Abstract
This research was undertaken to determine the use of postponement strategy as a customer satisfaction enhancer in the South African light automotive industry. This study has evaluated the nature and the strength of the relationship between service quality as the independent variable (S) and customer's satisfaction and dependent variables. The research has further investigated the correlations between the intervening variables (Postponements strategy), the moderating variables (social status) and the dependent variables (customers' satisfaction). Upon investigating those relationships among those various variables, a better understanding of postponements strategy with the South Africa light automotive industry as customer satisfaction has emerged. A cross-sectional study method, using an explanatory design with mixed approach trough scientifically tested and valid instrument for postponement strategy, the questionnaire that has five dimensions, whit respect to various customers decoupling points, has assisted in data collection from various strata. As a supply chain in which customers that represented the population was clustered according to their position on the supply network, the stratified non-proportionate sample was used. Descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, correlations analysis, and test of significant mean differences will be performed for the research questions and hypothesis testing. The main findings were presented and interpreted from the empirical study, assessing the contribution of postponements strategy towards customers' satisfaction in the South Africa light automotive supply network. Those finding if implemented shall potentially boost the industry growth and economic growth thereof, increasing South African automotive share nationally and internationally. The increase will imply job creation, reductions of unemployment and poverty alleviation and narrowing of inequality gap. Players of the automotive supply chain might implement the finding for their growth and better services for their business sustainability. This research should contribute to the operations management discipline, with emphasis on the supply chain management by bringing additional knowledge on how to use postponement as customers' satisfaction enhancers.
Ph.D. (Operations Management)