Consumers' perceptions of product quality and entrepreneurial survival: evidence from the craft brewery industry

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Manuel Fernandez ◽  
Stephan F. Gohmann
Keyword(s):  
Product Quality ◽  
Firm Survival ◽  
Perceived Quality ◽  
Entrepreneurial Firms ◽  
Entrepreneurial Success ◽  
Brewing Industry ◽  
Standard Deviation Increase ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Good Market ◽  
Using Data

Purpose Most studies of entrepreneurial failure do not have good measures of consumers' perceptions of product quality. As a result, perceived quality in entrepreneurial success is often omitted. The craft brewery industry is comprised of small entrepreneurial firms selling an experience good making it an ideal study setting. Using online beer reviews, the authors examine how perceptions of beer quality and the size of brewery production influence entrepreneurial success of microbreweries and brewpubs.Design/methodology/approach Using data from the Brewers Association and over 12 million reviews from beeradvocate.com between 2002 and 2016, the authors examine the relationship between perceived product quality to firm survival. Perceived quality is measured using online beer reviews. The authors expect larger microbreweries will survive longer as will breweries with higher perceived quality. The authors use a conditional log-log hazard model to estimate survival for microbreweries and brewpubs.Findings A one standard deviation increase in the beer ratings reduces the probability of exit by 26% for a microbrewery and 19% for brewpubs. The authors find that larger microbreweries have a lower hazard of exiting.Originality/value Entrepreneurs in the brewing industry start as home brewers before beginning commercial enterprises. Scaling up production is difficult. The initial size of their brewery is an important determinant of their success. Likewise, the perception of the quality of their beer as measured by consumer ratings gives a good market indication about future survival. This research is one of the few studies to examine the influence of perceived quality on firm survival in a growing industry.

Evolution of top management’s understanding of product quality in Eastern Europe since the end of communism

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-100
Author(s):  
Svetoslav Georgiev ◽  
Emil Georgiev
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Product Quality ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Business Performance ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Senior Managers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Doing Business ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the evolution of top management’s understanding of product quality in Bulgaria since the end of communism. The study examines three specific areas: top management’s understanding of the term “quality”; top management’s understanding of the relationship between quality and business performance; and top management’s understanding of the impact of job position on quality. Design/methodology/approach The paper relies on a quantitative research approach by using data from a survey of 186 companies in Bulgaria. Findings The paper suggests that senior managers in Bulgaria continue to base their understanding of “quality” on a single approach (*a characteristic of the communist era), with the product-based and the user-based approaches currently being the two most common ones. At the same time, surprisingly enough, this study claims that senior management in Bulgaria is currently well aware of the importance of quality as a dimension of firm’s competitiveness, and is also highly conscious of its roles’ impact on product quality. Research limitations/implications The results of this study are exclusively based on the case of Bulgaria and must be treated with caution in the case of other former communist states from the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region. Practical implications This paper has relevance for both managers and companies doing business in Eastern Europe. Originality/value This is the first paper to provide detailed analysis of the evolution of the understanding of “product quality” in CEE since the end of communism. Moreover, this paper applies, for the first time, Garvin’s five approaches to defining quality within a practical context.

When do consumers value ethical attributes? The role of perceived quality in gift-giving

2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 315-335
Author(s):  
Gopal Das ◽  
John Peloza ◽  
Geetika Varshneya ◽  
Todd Green
Keyword(s):  
Product Quality ◽  
Field Study ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Perceived Quality ◽  
Societal Implications ◽  
Gift Giving ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Product Categories

Purpose Although research demonstrates the importance of ethical product attributes for consumers, a prior study has not examined the role of consumption target (i.e. self-purchases vs gift-giving) on consumers’ preference for products with ethical attributes. Notably, consumers’ preference for quality can differ between self-purchases and gifts, and the presence of ethical attributes can impact product quality perceptions. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the presence of ethical attributes alters decision-making in a gift-giving context using perceptions of product quality as an explanatory variable for these differences. Design/methodology/approach One field study and two controlled experiments test the proposed hypotheses. The experiments were conducted across different product categories and samples. Findings Results showed that the presence of an ethical attribute leads to higher purchase intentions for products in a gift-giving context compared to self-purchase. Perceived quality mediates this effect. Further process evidence through moderation, including resource synergy beliefs, support the findings. This paper discusses the theoretical, managerial and societal implications of these results. Research limitations/implications Although care was taken to select products to enhance generalizability, the studies presented here are limited to two products. Further, although the present research includes a field study with actual charity-related purchases, the role of time pressures is not explicitly explored. Finally, the role of brand-self connections is not explored in the current research. The ability for a donor to integrate the mission of a charity into their self-perception or the potential for social normative influences to impact behaviors remains open for exploration. Practical implications Charities are facing increasing pressures to raise sustainable funds to support their missions. The research provides guidance to marketers and fundraisers in the non-profit sector that allows them to direct more focused fundraising appeals to donors and adapt their fundraising efforts to create a fit between their audience and fundraising appeals. Originality/value This research demonstrates that consumption target (purchasing for the self versus purchasing for others) is a vital contextual factor that influences customer preference for ethical attributes. These results complement the extant literature by exploring the underlying mechanism behind consumers’ responses to the ethical attributes in the case of self-purchase and other-purchase. The underlying effect is supported theoretically by resource synergy beliefs.

How logistics service quality and product quality matter in the retailer–customer relationship of food drive-throughs

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 535-555
Author(s):  
Joseph Kaswengi ◽  
Christine Lambey-Checchin
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Product Quality ◽  
Consumer Satisfaction ◽  
Perceived Quality ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Logistics Service ◽  
Grocery Retailing ◽  
Logistics Service Quality

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on consumers’ behaviours in a new trend of grocery retailing, called the drive-through format. It investigates the influence of logistics service quality and product quality (freshness of the product and the product in general) on consumers’ reactions (satisfaction, average basket expenditure and shopping frequency) through the mediation of satisfaction. This work also examines whether convenience moderates the relation between perceived quality and consumer satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach This study tests these relationships with both path and structural models using a data set of grocery drive-throughs in France, gathered during 2015–2016. To confirm the validity of each construct, this paper has based and purified variables using various scales established in previous studies by conducting exploratory and confirmatory analysis. Findings Logistics service quality and perceived product are effective drivers of consumer satisfaction. As well, the results reveal a positive relationship between quality perceptions and behaviour (average basket expenditure and shopping frequency) through the mediating function of consumer (overall) satisfaction. Thus, the findings indicate that the positive effects of the interaction terms between convenience and both the perceived quality of service and the perceived quality of fresh products on satisfaction can lead to a higher purchase incidence in drive-throughs. However, the degree of consumer convenience does not alter the influence of product quality in general with regard to the formation of satisfaction in connection with drive-throughs. Originality/value Despite the growth of the drive-through format, few studies have investigated customer satisfaction within grocery retailing, nor its consequences and drivers, especially logistics service quality.

Basing a claim on “negatives free”: when does it serve as a quality cue?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsuan-Hsuan Ku ◽  
Yi-Ting Chang
Keyword(s):  
Consumer Behavior ◽  
Product Quality ◽  
Regulatory Focus ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Perceived Quality ◽  
Consumer Market ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quality Perceptions ◽  
Product Promotion

Purpose Individuals concerned about safety comprise a significant share of the consumer market today. This paper aims to provide the results of a study on when a front-of-package (FOP) claim about “no added negatives” can serve as a quality cue. Design/methodology/approach Four between-subjects experiments examine consumers’ quality perceptions in responses to the absence-focused claims and also identifies brand parity (Studies 1a and 1b) and the associated launch of inconsistent alternatives as moderators (Study 2) and investigate the extent to which the quality signaling value of absence-focused claims varies as a function of message regulatory focus (Study 3). Findings Research shows that a unique absence-focused claim indicates product quality (Studies 1a and 1b). However, there could be a cost in terms of reduced perceived quality when adding an inconsistent alternative to a brand (Study 2). Furthermore, consumers associate greater product quality with absence-focused FOP claims if an appeal is framed as prevention-focused rather than promotion-focused benefits (Study 3). Originality/value This study advances knowledge on the effects of front-of-package claims on consumer behavior and benefits marketers in determining effective front-of-package messages for product promotion.

scholarly journals ‘Manufacturing is coming home’: does reshoring improve perceived product quality?

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 1099-1113
Author(s):  
Fabio Cassia
Keyword(s):  
Product Quality ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Perceived Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Perceptions ◽  
Fashion Brand ◽  
Equation Modelling ◽  
Perceived Product Quality ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeRecently, many firms have reshored manufacturing activities back to their home countries to increase customer perceptions of product quality. However, there is no evidence that relocating production to the home country improves customer-perceived quality. This study intends to address this gap by assessing the variations between pre- and post-reshoring product quality, as perceived by domestic customers.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through a questionnaire, which used the case of an Italian fashion brand that had reshored its manufacturing from Romania to Italy as the stimulus. Two analyses of the collected data (n = 399) were conducted, applying both 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design and partial least squares–structural equation modelling (PLS–SEM) multigroup analysis.FindingsReshoring increased the level of perceived product quality only for customers that both were aware of the firm's past offshoring decision and had high levels of affective ethnocentrism. For all other customers, no significant variations between pre- and post-reshoring product quality were observed.Research limitations/implicationsThis study challenges previous findings, revealing that only a minor share of customers perceived products to be of higher quality after reshoring.Practical implicationsIncreasing customer-perceived quality may not be a sufficient motivation to select the reshoring strategy. In addition, when announcing reshoring strategies, producers should appeal to customers' emotions and not use rational arguments about objective product quality.Originality/valueThis is the first study to assess variations between pre- and post-reshoring customer-perceived quality and to identify factors that explain such variations.

Survival in a new industry: marijuana, venture structure and outcomes

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Nicholas ◽  
Curtis R. Sproul ◽  
Kevin Cox
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Firm Survival ◽  
New Firms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Firm Structure ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Industry

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore how new firms enter a new industry and which structure will support survival. Essentially, the study examines the extent to which new firms choose to be broad with regard to the industry supply chain and deep with regard to their market presence. Based on these two structural decisions, each one is examined independently and in conjunction to discover which aspects support survival. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative approach was adopted, consisting of using data supplied by the state of Colorado. More specifically, the study draws on empirical data that identifies which license type (grower, manufacturer and retailer) each firm chose to get and how many retail outlets the firm chose to operate. Findings The findings reveal that firms that cover the breadth of the supply chain are twice as likely to survive, while a broad market presence increases the risk of exit by 2.5 times. When the two factors were combined, it was firms with broad integration and deep market presence that had the highest chance of survival, as opposed to firms with intuition. A deep market presence seemed to accentuate the effect of integration, increasing the risk when the firm was not integrated, while increasing the survival rate when the firm was integrated. Research limitations/implications This industry is quite new and afforded a unique opportunity to examine the impact of firm structure on survival. However, it may not be generalizable to other industries. Practical implications The present analysis argues that firms must adopt a holistic approach to their firm structure, because there are combinatorial effects at play. That is, while one specific strategy may increase survival, other strategies may impact firm survival. Examining and understanding the interplay of firm decisions are critical for firm survival. Originality/value Because of the lack of the formation of new industries, the authors’ understanding of the impact of firm structure on survival is limited. This unique context afforded the opportunity to empirically examine how firms can increase their chance of survival based on two aspects of firm structure: the breadth of the supply chain and the depth of the firm’s market presence.

To what extent does need for touch affect online perceived quality?

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (9) ◽  
pp. 950-968 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia San-Martín ◽  
Óscar González-Benito ◽  
Mercedes Martos-Partal
Keyword(s):  
Product Quality ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Perceived Quality ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Subjective Norms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Purchases ◽  
Perceived Product Quality ◽  
Potential Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to address the potential impact of need for touch (NFT) on perceived product quality and the possible roles of purchasers’ social (subjective norms), personal (buying impulsiveness) and epistemic (e-commerce orientation) factors, as well as the likely interaction effect of the shopping channel. Design/methodology/approach The empirical study is based on 540 observations, analysed in a partial least squares structural equation model. Findings The link between the NFT and perceived quality tends to be negative, especially for online purchases. E-commerce orientation reduces the need to touch products, but subjective norms and buying impulsiveness have no significant effects. Research limitations/implications The NFT scale might be improved by adding more items. Some of the structural model coefficients indicate a low effect size. Finally, the results are limited to Spanish purchasers of the focal product. Practical implications Firms should appeal to purchasers’ e-commerce orientation to reduce the negative implications of a need to touch products among consumers shopping online. Originality/value The need to touch a product may be an obstacle to online purchases, yet few studies deal with its impact in online, relative to offline, contexts to evaluate product quality. This study also integrates personal, social and epistemic factors.

Intellectual capital and resilience in torn societies

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 598-618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain Daou ◽  
Jay Joseph ◽  
Dalia Sabah Yousif ◽  
Ramzi Fathallah ◽  
Gerald Reyes
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Capital ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Entrepreneurial Success ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Conflict Zones ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Integrative Framework ◽  
The Face ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Medium Enterprises

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the association between intellectual capital (IC) and resilience in torn societies while proposing an integrative framework. Due to adversities faced by entrepreneurs in such contexts, an understanding of the role of resilience along with IC has become crucial for businesses to succeed and survive. Design/methodology/approach This study takes an in-depth look at the three components of IC – human, organizational and external capital and their association with resilience. In order to do so, a qualitative study on 17 Iraqi micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) was conducted using data collected through semi-structured interviews with the founders. The interviews were translated and coded by native speakers. Findings The results suggest that IC and resilience are interrelated concepts where IC components contribute to the resilience capabilities of entrepreneurs to survive and continue their businesses during turbulent times. Practical implications Implications for managers and policymakers are presented; in brief, strategies and policies are required to support entrepreneurial success in the Iraqi context. Originality/value The study contributes to the literature on IC for entrepreneurs. So far, few studies have dealt with the association between IC and resilience, and less so in torn societies. This paper contributes to research on enterprise development and survival under conflict zones; it highlights some of the factors that could form resilience of a MSME in the face of uncertainty; and it contributes to the literature on IC as it helps us understand certain capacities that build up and/or support MSME resilience in such a context.

Early entry, capabilities and shakeout in the US brewing industry

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn A. Walter ◽  
Linda F. Edelman ◽  
Keneth J. Hatten
Keyword(s):  
Hazard Analysis ◽  
Firm Survival ◽  
Firm Characteristics ◽  
Brewing Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Probability Of Survival ◽  
Technology Sector ◽  
Early Entry ◽  
Industry Study ◽  
The Us

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine how early-entry and process-based capability development affected firm survival during shakeout in the US brewing industry between 1938 and 1980. Design/methodology/approach – Hazard analysis was conducted on US brewing industry data spanning 42 years from 1938 to 1980. Findings – Both early-entry and later capability developments enhance the probability of survival. In addition, firms which entered early were also more likely to be the firms who continually developed capabilities across the decades. Research limitations/implications – This study contributes to our understanding of shakeout in traditional, non-high-technology businesses. However, because it is a single industry study, the ability to the generalize findings to other industry contexts is limited. Practical implications – Early entry can determine survival in industries with stable products and low levels of technological change. Social implications – Policy-makers interested in competitive dynamics should take note of the historical conditions that lead to industry consolidation in traditional industries, which, while not as glamorous as the technology sector, provide the core of US industry. Originality/value – Historical firm characteristics can impact industry structure and firm survival for over a century.

The trustworthiness of internet-based quality signals: an interactivity perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenbin Ni ◽  
Hongyi Sun
Keyword(s):  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Product Quality ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Information Economics ◽  
Perceived Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quality Signals ◽  
On Line

Purpose This study aims to examine the trustworthiness of internet-based quality signals (specifically webpages and before-sale services) from the perspective of interactivity by evaluating the associations between on-line signals of product quality and the off-line perceived quality of actual products. Design/methodology/approach Empirical data are collected from 261 Chinese female university students. Partial least squares structural equation modelling is used to test the conceptual model. Findings Both webpages and before-sale services are positively associated with off-line perceived quality, but only the quality of before-sale service has a direct association with customer satisfaction. Webpages and before-sale services are both trustworthy signals for indicating the quality of physical products; however, these signals provide different levels of trustworthiness. Research limitations/implications The interactivity perspective supplements information-economics theory in examining the trustworthiness of internet-based signals. A signal is a trustworthy indicator only if customers perceive a close relationship between the quality of the signal and the actual product quality. Practical implications On-line sellers should improve the reciprocity and controllability of communications from a buyer’s perspective and should pay more attention to the strategic role of on-line communication for improving customer service. Originality/value Researchers have evaluated the trustworthiness of on-line quality signals from an information-economics perspective. This study extends these previous studies by addressing the perspective of interactivity. Two types of product-quality signals, including webpages and before-sale services, are assessed in terms of their trustworthiness by examining how these signals relate to off-line perceived quality and customer satisfaction.

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