (Simon, 2008). Forecasts are a very useful tool when considering how to price items and when to reorder additional units because they identify the frequency at which items are sold. The flexibility and automation that a new point of sale system provides over manual processes is a key motivator for upgrading systems. A POS system is a means to collect and aggregate sales data automatically, which can then be used to produce a variety of sales reports including: daily reports with historical data, six week history reports, top selling categories, top margin categories, top margin customers, top margin items, customer rank by sales, top selling items, and sales by time of day (Polanz, 2011). Specifically for the retail agriculture industry, a good system can show a manager which plants are making the most money, which ones are stagnant, and which ones maintain the highest holding costs. This knowledge is crucial when dealing with perishable goods. (Youngblood, 2013). POS systems can also tackle issues relating to seasonality that all garden centers must consider. It is difficult to sell particular plants, such as fall blooming flowering shrubs, during the start of the season comparative to others, like annuals for window boxes or flower pots, which would sell quickly during that time. Conversely, that same flowering shrub might outsell an annual greatly at the end of the season because its value is not subject to seasonal obsolescence. Often times, “many retailers do not (fully) consider seasonality in practice because of a lack of technical capabilities” (Ehrenthal, Honhon, & Van Woensel, 2014). However, “by accounting for nonstationary demand in inventory management, retailers can reduce inventory holding, handling, and stock-out cost substantially” (Ehrenthal, Honhon, & Van Woensel, 2014). Without the proper technology, there is a gap between a manager’s insight into trends and their actual patterns. A POS system tracks the sale of individual categories of plants immediately when they occur and manages every transaction completely. This provides management with a greatly enhanced ability to plan orders, plant placements, and adjust strategies for the seasonal nature of the industry (Lombardi, 2011). Wallitsch Garden center (in [city, state] if available) implemented the CounterPoint pointof-sale system to replace its manual system and as a result experienced much greater flexibility in pricing. The company had access to new data which allowed them to “price products individually based on margin, rather than grouping products into one price point” (Anonymous, 2008a). This is a crucial ability for retail agriculture businesses; oftentimes a company purchase will include a group of different products offered at a homogenized price. These products are then sold individually in the store with varying degrees of demand. Individual pricing allows management to capitalize on those demand trends. Wallitsch Garden center experienced further flexibility by using POS data to compare the price points offered by various vendors, and in turn was able to make smarter purchasing decisions for those products. Overall, the updated system helped manage and control inventory and increased the profits of the garden center by approximately 8 percent over the course of a season (Anonymous, 2008a).

Coupling historical data trends with better buying helps to increase inventory accuracy, reduce the need for end of year clearance sales, and ultimately reduce inventory obsolescence. Lakeview Nurseries in Massachusetts utilizes a just-in-time buying policy as a result of having an electronic point of sale system, and keeps a consistent flow of healthy products all deliverable within five days (Harvey, 2013). This system has also helped reduce end of year inventory significantly by carefully managing inventory levels throughout the season. The just-in-time buying system pushes those incremental costs back up the supply chain where, at the manufacturer level, economies of scale reduce expenses. Research has proven that switching from a manual system to a computerized inventory system improved the efficiency of purchasing. Point of sale and inventory management gathers the information pertinent to ordering, and “historical data enables you to more accurately forecast seasonal sales and make better buying decisions for the future” (Anonymous, 2008b). Orders can be created more precisely and cost effectively. Garden centers without forecast insight typically utilize push inventory systems, which requires stocking large quantities of items and marketing them to sell as fast as possible. As a result, inventory costs rise as research suggests that “every time an inventory item has a birthday, it costs the retailer 30%” (Youngblood, 2013). This is explained by the perishable nature of goods because incremental costs rise as inventory levels do; plants need water, fertilizer, adequate light conditions, and proper care. Carrying costs are naturally high in the industry, and inventory left over at the end of each year damages retailers’ margins. Both employees and customers are benefactors of implementation as manual processes typically requires heavy time inputs during checkouts and an electronic system expedites these transactions (Girsch-Bock, 2013). Electronic point of sale systems create a major competitive advantage for garden centers of any size. Customer inquiries can be handled much more quickly because “sales staff can locate stock on hand at any store location right from the POS terminal, and check the status of backorders, enabling [employees] to efficiently fulfill customer needs and move them through checkout quickly” (Anonymous, 2008b). Without inventory counts provided by an electronic POS system, employees cannot easily provide information to customers about product availability. Physical inventory counting is expedited by using sales data to keep track of current inventory levels; employees and managers no longer need to spend the day wandering the sales floor counting every item (Sandstrum, 2014). Information obtained from POS improves marketing by helping salespersons make better judgments and ultimately practice smarter selling. Data reports highlight specific needs and eliminate guessing and biases that employees develop throughout the course of their work (Sandstrum, 2014). If need be, repositioning strategies can be applied to every item within the POS database. In particular high turnover items, like annuals, are very difficult to price individually because each specific item is relatively similar. However, there are clear trends in customer demand based upon color, variety, and growth characteristics (upright, spreading, trailing, etc) which appear in demand planning derived from POS data. Items such as roses, which normally are highly sought after plants, could be placed in the back of the center so that customers will be exposed to other plants prior to checkout (Polanz, 2005). A POS system with this ability will help able to track the sales data necessary to make better judgments on plant placement so that management can choose high margin items to place along the route to high turnover plants. There are challenges and capital investment a garden center needs to recognize when implementing a POS system. While the advantages of a new system include inventory control, speed at checkout, and customer tracking, these systems can be complex and difficult to grasp if an employee is new to the system. In addition, while small systems can cost in the range of $1,000 to $2,000, larger more complete systems can cost in excess of $75,000. (Bame, 2008). Estimates suggest that if a garden center is making about $500,000 in revenue per year, then it is most likely losing money without a POS system. Once a business takes the appropriate steps to implement a system and then begins forecasting, issues can arise with demand planning based upon actual sales data. Specifically, “in the event of a stockout, a backorder is not allowed, so all unfilled demand is lost… Real-world systems rarely include backordering at the retail store level and cannot record demand during stockout. Therefore, historical demand does not actually represent the amount of demand in the system, but just the amount of demand filled. Most analytical models assume complete backordering" (Nachtmann, Waller, & Rieske, 2010). It is important for a company to reduce stockouts to avoid untrackable, unfilled demand. This relates back to buying practices and smart ordering which helps to eliminate these issues. Creating accurate sales forecasts and eliminating stockouts through better buying provide synergistic effects, which increase the value of both functions individually. A forecast that best represents actual demand creates informed ordering, and informed ordering reduces inventory stockouts, leading back to forecasts more representative of actual demand.

2.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology

Venkatesh, Morris, Davis and Davis (2003) introduced the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. UTAUT provides a comprehensive amalgamated theoretical underpinning explaining the application of ICT based strategies in an organization. The theory explains that the successful application of technology based strategies in an organization is based on four major aspects: “performance expectancy (P.E), effort expectancy (E.E.), social influence (S.I.), and facilitating conditions (F.C)” (Venkatesh et al., 2003). According to the theory, P.E pertains to the level that applying the technological strategy benefits customers in performing particular transactions. E.E is the extent of simplicity that the strategy grants customers in accessing products/services. S.I is the customers’ perception of the benefits of the technology to others, while F.C are the perceptions of the customers on the resources and assistance provided for them in using it (Brown & Venkatesh, 2005). The theory further alleges that the influence of these four aspects on the successful application of the ICT based strategies is further moderated by four variables including: age, gender, experience and voluntariness to use the technology. Importance of UTAUT in this research is that it helped in assessing ability to meet the four major aspects alleged in the theory as critical for the successful application of ICT based strategies. Furthermore, insights from the theory helped to interrogate how these aspects in the case of electronic banking strategies influence organization’s competitive advantage.

Resource – Based Theory

Barney (1991) introduced the resource based theory (RBT) but its original ideas originated from Penrose (1989). According to the theory, a firm’s competitive advantage is primarily based on the uniqueness of its resources, processes and capabilities, which enables the firm to make good use of any market opportunity and stay ahead of competitors. However, according to Grant (2001), competitive advantage of the firm cannot be achieved through a single resource or process, but it is attained through a right mix of resources, processes, strategies and capabilities in the firm. Barney (1991) underscores that for a firm to innovatively transform its competitive advantage from short term to a sustainable long-term competitive advantage, it must ensure that it possesses diverse resources that are mobile. According to Johnson et al. (2008), in RBT, competitive advantage is a product of interrelation between the organization’s internal resources and strategic behavior, giving the firm unique capabilities which are not easily duplicable by other firms. Importance and application of RBT in this research was to provide insights which helped in assessing application of EBS by banks to achieve competitiveness. That is, whether the diverse electronic banking strategies applied by the banks enables the banks to acquire competitive advantage or not. It also helped to interrogate how each of them contributes to the banks’ competitive advantage and how the mix of different electronic banking strategies affects the banks’ competitiveness.

Theory of Push and Pull Customer Service

In 1911, Fredrick Winslow Taylor published "The Principles of Scientific Management." Business took his ideas to heart and started focusing on becoming more efficient than their competition. This led to determining the needs of the potential customer and pushing the solutions out to those customers. In today's, market pushing solutions are sometimes seen by the customer as intrusive or overlooked by the customer as the solution gets lost due to information overload. Many companies are moving away from the push theory to a pull theory. That is, they are providing the information and solutions in a generally accessible format and allowing the customer to determine what best suits their needs. One of the base assumptions about pushing solutions (products, information, extra) to customers is that the business or organization can anticipate the needs of the customer in advance of the need and prepare the solution ahead of time. Organizations that emphasize the push theories often do so to increase efficiency. They believe that if, for instance, they create the penultimate user manual that they will cover all of the questions the customer might have and thereby limit the amount of contact the customer needs to make to the organization. As well, by using a push model the organization can limit those areas for which service is provided which again might provide efficiency in the training of support personnel. This model has become more difficult to implement as organizations are finding they may be sacrificing effectiveness for the efficiency. Pulling solutions has always been a part of most organizations. A customer would visit the organization and ask questions and someone would answer them. In the case of "pull," the customer initiates the request for a solution rather than merely choosing a solution from the solutions offered by the organization. This is being used more often as consumers have begun to distrust the solutions provided directly by organizations and wish to do the research themselves. This model requires the business or organization to provide as much materials as possible in as many formats as possible and hope that the customer discovers the solution. This is not an efficient model from the customer's or the organizations point of view but it is effective in many cases.

2.3 CHAPTER SUMMARY

In this review the researcher has sampled the opinions and views of several authors and scholars on the concept of POS, its challenges and benefit, the concept of entrepreneurship etc. The works of scholars who conducted empirical studies have been reviewed also. The chapter has made clear the relevant literature