Are Product Returns a Necessary Evil? Antecedents and Consequences

2009 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 35-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Andrew Petersen ◽  
V. Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Exchange Process ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Marketing Communications ◽  
Buying Behavior ◽  
Product Returns ◽  
Product Return ◽  
Return Behavior ◽  
Process Factors ◽  
Necessary Evil

The firm–customer exchange process consists of three key parts: (1) firm-initiated marketing communications, (2) customer buying behavior, and (3) customer product return behavior. To date, the literature in marketing has largely focused on how marketing communications affect customer buying behavior and, to some extent, how past buying behavior affects a firm's decisions to initiate future marketing communications. However, the literature on product returns is sparse, especially in relation to analyzing individual customer product return behavior. Although the magnitude of the value of product returns is known to be high ($100 billion per year), how it affects customer buying behavior is not known because of a lack of data availability and understanding of the role of product returns in the firm–customer exchange process. Given that product returns are considered a hassle for a firm's supply chain management and a drain on overall profitability, it is important to study product return behavior. Thus, the authors empirically demonstrate the role of product returns in the exchange process by determining the exchange process factors that help explain product return behavior and the consequences of product returns on future customer and firm behavior. In addition, the authors demonstrate that product returns are inevitable but by no means evil.

scholarly journals AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON EFFECT OF BRANDS ON PRODUCT RETURNS

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
TVB MURALI MOHAN ◽  
T. KARPAGAM
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Exchange Process ◽  
Purchase Decisions ◽  
State University ◽  
Product Returns ◽  
Product Return ◽  
Georgia State University ◽  
Total Sales

Over the last couple of decades India has been the epicentre of consumer demand fuelled by a phenomenal GDP growth. Due to the burgeoning demand of Mobile Phones, the Indian industry is finding it difficult to meet the domestic demand and hence the import of Mobile Phones is increasing at a rapid rate. There by, the Indian consumer is provided with a variety of choices in terms of availability of brands, affordable prices and so on facilitating faster pre-purchase decisions. In the past few years, there has been a significant change in the shopping pattern of consumers from In store shopping to Online shopping in which returns are more likely due to a lack of “touch and feel” experience with the product prior to purchase. In both the processes, Product return is a necessary part of the exchange process between companies and customers. Industry data suggests that returns account for approximately 12% of total sales in India and that a significant portion of products are returned for reasons other than product failure – e.g., change of mind, found a lower price elsewhere, or fraudulent and unethical reasons. Thus, Product returns are no small part of the firm-customer exchange process (J. Andrew Petersen (University of North Carolina) and V. Kumar (Georgia State University) as product returns impose significant financial costs to retailers and to consumers alike. "However, these same returns create long-term value because customers who feel there is little risk in making the wrong purchase keep coming back”. This Empirical study focuses on understanding the interplay between the brand and consumers’ return behaviour, and also the relation between product performance and product return behaviour.

The Influence of Personality Traits on Consumer Impulsive Buying Behaviour

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Khagendra Nath Gangai ◽  
Rachna Agrawal
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Buying Behavior ◽  
Doing Business ◽  
The Social ◽  
Impulsive Buying ◽  
Social And Physical Environment ◽  
The Common ◽  
Buying Behaviour

Consumer behavior is a complex phenomenon which is evolving according to the time, situations, demographic characteristics of individuals, personality traits, cultural influences etc. The personality of individuals is a unique dynamic organization of the characteristics of a particular person, physical and psychological, which influence behavior and responses to the social and physical environment. It gives the impression that consumer buying is always influenced by their personality. Therefore, many marketers make use of personality traits in the advertisement of products and at the same time they enhance their marketing strategy. The marketers always designed different products and target specific market segments which commonly addressed on individuals personality traits. The individuals few personality traits influence consumer for impulsive buying behavior. The aim of present research is to study the personality traits influence on consumer impulsive buying behavior as it will help to create opportunities of doing business and dealing with customers. The objectives of this research are: (1) to investigate the influence of personality traits on consumer impulsive buying behavior, and (2) to identify the role of gender and their personality traits influence on consumer impulsive buying behavior. To fulfill the purpose of the study, the researchers randomly collected sample and divided them on the basis of gender, 60 males and 60 females. Data were collected from Delhi and NCR region. The data were analyzed using statistical applications such as correlation and t Test. The result was revealed that the common personality traits have a significant relationship with impulsive buying behavior that is psychoticism in the case of male and female. The role of gender has significant differences in impulsive buying behavior. The man showed more impulsive buying behavior compare to women.

External Investigators' Follow-Up Intentions When Whistleblowers Report Healthcare Fraud: The Effects of Report Anonymity and Previous Confrontation

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-101
Author(s):  
Steven E. Kaplan ◽  
Danny Lanier ◽  
Kelly R. Pope ◽  
Janet A. Samuels
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Early Detection ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Medical Provider ◽  
Perceived Credibility ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Critical Investigation

ABSTRACT Whistleblowing reports, if properly investigated, facilitate the early detection of fraud. Although critical, investigation-related decisions represent a relatively underexplored component of the whistleblowing process. Investigators are responsible for initially deciding whether to follow-up on reports alleging fraud. We report the results of an experimental study examining the follow-up intentions of highly experienced healthcare investigators. Participants, in the role of an insurance investigator, are asked to review a whistleblowing report alleging billing fraud occurring at a medical provider. Thus, participants are serving as external investigators. In a between-participant design, we manipulate the report type and whether the caller previously confronted the wrongdoer. We find that compared to an anonymous report, a non-anonymous report is perceived as more credible and follow-up intentions stronger. We also find that perceived credibility fully mediates the relationship between report type and follow-up intentions. Previous confrontation is not significantly associated with either perceived credibility or follow-up intentions. Data Availability: Data are available upon request.

scholarly journals Investment Portfolio, Democratic Accountability, Poverty and Income Inequality Nexus in Pakistan: A Way to Social Sustainability

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6411
Author(s):  
Muhammad Shahid Hassan ◽  
Haider Mahmood ◽  
Muhammad Ibrahim Saeed ◽  
Tarek Tawfik Yousef Alkhateeb ◽  
Noman Arshed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Social Sustainability ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Democratic Accountability ◽  
Investment Portfolio ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Distributed Lag ◽  
Autoregressive Distributed Lag ◽  
Short Run

Institutions help to streamline the economic activity-related procedures, where government intervention might be involved. Institutions also play a significant role in social sustainability. The findings using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag approach to cointegration for the period from 1984–2019 reveal that investment portfolio and democratic accountability reduce poverty in Pakistan both in the long and short run. Moreover, democratic accountability helps to reduce income inequality, but the investment portfolio’s role is not significant. The literacy rate helps to reduce income inequality, and inflation increases poverty and income inequality. The remittances increase income inequality, and urbanization increases poverty. To eradicate poverty and income inequality, the governments should be accountable for their actions to the general public while they remain in power. If they do not deliver as per their manifestoes, they will not be reelected in the next election. Moreover, there is a dire need to redefine the role of an investment portfolio to reduce the risk of investment. So, investments would increase economic activities and could reduce poverty and income inequality. This study contributes to the literature by inquiring about the role of the investment portfolio and democratic accountability in social sustainability by reducing poverty and income inequality. This study only considers Pakistan’s economy due to limitations of poverty data availability in other countries. The scope could further be broadened by accessing data for a wider Asia region to test the role of the investment portfolio and democratic accountability to reduce poverty and income inequality.

scholarly journals The Determinants of Access to Sanitation: The Role of Human Rights and the Challenges of Measurement

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 1676
Author(s):  
Rebecca Schiel ◽  
Bruce M. Wilson ◽  
Malcolm Langford
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Field Data ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Sustainable Development Goal ◽  
Development Goal ◽  
The Sustainable Development

Ten years after the United Nation’s recognition of the human right to water and sanitation (HRtWS), little is understood about how these right impacts access to sanitation. There is limited identification of the mechanisms responsible for improvements in sanitation, including the international and constitutional recognition of rights to sanitation and water. We examine a core reason for the lack of progress in this field: data quality. Examining data availability and quality on measures of access to sanitation, we arrive at three findings: (1) where data are widely available, measures are not in line with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets, revealing little about changes in sanitation access; (2) data concerning safe sanitation are missing in more country-year observations than not; and (3) data are missing in the largest proportions from the poorest states and those most in need of progress on sanitation. Nonetheless, we present two regression analyses to determine what effect rights recognition has on improvements in sanitation access. First, the available data are too limited to analyze progress toward meeting SDGs related to sanitation globally, and especially in regions most urgently needing improvements. Second, utilizing more widely available data, we find that rights seem to have little impact on access.

The effects of cruise attributes on impulse buying behavior: the mediating role of impulsive buying tendency

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jookyung Kwon ◽  
Jiseon Ahn
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Impulse Buying ◽  
Buying Behavior ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Impulsive Buying ◽  
Positive Direct ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This study aims to examine the effects of cruise attributes on impulse buying of service customers through impulsive buying tendency. Specifically, this study investigates whether service attributes (variety of selection and price) influence the impulsive buying behavior of customers by stimulating their impulsive buying tendency. Design/methodology/approach Partial least squares-structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesis using a sample of 143 cruise customers. Mediating analysis was conducted to examine whether customer personal traits (impulsivity) mediated the relationship between service attributes and impulsive buying behavior. Findings The findings showed that price attributions had a significant positive direct impact on impulsive buying tendency and behavior, while a variety of selections had a significant direct effect on impulse buying behavior. The results revealed a significant mediating role of impulsive buying tendency in the relationship between price attributions and impulse buying. Originality/value Although studies on the decision-making style of service customers have been widely discussed, a limited number of studies has examined customers’ impulsive buying behavior in the service sector. Considering the importance of impulsive purchasing as a valuable marketing tool, the results of this study can help service providers and researchers enhance their knowledge of the mechanism of impulse buying behavior.

scholarly journals Information Technology, Marketing Database and the Process of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC): A Resource-Capability Nexus

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayaz Ahmad ◽  
Salniza Md. Salleh ◽  
Selvan a/l Perumal
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Marketing Communications ◽  
Marketing Communication ◽  
Integrated Marketing Communications ◽  
Integrated Marketing ◽  
The Past ◽  
Technology Marketing ◽  
Industry Professionals ◽  
Research Avenue

This study aims at identifying and conceptually linking Information Technology, Marketing Database and the IMC process in a resource paradigm. It also conceptually posits the mediated role of Marketing Database to further transmit the absorbed effect to the IMC process. Review of the past studies has been done to conceptually connect these resources and/or capabilities. This paper establishes different relationships to be further tested empirically for both the academia and industry professionals. The main contribution is to conceptually theorize all the three concept and linking them conceivably that were either missing or vague in the marketing communication literature. Further, it also provides a research avenue to seek the complementarity of such resources by utilizing the extended RBV theory. The theoretical framework proposed is based on past literature from the RBV and marketing communications literature positing some new structural paths beside certain previous linkage (s) if any.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document