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Newly established intersections between offline and online channels create room for enhancing inter-channel synergies. The nature and structure of emerging markets only further emphasize the need to expand existing knowledge. Consequently, this study investigates inter-channel synergy creation during offline–online retail integration in emerging markets.

Data collected from 97 companies in Serbia that incorporated online channels into their offline retailing businesses were analyzed using the structural equation modeling method.

The results show that retailers who have undergone click-to-brick integration in the emerging markets struggle to leverage physical presence for inter-channel synergy creation through digital channels. Essentially, retailers integrating clicks into bricks in emerging markets are less likely to achieve immediate omni-channel synergy, resorting to a multi-iterative transition process.

This research synthesizes knowledge on inter-channel synergy creation in an omni-channel context, as well as existing findings regarding inter-channel integration. This paper presents the first comprehensive study on inter-channel synergy creation during click-to-brick integration in emerging retail markets. Moreover, this study outlines challenges facing retailers seeking channel synergy during click-to-brick integration. The study results have theoretical and practical implications regarding inter-channel synergy creation in the multi-channel environment of emerging markets.

Because of the increasing volume of information spread in physical and online environments, a consumer intending to purchase a product or service must choose not only what to buy but also which sources to consult when searching for information that may aid decision-making. This study aims to understand how consumers choose their sources of information in pre-purchase external searches, given the information overproduction scenario.

Using a qualitative approach, data collected through interviews with consumers were analyzed under the technique of content analysis, and the results were synthesized into a framework.

Consumers tend to consider few sources of information, based on a previously built perception of which sources are more or less appropriate for consultation. Choice tends to be based on pre-established evaluation criteria involving the use of heuristics in the form of socialized images regarding those sources.

Despite the study’s exploratory nature, the proposed framework sheds light into how consumers respond to information overproduction when choosing their sources, providing interesting venues for future investigations.

The study identified the possible occurrence of consumer confusion associated with information sources, extending the theoretical understanding of such a concept. Moreover, it revealed the need for managers to consider specific aspects related to the sources to be included in marketing communications.

This is the first study to address choice of information sources associated with consumer confusion focusing the offline/online scenario.

This paper aims to compare the relative importance of tangible compensation across the offline and online service mediums, and assess tangible compensation as a trust recovery tactic.

This study is based on a 3 (compensation level: 20%, 50%, 100%) × 2 (compensation type: refund, coupon) × 2 (service medium: offline, online) scenario-based experimental design.

The offline and online customers exhibit different satisfaction for the respective values of both the immediate and delayed compensation types. Moreover, offline customers exhibit more trust in the firm when they receive a refund, whereas their online counterparts demonstrate a higher trust when provided with a coupon.

For a service failure such as the one presented in the experimental study’s scenario, a lower (higher) value coupon will generate more (less) satisfaction compared to providing the same value as a refund. Firms will be better off by providing partial compensation in the form of a coupon, rather than a refund.

Unlike most studies of service recovery, this research takes into account the perceived differences of various tangible compensations to provide a comparison of offline and online customers’ recovery preferences. Furthermore, the previous studies have not focused on trust restoration and assessed causes and effects of trust based on trust at one point in time i.e. trust after recovery. While this study has included restored trust as a variable in the conceptual model.

Esta investigación tiene como objetivo comparar la importancia relativa de la compensación tangible en los medios de servicio offline y online, y evaluar la compensación tangible como táctica de recuperación de la confianza.

Este estudio se basa en un diseño experimental basado en 3 (nivel de compensación: 20%, 50%, 100%) x 2 (tipo de compensación: reembolso, cupón) x 2 (medio de servicio: offline, online).

Los clientes offline y online muestran una satisfacción diferente para los valores respectivos de los tipos de compensación inmediata y diferida. Además, los clientes offline muestran más confianza en la empresa cuando reciben un reembolso, mientras que sus homólogos online demuestran una mayor confianza cuando se les proporciona un cupón.

Para un fallo del servicio como el presentado en el escenario del estudio experimental, un cupón de menor (mayor) valor generará más (menos) satisfacción en comparación con proporcionar el mismo valor como reembolso. Las empresas saldrán ganando si ofrecen una compensación parcial en forma de cupón, en lugar de un reembolso.

A diferencia de la mayoría de los estudios sobre la recuperación de servicios, esta investigación tiene en cuenta las diferencias percibidas de varias compensaciones tangibles para ofrecer una comparación de las preferencias de recuperación de los clientes offline y online. Además, los estudios anteriores no se han centrado en el restablecimiento de la confianza y han evaluado las causas y los efectos de la confianza basándose en la confianza en un momento determinado, es decir, la confianza después de la recuperación. En cambio, este estudio ha incluido la confianza restaurada como una variable en el modelo conceptual.

本研究旨在比较有形补偿在离线和在线服务媒介中的相对重要性, 并评估有形补偿作为一种信任恢复策略。

本研究基于3（补偿水平：20%, 50%, 100%）×2（补偿类型：退款, 优惠券）×2（服务媒介：线下, 线上）的情景实验设计。

线下和线上的顾客对即时和延迟补偿类型的各自数值表现出不同的满意度。此外, 离线顾客在收到退款时表现出对公司的更多信任, 而他们的在线顾客在得到优惠券时表现出更多的信任。

对于像实验研究中提出的那种服务失败, 与提供相同价值的退款相比, 价值较低（较高）的优惠券会产生更多（更少）的满意度。企业通过以优惠券的形式提供部分补偿, 而不是退款, 会有更好的效果。

与大多数关于服务恢复的研究不同, 这项研究考虑到了各种有形补偿的感知差异, 以提供离线和在线顾客恢复偏好的比较。此外, 以前的研究没有关注信任的恢复, 而是基于一个时间点的信任, 即恢复后的信任来评估信任的原因和影响。而本研究将恢复的信任作为概念模型中的一个变 量。

This paper aims to examine the psychological consequences of a customer engagement initiative through referral reward programs (RRPs) in online versus offline environments.

The authors conducted a qualitative study followed by a scenario-based experimental study.

The authors show that recommenders’ concern about how they are viewed by recommendation recipients (i.e. their metaperception) mediates the effects of incentives on referral likelihood in both offline and online environments. However, metaperception has a stronger effect offline where recommenders show higher impression management concerns compared to online. Furthermore, tie-strength and communication environment moderate the effect of incentives on metaperception. When referrals are made to weak-ties, incentives decrease metaperception favorability offline more than online. For strong-ties, this effect is lower, and it is similar in offline and online environments.

The study focused on an online versus offline dyadic communication and did not consider the differences among social media. Furthermore, the authors did not consider how other forms of positive metaperception, like being seen as helpful or knowledgeable, could be increased in an online incentivized referral context. It is possible that a recommender thinks others see him as more helpful or knowledgeable online because a lot more useful information and other resources could be offered here compared to offline communications.

The authors recommend managers to design both online and offline RRPs that minimize metaperception concerns; target strong ties in any communication environment as metaperception concerns are low; and target weak ties online where metaperception concerns are muted.

This work is the first to examine how recommenders’ psychological responses differ offline and online.

Most customers want to interact, whether on social networks or on company websites. This study aims to examine the relationship between customer-to-customer (C2C) interaction and value, considering the roles of social anxiety and the retail environment.

This paper presents three written-scenario experimental studies, where C2C interaction and the retail environment are manipulated, and social anxiety levels are measured. The settings and the measures are changed across the experiments to increase the results’ validity.

A three-way interaction among C2C interaction, social anxiety and retail environment has impacts on experience value and other value-related variables (satisfaction and positive mood). In the offline retail environment, as social anxiety levels increase, the effects of C2C interaction on these variables become weaker. In the online retail environment, as social anxiety levels increase, these effects become stronger.

This paper contributes to the literature in three ways. First, it investigates the downside of positive C2C interactions when considering social anxiety and the retail environment where they occur. Second, this paper amplifies the literature about value by extending it to other consumers who can affect the service experience. Finally, this study explores online C2C interaction in a retail environment, an aspect that has been neglected in the research about online interactions.

This paper suggests strategies to manage C2C interaction for customers of varying levels of social anxiety in offline and online retail environments to maximise value for them.

This paper challenges the widespread idea that a positive C2C interaction always leads to value. By considering social anxiety and the retail environment in C2C literature, this paper explains why and when it is a false notion.

One key issue to be addressed in multichannel retailing strategies has to do with ensuring the consistency of the retailer offerings between the brick-and-mortar and the online stores to offer their customers a seamless experience. This study assesses whether perceived congruence may be relevant to identify segments of heterogeneous based on their online loyalty levels as well as other constructs and variables related to the customer relationship with the retailer for two different product categories.

From the responses of apparel and electronics multichannel shoppers to an online survey, a CHAID algorithm was performed to identify the most relevant congruence attribute(s) perceived by customers for predicting their loyalty levels toward the online store.

The results have allowed the identification of five segments of online shoppers, both for apparel and for electronics retailing, so that customers showing the highest scores in all congruence attributes also showed a higher loyalty toward the online store.

This study presents a first insight into the link between perceived congruence and online loyalty in retailing using a CHAID segmentation-based approach by differentiating various dimensions of perceived congruence for two product categories.

The results obtained allow for inferring a series of strategies and actions that retailers can adopt for improving perceived congruence between physical and online stores along with a series of dimensions, and ultimately, increase online loyalty.

As the interest of the literature on perceived congruence between offline and online stores is relatively recent, this exploratory research contributes to shedding light on the implications of specific congruence dimensions between the offline and the online store in terms of consumer online loyalty in all multicategory setting.

The study aims to identify and analyse complex interrelationships among factors influencing omnichannel retailing adoption in Indian apparel firms.

The study applies an integrated interpretive structural modelling (ISM) and decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) approach for understanding the hierarchical and contextual relationship structure among the factors influencing omnichannel retailing adoption.

The integrated ISM–DEMATEL approach identifies that financial commitment is the most crucial factors followed by technological capability, training and development, performance metrics, supportive organisational structure, collaboration and knowledge sharing, offline–online information aggregation and integrated technological platform. Also, the study reveals that financial commitment and supportive organisational structure impact the majority of factors but are affected by only a few factors.

Unlike previous studies, this study suggests an alternate approach to theory building emerging from the various factors that could be considered while developing omnichannel retailing.

Practitioners should pay close attention to leading factors that influence the adoption of omnichannel retailing, namely, financial commitments, supportive organisational structure, technological capability, integrated technological platform and training and development rather than focusing on significant receivers, such as warehouse management and assortment management.

The integrated approach of ISM-DEMATEL offers a hierarchical model and cause–effect relationship among factors influencing omnichannel retailing adoption.

The purpose of this paper is to identify critical Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) benefits and assess their relative significance in the context of developing economies (e.g. India).

This study has conducted face-to-face (offline/online) discussions with experts in order to identify appropriate criteria and related CDM benefits. Further, this study has used subsequently, using the analytic hierarchy process, a multi-criteria decision-making method and assess the relative significance of benefits of CDM projects.

The results reveal that knowledge and capacity building, technology transfer and social benefits are the most significant CDM benefits, respectively. It is because the knowledge and capacity building tends to disseminate the awareness on CDM benefits among policymakers and stakeholders, thereby, lead to efficient policy-making and encourage effective technology transfer in a way to achieve sustainable economic growth in the host country.

The literature is dominated by studies of CDM projects in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Africa and China. Within the thousands of CDM projects globally, India only has 1,376 registered CDM projects. To the authors' knowledge, this is one of the first studies that highlight the relative significance of CDM benefits in the context of India. This study will enhance the implementation in the Indian scenario.

This paper aims to develop a link between word-of-mouth and attribution of credit or blame following a purchase. Attribution is important because it can affect repurchase behavior, loyalty and word-of-mouth; therefore, understanding who receives credit or blame for a purchase outcome following a product recommendation is critical.

Through three studies, how recommendation context affects attribution of credit or blame to consumers, reviewers and retailers is experimentally examined. These studies test the thesis that context factors that are independent of the product recommendation can affect how consumers assign responsibility for the product’s performance.

Results demonstrate that while consumers trust online reviews, the addition of reviewer incentives diminish that trust, especially when a consumer identifies with the retailer. Findings show support for retailers using online reviews and provide evidence for using caution when incentivizing reviewers.

This study makes a theoretical connection between word-of-mouth (reviews) and attribution. As this connection is not seen often in the literature, future research should look at the role the recommender plays in the purchasing process. This study forced participants to attribute a purchase success/failure to certain parties to find a baseline with which to begin. Future studies should look at this process as more spontaneous. It may not always occur or possibly only occur for certain types of purchases or experiences.

Retailers should be continuing to use online reviews as they provide protection from blame and an increase in credit for successful outcomes. This study also provides evidence that incorporating social media into online reviews as many sites have been doing may actually backfire. While it might be more helpful to the consumer, it can increase blame to the retailer. Reviewers are receiving incentives more frequently, and this study finds that loyal consumers should not be shown incentivized reviews as it heightens blame after a negative outcome.

While attribution has been found to be an important part of the purchasing process, it has not been looked at in relationship to word-of-mouth/electronic word-of-mouth (offline/online reviews). Knowing that who recommends a product to us impacts post-purchase behavior is important, as online reviews are utilized more frequently. Many social media strategies have been implemented without information as to how the retailer themselves will be impacted. This study provides evidence of how to better utilize online reviews.

Though online reviews have been studied widely, less is known about how reviews and product recommendations affect attribution of credit or blame for a post-purchase outcome. The theoretical link between word-of-mouth and product outcome attribution provided here will help guide future research in this area.

This study traces the boundaries of online-based social networks and its possible extensions and intersections with offline social networks. It focuses on the massive multiplayer online (MMO) gaming community. Most online gaming research has only addressed one side of the equation, that is, the online aspect of social interaction, omitting the offline context. The primary objective is to look at both offline and online social contexts of gamers. The data analyzed here are part of a bigger research project. Using a sample of 242 respondents and a total of 1,452 social ties (three online and three offline) this work addresses the differences and similarities between online gamer’s offline and online networks. Around 72% of the participants were between the ages of 18 and 37. This group provides insight into the management of social interactions and ties in the digital age among millennials and the coming-of-age of Generation Z. The analysis suggests that overall offline ties are slightly more important than online. Still, this does not imply that online ties are not meaningful at all. The length of their online relationships plays a significant role in how participants qualify their ties. Most participants that had not met face-to-face were willing to meet their online ties. They also reported sharing personal and everyday life matters with their online social network at a lower rate of their offline network. Time spent with online relationships stemming from online gaming and a cooperative environment is more likely to be considered higher quality time. This suggests that in MMOs the gap between online and offline relationships is becoming narrower.