scholarly journals Narcissistic consumers in retail settings

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 376-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iman Naderi ◽  
Audhesh K. Paswan

Purpose This study aims to investigate how narcissistic consumers perceive and respond to variations in price and store image in retail settings. Design/methodology/approach The data for this study were collected from a sample of 248 respondents who participated in an experiment with a 2 × 2 × 2 between-subjects design. Findings The findings show that while narcissists and non-narcissists do not differ in their perceptions of product quality, they show completely different behavioral intentions. For instance, narcissistic consumers ascribe more importance to store image than to product price, whereas price is more critical in non-narcissists’ decision-making. Research limitations/implications Using a young sample and only one product category (i.e. clothing) may affect the generalization of the findings. The inherent drawback of experiments (i.e. gaining internal validity at the cost of external validity) is another limitation of this work. Practical implications The construct of narcissism plays a critical role in the way people evaluate products’ symbolic value and ultimately decide to purchase goods from a store which has a certain type of image, including the expected price of the merchandise. Therefore, the findings of this study have significant managerial implications for critical areas of retail business such as segmentation using narcissism, store image management and merchandise pricing. Originality/value Despite a long history in social and clinical psychology, few empirical studies have examined narcissism and its impact on consumer behavior. The present study is an attempt to address this gap in retail settings and provides insights into the joint effects of product price and store image on narcissists’ purchase behavior.

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna Gendel-Guterman ◽  
Shalom Levy

Purpose This study aims to examine the effect of private label brand (PLB) products’ negative publicity (NP) events on PLB general image and retailer’s store image, because of the suggested interdependency between retailer’s store image and PLB image. Design/methodology/approach Three empirical studies were conducted to test the NP effect – Studies 1 and 2, respectively; and test the occurrence of moderate and extreme NP events regarding the functional PLB product category. Study 3 replicates prior studies conducted on the hedonic product category. In these studies, participants were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. The studies use factor analysis methods following t-tests and paths analyses, using structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings Findings show that both moderate and extreme NP have an influence on the PLB’s image dimensions. These effects “spilled over” to the entire range of PLB products, regardless of the category of the damaged product. Regarding retailer’s store image, the effect of NP was retained in the product-related image context and did not exceed that of the store-related image. However, in relation to functional products, when NP is very extreme, the effect on PLB image exceeds that of retailer’s store image. Practical implications Retailers should invest more efforts in their PLB product selection, quality maintenance and supervision to eliminate potential damage from events related to their PLB products. Originality/value The originality of this study is in the association of two streams of research: NP effects and the relationship between PLB image and retailer’s store image.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Oduro ◽  
Kot David Adhal Nguar ◽  
Alessandro De Nisco ◽  
Rami Hashem E. Alharthi ◽  
Guglielmo Maccario ◽  
...  

PurposeThis study aims to draw on instrumental and ethical theories to offer a quantitative review of the extant literature on the corporate social responsibility (CSR)–small-medium enterprises (SMEs) performance relationship through a meta-analysis.Design/methodology/approachEmpirical studies from 57 independent peer-reviewed articles, including 66,741 firms, were sampled and analysed. Both subgroup and meta-regression analyses (MARA) were used to test the hypotheses of the study.FindingsThe authors' results demonstrated that social-oriented, economic-oriented and environment-oriented CSR activities have a positive, significant influence on overall, financial and non-financial performance of SMEs; however, the effect of social-oriented CSR activities is the strongest. Moreover, the impact CSR dimensions have on non-financial performance is stronger than on financial performance. Additionally, findings showed that the association between CSR and SME performance is positively and significantly influenced by contextual factors (i.e. sector and region of study) and methodological factors (i.e. performance measurement, study type, theory usage, sampling size and operationalisation of constructs).Originality/valueThe study is the pioneering meta-analytic review on the CSR–SME performance relationship, thereby clarifying the anecdotal results, synthesising the fragmented empirical studies and exploring the contextual and methodological factors that may account for between-study variance. Following the study's findings, the authors delineate insightful suggestions for future scholarship and fine-grained managerial implications for practitioners.


2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Choukri Menidjel ◽  
Abderrezzak Benhabib ◽  
Anil Bilgihan ◽  
Melih Madanoglu

Purpose Product category involvement and relationship proneness are crucial in explaining relationship outcomes. Nevertheless, the authors know little about their roles in the formation of loyalty, especially in the retail industry. Individual consumer traits and preferences are likely to play a critical role in the success of relationship marketing. Yet, relationship marketing studies have fallen short of considering such individual differences. The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effects of product category involvement and relationship proneness on the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty in retail clothing stores. Design/methodology/approach Data were obtained using a survey of 220 consumers. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was employed to test the proposed theoretical model. Findings The results show that satisfaction significantly affects product category involvement and relationship proneness, which, in turn, significantly affect purchase intention and word-of-mouth (WOM). The results also show that product category involvement and relationship proneness partially mediate the impact of satisfaction on purchase intention and WOM. Research limitations/implications Product category involvement and relationship proneness play a critical role in explaining the satisfaction–loyalty link. Future research could consider the role of potential moderating variables. Practical implications Retail managers should not only focus on improving customer satisfaction to achieve customer loyalty, but should also consider the importance of product category involvement and relationship proneness, and their role in the formation of customer loyalty both in traditional and online environments. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to explore the mediating effects of product category involvement and relationship proneness on the relationship between satisfaction, purchase intention and WOM in the retail industry.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-375
Author(s):  
Alfonso Valdez Cervantes ◽  
Ana Franco

Purpose Disruptive retailing technologies improve productivity and cost optimization, but there is a lack of academic literature about their effects on shoppers’ perceptions and behaviors. This paper aims to develop and test a conceptual model regarding the effects of retail technology on store image and purchase intentions and to measure how human interaction services (HIS) moderate this relationship. Two relevant retail technologies are explored. Design/methodology/approach The results of this study indicate that retailing technology has notable influences on consumer perceptions. Thus, shopping technologies improve store image perceptions and increase purchase intention, moderated by HIS. Research limitations/implications Future field experiments in actual stores should attempt to corroborate the results of this study and offer greater internal validity. Practical implications The results should help reduce retailers’ resistance to technology adoption. In-store technology can help retailers leverage their store image and increase purchase intentions. HIS could offer a bridge between consumers and new technology. Originality/value This paper is an original research paper, given that few research papers are experimentally based to measure consumer’s reactions to new technology implementation.


2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 1326-1342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen-Hsien Huang ◽  
Chun-Ming Yang

Purpose – This paper aims to examine how consumers evaluate and respond after failing to receive the promotional price for a quantity discount because the minimum purchase requirement (MinPR) is out of reach. Although quantity discounts are effective in terms of increasing sales volume, the outcome of using them is not always positive. Design/methodology/approach – Two 2 × 2 experiments are carried out to test the research hypotheses in the context of apparel shopping. Findings – The results of Experiment 1 demonstrate that offering quantity discounts with a high MinPR (e.g. “4 for 30 per cent off”) can result in greater willingness to buy (WTB) a single product at the full price than offering promotions with a low MinPR (e.g. “2 for 30 per cent off”) in the wake of a missed quantity discount. In other words, the purchase quantity has a positive effect on the consumers’ WTB even when they are not able to take advantage of the discount. However, this relationship weakens when the selection of discounted items is limited (i.e. the scope of the promotion is narrow). The results of Experiment 2 reveal that when the missed quantity discount is based on dollars rather than on the number of pieces (e.g. “Buy $100, get 30 per cent off” vs “Buy four pieces, get 30 per cent off”), the effect of purchase quantity on WTB is enhanced. Finally, perceived closeness of purchase outcome to the MinPR mediates the effect of purchase quantity on WTB. Research limitations/implications – To maximize internal validity, hypothetical scenarios were used as stimuli rather than an actual consumption experience, and the setting involved only a single product category (clothing). Future work including other types of merchandise and a more natural setting is needed to generalize our findings. Practical implications – The purchase quantity or MinPR serves as a reference point that influences consumers’ purchase decisions, even those who do not buy enough to qualify for the price reduction. Our findings suggest that retailers should specify a relatively high MinPR for quantity discounts. In addition, proper selection of the promotional scope and discount base will significantly improve consumers’ behavioral reactions when they are not able to take advantage of a quantity discount. Originality/value – The primary contribution of this article to the marketing literature is that it provides empirical results that shed some light on the situational influences that missing a quantity discount has on the consumer’s WTB a single product at the regular price, and what the mechanisms for the purchase quantity effect might be.


2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramaraj Palanisamy ◽  
Jacques Verville ◽  
Nazim Taskin

Purpose – As the wrong Enterprise Software (ES) acquisition can lead an organization with chronically exceeded budgets and settling for minimum returns, so can an unfavorable contractual agreement. Often the acquiring organizations become vulnerable to risks and mistakes as the software contracts are habitually written using legal terminologies and mainly to the advantage of the vendor. To avoid costly ES contracting mistakes, the purpose of this paper is to empirically identify the critical success factors (CSFs) of contracting in the context of ES acquisition. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was conducted to gather the data for this study. Statistical analysis conducted for this study include descriptive statistics, factor analysis with reliability and validity tests and nonparametric test. Findings – The five key factors are: contractual assurance, forward compatibility and licensing; right to use, own and use of own, confidentiality and payment; software acceptance; license assignment; and vendor obligation for intellectual property. The research and managerial implications of these factors are given in discussion. Research limitations/implications – As with most empirical studies, the subjectivity of the opinion of respondents from only two industries presents some limitations to generalization. Another limitation is the respondent has been asked for the degree of criticality for each of the contracting issue given in the questionnaire. There could be critical issues other than the listed ones which are more specific to the organization. Practical implications – The results can be used by managers to improve their understanding on the critical contractual issues in ES acquisition negotiations. Originality/value – The significant value of this study identifies the CSFs for ES contract negotiations while acquiring the software.


2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (11/12) ◽  
pp. 1896-1917 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arezoo Davari ◽  
Pramod Iyer ◽  
Francisco Guzmán

Purpose There is a growing trend of brand resurrections that are driven by consumer power. Millennials play a critical role in initiating most of these brand resurrection movements using social media. This study aims to explore the factors that drive consumers’ participation in brand resurrection movements – an outcome of brand cocreation. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected using self-administered survey. This study uses the partial least squares-structural equation modeling to empirically examine the factors that motivate consumers to participate in brand resurrection movements. Findings The results indicate that consumers’ beliefs about the functional and value-expressive utilities, and their judgments of the perceived brand superiority of the defunct brand are significantly associated with brand resurrection movements. Nostalgia moderates the relationship between social-adjustive utility and brand resurrection movement, which shows that consumers’ social-adjustive utility becomes relevant when triggered with a strong sense of the past. Research limitations/implications From a theoretical perspective, this study contributes to literature on reviving defunct brands. This study also identifies additional factors that determine the success of brands that are being relaunched. Practical implications From a managerial perspective, the study provides insights into when and how organizations can consider bringing back defunct brands. Future studies should introduce additional variables to the model such as product category involvement that may be associated with consumers’ willingness to bring back defunct brands. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first of its kind that empirically examines the motivations behind consumer participation in bringing back defunct brands. The importance of this study is highlighted in the fact that several defunct brands are being revived by organizations due to consumer-brand co-creation movements.


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanna Pegan ◽  
James Reardon ◽  
Donata Vianelli

Purpose The purpose of this study is to seek to investigate whether and how country of origin (COO) cues – category-country image (CCI) and typicality – and importers’ domain-specific innovativeness (DSI) influence importers’ propensity to the trial new value and premium products. Moreover, it aims to understand whether and how the relationship between the COO effect and industrial purchase intentions is moderated by importers’ propensity to innovate (DSI). Design/methodology/approach International importers completed a quantitative online survey. Factor analysis was used to summarize the latent constructs into orthogonal scores. General linear modeling was applied to the scores to test the hypotheses. Findings The results indicate that importers’ propensity to trial value products is directly influenced by CCI and importers’ DSI. For premium products, typicality has a positive effect on their propensity to trial. Also, CCI and DSI have positive effects on the trial of value products, and the effect is more pronounced than for premium products. Importers’ DSI positively moderates CCI in premium product trials, while it negatively moderates typicality in value products. Practical implications This research provides important managerial implications for practitioners seeking to increase foreign sales, strengthening importers’ product perceived value through COO cues. Exporters should distinguish between value and premium products and, in the selection of international channel partners, they must be attentive to importers’ personal characteristics, such as their propensity to innovate. Exporters selling value products should communicate CCI more clearly and, when targeting innovative importers, opt for atypical products instead of traditional ones. For premium products, which require more complex decisions, exporters should especially underscore product typicality and, with innovative importers, emphasize positive CCI. Originality/value By focusing on the two critical issues of product selection and price levels, this study’s original contribution is to emphasize that, for the same product category, in industrial purchasing decisions of value versus premium products, the COO effect can be different. It also highlights the importance of investigating the COO effect by concentrating on industrial buyers’ personal characteristics, here the DSI of importers, as moderating variables.


2013 ◽  
Vol 79 (12) ◽  
pp. 3756-3761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve E. Bellan ◽  
Peter C. B. Turnbull ◽  
Wolfgang Beyer ◽  
Wayne M. Getz

ABSTRACTScavenging of anthrax carcasses has long been hypothesized to play a critical role in the production of the infectious spore stage ofBacillus anthracisafter host death, though empirical studies assessing this are lacking. We comparedB. anthracisspore production, distribution, and survival at naturally occurring anthrax herbivore carcasses that were either experimentally caged to exclude vertebrate scavengers or left unmanipulated. We found no significant effect of scavengers on soil spore density (P> 0.05). Soil stained with terminally hemorrhaged blood and with nonhemorrhagic fluids exhibited high levels ofB. anthracisspore contamination (ranging from 103to 108spores/g), even in the absence of vertebrate scavengers. At most of the carcass sites, we also found that spore density in samples taken from hemorrhagic-fluid-stained soil continued to increase for >4 days after host death. We conclude that scavenging by vertebrates is not a critical factor in the life cycle ofB. anthracisand that anthrax control measures relying on deterrence or exclusion of vertebrate scavengers to prevent sporulation are unlikely to be effective.


2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (12) ◽  
pp. 2911-2930 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khandoker Mahmudur Rahman ◽  
Nor Azila Mohd Noor

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the domain relevance of a comprehensive yet almost overlooked theoretical framework for studying organic food purchase behavior in a global context. This conceptual paper argues that there exists an apparently powerful model in health behavior domain that may readily be brought into organic food purchase behavior research. The paper argues for domain relevance and proposes that Montano and Kasprzyk’s integrated behavior model may readily be used in organic food behavior studies with some relevant modification. Design/methodology/approach The paper follows an exploratory approach and shows how variables used in the past may be aggregated to the model in question. The challenge is addressed by following both the inductive and the deductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning calls for investigating whether such behavior may be classified as health behavior. Inductive reasoning calls for proving relevance of all the variables in the aforesaid model to the organic food research context. Findings The paper concludes that the Montano and Kasprzyk’s model is theoretically relevant to the organic food behavior domain. However, it is observed that the domain-specific operationalization is necessary for further empirical studies. Research limitations/implications Since the model was rarely tested empirically in predicting organic food purchase intention, the variable-specific relevance may not warrant the relevance of the whole model with intertwined relationships at the same time. Practical implications The paper may pave a way toward further empirical research and may also explain the apparent intention-behavior gap as often reported in literature. Originality/value The paper may provide a useful direction in future organic food purchase behavior studies by showing the domain relevance of an apparently powerful model, along with addition of some newer variables that may enrich the existing model.


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