Similarities and Differences in the Underlying Factors Influencing Male and Female Students of Technical Universities in the Choice of Banks: Evidence from Takoradi Technical University, Ghana

Background: This paper is a follow up to an earlier one on a study that sought to determine the factors that, in general, influence Takoradi Technical University students’ selection of banks, given the keen competition in the banking sector in Ghana. Having found the said factors in the first study, and in the face of evidence of a difference in the factors that influence bank choice elsewhere with respect to sex, the study whose findings is the subject of this paper sought to establish whether there is any such dichotomy amongst Takoradi Technical University students. Objectives: The study sought to 1) determine the factors that influence the selection of banks by males, 2) determine the factors that influence the selection of banks by females, and 3) determine whether there are any differences and similarities between male and female students with respect to the factors that influence bank selection. Methods: Data was obtained from 545 students, comprising 364 male students and 181 female students through a cross-sectional survey and was analysed using the statistical method of factor analysis, having initially established through the chi-square test of independence that bank choice and sex are not independent. Results: Four (4) factors were identified as influencing bank selection amongst the female students as against six (6) in the case of the male students. The factors identified for the female students are Customer Experience, Third Party Influence, E-banking, and Access to ATMs and that for the male students are Secure E-banking, Customer Experience, Promotion Strategy, Intelligent Responsiveness, Access to ATMs and Third Party Influence. Conclusion: Male and female students of Takoradi Technical University differ with respect to some of factors that influence bank choice. Even for the factors that are common, the importance female students attach to them is not the same as that of male students. The factors male students consider when making bank choices appear to be more strategic and wide-ranging than the females, with the latter tending to place premium on customer experience more than the former.