Visualization and purchase

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 346-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Marchini ◽  
Francesco Diotallevi ◽  
Chiara Paffarini ◽  
Antonio Stasi ◽  
Antonio Baselice
Keyword(s):  
Olive Oil ◽  
Consumer Choice ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technology System ◽  
Differentiation Strategy ◽  
Price Differentiation ◽  
Positive Elements ◽  
Joint Strategy ◽  
Visual Marketing

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to present an attempt to evaluate Italian olive oil brand competition thought the analysis of consumers’ visual perspective. Design/methodology/approach – Through the implementation of a new information technology system called “Visual Marketing REL”, which furnishes eye-tracking measures, the authors were able to produce important information relative to the layout organization of to the Italian olive oil shelf, a strategic product of the agro-food chain. The research uses the “in situ” testing of the software developed. Findings – The research, following up the thesis of sensorial marketing affecting choices, intends to identify an IT tool to facilitate the design of the shelf by increasing the efficiency of the retail mix. Results highlight that specific positioning could impact the differentiation effect and orientate consumers’ choices, thus increasing the efficiency of the retail mix. Research limitations/implications – To generalize the results would require many repetitions of different product categories. In this case, it would be possible to quantify the levels of correlation between visual information and sales. Practical implications – This work opens important considerations in terms of strategic management of modern distribution, leaders and minor brands competitive relationship, as well as opportunities for producers of high-quality products, which could address their strategies to differentiation and niche market in cooperation with retailers. Social implications – The research aims to encourage the process of consumer choice and reduce information asymmetries. Originality/value – The most important result is the connection among choices, visualization, differentiation strategy and positioning/ordering on the shelf. The layout management, in fact, could be used as a joint strategy of retailers as well as producers to emphasize quality and price differentiation, thereby increasing sales. Moreover, the study provides for the first time the outcomes of a brand new software “Visual Marketing REL”, highlighting its limits and positive elements.

scholarly journals The moderating effect of agglomeration on horizontal differentiation and online reviews: the case of Paris hotels

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
María D. Illescas-Manzano ◽  
Sergio Martínez-Puertas ◽  
Manuel Sánchez-Pérez
Keyword(s):  
Online Reviews ◽  
Competitive Environment ◽  
Horizontal Differentiation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Differentiation Strategy ◽  
Price Differentiation ◽  
Online Ratings ◽  
Regression Techniques ◽  
Online Reputation ◽  
The Impact

PurposeHotels are immersed in a very competitive environment and hoteliers have to plan and redesign their strategies to stay in the hospitality industry while faced with a steady rise in competition. Hoteliers can employ horizontal differentiation strategies and pricing decisions to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors. The goal of our work is to analyse the effect of pricing and horizontal differentiation strategy of a hotel on its online reputation and to analyse if the hotel location and agglomeration of competitors moderates their relationship with online reputation.Design/methodology/approachWith a sample of 264 hotels from Paris, an empirical study is developed that aims to analyse, using regression techniques, the impact of price, differentiation, location and competitive environment on online ratings given by consumers in the hospitality context.FindingsThe paper provides empirical evidence of how a good location improves the online reputation of a company and how pricing strategies should take into account the location and number of competitors since a good location allows premium prices to be valued positively by consumers while an inappropriate location can produce the opposite effect. Depending on location, the number of competitors can intensify or reduce the effect of price on online reputation. Finally, online reputation only benefits from horizontal differentiation strategies when the degree of agglomeration is low.Originality/valueThis work provides insights about how hotels can strengthen their online reputation through pricing and differentiation strategies, incorporating elements of their environment such as location and competition in this decision-making process.

Effects of parental cultural capital on purchase intention of cognac

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 344-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yujie Wei ◽  
Blaise Bergiel ◽  
Lingfang Song
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Capital ◽  
Consumer Choice ◽  
Purchase Intention ◽  
Parental Influence ◽  
Value Orientations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Consumer Purchase Intention ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Willingness To Purchase

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the possibility that individual differences in consumer choice of cognac are at least partially influenced by parental cultural capital. Also examined are ten value orientations factors (e.g. hedonism and self-direction) and attitudes toward France, cognac’s country-of-origin that may affect the degree of this intergenerational influence. Design/methodology/approach The survey research measures parents’ cultural capital, value orientations and attitude toward France and purchase intention using recognized scales. Data were collected from the faculty and students of a major university located in the southeast of the USA. The sample size was 234. Findings The results confirm that parental cultural capital, consumer value orientations and attitudes toward France have significant impacts on the consumer’s willingness to purchase cognac. Adult children of high cultural capital parents are more likely to buy cognac. Practical implications The findings of this paper provide meaningful insights into intergenerational influences on consumer purchase intention of cognac and socialization theory. The paper provides several managerial implications for segmentation, targeting and positioning of cognac in the US market. Originality/value As the first of its kind, this paper introduces the parents’ cultural capital into the consumer research regarding cognac. The longer-term effects that parents can have on grown children’s consumer behavior are confirmed, suggesting that parental influence persists well into adulthood and has impact on their brand preference.

Barriers to adoption of reverse logistics: a case of construction, real estate, infrastructure and project (CRIP) sectors

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudhir Ambekar ◽  
Dipayan Roy ◽  
Amit Hiray ◽  
Anand Prakash ◽  
Vishal Singh Patyal
Keyword(s):  
Real Estate ◽  
Reverse Logistics ◽  
Delphi Study ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Interpretive Structural Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Policies ◽  
Technology System ◽  
Inadequate Information ◽  
Scarcity Of Resources

PurposeThis study attempts to identify and analyse the barriers to implementing a reverse logistics (RL) system in Indian Construction, Real estate, Infrastructure and Project (CRIP) sectors and present a structured model to identify interdependencies among them.Design/methodology/approachThe barriers to implementing RL in CRIP sectors in India were identified using a Delphi study. The interdependencies were identified using Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM). Further, using the Matriced' Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée à un Classement (MICMAC) analysis, the barriers were classified on the basis of their driving power and interdependencies.FindingsThe study has identified ten barriers that can hamper the application of an RL system in CRIP sectors. The finding of the ISM model shows that macro level barriers such as lack of awareness of reverse logistics, insufficient government policies and unavailability of standard codes stimulate each other and also drive all other barriers. The organization-specific barriers operating at the strategic/tactical level, namely, company's rigid mechanism, lack of awareness of economic profits, inadequate company’s organizational policies and lack of training, reluctance from stakeholders, scarcity of resources and finance from company are found at the intermediate level of hierarchy and they can be influenced by the barriers at the lower level and influence the barriers on the and higher levels. The operational level barrier namely “Inadequate Information Technology system” is at the top of the hierarchy and can be driven by all the barriers at the lower level.Research limitations/implicationsThe present findings are based on the opinions of experts only from Indian CRIP sectors so the results may require to be validated in other contexts.Practical implicationsThe structural model presenting the interdependencies will be a guide for the CRIP supply chain professionals in understanding and ranking the barriers they may face while implementing the RL system.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the existing literature by providing a set of barriers and their interdependencies faced during the implementation of an RL system implementation in CRIP sectors. It is one of the first studies which identifies barriers applicable to the CRIP firms in India and models their inter-dependencies. Additionally Consequently, these firms can make a move forward towards a circular economy by overcoming these interlinked barriers.

Conformity or differentiation? A U-shaped relationship between peers’ CSR and focal firms’ CSR

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-327
Author(s):  
Xianyi Long ◽  
Ting Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Least Squares Method ◽  
Environmental Uncertainty ◽  
Generalized Least Squares ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Differentiation Strategy ◽  
Generalized Least Squares Method ◽  
Academic Researchers ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of peers’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) on focal firms’ CSR from an integrated perspective. The current study aims to explore whether as peers’ CSR increases focal firms’ CSR would first decrease and then increase. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on a sample consisting of Chinese listed manufacturing firms from 2010 to 2016. Hypotheses are tested by generalized least squares method to minimum heterogeneity and autocorrelation concern. Findings The results show that focal firms’ CSR would first decrease and then increase with the increase in peers’ CSR. Furthermore, this paper found that corporate visibility would stress more value on CSR differentiation strategy and environmental uncertainty would stress more value on CSR conformity strategy, such that the U-shaped relationship would be more pronounced in high corporate visibility or low environmental uncertainty situation. Practical implications The findings may be of interest to the academic researchers and managers. For researchers, it is important to understand how focal firms would practice CSR in response to peers’ CSR, especially through an integrated perspective. For managers, the results show that the best way to invest in CSR activities in response to peers’ CSR follows a U-shaped curve, and corporate visibility and environmental uncertainty are important factors to be considered to make CSR decisions. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by proposing and examining a U-shaped relationship between peers’ CSR and focal firms’ CSR, which stresses the conformity and differentiation value of CSR simultaneously. Besides, to fully map the effects of peers’ CSR and focal firms’ CSR, this paper considers the moderating roles of internal and external contingencies on this non-linear relationship between the peers’ CSR and focal firms’ CSR.

Mind the “academician-practitioner” gap: an experience-based model in the food and beverage sector

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 319-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessio Cavicchi ◽  
Cristina Santini ◽  
Lucia Bailetti
Keyword(s):  
Olive Oil ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Real ◽  
Food And Beverage

Purpose – This purpose of this paper is to introduce a research model inspired by the basic principles of experiential research and apply it to the food and beverage industry. Thinkers and doers often do not speak the same language: many scholars have pursued the goal of reducing the gap between academicians and practitioners by introducing new research models or adapting existing ones. Two case studies with wine and olive oil producers illustrate how the model works and highlight its applicability. Background literature is provided to support the model. Design/methodology/approach – In defining the model, we have followed several steps. First, we searched the literature to identify research needs and insights that might be useful in formulating the model. Second, we constructed a model following some procedural steps suggested in the literature. Third, we tested a model to verify its applicability and functionality. The paper is structured as follows: the first section explores the issue of academic–practitioner collaboration to identify the obstacles to effective collaboration and to define possible benefits from reducing the gap. The second section presents background literature on methodologies for enhancing cross-profession collaboration. Finally, the model is described and two case studies are described to flesh out how the model works. Findings – According to our experience and research results, this model is, paraphrasing Phillips (1987), “warrantable” because it proposes continuous reflection to improve the alignment between thinkers and doers: this method of conducting research is objective and bridges the gap between researchers and practitioners. Because this model centres on experience, participant behaviours and beliefs can be elicited about a host of nondurable goods. Having entrepreneurs put themselves in the consumers’ position, and providing them the results of their experiment can be considered the real value added of this approach. The model proposed in this paper opens a wider perspective in qualitative research, and the two case studies demonstrate that it is particularly flexible for adaptation to various businesses. Research limitations/implications – More case studies could be useful to demonstrate the validity of this model. Particularly, a longitudinal case study aiming at collecting data about the participants’ feedback in the long run could help in understanding the deep value of the proposed model. Practical implications – While this paper illustrates two applications of the model with entrepreneurs and managers of the wine and olive oil industry, this model offers potential for analysis not only in the food and beverage sector but all fast-moving consumer goods sectors, as it can be adapted to techniques other than sensory analysis once researchers have confirmed that they fit with the aim of the research and the peculiarities of the problem observed. Social implications – Tools and methodologies must be chosen according to the type of business the problem refers to, and, while this presents a considerable challenge in organizing ad hoc research teams, it also offers an opportunity for an interdisciplinary approach and an exchange of knowledge and skills from different research fields. In this case, the choice of research methodology is much more driven by the real needs that emerge from the phenomenon observed, rather than by the researchers’ specific skills. Originality/value – This paper has helped us broaden our perspective on research and has encouraged us to reflect on critical issues such as validity of a research process and usefulness of research. Some questions about the role of research in relation to practitioners are still open, but we think that this work has the merit of further highlighting the importance of bridging the gap between researchers and practitioners during research, and the usefulness being flexible and open-minded when carrying out an investigation.

scholarly journals Maqasid-based consumer preference index for Islamic home financing

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanudin Amin
Keyword(s):  
Consumer Choice ◽  
General Setting ◽  
Consumer Preference ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Building Society ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Preference ◽  
Preference Index ◽  
A New Technique ◽  
Debt Policy

Purpose Using the maqasid-based consumer preference index (MCPi), this study aims to investigate customer preference for Islamic home financing. Design/methodology/approach The current study, based on valid 1,034 usable questionnaires and the MCPi, evaluates consumer choice for the supplied Islamic home finance products by 16 Islamic banks in Malaysia. Findings According to the findings, all banks have a moderate value of MCPi. Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad is at the top of the list, followed by Maybank Islamic, Commerce International Merchant Bankers Islamic and Malaysia Building Society Berhad. Research limitations/implications The MCPi is used in this study to test a new technique to measuring consumer preference. The contributions are confined to these particular variables – Educating Customer, Establishing Justice, Promoting Welfare and Fulfiling Islamic Debt Policy. The research also has limitations in terms of the facility’s general setting. Future research may shed light on these issues from new angles. Practical implications This research offers banks a new way to manage their products based on maqasid al-Sharīʿah. Originality/value In the context of Malaysia, this study introduces the MCPi, a new measure of consumer preference for home financing.

Robot hand-eye cooperation based on improved inverse reinforcement learning

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ning Yu ◽  
Lin Nan ◽  
Tao Ku
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Industrial Robots ◽  
Robot Hand ◽  
Inverse Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Generative Adversarial Network ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Coordination Model ◽  
Proposed Model

Purpose How to make accurate action decisions based on visual information is one of the important research directions of industrial robots. The purpose of this paper is to design a highly optimized hand-eye coordination model of the robot to improve the robots’ on-site decision-making ability. Design/methodology/approach The combination of inverse reinforcement learning (IRL) algorithm and generative adversarial network can effectively reduce the dependence on expert samples and robots can obtain the decision-making performance that the degree of optimization is not lower than or even higher than that of expert samples. Findings The performance of the proposed model is verified in the simulation environment and real scene. By monitoring the reward distribution of the reward function and the trajectory of the robot, the proposed model is compared with other existing methods. The experimental results show that the proposed model has better decision-making performance in the case of less expert data. Originality/value A robot hand-eye cooperation model based on improved IRL is proposed and verified. Empirical investigations on real experiments reveal that overall, the proposed approach tends to improve the real efficiency by more than 10% when compared to alternative hand-eye cooperation methods.

Impact of organic and “protected designation of origin” labels in the perception of olive oil sensory quality

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Spognardi ◽  
Domenico Vistocco ◽  
Lucio Cappelli ◽  
Patrizia Papetti
Keyword(s):  
Olive Oil ◽  
Purchase Intention ◽  
Virgin Olive Oil ◽  
Blind Test ◽  
Physical Point ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organic Certification ◽  
Olive Oils ◽  
Protected Designation Of Origin ◽  
The Impact

PurposeInvestigate the behaviour and the habits of the consumers from central-southern Italy in relation to extra olive oil consumption, focussing on the impact of protected designation of origin (PDO) and EU–organic certification on purchase intention and quality perception.Design/methodology/approachA specific questionnaire was submitted to 160 consumers; a subsample of ten experts, ten semi-experts and ten habitual consumers of olive oil tested, through a blind test first and a normal one then, three Italian samples: an extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) without certification, an organic EVOO and a PDO EVOO, which were characterised also from a chemical-physical point of view. The answers provided during the tastings were statistically analysed and compared.FindingsPeople interviewed prefer local olive oils; they are positively influenced by PDO/organic certification, while price is not a decisive factor on the purchasing choices. According to tasting panel results: experts gave consistent answers preferring organic olive oil, semi-experts are positively influenced by the PDO brand contrary to what they claimed; non-experts would buy EVOO, although they are positively influenced by the PDO brand and negatively by the organic certification.Practical implicationsOnly knowledge and experience can aid consumers make consistent and aware choices. Information campaigns could help them to distinguish products, correctly identify food attributes and overcome their scepticism towards quality of organic products.Originality/valueFew works investigated the impact of quality and sustainability labelling on perception of olive oils, valuing the consistency between answers provided before and after sensory assessments.

scholarly journals The impact of product presentation on decision-making and purchasing

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosy Boardman ◽  
Helen McCormick
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Target Market ◽  
Consumer Decision Making ◽  
Consumer Decision ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Product Presentation ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how apparel product presentation influences consumer decision-making and whether there are any differences between age groups. Design/methodology/approach A mixed methodology was used including eye-tracking and qualitative in-depth interviews, with a purposive sample of 50 participants between age 20 and 70. Findings A higher number of product presentation features resulted in increased positive visual, cognitive and affective responses as consumers wanted as much visual information as possible to aid decision-making. Images of models attracted the most attention and were the most influential product presentation feature, followed by mannequin images and the zoom function. The 20 s spent much less time viewing and interacting with the product presentation features than middle age groups (30 s-50 s), had minimal fixations on mannequin images and had a much quicker decision-making process than other age groups. Practical implications The research informs retailers which product presentation features are the most effective for their target market to aid consumer decision-making with the aim of reducing returns. Originality/value The paper contributes to the literature by providing more in-depth insights than previous studies into the impact of online product presentation on consumer decision-making by using qualitative research and eye-tracking. The research also explores more product presentation features than previous research and investigates the presentation of apparel products, which are notoriously the most difficult products for consumers to assess online. The research is unique in its exploration of age differences in relation to product presentation features.

Pay inequality and job satisfaction of law firms: the role of strategic positioning

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-213
Author(s):  
Ki Kyung Song ◽  
Eunyoung Whang
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Law Firms ◽  
Strategic Positioning ◽  
Pay Gap ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Differentiation Strategy ◽  
Generic Strategy ◽  
Pay Inequality ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Using Porter’s (1980) generic strategy to define strategic positioning of law firms, this paper aims to explain why some law firms have more/less pay inequality than others do and examine the impact of pay inequality on law firms’ partners and the job satisfaction of their associates. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses data from The American Lawyer. The strategic positioning, compensation and job satisfaction scores of 614 firm-year observations of US law firms are hand-collected over the period from 2007 to 2016. Findings Non-equity partners at law firms with differentiation strategy (Porter, 1980) are more likely to build rainmaking ability than those at law firms relying on billable hours. As a result, law firms with differentiation strategy have a narrower pay gap between their equity and non-equity partners than those firms relying on billable hours. After controlling for the effects of strategy on pay inequality using two-stage and three-stage least squares models, this paper finds that a wider pay gap deprives associates of job satisfaction. Originality/value Considering strategic positioning, this paper validates why some law firms have more/less pay inequality and proves how pay inequality affects job satisfaction.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document