Marketing systems analysis in intercultural tension contextsImplications for sustainable prosperity of syrian refugees in lebanon

Résumé

Forcibly displaced populations are increasing and are inevitably changing market landscapes in host societies. Lebanon remains the country with the highest number of refugees per capita after Syrians had to take refuge because of the war that started in 2011. National public debates and international reports on how to fairly and effectively welcome refugees in host countries have proliferated, however research at the intersection of marketing fields and development is insufficient. Macromarketing lies in a privileged position to address the complex socioeconomic phenomena vis-à-vis the inclusion of refugees in host societies, taking into account the well-being of all actors and stakeholders, from consumers, businesses, NGOs, and governments. Within such a complex network of actors, interests, and international conundrums, social dilemmas and fears can lead to animosity towards the newly arrived community. This thesis will explore the reasons behind Lebanese consumers¿ animosity towards Syrian refugee employees, as well as the disposition of macrofactors in the Lebanese marketing system to facilitate or hinder refugee inclusion. Objectives: The main objective is to analyze the underlying and aggregated dynamics of marketing systems that affect the social inclusion of Syrian refugees in Lebanon as a host society. The first specific objective is to analyze how the hostility of host societies is transferred to intercultural service encounters with refugees as employees, in the specific case of Syrian refugee employees in Lebanon. The second specific objective is to gain an in-depth understanding of the macro factors that are affecting the social inclusion of Syrian refugees and to describe the degree of cooperation among the main catalytic institutions: government, businesses, and NGOs in the social inclusion of Syrian refugees. As well as the consequences on the well-being of local-citizen consumers and refugee employees, and on other potentially affected stakeholders. Methodology: The empirical design includes a survey-based behavioral model on Lebanese consumers¿ perceived cultural distance, animosity, expected service quality and willingness to buy in services delivered by Syrian refugees. This methodology is especially suited for unexplored contexts and theoretical proposals. Data were collected from 499 Lebanese consumers who were surveyed at the entrance of retail stores in several areas of Beirut. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) data analysis tool was used to fulfill the first objective and o design and analyze the behavioral model. In addition, the interpretation of Lebanese consumer behavior is framed by an extensive review, analysis, and systematization of secondary data from Lebanese and transnational catalytic institutions. Results: The proposed model helps explain Lebanese consumers¿ Willingness-to-Buy (55.8% of variance explained) and Expected Service Quality (45.2% of variance explained). The medium predicted relevance of these two constructs is confirmed by the Stone-Geisser test (Q2). Moreover, all direct and indirect relations (path coefficients) between constructs in the model were significant except for the relationship between war animosity and willingness to buy, which was not supported by the statistical model. More closely and significantly, perceived cultural distance shows a large effect size (f2) over economic animosity, while war animosity shows a medium effect size over expected service quality, as well as expected service quality has a large effect size over willingness to buy. Overall, the model shows that perceived cultural distance helps explain better both types of animosity, and these two types of animosity greatly explain expected service quality, that then has an impact on willingness to buy. On the other hand, the direct effects of perceived cultural distance and animosity over willingness-to-buy are not remarkable. Discussion: The statistical model has shown that some Lebanese consumers with high levels of Perceived Cultural Distance and Economic Animosity may not shop at service businesses that employ Syrian refugees because they expect a lower service quality. However, the overall model does not offer a sufficient explanation to support the argument that Lebanese consumers are actively boycotting businesses that employ Syrian refugees. A macromarketing approach to the acro factors involved in the sustainable inclusion of Syrian refugees in the Lebanese system has shed light on strategic inclusive initiatives at the various aggregated levels of such system. A theoretical model and framework are proposed which include the roles and interests of all catalytic institutions: government, businesses, NGOs, and civil society organizations (CSOs). Special emphasis is placed on sustainable and long-term public policies and marketing actions that are able to conciliate conflicting interests in the system at the macro and meso level. But also, bottom-up processes from consumers, CSOs, and refugees are at the center of development program proposals towards individual and societal quality of life of Syrian refugees and the Lebanese host society.