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The purpose of this study was, first, to link interpersonal-hedonic values, intuitive-experiential thinking style, external locus of control (LOC) and sociability to the need for interaction with a retail employee; and, second, to empirically test the moderating effect of the time convenience of self-service technologies (SSTs) on the proposed relationships in the model.

This study was conducted in a retail setting in which an automated checkout process occurred with the use of self-checkout systems. A self-administered, online survey approach was utilized targeting consumer panel members. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Interpersonal-hedonic values, external LOC and sociability emerged as reliable antecedents of the need for interaction with a retail employee, whereas the intuitive-experiential thinking style did not. This study also showed the inverse relationship between the need for interaction with a retail employee and the intentions to use SSTs. In relation to the moderating role of the time convenience of SSTs, the positive effects of interpersonal-hedonic values, intuitive-experiential thinking style, external LOC and sociability on the need for interaction with a retail employee were shown lesser for consumers with low levels of the time convenience of SSTs. The negative effect of the need for interaction with a retail employee on the intentions to use SSTs was shown to be greater for consumers with low levels of the time convenience of SSTs.

The present study adds to a growing body of literature on SSTs by exploring the causal and hierarchical effects of personality traits that determine the intentions to use SSTs.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how consumers differ by gender in terms of the values sought from mobile data services.

The technology acceptance model (TAM) and utilitarian and hedonic value were employed to examine the differences in mobile data services usage. A total of 200 respondents participated in an online survey. Of the sample, 116 participants were female and 84 participants were male. Multiple group structural equation modeling analysis was used to examine gender differences in using mobile data services.

The findings indicated that the effect of hedonic value was stronger in the female group than the male group. Utilitarian value was a significant driving value in using mobile data services in the male group and showed a stronger effect for the male group than the female group. The results supported that the effects of hedonic value and utilitarian value on using mobile data services generated different mobile data services usages across the gender groups.

The results suggest that mobile data services can be gendered in terms of utilitarian value and hedonic value. The task‐oriented utilitarian value of mobile data services can be classified as preferred by males and the communicative and hedonic aspect of mobile data services can be classified as preferred by females.

The paper contributes to determining driving value in using mobile data services sought by each gender and the results provide insights for mobile marketers to use in successfully positioning mobile data services into targeted markets.

The purpose of this study is to examine ways in which service quality delivered by self‐service kiosks influences consumers' retail patronage intentions.

The model was tested in two self‐service kiosk settings: self‐checkout and information kiosk. Survey participants were members of a consumer panel from an online survey agent. A total of 1,230 e‐mails were distributed. Of these, 600 usable surveys were used for data analysis. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The study demonstrates that service quality delivered by self‐service kiosks is a direct and an indirect determinant of consumers' retail patronage intentions; service quality delivered by self‐service kiosks directly influences consumers' retail patronage intentions and also indirectly influences consumers' retail patronage intentions through three dimensions of retail service quality (i.e. reliability, personal interaction, and problem solving).

Compared with previous studies that were heavily focused on consumer acceptance or trial of self‐service technologies, the study attempts to address formerly unexplored aspects of self‐service kiosks' contribution to retail patronage. A second contribution of the study which makes it different from prior studies that were mostly conducted in the context of self‐checkouts is that it tests a conceptual model related to two types of self‐service kiosks (i.e. self‐checkout and information kiosk) to examine whether the proposed relationships are similar or dissimilar across the two types.

Online auctions have attracted emotional shoppers through exciting shopping processes such as searching and bidding. The recreational and emotional worth of online auction shopping forces auction retailers to develop tailored strategies for their consumers. To this end, this study aimed to classify online auction shoppers based on their emotional shopping motivations and examine the relations of demographics (i.e. age, gender, income, and education) and psychographics (i.e. impulsiveness, variety‐seeking tendency, price sensitivity, and risk‐consciousness) to online auction shopper groups.

The data were collected via an online questionnaire utilizing a pre‐recruited consumer panel that had experience of online auction shopping during the past 12 months. Existing measurement scales were adopted and tested for validity and reliability in the processes of academic expert review, expert debriefing, the pretest, and the main study. The measures consisted of consumer psychographics (i.e. impulsiveness, variety seeking, price consciousness, and risk consciousness), emotional shopping motivations (i.e. adventure and gratification), and demographic variables. The analyses of the study proceeded in two stages. First, a cluster analysis uncovered auction shopper segments that emerged from the two dimensions of emotional shopping motivation. Second, regression analyses determined the predictive powers of demographic and psychographic variables in discriminating auction shopper segments.

The findings suggested that there were distinct auction shopper segments based on adventure and gratification shopping motivations. Four cluster groups showed significant differences in demographic characteristics of age and gender, and psychographic characteristics of impulsiveness, variety‐seeking tendency, and price sensitivity. The regression results provided information on predictive powers of selected variables (i.e. age, gender, impulsiveness, variety‐seeking tendency, price sensitivity, and risk consciousness) for different segments.

This study identified four online auction shopper segments and their differences in demographic and psychographic characteristics.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships among demographic factors (gender, age, education, and income), consumer traits (technology anxiety, need for interaction, and technology innovativeness), and intention to use retail self‐checkouts.

A total of 285 usable responses are obtained through a web‐based survey after excluding non‐qualified respondents. Structural equation modeling is developed and tested.

The results of this paper demonstrate that demographic factors only indirectly influence intention to use retail self‐checkouts through consumer traits and thus the authors conclude that individual differences in the use of retail self‐checkouts can be attributed to consumer traits which are determined by some of the demographic factors.

Demographic factors and consumer traits are only included as determinants of intention to use retail self‐checkouts. Therefore, future research could attempt to draw a comprehensive picture of retail self‐checkouts by incorporating other relevant factors.

By classifying individual difference traits into demographic factors and consumer traits, this paper provides more detailed explanations of the relationships among demographic factors, consumer traits, and intention to use retail self‐checkouts.

The purpose of this paper is to apply the standard learning hierarchy to the study of organic foods. More specifically, this research is intended to examine if cognition in the form of beliefs and utilitarian attitudes, affect in the form of hedonic attitudes, and behavior in the form of attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty occur successively.

A total of 725 consumer panel data were obtained through a web-based survey. A two-stage structural equation modeling with AMOS graphics version 18.0 was used to validate the measurement models and test the proposed hypotheses.

While health benefits positively influenced utilitarian attitudes, no significant effect of ecological welfare benefits was detected. The results also indicate that utilitarian attitudes had a significant and positive relationship with hedonic attitudes, which in turn led to attitudinal loyalty. Lastly, the relation between attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty was significant and positive.

Global attitudes and loyalty toward organic foods were examined in this research. Thus, future research could investigate more domain-specific attitudes and loyalty to various organic food items.

The development of positive attitudes toward organic foods among consumers is important for the long-term success of organic food products or brands.

There is a little research that adopts an established theory or theoretical approach to explain a purchase behavior of organic foods. For this reason, the standard learning hierarchy was incorporated in order to study how cognition, affect, and behavior are formed when a purchase decision involving organic foods.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the underlying mechanism of how consumer-to-store employee and consumer-to-self-service technology (SST) interaction qualities contribute to consumer retail patronage.

A total of 300 surveys for each type of in-store kiosk were used for the data analysis. The proposed model was analysed using structural equation modelling.

This study suggests a direct link from SST usage frequency to perception of SST service quality. Also, retail patronage intentions were positively influenced by both interpersonal service quality and SST service quality, and SST usage intentions were positively affected by retail patronage intentions. Lastly, three causal links were shown to be dissimilar between the two types of in-store kiosk: interpersonal service quality-retail patronage intentions, SST service quality-retail patronage intentions, and SST service quality-SST usage intentions. The remaining links were similar for both types of in-store kiosks.

Previous empirical work on this topic has mostly been limited to investigations of service quality of either a human- or a technology-based service option. In contrast, the current study incorporates both interpersonal service quality and SST service quality as critical factors affecting retail patronage intentions and thus provides an important opportunity to advance the understanding of consumer-to-store employee and consumer-to-SST interaction qualities and their contribution to consumer retail patronage.

The purpose of this study is to examine effects of gender, need for uniqueness, and attitudes toward American products on dimensions of brand equity for a US and local apparel brand in the Indian market.

Three dimensions of brand equity are evaluated based on the respondents' shopping experience related to the selected US and local apparel brands. Data are collected from a convenience sample of college students in India.

The empirical tests show that, for a US apparel brand, there are direct and indirect effects of Indian consumers' gender, need for uniqueness (NFU), and attitudes toward American products on three dimensions of brand equity: perceived quality, brand loyalty, and brand associations with brand awareness. For local apparel brands, these effects are found for only one brand equity dimension: perceived quality.

The study uses only one US apparel brand, which may limit the generalization of the findings to all product categories and countries.

US marketers need to improve Indian consumers' attitudes toward American products through marketing and promotional campaigns. On the other hand, Indian marketers should overcome the negative relationship between Indian consumers' attitudes toward American products and their quality perception toward a local apparel brand.

Little attention has been given to individual differences in evaluating the three dimensions of brand equity. By assessing brand equity based on the individual characteristics of gender, need for uniqueness, and attitudes toward American products, results of the study can help marketers to obtain more specific knowledge of brand equity about a target consumer group and thus enable them to plan and implement well‐suited strategies for improving their brand equity.

This paper aims to investigate how brand identity is co-created, with a specific focus on how employees contributed to the process in a five-star hotel setting. The focus of this study is on understanding how two hotels planned and executed their brand identity strategy simultaneously, differentiating one from the other and how employees actively participated in this process.

A longitudinal case study approach was adopted, centred on building the identity of two luxury hotels owned by a single company in Seoul, Korea. Various organizational documents were collected and analyzed to understand the brand identity of the hotels and how brand co-creation has been implemented. In addition, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 42 employees to understand the brand co-creation process from their perspective.

The brand co-creation process of the hotels was conducted simultaneously and evolved over the following four phases, with employees’ roles varying in each phase, namely, establishing a clear brand identity strategy; designing and selecting sensory identity; aligning organizational identity; and delivering brand identity through external communication. Employees that participated in brand co-creation enhanced their brand knowledge, developed emotional bonds with the brand and were motivated to deliver the brand identity. Furthermore, those that immersed themselves in the new brand identities were able to enable positive guest perceptions towards the brand image, which consequently enhanced employees’ pride in their work.

This research advances the brand management literature in defining branding and brand identity elements, as well as emphasizing the importance of consistent branding. In addition, the current study expands the scope of internal branding, highlighting the process of brand co-creation and the role of employees as active participants. Moreover, it reveals that employees’ participation enhances not only their brand knowledge but also their emotional bonds with the brand. The proposed conceptual framework demonstrates the flow of branding elements, brand identity elements and the “infinite loop” of employee participation in brand co-creation.

The case study approach adopted here enables an in-depth investigation of employee participation in brand co-creation, including their different roles and activities in the process; a phenomenon that has not been adequately explored in previous research.