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1 – 10 of 18Alex H. Cohen, Jorge E. Fresneda and Rolph E. Anderson
This research seeks to fill a gap in the service and retailing marketplace experience literature as well as retailing practice by extending Attribution and Expectancy…
Abstract
Purpose
This research seeks to fill a gap in the service and retailing marketplace experience literature as well as retailing practice by extending Attribution and Expectancy Disconfirmation Theories to the large and growing market of consumers with vision disabilities. It reveals how accessibility-related service failures with a retailer's website can lead to anti-firm reactions from blind and low vision consumers, including social media sharing, negative word-of-mouth (NWOM) and avoidance of the retailer's other sales channels even if they are accessible.
Design/methodology/approach
Blind respondents were recruited from national blindness organizations to participate in this study using a within-subjects design to test reactions to accessibility-related propositions in two different scenarios involving varying degrees of effort.
Findings
In both high- and low-effort conditions, an accessibility-related service failure leads to the anti-firm consequences of NWOM, social media sharing and avoidance of the retailer's sales channels. Additionally, blind and low vision consumers who also feel inaccessible websites are discriminatory develop stronger anti-firm attitudes toward the offending retailers. Further, we aver that the retailer's entire website including all its features, not just the homepage, should be made accessible to the growing market of vision-impaired consumers and thereby obtain substantial competitive advantages.
Originality/value
This research pertains to the service failure and recovery nomological network. It extends the existing paradigm to include accessibility-related service failures experienced by consumers with disabilities into the specialized category of discrimination-based service failures in instances where service recovery is not easily achieved. Empirical investigations of these experiences have been rare, despite the frequency with which they occur.
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While crowdfunding provides a novel method for entrepreneurs and startups to raise funding from consumers, a high percentage of crowdfunding projects fail to achieve their funding…
Abstract
Purpose
While crowdfunding provides a novel method for entrepreneurs and startups to raise funding from consumers, a high percentage of crowdfunding projects fail to achieve their funding goals. This study aims to investigate the impact of early backers on crowdfunding success (i.e. reaching funding goals) by considering their social and geographic peer influences.
Design/methodology/approach
The author constructed a social network and a geographic network of crowdfunding backers based on a data set from Kickstarter.com and used closeness centrality to quantify the network positions of early backers.
Findings
For project categories with low completion uncertainty, early backers who were socially closer to their peers led to a higher chance of success. However, such an impact declines for projects with higher uncertainty. On the other hand, for project categories with high completion uncertainty, early backers who were geographically closer to their peers led to a higher chance of success. Still, such an impact declines for projects with lower uncertainty.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature by investigating the peer influence between socially and geographically related consumers on a crowdfunding platform. The findings provide managerial implications for crowdfunding project creators to target the right crowd.
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Cherouk Amr Yassin and Ana Maria Soares
Drawing upon the elaboration likelihood model, this study aims to illuminate contradictory findings from previous research regarding the impact of positive and negative emotions…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing upon the elaboration likelihood model, this study aims to illuminate contradictory findings from previous research regarding the impact of positive and negative emotions, as well as promotions, on impulse buying (IB). Specifically, this study takes a two-faceted approach to IB, considering both affective IB and cognitive IB.
Design/methodology/approach
A proposed model of IB is tested using a mall intercept survey.
Findings
The findings provide evidence for the two-dimensional nature of IB. Cognitive and affective IB are affected differently by promotions and emotions, and in turn, have different impacts on cognitive dissonance (CD). Specifically, promotions have a positive effect only on cognitive IB, while positive emotions have a positive effect only on affective IB. Additionally, cognitive IB positively affects CD, while affective IB does not.
Research limitations/implications
Future research could explore different types of IB and unplanned purchases, consider the valence and arousal dimensions of emotions and examine how technological changes impact IB. Additionally, studying satisfaction as a mediator between IB and cognitive dissonance can contribute to the understanding of IB post-purchase outcomes.
Practical implications
By tailoring promotional techniques to cognitive IB and using positive emotions to stimulate affective IB, retailers can enhance the effectiveness of strategies. Furthermore, post-purchase strategies can be developed to reduce the negative effects of CD.
Originality/value
By exploring the different dimensions of IB and their relationships with CD, this study enhances our understanding of the underlying processes and mechanisms that drive consumer IB behavior during and after shopping trips.
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Denise Pape and Waldemar Toporowski
Experiential stores offer potential for emotional brand-consumer connections and word-of-mouth (WoM) generation. Past research links the lifecycle of such stores with perceived…
Abstract
Purpose
Experiential stores offer potential for emotional brand-consumer connections and word-of-mouth (WoM) generation. Past research links the lifecycle of such stores with perceived novelty, a defining characteristic that has not received sufficient recognition. Scarce products are identified as a promising strategy to enhance novelty perceptions. Additionally, the authors differentiate between electronic and interpersonal WoM, and consider need for uniqueness (NFU) as a relevant personality variable.
Design/methodology/approach
This study encompasses three experiments that seek to shed light on suggested relationships. The first two experiments explore the interplay between scarcity, perceived novelty, and WoM. Moving forward, the third study delves deeper into the matter, scrutinizing the conditions under which scarce products manifest their utility in experiential stores.
Findings
The findings indicate that incorporating scarce products can rejuvenate the novelty aspect of experiential stores and promote positive WoM outcomes. Additionally, including NFU as a personality variable presents a communication dilemma, as high NFU individuals tend to engage more in electronic WoM but less in interpersonal WoM. However, this relationship is contingent on circumstances, with high NFU individuals showing a greater inclination towards interpersonal WoM when the probability of being imitated is low.
Practical implications
This study offers practical guidance for brand managers aiming to sustain the appeal and success of their experiential stores, as well as for commercial real estate managers seeking to revitalize vacant spaces in the post-COVID-19 era.
Originality/value
This pioneering study investigates the role of perceived novelty and scarce products in experiential stores, aiming to identify optimal conditions for favorable consumer responses. It also contributes to research on the forward spillover effect and underscores the importance of interpersonal proximity in WoM investigations.
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Nikhita Tuli, Ritu Srivastava and Harish Kumar
Access to services for consumers with disabilities (CwD) has gained increased attention from researchers and service providers in recent years. Consequently, ensuring that…
Abstract
Purpose
Access to services for consumers with disabilities (CwD) has gained increased attention from researchers and service providers in recent years. Consequently, ensuring that services are designed and maintained in a manner that is more inclusive and accessible to CwD has become imperative. However, academic literature is fragmented and thus, this study aims to provide a state-of-the-art synthesis for further theoretical development.
Design/methodology/approach
This study reviews 77 relevant articles in the domain using a multidisciplinary review following the PRISMA protocol, and a thematic analysis was conducted.
Findings
The study thoroughly synthesizes the theories, contexts and methods used in the extant literature. Next, the study presents a new theoretical framework with four broader dimensions: beyond regulations, towards accessibility, value co-creation, inclusion of CwD and role of stakeholders. Furthermore, it highlights the related sub-dimensions attributed to the service design stages (planning, usage and post-usage). Based on this, the study offers critical avenues for future research using the Double Diamond framework.
Originality/value
The study contributes significantly to service design literature for CwD and transformative service research by developing a new consolidated theoretical framework. The findings should direct service providers towards better service designs in related fields. Socially, the study has implications for promoting accessibility and inclusion for CwD, while providing them the freedom of choice.
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Emmanuel Mogaji and Nguyen Phong Nguyen
The purpose of this study is to explore the interactions between commuters with disabilities and transport services providers and to contribute to a better understanding of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the interactions between commuters with disabilities and transport services providers and to contribute to a better understanding of transformative service design, ensuring equitable access and the overall well-being of individuals.
Design/methodology/approach
This study collected qualitative data through ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with commuters with disabilities and transport services providers. The data were thematically analysed using NVivo.
Findings
Evidence suggests that there are opportunities for service users to be included in the co-creation of transformative transport service at different stages of a journey: entering service interaction, transitioning through service interaction and exiting service interaction. However, the reluctance of service providers to transform their services was recognised, due to a lack of awareness, interest, regulator demands and financial capabilities.
Research limitations/implications
This study broadens the comprehension of procedures and strategies for engaging consumers experiencing vulnerabilities in transformative service design and pushes the limits of the current understanding to recognise the inherent challenges of unregulated service providers designing transformative services in an unregulated market.
Practical implications
This newfound knowledge is crucial for developing better approaches that cater to the needs of these individuals and further contributes towards developing transformative service initiatives, which are activities that serve people experiencing vulnerabilities and that try to improve their well-being. These include specialised training and social marketing campaigns for service providers in the informal market and new mobility start-ups or social enterprises with the potential to disrupt the informal economy and offer innovative solutions, such as assistive technologies, mobile apps and journey planners that provide exceptional customer service.
Originality/value
Previous studies on transformative service designs have focused on regulated service providers, such as health care and financial services. This study, however, explores the unregulated transport sector in a developing country and recognises how the intricate nature of informal service provision may jeopardise the prospects of developing a transformative service for consumers experiencing vulnerabilities.
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Pallavi Dogra, Arun Kumar Kaushik, Prateek Kalia and Arun Kaushal
Digital technologies emerged as innovative avenues for launching new products, advertising brands, increasing customer awareness and thus leaving a remarkable impact on the online…
Abstract
Purpose
Digital technologies emerged as innovative avenues for launching new products, advertising brands, increasing customer awareness and thus leaving a remarkable impact on the online marketplace. The present study analyzed the effects of crucial antecedents of AR interactive technology on customers' behavior toward AR-based e-commerce websites.
Design/methodology/approach
Convenience sampling was used to collect primary data from 357 iGen respondents aged 16–22 years; residing in New Delhi and the NCR region of India and examined using the structural equation modeling technique.
Findings
Results revealed that technology anxiety and virtuality significantly influence customers' attitudes and behavioral intentions toward AR-based e-commerce websites. However, interactivity and innovativeness remain non-significant. Additionally, non-significant moderating effects were identified for the moderators, i.e. trust and need for touch. At the same time, gender has a significant moderating effect only for the association between technology anxiety and attitude toward AR-based e-commerce websites.
Research limitations/implications
The study summarizes numerous theoretical and managerial implications for AR-based website designers and policymakers, followed by the crucial limitations and directions for future research.
Originality/value
The present research provides a significant understanding of the e-commerce industry by providing valuable insights about young iGen consumers' perceptions of AR-based e-commerce websites.
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Run Zhou and Xuebing Dong
The symbolic presentation of products through images in online environments allows consumers to use or experience products only through imagination. Existing literature has…
Abstract
Purpose
The symbolic presentation of products through images in online environments allows consumers to use or experience products only through imagination. Existing literature has demonstrated that providing sensory cues is an effective way to promote imaginative use or experience. However, such an approach seems to have been proposed for product that requires the use of body-related information (e.g. sensory information) for evaluation (high body-involving product). There is less literature on how to facilitate consumers’ imaginative use of product that requires relatively less bodily information (low body-involving product). Considering this, this research proposes a factor that influences the imaginative use of both high and low body-involving products, the character cues in the product image.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, two studies are conducted to verify the matching effect about presence or absence of character cues with product type (high body-involving vs. low body-involving) in facilitating imaginative use and the downstream effect.
Findings
The experimental results indicate that high (low) body-involving product display images are suitable for present (absent) character cues, which can promote the mental imagery of use the product, increase perceived image attractiveness and ultimately increase purchase intentions. The research also verified the influence of distance between the product and the character cues on the above effects.
Originality/value
We expand on the importance of character cues in product display images in an e-commerce environment and enrich the research about imaginative use in online environment.
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Yuri Siregar, Anthony Kent, Anne Peirson-Smith and Congying Guan
The aim of this paper is to assess the use of social media by Gen Z consumers and the ways they impact on and re-shape their fashion consumption journey. This generational…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to assess the use of social media by Gen Z consumers and the ways they impact on and re-shape their fashion consumption journey. This generational approach uses the lens of uses and gratifications theory (UGT) to explore the customer fashion retail journey from the perspective of the Gen Z consumer.
Design/methodology/approach
The research uses an exploratory approach in response to the relative lack of research in to GenZ consumers combined with a need to understand shopping journeys. Mixed methods were used with a first phase of interviews followed by a survey of 102 Gen Z students recruited online in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Findings
The study found that GenZ users of social media for shopping sought gratification from experiences derived from social relationships, entertainment and information. The need for immediate gratification was found in new information and meeting new people to maintain social relationships, learn about products and inform the shopping journey. Further, the research supported the importance of visual images in the affective gratification of shopping needs. Resale sites on social media were favoured for their low prices, information about previously owned fashion items and the opportunity to exercise sustainable fashion choices.
Originality/value
The research advances understanding of fashion shopping journeys through social media and online resale sites. It demonstrates that younger consumers, GenZ, shop through the gratification of experiences informed by their social networks and wider contacts. The linear stages of pre to post–purchase shopping are merged and looped as they exchange information about their shopping journey, from information gathering to post–purchase comments. The role of the brand to these knowledgeable consumers conducting their own resale trade is to facilitate access to and information about their products.
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Utkal Khandelwal and Trilok Pratap Singh
This study aims to establish two aspects: first, whether green advertising through multiple media (repetition versus reversal) generates a positive purchase intention than green…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to establish two aspects: first, whether green advertising through multiple media (repetition versus reversal) generates a positive purchase intention than green advertising with a single medium repeat one medium at different levels of product involvement (high versus low level). Second, whether a green advertisement presented through multiple media influences green message credibility, green advertiser credibility, green advertisement credibility, green brand credibility, green ad engagement, attitude toward the green brand and green purchase intention (GPI) than a green advertisement presented through single medium repetition under different level of product involvement, green advertising, media effects, consumer attitude, purchase intention and product involvement.
Design/methodology/approach
3 × 2 mixed factorial design is used to examine the audience exposure towards repetitive green ads on multiple media sources such as television, the internet and print. This has a more significant impact on environmental claims in terms of green message credibility, green advertiser credibility, green advertisement credibility, green brand credibility, green ad engagement, attitude toward the green brand and GPI compared to audiences exposed to the same ads on a single medium under high level and low level of product involvement.
Findings
The audience was exposed to several media situations, repeating green advertising, has a more significant impact on environmental claims in terms of green message credibility, green advertiser credibility, green advertisement credibility, green brand credibility, green ad engagement, attitude toward the green brand and purchase intention rather than for the audience who encounter a green ad with a high and low degree of product involvement in a single medium.
Originality/value
Only a few studies have measured media synergy effects, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no one has measured media effects on green advertisements. By examining different media combination effects of green ads on the audience, the knowledge of green marketing communication and its marketing strategies has been expanded.
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