Impact of Service Quality and Price Fairness on Consumer Loyalty: The Moderating Role of Information Literacy

Purpose: Using data from 200 hotel guests in Multan, Pakistan, this research aims to evaluate the influence of service quality and pricing fairness on consumer loyalty while moderating the role of information literacy. Design/Methodology/Approach/Findings: The findings are estimated using partial least square (PLS). The variables service quality, pricing justice, and information literacy are all positively and substantially connected to customer loyalty, according to PLS estimations. Because the link between service quality and customer loyalty is statistically significant, the results of the moderated regression demonstrate that information literacy positively moderates it. On the other hand, while the link between price fairness and customer loyalty is statistically significant, the variable information literacy acts as a negative moderator. Implications/Originality/Value: Hotel management are advised to invest in and increase the quality of service. Managers must maintain control of all activities related to the concept of quality from the bottom to the top of their business.

Customer fairness perceptions in augmented reality-based online services

PurposeAn increasing number of retailers is trying to stimulate customers by embedding augmented reality (AR) features such as video try-on into the online shopping experience. As such AR-based online services require customers to actively participate in the service provision, this paper aims at investigating fairness perceptions and customer responses associated with AR-enabled customer participation.Design/methodology/approachThe conceptual framework of this study is based on equity theory. To compare customer responses after an in-store service encounter as opposed to AR-enabled customer participation involving video try-on, this study contains a between-subject online experiment. The effective sample comprises N = 215 participants.FindingsThe data analysis demonstrates that AR-enabled customer participation leads to significantly lower levels of distributive, procedural and price fairness as well as lower engagement intentions than in-store service encounters. Simultaneously, participants in the video try-on scenario report higher negative word-of-mouth (WOM) intentions than in the in-store scenario.Research limitations/implicationsThe extra mile customers go when using AR-based online services is reflected in less favorable fairness evaluations.Practical implicationsService managers should design AR applications in a manner that requires minimum customer participation.Originality/valueThis study contributes to service research by linking AR-enabled customer participation to evaluations of distributive, procedural and price fairness and their outcomes. This is vital to fully exploit the potential of AR in services.

Impact of Consumer Behavior Pertaining to Personalization of Price in an E-Commerce Context

The study focuses on developing a conceptual model to explore the factors influencing consumers' judgments in the decision-making process with a prime focus on personalized dynamic pricing (PDP). The study explored the judgmental impact of PDP on customer willingness to pay and mediating role of stickiness to the online store on PDP fairness and customer willingness to pay. The data was collected using a structured questionnaire administered among 256 students at a large university in India. SEM using AMOS software was used to analyze data. Price perception, involvement, product knowledge, and recommendation system positively impact price fairness of PDP, directly and indirectly influencing customer willingness to pay. Results also showed that stickiness to online stores fully mediates the relationship between price fairness of PDP and customer willingness to pay. Theoretically, the study contributes to pricing and marketing literature by identifying the antecedents of price fairness of PDP. For practitioners, this study signifies the importance of a robust recommendation system to stand out from the competition and provide deals to satisfy consumers. Specifically, the results emphasize the need to focus on stickiness to an online store to track consumer characteristics and customer value

Sales promotion: the role of equity sensitivity

PurposeThis paper explores how consumer psychographics impact responses to sales promotions (SPs), and specifically whether equity sensitivity (ES) moderates attitudes towards sales promotion in the retail purchase experience (PE).Design/methodology/approachThe study examines data from a survey of 284 Hong Kong consumers, using a shopping mall-intercept method. Every third person walking past the researchers was asked to participate in the survey. After obtaining their permission, those agreeing to take part in the study were surveyed either inside or outside of the shopping complex. The face-to-face intercept surveying method also increases confidence in sample and response reliability.FindingsThe study finds that ES has a significant positive relationship with evaluations of the retail PE. Consumers identified as “Benevolents” were significantly more positive towards SPs and reported significantly higher satisfaction with the PE. In contrast, consumers identified as “Entitled” were less positive towards SP and less satisfied with the PE. In addition, noncash SPs significantly positively influenced Benevolents' PE.Research limitations/implicationsThe current study extends and expands equity theory and ES research by applying these concepts to consumer SPs. The study is limited to an examination of common consumer purchases, across different product categories and SP types. While this allows us to examine the relationship between SP attitudes, ES and purchase satisfaction, future comparisons between individual sales promotion techniques (SPTs) and specific consumer profiles are recommended.Practical implicationsFrom a retail perspective, it is important to understand individual differences and what influences and motivates the consumers' retail PE. Retail managers are advised to track customer purchases and satisfaction levels linked to SPs as this would allow for the identification of which customers are more likely to fit the Entitled or Benevolent psychological profiles and predict their likely responses to SP offers.Originality/valueTo date, there has been little research on individual psychological differences between consumers when offered SPs at retail stores. The current study contributes to the marketing literature by extending the price fairness equity model to the retail PE, thereby addressing a prominent gap in the literature.

China's Regulatory Framework for Dynamic and Personalized Pricing in the Digital Economy

Under the Chinese legal system, in principle, there is no objection to dynamic and personalized pricing of enterprises. Dynamic pricing does not involve the processing of personal information, and consumers have a higher perception of price fairness, it is seldom concerned by laws and policies. Personalized pricing involves the processing of personal information, and consumers generally feel that the price is unfair and difficult to accept, so it is the focus of legal regulation. Enterprises face three obstacles in implementing personalized pricing. First, in terms of personal information protection, enterprises should abide by the provisions on personal consent and automatic decision-making in the Personal Information Protection Law. Second, in the aspect of anti-monopoly, enterprises should abide by the provisions of the Anti-Monopoly Law, and cannot achieve collusion through algorithms and abuse market dominance to implement differential treatment for trading counterparts. Third, in the protection of consumers' rights and interests, enterprises should respect the Price Law and other laws, and cannot commit price fraud and price discrimination. The current law on dynamic and personalized pricing is not perfect. In the future, we can protect consumers' rights and interests mainly by strengthening enterprises' obligation of providing information.

Examining the impact of external reference prices on seller price image dimensions and purchase intentions in pay what you want (PWYW)

PurposePay what you want (PWYW) is a participative pricing mechanism that permits customers complete freedom to choose prices. PWYW literature reports the influence of external reference price (ERP) on customers' price decisions and payments. The current research examines the influence of ERP presence, salience and understanding at the seller level by analysing customers' perceptions of seller price image dimensions and purchase intentions.Design/methodology/approachStudy 1 tests the impact of ERP presence and salience in controlled lab settings while Study 2 takes this investigation further by including the moderating effect of ERP understanding on seller price image dimensions and purchase intentions in online settings.FindingsResults illustrate the positive impact of ERP presence on all seller price image dimensions excluding the perceived price level. Perceived price fairness mediates the impact of ERP presence on perceived value. ERP salience positively impacts price processability. ERP presence and salience attached to it positively impact customers' purchase intentions through seller price image dimensions.Originality/valueThis is possibly the first paper to investigate the ERP effect on seller price image dimensions in a PWYW context that lacks fixed posted prices.