31 research outputs found
The effect of economic transition on consumer behavior : the influence of social values on price perception
No full textThis study, based on Generational Cohort Theory, investigated Germans price perception by comparing the transitional (East) and long-standing market (West) economies, and examined the influence of social values on these price perceptions. The study investigated whether young adult consumer behavior during the transitional period has converged between former East and former West German consumers. Collective self-esteem and social connectedness were proposed as social values that differentially affect young German consumers' price perceptions. As Generational Cohort Theory (Inglehart, 1976, 2000) explains, a significant national event results in a new generational cohort. This study applies Generational Cohort Theory to the cohorts from the former East and West Germany that emerged following German reunification. The generation that has grown up over the approximately twenty year-long transitional period is now a significant consumer group. Although the young consumer cohort in the Eastern region grew up in the transitional economy, they have been influenced by their parents who exposed them in their formative years to a set of values associated with the former East Germany's socialist economic system , while at the same time being exposed to their Western counterparts. This newly emerged cohort is now becoming a main consumer group, along with their post-reunification Western counterparts. The findings of this study indicated that collective self-esteem associated with social connectedness operates differently for the East and West German cohorts, in turn influencing their price perceptions differently. In the Eastern region, Germans who have high collective-self-esteem are less likely to prefer prestigious brands, instead valuing the functional aspects of products. This finding does not mean that they are merely looking for low prices. Rather, they consider the quality of a product in tandem with the price of that product, and consequently are willing to pay a slightly higher price for a product if its quality is high. At the same time, the results of this study indicate that young adult consumers in the Eastern region tend to use coupons to take advantage of sales. These findings imply that they care about the quality and price of a product, as mentioned above, but that they are also trying to be practical and focus on the functional aspects of products. On the other hand, West Germans who have high collective self-esteem, but do not share price information with others. This study made a significant contribution to the literature regarding the Generational Cohort Theory, social values, such as regional social connectedness and regional collective self-esteem, and price perception, specifically in the case of (reunified) Germany. This study also yielded implications for marketing, i.e. for developing marketing strategies in the transitional and long-standing market economies, which are discussed in the concluding chapter.Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Retailing, 2012Includes bibliographical references (pages 126-135
Buying committees in the Chinese retail industry
No full textPurposeRetailers act as assemblers of merchandise, selecting goods from among a wide range of available products in order to enhance customer value and loyalty. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the Chinese retail buying system, focusing on the buying committee, which is defined as a group of individuals from different positions that have the authority to make final judgments and decisions regarding such matters as adding or eliminating new products.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a survey administered to retail buyers.FindingsResults of independent t‐tests support the hypothesis that the influence of guanxi will be greater in the retail firms without a buying committee. State‐owned enterprises are more likely to use a buying committee than non‐state‐owned enterprises.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the sample represents buyers from many regions in China it is not a random sample; this limits the generalizing of results.Practical implicationsSuppliers wishing to sell to Chinese retailers need to know how selling to a retailer using a buying committee will affect their access to buyers.Originality/valueThis is the only paper describing research that focuses on the internal structure of a buying committee within a Chinese retail store. Data of this nature are extremely difficult to obtain.</jats:sec
Department Stores in the Early 20th Century Shanghai: Embeddedness of Clan Structure in the Business Environment
No full textForthcomin
Impulse buying : the effect of decision time and product scarcity on buying impulse
No full text"Impulse buying is a critical and widespread phenomenon in consumer behavior and is considered a pervasive and distinctive aspect of consumers' lifestyles in the USA (Nguyen, et al., 2003).To increase their revenue, retailers make efforts to encourage consumers to make impulse purchases through point-of-purchase displays, price reduction promotions or coupons (Abratt & Goodey, 1990). A scarcity appeal, one powerful selling tactic for retailers, has not been tested as an in-store stimuli to assess whether it could increase impulsive purchasing. This study suggests that providing an in-store promotion under a scarcity condition will increase consumer's impulsive buying and uncover mechanisms that explain this purchase behavior... " -- Abstract.Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Business Administration, 2014Includes bibliographical reference
Doing well by doing good or doing smart? : antecedents and outcomes of corporate social performance
No full textCorporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is becoming an implicit norm for businesses. However, its' implication for business performance is still a matter of debate. Recently scholars have started distinguishing between the focus of specific CSR actions and have favored the strategic focus over the moral or altruistic focus of such actions. Despite the theoretical advances for the argument, that strategically planned, performance oriented CSR actions are better for firms than morally driven ones, the empirical evidence is scarce. This dissertation addresses the gap in the literature and aims to investigate the influence of CSR actions and firm performance for strategically motivated versus altruistically motivated firms. Further, this dissertation uses the concept of corporate social performance (CSP) as proposed by Wood (1991) that includes CSR actions and corporate social responsiveness. A model of antecedents and outcomes of corporate social performance is proposed. Using a two group analysis, this dissertation examines the differences in antecedents and performance outcomes of CSR actions for the strategically motivated vs. altruistically motivated firms. Also, market performance is proposed to be the key mediator between CSR actions and financial performance. Results of this study indicate that strategically motivated actions are infact superior to altruistically motivated actions in terms of driving business performance. CSR actions of strategically motivated firms positively influence financial performance and this relationship is partially mediated by market performance. For altruistically driven firms, CSR actions have no influence on market or business performance. With respect to antecedents, social pressures are found to be the most salient driver of CSR actions for both groups. CSR actions of strategically motivated firms, however, are also influenced by competitive pressures. Also, innovation oriented firms engage in CSR actions with due to strategic motivations and are proactive in monitoring and adapting their CSR actions according to the changing market demands (corporate social responsiveness). Findings of this study support the argument that CSR actions should be adopted based on their relevance to overall business objective and their ability to drive long term profitability. This dissertation concludes with theoretical and managerial implications, and suggests direction for future research.Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Retailing, 2011Includes bibliographical references (pages 111-129
Testing a theoretical model to examine the relationships among e-social shopping motivation, perception, and behavioral intention
No full textThe importance and effectiveness of Internet marketing strategies via social networking is recognized recently. There is a growing interest in satisfying consumer demand for Consumer-Generated Content (CGC) and strengthening the power of online Word-of-Mouth (WOM) via social media channels because both can support consumers in making informed decisions and can help marketers increase sales. In the present study, the researcher proposed a comprehensive conceptual model to explain consumers' e-social shopping behavior. Using the underlying tenets of Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), specifically this study examined the relationships between 1) social shopping motivation (i.e., information-oriented and socially-oriented motives), 2) social shopping resource credibility (i.e., intellectual and social capital), 3) social shopping attention (i.e., perceived utilitarian and hedonic value of social shopping), 4) social shoppers' memory (i.e., perceived self-efficacy in decision making), and 5) social shoppers' behavior (i.e., online WOM and purchase intentions). As a result, the proposed model investigated the effects of social shopping motives and beliefs about social shopping resources on consumers' value perceptions which can influence self-confidence in decision making and lead to online WOM buzz and purchase decisions. The survey instrument for the empirical study was developed and modified to reflect the e-social shopping environment. The population was online consumers who join web communities, such as Facebook, MySpace, etc. to search for or share shopping information. Online survey research methods were used to recruit participants and collect data from online consumer panels of a websurvey service company. Data were collected during May 2010; four hundred and three usable questionnaires were analyzed. The results of structural equation modeling indicated that perceived values were significantly affected by credibility perceptions of informational and social resources and moderately influenced by social shopping motives. In addition, perceived values significantly influenced behavioral intentions. Perceived self-efficacy was more strongly and significantly influenced by utilitarian value than hedonic value. Perceived self-efficacy was a mediator between perceived values and behavioral intentions. In general, the findings of this study supported the proposed theoretical model in explaining consumers' e-social shopping behavior. Based on these findings, theoretical and managerial implications were discussed.Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Retailing, 2011Includes bibliographical references (pages 101-112
Drivers of investment in corporate sustainability strategies of retailers and manufacturers in developed and developing countries
No full textThis study examined why and under which circumstances firms invest in corporate sustainability. In contrast to other studies that only examine why firms engage in corporate sustainability, this study goes one step further by analyzing corporate sustainability investment drivers for: standardized reporting firms versus non standardized reporting firms, developed country firms versus developing country firms, and retailers versus manufacturers. Institutional Theory, Transaction Cost Analysis, and the Business Case perspective are used to explain why firms invest in corporate sustainability. Firms invest in corporate sustainability due to the institutional pressures to conform to norms and maintain legitimacy. Firms will invest in corporate sustainability when they are financially healthy and have the capacity to invest. Generalized linear mixed modeling is used to test the propositions. The sample included retailers and food manufacturers from the United States, Europe, and Africa. The results indicate that when we do not take context into account, corporate sustainability investment is driven by regulatory pressure, mimetic pressure, normative pressure, profitability, and firm value. However, when we take into account the context in which firms are embedded or nested there is variation in the effects of drivers of corporate sustainability investment. This is due to differences in the CS reporting context, regional context, and industry context. The results from this study indicate that mimetic pressure and normative pressure are the key determinants of corporate sustainability investment for firms in developed and developing countries. Furthermore, normative pressure influences corporate sustainability investment for non-standardized reporting firms. In contrast, mimetic pressure and profitability are the key drivers of corporate sustainability investment for standardized reporting firms. We find that while corporate sustainability investment for retailers is driven by regulatory and normative pressure, corporate sustainability investment for manufacturers is driven by mimetic pressure, normative pressure, profitability, and firm value. Based on the findings we conclude that a one-size-fits-all approach is not appropriate for analyzing drivers of corporate sustainability investment for different contexts. Therefore, managers and policy makers should take into account the context of the firm when developing corporate sustainability investment strategies.Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Retailing, 2013Includes bibliographical references (pages 137-154
