LITERATURE REVIEW

A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars
and researchers. In writing the literature review, our purpose is to convey what knowledge and
ideas have been established on the above mentioned topic, and what are their strengths and
weakness.

Kotler (2003) Writer in this book has stated that to maintain company’s value, customer value,
satisfaction and loyalty are most important factors in marketing. Customer retention is directly
proportionate to customer satisfaction. If customer satisfaction is high, eventually customer
retention will also be high. Loyal customers generally tend to pay 7-10% more than non-loyal
customers. Hence, company should keep on trying different methods to delight a customer.

Reichheld (2014) Author has summed up in his book that a simple question like “would you
recommend us to a friend?” allow companies to track promoters and detractors. If an
organization’s Net Promoters Score (NPS) is higher by a dozen points than its competitors, it can
double the company’s growth rate. Hence, NPS helps top management to make its employees
accountable for treating their customer’s right.

Rajkumar and Balasubramaniam (2013) Author has observed that India has huge potential of
being one of the leading nations in usage of renewable sources of energy. Solar energy shares a
13% availability of all the renewable sources available in India. An efficient energy management
can help in optimum utilization of the potentials of renewable sources. Having an exclusive
ministry of non-conventional energy sources (MNES) is an advantage for India, that will bring
reforms to put in place the resources for renewable energy development.

Thilagavathi and Mownica (2014) It can be stated from the study that solar power is emerging
as one of the best alternatives to electricity. It comes up as the clean green electricity. Its various
applications have become saviors to power cuts, lower availability of grid electricity, etc. Solar
water heater has evolved as the most popular device that reduces electricity consumption to more
than 30%. Study has evaluated the customer satisfaction and factors influencing customer sot
purchase these products, etc. It focuses on customer’s needs and wants and hence, manufactures
can achieve customer satisfaction by giving more user friendly, innovative and cost effective
products.
Venkatraman and Sheeba (2014) The findings of the paper suggest that customers attributes
toward solar devices is changing and there has been an increase in the awareness of the benefits
of solar energized devices over electric devices. Report concludes that customer’s attitude is
influenced by many factors including changing trends, education qualification of customer,
standard of living of people, etc.

Momotaz and Karim (2012) Paper summarizes that rural electrification through solar system is
becoming more popular in remotes & inaccessible areas but the intensified competition
challenges make customer satisfaction an essential prerequisite for achieving a sustainable
competitive advantage & overall success of solar lighting systems. It may have a profound and
far-reaching economic, socio-cultural and demographic impact on life and living of rural people.

Atreyesh and Murthy (2014) this paper analyses the regulatory and institutional framework by
govt. of India to promote investments in India’s solar energy sector. India has taken reforms to
promote private, domestic and foreign investments in renewable energy and infrastructure.
Current deficit in the supply and demand of electricity in India is 6.7% currently. As per
electricity act 2003, state and central regulatory bodies are mandated to promote renewable
energy and hence, adopted renewable purchase obligation, which will make it mandatory for the
distribution companies to purchase a portion of electricity from renewable energy sources. Due
to acute energy shortage, solar energy will play a vital role for India’s economic development.

Gitomer (1998) Author states that satisfied customer is still likely to shop around the next time
where he gets a better price or deal whereas a loyal customer will always come back to you. So,
traditional customer satisfaction measures might be meaningless here. Need is to give an
extraordinary service that creates WOW factor with the customer. WOW! Service will help in
word of mouth advertising which will eventually help build business.

Arvizu and Balaya (2012) Author has presented study of all renewable sources of energy and its
impact to the environment if used in the best of its potential. It is stated that if direct solar energy
is the most abundant of all and also provide opportunities for positive social impact. Over the last
30 years, there has been cost reduction in solar technology and hence potential deployment
scenario for solar energy to become one of the major sources of energy supply by 2050.

Srivastava and Srivastava (2013) It has been summarized through the paper that acute energy
shortage can hamper India’s industrial and economic growth, thus Indian govt. is recognizing the
importance of solar power. Also, decreasing cost of solar investments suggest it to be the right
time for solar power revolution in the country. JawaharLal Nehru Solar Mission aims at
development and deployment of solar energy technologies in the country. It focuses to see solar
energy as a viable energy source, not just an alternate to other renewable sources. It can be
concluded that India’s solar market can grow to a billion dollar level over a decade which would
require right project execution, financing and localization.

Oliver (2010) Author has used Maslow’s motivational hierarchy to explain the levels of
customer satisfaction. There are physiological, security, affiliation, self-esteem and self
actualization and some might have purchased a product for the fulfillment of a specific level of
hierarchy. This framework may generate a set of satisfaction drivers.

Brown (2015) Author has stated that the risk of extinction of fossil fuels and climate instability is
being replaced by wind, solar and geothermal energy alternatives and revolutionizing the global
energy platform. Energy investors are focusing on utility-scale solar projects.

Ahmad etal (2014) Author has summarized that the development of renewable energy source is
an alternate to achieve the challenge of sustainable energy development. Currently, 87% of
power in India is generated through conventional sources. Most parts of the country have approx.
300 clear sunny days in a year. This solar energy can be utilized by either solar thermal power
system or solar photovoltaic. Thus, large scale installation of photovoltaic will give huge
contribution to sustainable development of India.

Arora (2013) Researcher has studied the bright potential of India through various usages of solar
photovoltaic in Rural India which will fulfill electricity requirement at reasonable and affordable
rates. Solar Lanterns, Solar Home Lighting System, Solar PV Micro-grid, Solar PV based
irrigation pump sets, Solar PV for Telecom towers are devices that can reduce the usage of costly
fossil fuels (kerosene and diesel) in rural areas.

Velayudhan (2008) Writer has compared customer satisfaction experience of rural consumers
with urban consumers. Expectations between them differ as rural consumers are careful buyers
and look for right value for their money. To conclude the comparative level of customer
satisfaction between rural and urban consumer, rural customers are more loyal than urban
consumers.
Gupta (2007) Author has reported in this article that improving access to electricity improves the
living standards in rural India and gives an opportunity for socio-economic development. Rural
electrification is possible by formulating right policies and permitting stand-alone systems based
on renewable sources of energy. Hence, Power producers that use renewable sources of energy
should be given interest subsidies as their project costs are front-loaded whereas operation cost
are almost negligible. Also, Private ownership will result in good service standards, efficiency,
competition, etc.

Shajahan (2004) Author has concluded that most of the companies benefit from customer’s
loyalty behavior, which emerges because of positive state of mind shown by employee in serving
the customer. Benefits of loyal customer include low cost of service, increased purchase, word of
mouth popularity, low price sensitivity and other related advantages.

Szwarc (2005) Author has specified in this chapter that customer satisfaction is highly based on
the opinion of the customer which is further related to their emotional and rational factors and
hence, customer’s opinions are based on experience of others who might have used the product
and taken services. These days, customers have more choices available, so if the services are not
into competitive advantage to its competitors for their customers, the switching of suppliers can
be much easier for a customer.

Burogohain (2013) Author has summarized that rural electrification through solar devices has
huge impact on the living standards of villagers. It give them safety and security over kerosene
lamps with an economic advantage, light for children to study, hence boasting child education,
reduction in crime rates due to availability of light in village surroundings, etc.

Khan (2012) Author in this paper has studied about customer loyalty which has an important
concern due to concentrated competition specially if one talk about service industry. For this,
two important variables are customer satisfaction and customer retention. Customer satisfaction
is obtained out of what was expected. Hence, its level depends on the level of supply of service.
Previous studies have showed both positive and negative relation of customer retention and
customer loyalty. Hence, Customer Satisfaction and customer retention are independent variables
where as customer loyalty is dependent on both. Based on the study conducted, author could
conclude that with improved customer satisfaction in firm, it can find customers that are loyal
and referring to loyal customers, firm can attract more customers. Thus companies should focus
on better quality products and services.
Harinayarana and Kashyap (2014) Authors in this study have discussed on various parameters
that effect the solar energy generation apart from radiations. These factors include weather and
topographic conditions life earth sun movement, tilt of earth’s rotation axis, atmosphere
parameters, etc. Study indicates that total generation in India is between 510000 KWH to 800000
KWH per acre of land. Least energy generation potential lies in eastern states of India and
highest generation potential lies in eastern part of Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand.
Combination of higher altitude and low ambient temperature plays a crucial role in the efficient
performance of PV Modules.

Keiningham etal (2007) Authors in its investigation have found out that recommend intention
provides insight into customer’s future recommend behavior. The conclusion is derived based on
the findings, correlation of attitudinal variables and customer behavior investigated is modest.
Secondly, when examining three primary behaviors associated with Customer Loyalty,
recommend intention was generally not the best predictor. It is not straightforward to translate
customer’s loyalty attitudes to customer’s loyalty behavior.

Sharma etal (2014) Author in this study are focusing on optimization of solar electrification to
charge of power, cost efficient and efficiency effect. Also, study has stated the advantage of LED
over CFL lighting in solar street lighting system. Solar Street light is a friendly behavior to save
energy and reduce criminal cases on roads at night. Thus this study is focused to optimize the
cost of solar street light installation and to identify optimum areas for the same in Rajasthan
state.

Oke etal (2013) Authors discuss the concerns of street lighting system currently due to manual
work of switching on & off lights. Authors give an automated street light suggestion that will
switch on automatically when the visibility goes below a certain level. Thus, this will help in
reduction of energy consumption as well. Hence, installing of charge controller and sensors will
help in prevention of damage of battery and optimum utilization of energy.

Sinha and Joshi (2012) Authors study the status of solar PV research in India in relation to its
aspect pattern of output, impact of research, etc. It focuses on comprehensive mapping of solar
PV R & D capability of India that should be taken on priority bases to make effective strategies
to take advantage of supportive policies of the govt. Even being the first country in the world to
have dedicated ministry of renewable energy, India still lags far behind in solar energy
technology competence, generation and utilization.

Chaudhury (2015) Author through this research talk about the energy crisis in Bangladesh which
can be solved only through a renewable energy revolution, that can help in eradication of poverty
and other problems of the citizens of the country. Being a small country, it can focus on the
renewable energy which can help in managing energy crisis with the help of right
implementation policies.

Smaila, Divya and Regi (2014) Authors discuss about the unawareness of solar energy products
and its high cost. Authors promote the use of these devices because of its effectiveness and usage
in advanced world. Various products are solar cell phone charger, Solar air conditioners, solar
fans, solar street lights, solar traffic lights, solar lamps, etc. Though solar lamps would not
provide as much light as the line powered lighting system but they are easily installed and
maintained and are cheaper alternative to wired lighting system.

Thorsten and Klee (1997) In this paper, authors want to investigate the critical relationship
between customer satisfaction and customer retention. Customer satisfaction is always viewed as
the determinant of customer retention in relationship marketing. In this article, authors have
proposed a conceptual model that extends the widespread view of a direct and linear relationship
between customer satisfaction and customer retention. A complex reality understanding of the
relationship between constructs is presented which focuses particularly on different aspects of
customer’s quality perception as a variable.

Sharma and Harinarayana (2013) Authors in this article are discussing over potential of solar PV
system along national highways. It states that generation of energy through Solar PV requires
large area. As the cost of land is increasing day-by-day, need of hour is to use available area to
its full efficiency and thus idea of using national highways is being explored. Authors suggest
placing 2 layer solar panels on the roof top areas of the road which will show 70% increase in
solar potential and it will help in increasing the life of roads, tires of vehicles, etc. Authors also
suggest the installation of solar roof panels on railway tracks apart from national highways.

Hsiu-Yuan Hu etal (2011) Authors in this paper are emphasizing on the increased insight of
measurement of customer satisfaction in behavioral health services due to researchers and
clinicians desire to measure outcome that reflects the patient’s unique perspective. Hence, author
has used Kano’s integral model and customer satisfaction index model to study the customer
satisfaction and loyalty attributes of customers in medical service industry. It has been stated that
service quality has direct effect on customer satisfaction. Thus in medical service, focus should
be on customer satisfaction through high service quality, focusing on customer’s demands, etc.
Hence, this will increase in customer loyalty as well.

Chavan and Ahmad (2013) Authors through this research paper have done an empirical study of
customer satisfaction on retail banking. This research focuses to discuss on the factors that lead
to customer satisfaction in banking industry. Significance of service and price is the key factor to
customer satisfaction. Also, service features of branch, staff and information provided to the
customer are also dominant factors. Researcher has used variables in this study which are not
industry specific. It can be used to study customer satisfaction with reference to other sectors as
well.

Rezaei and Khajei (2011) Authors have discussed the importance of customer retention because
of business competitive environment. An organization should give customer propensity with its
customers, suppliers, distributors, workers, etc. Value of this relationship is more valued than
any physical asset for the company. It can be concluded that by identifying valid factors to
create and keep a loyal customer, company can impact from RQ effects. Thus author suggest
designing relationship marketing tactics in a manner to enhance marketing strategy effectiveness.
Thus organization proceeds in direction of creating of value for customers and providing
potential to create and keep loyal customers by more intensity.

Bagram and Khan (2012) Author in this paper have discussed over the importance of customer
loyalty in an organization. It is discussed with keeping two prominent factors of customer
satisfaction and customer retention. Customer loyalty is a key factor in current market scenario
and it is an important aspect to achieve competitive advantage. Customer satisfaction is
dependent on perceived value and perceived quality whereas customer retention depends on
product attributes, trustworthiness and customer relationships. The customer perceived value can
be explained as the difference between the benefits that consumer gains from product and the
cost they bear for attaining that product.

Vanishree and Shanthi (2013) Authors in this study has discussed of consumer awareness and
satisfaction of a fast food joint which is awell known brand across the globe for its quality. With
the growth of nuclear families, global media exposure, women working professional and
urbanization, era of fast food eating has emerged hugely. Product development, sourcing
practices, quality standards, service level and standardized operations has been the strength.
Researchers through this study have observed that KFC should give more emphasis on
advertisements. Also focus should be made on nutrition value of food; it should give an
impression that the restaurant is focused on the health of its customers. It can focus on kids for
attracting them and their families to the restaurant.

Rossamme (2003) Author states that in general practice, firms usually measure customer
satisfaction using models and theories developed for evaluating the perception of individual
customer rather than entire organization. Thus, a study is being made to develop a model of
customer satisfaction measurement specific to a business-to-business context by incorporating
concepts of customer satisfaction, organization buying behavior and relationship marketing. The
satisfaction elements suggested in the model are information satisfaction, performance
satisfaction, attributes satisfaction and personnel satisfaction of the customer.

Arora etal 2010 Authors discuss about the significance of renewable energy on the growth of
Indian economy. India needs to focus on the energy challenge which will impact all citizens and
across all sectors. Currently, the quality of electricity supply is impeding and issues like voltage
fluctuations, blackouts and various other disruptions impact the commercial and residential
consumer. Addition of grid-tied renewable energy can bridge this gap. It provides buffer against
energy security concerns and can bring hedge against fossil fuels and price hikes. Also, it will
support in climate change goals.

International Finance Corporation (2012) The research is focused on the off grid households of
India. Total annual consumption of kerosene in India for lighting is 2.2 billion USD of which 1.8
billion USD is consumed by rural household for electrification. Even though kerosene is
subsidized, off grid solar lighting is a cost effective option for the consumer. Currently, the
penetration of solar lighting products is only 4-5% of its total potential. MNRE has subsidized
the solar device market which will support to create the market tremendously as the potential is
huge for Solar Lanterns and SHS. SELCO is the most prominent manufacturer in the market
currently. Report suggests the companies to partner with regional rural banks for consumer
financing.