Nelson Ribeiro

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has become an essential strategy for organizations seeking to strengthen customer loyalty and foster long-term commitment in competitive markets. In the insurance sector, particularly in Mozambique, this dynamic is even more significant due to increasing competition and the need to offer personalized services that meet customer expectations. This study aims to analyse the role of relationship management as a catalyst for customer loyalty and long-term commitment, based on an investigation of practices and perceptions within Mozambican insurance companies. The research adopts a qualitative and exploratory approach. To this end, a literature review and semi-structured interviews were conducted, drawing upon both classical and contemporary studies on Customer Relationship Management (CRM). The findings show that although the insurer demonstrates relevant strengths in communication and customer service, structural limitations continue to restrict the effectiveness of CRM in fostering loyalty. The analysis revealed that clear and continuous communication helps build an initial sense of trust; however, the lack of personalization, delays in claims processing, and insufficient post-sale follow-up weaken the relational bond. Interview evidence indicates that clients appreciate the courteous interaction but do not perceive a consistent or personalized relationship tailored to their individual needs. Moreover, limited technological integration and the underuse of customer data prevent CRM tools from delivering genuinely differentiated experiences. As a result, loyalty appears to be driven more by brand tradition than by an active, experience-based commitment. Overall, the results confirm that, for insurers in Mozambique to strengthen sustainable competitive advantages, it is essential to move from functional service practices toward fully integrated relational strategies capable of sustaining ongoing trust, effective personalization, and efficient responses at critical service moments.

A critical and timely collection that argues for the centrality of propaganda in discussions about the contemporary media landscape and its informational ecosystems. This book explores how “propaganda,” a foundational concept within media and communication studies, has recently been replaced by alternative terms (disinformation, misinformation, and fake news) that fail to capture the continuities and disruptions of ongoing strategic attempts to (mis)guide public opinion. Edited by Nelson Ribeiro and Barbie Zelizer, the collection highlights how these concepts must be understood as part of a long legacy of propaganda and not just as new phenomena that have emerged in the context of the digital media environment. Chapters explore the strategies and effects of propaganda through a variety of globally diverse case studies, featuring both democracies and autocratic regimes, and highlight how only by understanding propagandistic forms and strategies can we fully begin to understand how public opinion is being molded today by those who resort to deception and falsehood to gain or keep hold of power. An important resource for students and scholars of media and communication studies and those who are studying and/or researching media and propaganda, media and power, disinformation, fake news, and political communication.

Imagine a world without media, and then ask yourself: would propaganda still be possible? How would governments convey their truest, even if most malign, intentions? How would corporate executives give shape to products still unfamiliar to their consumers? How would platforms sustain public engagement? How would local municipalities keep people safe and informed in times of natural disaster or war? How would children learn?

The chapter argues that propaganda techniques of the 20th century, such as the production of “big lies” and “alternative facts” remain central in contemporary attempts to persuade people to believe in falsehoods. Likewise, pre-propaganda, the control of language, and the rewriting of history, which Jacques Ellul and George Orwell described in their seminal works, continue to be at the forefront of contemporary propagandistic strategies. Using examples that range from the Spanish Civil War to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the chapter discusses how today’s propaganda can be understood through the lens of concepts that have shed light on how earlier regimes and leaders used propaganda to lead people to support war and authoritarian regimes. By looking into examples from the past, the chapter also discusses citizens’ agency in countering propaganda and how subversive media consumption practices can help circumvent the control imposed by dictators on people’s access to information.

Communication technologies have played a central role in the rise and fall of empires throughout history. Harold Innis’s (1950) pioneering work offers a broad view on the phenomenon, through a comp...

The article demonstrates how Portugal lacked a true policy of imperial broadcasting which led it to become dependent on colonial stations for the dissemination of colonialism. The broadcasters established in the Portuguese Empire dedicated significant airtime to the dissemination of Portugal’s colonial mission but also promoted local identities with programming echoing the lifestyle of the colonial elites. Thus, the article argues that while the Portuguese authorities considered the cultural expressions and identities of the white residents in Africa as peripheral, these perceived themselves as part of a new devolved center. This ‘peripheral centre’ gained particular ‘visibility’ on the airwaves.