Financial Services

Resource allocation, as the main objective of managerial science, requires analyzing the long- and short-term effects of a policy, although this analysis would be more difficult in dynamic and volatile industries such as financial technology. Moreover, the integration of industries leads to more diverse product categories for a single company and makes it difficult for the implementation of decision making about resource allocation. In this regard, systemic PPM (PPM) models can be applied to balance long- and short-term generated values of the company by adopting policies about resource allocation for different products with respect to risk management concepts. The proposed systemic model should include interrelationships between different products, time relevant, and most importantly the potentials of dynamic analysis of product strategies, which is the main purpose of this research. The research strategy is to conduct a case study on the Iranian financial technology industry, by using systemic PPM modeling. In this research, a dynamic model was used in the payment industry, due to its competitive forces. Thus, system dynamics methodology was the research tool for analyzing data. Further, four cycles of risk management, resource allocation, innovation, and development were identified and then, analyzed in a dynamic approach to evaluating their efficiency for business development. Based on the results, the system dynamics methodology provided great outcomes for this problem. Finally, scenario analysis, focus, deep understandings of the decision-making process with respects to mental models, and stock and flow diagrams were among the most significant findings of this article.

Scientific sources demonstrate different attitudes of researchers to cryptocurrencies because they treat them as a category of currency, virtual money, commodity, etc. Accordingly, the relation to the valuation and risk of cryptocurrency as an investment object is different. The purpose of the article is to identify cryptocurrency value formation factors and determine the risks of investing in cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency is simultaneously considered a currency, an asset with uncertain income, and a specific product, the price of which is determined by the energy costs for mining new cryptocurrency blocks. Thus, the paper examines the risks of investing in cryptocurrency from several positions. First, the study identifies the factors of formation of the value and risk of cryptocurrency as ordinary money based on comparing cryptocurrency with traditional money. Unlike traditional money, cryptocurrency is not tied to the economic performance of a particular country; also, central banks do not control or regulate their mining. Instead, the cryptocurrency emissions depend on the computational capacity of the equipment used for their mining. As a financial asset, cryptocurrency can be a “financial bubble” because their value increasing often exceeds the cost of mining. On the other hand, given the emergence of cryptocurrency as a phenomenon of the information economy, the paper analyses the impact of specific technical features (cryptographic hashing algorithm, the complexity of creating new blocks, the technology of verification of mining operations, etc.) on the risk of investing in cryptocurrency assets.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between word of mouth, corporate image and customer patronage intentions of financial services.Design/methodology/approach – The research analyses whether word of mouth and corporate image are predictors of patronage intentions. Specifically, the paper examines the moderating effects of corporate image in the relationship between word of mouth and patronage intentions using structural equation model. Data were collected from 848 customers selected from financial services firms. Exploratory and confirmatory factors analysis was performed on the study items after which the hypotheses were tested.Findings – The findings suggest that word-of-mouth has a significant impact on customer patronage intentions and corporate image also has significant influence on patronage intentions. Corporate image was found to moderate the relationship between word of mouth and patronage intentions. This indicates that word of mouth and corporate image are central to customer patronage intentions towards financial services.Research limitations/implications – There are limitations of the research. The first significant limitation is that the variables had various sub-dimensions. The second limitation is about sampling of the participants to represent all the customers of financial services in Ghana.Practical implications – This paper provides useful insights into financial service industry on the dimensions of word-of-mouth, corporate image, customer patronage intentions and how they are interrelated.Originality/value – the study of the interactive effects of word of mouth and corporate image on patronage intentions is unique and contributes to the explanation of customer behavior literature.