Designing Entry Strategies for Subscription Platforms

We consider a subscription platform that offers services to variety-seeking consumers who incorporate transportation costs in their decision of how many and which vendor services to consume. ClassPass in fitness and MoviePass in entertainment are examples of such platforms. We find that for the platform to be successful, it should enter markets where consumers’ added benefit from patronizing more than one vendor is relatively high, thus strengthening the position of the platform in negotiations with the vendors. As well, managers should consider entering markets where competition between the vendors is relatively weak and in particular, where vendors benefit from local monopoly positions because of high transportation costs incurred by consumers. When entering such markets, offering the subscription contract is likely to attract new customers who are not active when the platform does not exist. Moreover, appropriate crafting of the agreement with the vendors in this case allows the parties to fully extract the surplus derived by platform customers. Last, the platform’s managers should be cognizant of the need to identify tools that facilitate alleviated price competition with vendors. Negotiating over an appropriate transfer fee per customer to pay the vendor or imposing restrictions on the level of service that their customers can use may be such tools. Offering customers lower-quality services when using the vendor in comparison with the quality they could obtain by buying directly from him may not be a successful tool to alleviate price competition. This paper was accepted by Duncan Simester, marketing.

Role of mall attractiveness in shaping fashion shopping orientation of apparel shoppers: a segmentation approach

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify distinct segments of apparel shoppers based on their fashion shopping orientation. The difference among the segments based on mall attractive dimension is also examined. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected through mall intercept survey from the mall shoppers. Samples of 375 respondents are used for data analysis purpose. Exploratory factor analysis is used to extract the factors of fashion shopping orientation and mall attractive dimensions while K-means cluster analysis is applied to identify the segments. Findings This study resulted in three factors of fashion orientation of apparel shoppers, i.e. fashion involvement, variety seeking and economic value, and four factors of mall attractive dimensions: convenience, entertainment, atmosphere and architecture design. Based on these factors, this study came out with three distinct segments of fashion shoppers: pragmatic shoppers, variety seeking shoppers and highly fashioned shoppers. These three segments are attracted towards the mall dimension differently. Originality/value This paper presents the three distinct profiles of fashion shoppers based on their fashion shopping orientation and mall attractive dimensions. The findings of this study may help retailers and mall developers to target mall visitors appropriately.

The Effect of Customer Experience on Repurchase Intention with Variety Seeking as Variable Moderation at 4-Star Hotels

This research aims to determine the influence of customer experience on repurchase intention with variable moderation of variety seeking. The form of statistical analysis used is moderated analysis regression. The selection of 4-star hotels due to the standard of star hotels pays attention to the increasingly varied needs of consumers. The target population in this study was hotel guests who had stayed at a 4-star hotel in Padang. A simple random sampling technique is used. with 286 samples. In obtaining the data used a questionnaire with a Likert scale. From the results of the study obtained the influence of variable customer experience had a significant positive effect on the repurchase intention, with a significance value of 0,000<0.05 and had an influence contribution of 4.5%, with a regression coefficient of 0.125. While variety-seeking variables have a significant negative effect on repurchase intention with a significance value of 0<0.05, and have an influence contribution of 6%, with a regression coefficient of -0.197. From the results of moderation regression obtained variety seeking to moderate the influence of customer experience on repurchase intention negatively with the significance of 0,000<0.05, and has a regression coefficient of -0.537 with an influence contribution of 8.7%.

Relationship between Acceptance of Insects as an Alternative to Meat and Willingness to Consume Insect-Based Food—A Study on a Representative Sample of the Polish Population

Despite their nutritional and ecological potential, insect-based food is rarely accepted by consumers. There may be a discrepancy between the consumers’ understanding of the need to reduce meat consumption and their personal food preferences. Our goal was to investigate the relationship between the acceptance of insects as a meat substitute, the willingness to buy and consume insect-based food, and the underlying factors. The study was conducted on a representative sample of the Polish population, and as in previous studies, our results showed that men who are more familiar with entomophagy pay more attention to the environmental impact of their food choices, are convenience-orientated and are more willing to accept insects as a meat substitute. However, people with higher levels of food neophobia and disgust sensitivity and lower levels of variety-seeking tendency are less willing to consume insects. Our study showed that the acceptance of insects as an alternative to meat (general perspective) does not translate into a willingness to buy and eat them (individual perspective). Consumers who declare their acceptance of insects as a meat substitute might not be willing to purchase insects for their consumption.

EXPRESS: Down a Rabbit Hole: How Prior Media Consumption Shapes Subsequent Media Consumption

Consumers often become “stuck in a rabbit hole” when consuming media. They may watch several YouTube videos in the same category or view several artistic images on Instagram on the same theme, finding it difficult to stop. What contributes to this behavior, causing consumers to choose to consume additional media on a similar (vs. different) topic to what they just experienced? The authors examine a novel antecedent: the consecutive consumption of multiple similar media. After viewing multiple similar media consecutively, more consumers choose to view additional similar media over dissimilar media or complete a dissimilar activity entirely, even when the prior consumption pattern is externally induced. The rabbit hole effect occurs due to increased accessibility of the shared category—when a category is more accessible, people feel immersed in that category and anticipate that future options within that category will be more enjoyable. The authors identify three characteristics of media consumption that contribute to the rabbit hole effect by increasing category accessibility: similarity, repetition, and consecutiveness of prior media consumption. This research contributes to literature on technology, choice, and variety-seeking and offers implications for increasing (vs. slowing) similar consumption.

Should we engage variety seeking customers?

Purpose The study aims to examine the moderating role of variety-seeking behaviour between customer engagement and its antecedents (customer satisfaction and customer value). Further, this study also tests the existence of the value-satisfaction-engagement behaviour chain. Design/methodology/approach The perception of 262 respondents was used to examine the hypothesis using the structural equation modelling approach. Findings The moderation effect of variety-seeking behaviour between customer satisfaction and customer engagement was found to be significant. Also, customer satisfaction fully mediated the relationship between perceived value and customer engagement, hence, empirically validating the value-satisfaction-engagement model in the retailing context. Research limitations/implications The findings draw managers' attention towards the segment of consumers who are more likely to be engaged, thus helping managers develop a more efficient and focussed strategy to achieve customer engagement. The result also suggests that variety-seeking buyers may not get engaged even after satisfaction. Originality/value This paper is among the first to empirically test the moderating role of variety-seeking behaviour to achieve customer engagement.

COVID-19 Restrictions and Variety Seeking in Travel Choices and Actions: The Moderating Effects of Previous Experience and Crowding

This article investigates how the perceived threats caused by COVID-19 affect consumers’ travel choices and actions by influencing their intentions to seek variety. Four studies show that the perceived threat of COVID-19 increases variety seeking in travel choices. Study 1 finds that travelers who perceive a greater threat of COVID-19 tend to undertake more varied activities during their travel. Study 2 shows that the main effect exists only for individuals who have previously visited the destination. Study 3 replicates the moderating effect of previous visiting experience by using a different way to manipulate the perceived threat of COVID-19. Study 4 illustrates the moderating impact of another important factor: the number of travelers included in the companies’ communication messages. The article concludes by discussing the theoretical and managerial implications of the findings.