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1 – 10 of over 63000Cheryl-lyn Ngoh and Hillary N. Mellema
This paper aims to study how retailers moving from a multi- (in-store and online) to a single- (online) channel impacts consumers’ retailer and channel choices.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to study how retailers moving from a multi- (in-store and online) to a single- (online) channel impacts consumers’ retailer and channel choices.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct two scenario-based experimental studies to examine consumers’ in-store and online channel shopping preferences and behavioural intentions (i.e. channel and retailer choices) when their preferred focal retailer’s physical store closes.
Findings
The findings show that when a focal retailer removes its physical store location, consumers with a strong preference for shopping online have a greater likelihood of shopping online. Their loyalty towards the retailer explains this relationship but is conditional on low levels of reactance. When reactance is high, consumers with a strong preference for shopping online are more likely to switch to a competitor.
Originality/value
This research paper bridges the intersection between B2B and B2C literature to understand how retailers’ channel-related supply chain decisions affect downstream consumer shopping behaviour.
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Teik-Leong Chuah, Meenchee Hong and Behzad Foroughi
Infection and cross-contamination have been massive concerns in the medical field. This study aims to investigate consumers’ awareness and their choices of endoscopes, which may…
Abstract
Purpose
Infection and cross-contamination have been massive concerns in the medical field. This study aims to investigate consumers’ awareness and their choices of endoscopes, which may deter them from the cross-contamination problem.
Design/methodology/approach
A discrete choice experiment survey was administered to 166 respondents in Penang, Malaysia. Participants were asked to make hypothetical choices and estimate their preference for endoscopes. The multinomial logit model was used to estimate the assumptions based on the stated preference data collected.
Findings
Only two-fifths of respondents are aware of their rights regarding endoscope selection. The findings are consistent with utility theory, where choices are made to maximise personal satisfaction. If given the choice, consumers preferred the single-use endoscope over the reusable or the doctor’s preferred endoscope. Price, insurance coverage and personal income are significant determinants of the consumer’s choice of endoscopes.
Research limitations/implications
This study only investigates subjects living in Penang. Other possible important attributes to endoscope choices, such as environmental and device availability may be considered in future study.
Practical implications
The findings may create awareness among consumers about their rights when choosing medical devices. It may also improve health-care institutions’ (users’) and device manufacturers’ (industry players’) understanding of consumer needs and demands from socioeconomic perspectives.
Social implications
The research offers insights into consumer rights and awareness of health-care services. Ultimately leading to better policy to protect consumers’ rights and safety.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the rare literature on consumer rights toward medical devices, in particular, the consumer’s awareness of the choice of endoscopes.
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Nguyen Quoc Viet, Sander de Leeuw and Erica van Herpen
This paper investigates the impact of sustainability information disclosure on consumers' choice of order-to-delivery lead-time in relation to consumers' sustainability concern.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the impact of sustainability information disclosure on consumers' choice of order-to-delivery lead-time in relation to consumers' sustainability concern.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on two choice experiments with participants from the Netherlands (n = 348) and the United Kingdom (n = 1,387), the impact of sustainability information disclosure was examined in connection with consumers' concerns for environmental and social sustainability. Information on environmental impact (carbon emission) and social impact (warehouse workers and drivers' well-being) was considered and compared.
Findings
Disclosing sustainability impact information significantly increased consumers' preference and choice for longer delivery times, with equivalent effects for environmental and social impact information. Consumers' relevant (environmental or social) sustainability concern as personality traits enhanced effects on preferences, as did priming of environmental concern.
Research limitations/implications
Future research may consider differences between product categories or e-commerce companies' reputation in sustainability activities.
Practical implications
The findings provide opportunities for online retailers to influence consumer choice of delivery time, especially through disclosing environmental and/or social sustainability information.
Originality/value
This study fills a gap in the literature on sustainability information disclosure to actively steer consumer choice of delivery time, particularly regarding the effect of social sustainability impact information in comparison to its environmental counterpart.
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Abdul Wahid Khan and Jatin Pandey
Consumer food behavior has received considerable attention from marketers, researchers and regulators. With the rising obesity epidemic worldwide, the existing literature and…
Abstract
Purpose
Consumer food behavior has received considerable attention from marketers, researchers and regulators. With the rising obesity epidemic worldwide, the existing literature and previous reviews provide a limited understanding of consumers’ unhealthy food choices. To address this gap, this study aims to investigate consumer psychology for food choices in terms of mental processes and behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
This systematic literature review analyzed 84 research papers accessed from the Web of Science database and selected high-quality marketing journals. A detailed analysis identified themes arranged in an organizing framework. Gaps, limitations, convergence and ambivalent findings were noted to derive future research directions.
Findings
Major themes in the literature include food marketers’ actions (food stimuli and context), environmental influence (micro and macro) and consumer psychology and personal factors, leading to food choice related decisions. The antecedents and consequences of food choice healthiness are summarized. Several studies converged on the benefits of health motivations and goals, food literacy and customizing meals bottom-up on food choice healthiness.
Research limitations/implications
This review helps researchers gain state-of-the-art understanding on consumer psychology for food choices. It presents ambivalent and converging findings, gaps and limitations of extant research to inform researchers about issues that need to be addressed in the literature. This review presents future research questions to guide research on critical issues. This literature review contributes to marketing domain literature on consumer’s food well-being and overall well-being.
Practical implications
This review offers actionable insights for food marketers, policymakers and nongovernmental organizations to drive consumer demand for healthier foods, focusing on food labeling, food environment, message framing and raising consumer awareness.
Originality/value
This review offers current understanding of consumer psychology for food choices focusing on healthiness, an aspect lacking in previous literature reviews.
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Michael Christofi, Demetris Vrontis, Erasmia Leonidou and Alkis Thrassou
The purpose of this paper is to construct a conceptual framework of the effects of customer engagement on cause-related marketing (CRM), with the goal of providing a solid…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to construct a conceptual framework of the effects of customer engagement on cause-related marketing (CRM), with the goal of providing a solid scientific foundation for the development and stimulation of future research on the critical intersection of these two topics.
Design/methodology/approach
The research defines customer engagement in CRM campaigns as the conditions under which consumers are allowed to choose the cause that receives the donation, the cause proximity (geographical proximity) and the type of donation in a CRM campaign.
Findings
The paper conceptualizes the role of customer engagement in enhancing the effectiveness of a CRM campaign, in terms of coverage, customization and reduced consumer skepticism, as well as in triggering positive word-of-mouth (WOM) persuasion behaviors.
Practical implications
The conceptual framework provides several practicable directions toward effective control of CRM campaign outcomes, for both local and global firms.
Originality/value
The paper rests on established empirical foundations to develop a comprehensive preliminary multi- disciplinary framework on the subject, setting the path for further research in the fields of CRM, customer engagement and International Business Research, and reaching findings of both scholarly and executive worth.
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Joseph P. Redden and Stephen J. Hoch
This paper aims to outline a decision process for how consumers choose among two‐part tariffs which consist of a flat fee plus a per unit charge for usage over an allowance. The…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to outline a decision process for how consumers choose among two‐part tariffs which consist of a flat fee plus a per unit charge for usage over an allowance. The paper also seeks to examine what types of decision aids help consumers choose lower cost tariffs.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach used is two experimental studies.
Findings
Most consumers do not choose a tariff by calculating an expected cost because of usage uncertainty. They instead rely on simple comparisons of the overage rate, usage allowance, and flat fee attributes. These heuristics lead to systematic biases, beyond what actual true cost justifies, for favorable comparisons on these attributes. An online calculator improved choice of the lower cost option from 65 percent to 80 percent, yet this increased to 91 percent if people were also forced to consider a range of usage levels.
Practical implications
Consumers struggle to choose the lowest cost tariff, especially with uncertain usage. Consumers should realize the biases in their decision shortcuts and use the presented decision aids. Firms can leverage these biases by offering larger usage allowances (often done) and smaller overage rates (often not done), or correct them with decision aids.
Originality/value
Much work on tariffs assumes consumers calculate a cost, but the authors question this assumption, and show that consumers instead use simple attribute comparisons to deal with uncertain usage. An understanding of the specific heuristic consumers use allows the authors to better account for past effects, predict and establish new effects, and design effective decision aids. Results indicate tariff biases largely result from information processing shortcomings.
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Milos Bujisic, Vanja Bogicevic, Wan Yang, Cihan Cobanoglu and Anil Bilgihan
A Hobson’s choice is a free choice in which only one option is offered. The aim of this study is to examine dimensions of “Hobson’s choice” servicescape and their effect on…
Abstract
Purpose
A Hobson’s choice is a free choice in which only one option is offered. The aim of this study is to examine dimensions of “Hobson’s choice” servicescape and their effect on affective responses and to understand how affective responses drive consumer decisions in “true choice” and “Hobson’s choice” servicescapes.
Design/methodology/approach
Two studies have been conducted. The first study used mixed methods approach (focus groups and online survey) to examine dimensions of “Hobson’s choice” servicescape. The second study used a scenario-based experimental design to compare the effect of enjoyment and anxiety on consumer decisions in “true choice” and “Hobson’s choice” servicescapes.
Findings
Study 1 results indicate that hedonic and utilitarian servicescape attributes have a different effect on contrasting emotional responses. This study reveals a positive relationship between consumer enjoyment and hedonic stimuli in Hobson’s choice servicescape. Furthermore, inadequate utilitarian servicescape dimensions cause consumer anxiety. Study 2 results indicate that enjoyment plays a more important role in consumer decision-making in true choice settings, whereas anxiety is more important in Hobson’s choice settings.
Research limitations/implications
Hobson’s choice settings should focus on servicescape features that reduce anxiety and thus lead to affirmative consumer decisions. On the other hand, true choice settings should try to improve consumer enjoyment to create affirmative consumer decisions.
Originality/value
This is the first study to examine and compare drivers of consumer’s emotions and their effect on consumer decisions in Hobson’s choice and true choice servicescapes.
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Ian Clarke, Alan Hallsworth, Peter Jackson, Ronan de Kervenoael, Rossana Perez‐del‐Aguila and Malcolm Kirkup
The “food deserts” debate can be enriched by setting the particular circumstances of food deserts – areas of very limited consumer choice – within a wider context of changing…
Abstract
The “food deserts” debate can be enriched by setting the particular circumstances of food deserts – areas of very limited consumer choice – within a wider context of changing retail provision in other areas. This paper’s combined focus on retail competition and consumer choice shifts the emphasis from changing patterns of retail provision towards a more qualitative understanding of how “choice” is actually experienced by consumers at the local level “on the ground”. This argument has critical implications for current policy debates where the emphasis on monopolies and mergers at the national level needs to be brought together with the planning and regulation of retail provision at the local, neighbourhood level.
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Sophie Ghvanidze, Natalia Velikova, Tim Dodd and Wilna Oldewage-Theron
Over the last few decades, consumers’ concerns for healthier lifestyles and the environment have become the driving forces for forming food-buying intentions. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
Over the last few decades, consumers’ concerns for healthier lifestyles and the environment have become the driving forces for forming food-buying intentions. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of product attributes regarding nutrition and health benefits of products, the environmental impact of production and social responsibility of producers on consumers’ food and wine choices.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical analysis is based on an online survey conducted in the USA, the UK and Germany, and incorporates a discrete choice experiment with visual shelf simulations.
Findings
Price and nutrition information are much more influential on consumers’ food choices than information about social responsibility of producers or the ecological impact of production. Product attributes emphasizing the ecological impact of production and social responsibility of food producers are specifically valued by consumers with high levels of environmental consciousness and by those concerned about goods production. Consumers who are health conscious regarding their lifestyle and diets derive high utility values from the nutritional information of the product.
Practical implications
The study contributes to an understanding of how to promote healthier food and wine choices and social and environmental responsibility of food and wine producers in various markets.
Originality/value
The study offers a comparison of product attributes concerning ecological, social, nutrition and health benefits of the product; as well the investigation of congruent interrelationships between the consumers’ values and related product attributes in three culturally distinct consumer groups.
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Examines various problems concerning the practical implementationof the principle of free choice. These are exemplified in a specificeveryday context – the consumer′s freedom to…
Abstract
Examines various problems concerning the practical implementation of the principle of free choice. These are exemplified in a specific everyday context – the consumer′s freedom to choose food and drink products. Identifies a number of actual constraints on that freedom before the main question is tackled: what further restrictions might be considered justifiable and desirable? Suggests three categories of factor which might justify such restrictions – psychological factors associated with the maximizing of freedom of choice; safety factors concerned with the minimizing of risk; and ethical/social factors involving such issues as animal welfare and socio‐economic needs. Concludes that certain restrictions on the consumer′s freedom of choice may at times be justified by an appeal to other principles and considerations.
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