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Firms often use upward product line extensions to achieve gains in brand evaluations and in overall demand. Despite the prevalence of such extensions, previous research has provided little guidance about how upward line extensions influence overall revenue when they are launched as a core product as opposed to a peripheral product. The purpose of this study is to fill this research gap.

Using data from the quick service restaurant industry, this study looks at the effects of upwardly extended core and peripheral products on product line revenue. The empirical study uses a quasi-experiment to compare customer purchases across the pre- and post-launch of upward line extensions.

The results of this study reveal that launching core and peripheral products as upward line extensions can each increase total product line revenue. In addition, findings illustrate that as compared to a core launch, this total product line revenue increase is substantially higher in the case of a peripheral launch.

First, the estimated model does not include supply availability and competition. Second, the data span only six months and this restriction prohibits us from investigating alternative sources of the causal effect. Third, the empirical setting in this study is limited to financial data in the quick service restaurant industry as a proxy of actual behavior. Finally, given that customers are not randomly assigned to treatment and control groups, the author is unable to definitively rule out the effect of unobservable attributes.

The findings suggest that firms should prioritize peripheral upward line extensions but use both types considering resource constraints (cost and human resources) and strategic importance to the firm.

This study bolsters the extant literature related to upward product line extensions by providing an empirical framework that evaluates the causal effect of upward line extension on total revenue, using field data in a real-life setting (as opposed to survey or lab experiment data) and actual firm revenue (as opposed to a perceptual outcome measure such as behavioral intentions). In addition, findings contribute to the new product development literature.

The purpose of this paper is to create a segmentation scheme to better understand different student groups based on their motivations, attitudes and preferences related to studying abroad.

The study uses a two-step approach – in phase one, a series of 15 semi-structured interviews are conducted with students in an effort to uncover depth information related to key motivations, attitudes and preferences related to study abroad. This is followed up by phase two which uses the data from phase one to develop and administer an online survey to collect quantitative data related to student study abroad perceptions.

Results indicate that there are two broad segments of students based on their study abroad motivations, attitudes and preferences. The larger segment, termed the “externally-motivated familiarity seekers”, represents 62 per cent of students, while the smaller segment, labeled the “internally-motivated adventure seekers” represents 38 per cent of students. Further results show that the majority of students are interested in short-term study abroad.

The study was conducted at one University in the Midwestern region of the USA. Further research using samples from different geographic areas would help improve efficacy of the results.

The results have significant value for higher education institutions focused on optimizing their study abroad offerings to bring about a program-student fit that will create additional value for a variety of students.

This study is intended to understand key student motivations and preferences related to study abroad and as such provide higher educational institutions with practical insights that they can use to offer the right types of study abroad programs that will enhance value for a variety of students.

The purpose of this paper is to employ a cross-cultural perspective to propose and empirically evaluate four models focusing on the role of satisfaction and trust in the formation of online travel purchase intentions.

A proposed model is compared with three alternative models of the relationships among, and impact of, independent variables on purchase intentions. Data from South Korea and UK are used to examine the proposed relationship and select the best model among four alternative models.

Results suggest that there are significant differences as well as similarities across consumers in South Korea and the UK. Customized information has a direct affect on both satisfaction and trust. The effect of satisfaction on purchase intentions is mediated by attitude toward web site only in the UK sample, while it has direct and indirect effects on purchase intentions in the South Korean sample. However, the relationship between trust and purchase intentions is not supported in both data sets.

This study proposes four alternative models that include customized information as a key variable influencing purchase intentions. Hierarchical structural model analysis is utilized to evaluate these models and select the best fitting model.

This research aims to build on recent advances in services marketing theory to propose and evaluate empirically a model of online customer satisfaction and its key antecedent and consequent constructs. This research also aims to establish the role of attribution and disconfirmation within this context.

An online survey is utilized to collect data and the proposed theoretical model is estimated using structural equation modeling via the AMOS software.

The findings indicate that perceived value may both directly and indirectly (via disconfirmation) affect not just satisfaction, but it may also indirectly affect attribution via disconfirmation.

This research contributes to extant literature via further extending theory related to customer satisfaction in the online environment. For example, one major contribution of the study pertains to illustrating the role of perceived value in affecting an online shopper's satisfaction. Since satisfaction and attribution further influence website loyalty and repurchase intentions, websites that desire long‐term customer loyalty and resultant success must ensure that customers perceive their website to provide them with great value. Such companies must also strive to establish systems to ensure that all the company's marketing activities and practices are geared toward ensuring that customers consistently perceive good value. Other ways in which the current study provides significant value to extant research is by exploring the role of attribution and disconfirmation in the online context.

The conceptualization and assessment of service quality continues to play an important role in marketing for both academics and practitioners alike. This study extends the service quality literature by utilizing semi‐structured depth interviews with 58 online shoppers to uncover key aspects of Internet service quality. Results indicate that consumers evaluate the service of Internet marketers in terms of five major dimensions: performance, access, security, sensation, and information. While marketing academicians may use the study’s findings as a framework to develop measures to empirically assess Internet service quality, online retailers may use our findings as a resource while constructing, managing, and evaluating their marketing strategies.

Reports on two studies which examine why individuals purchase goods and services that they later never fully utilize or consume. The first study employs qualitative methods to ascertain consumer motivations for purchasing unused products and their reasons for subsequent non‐consumption. The second study employs survey methodology to quantify results of the earlier study. Primary motivations included self‐presentation, self‐improvement, satisficing, impulse purchase, salesperson influence, unintended purchase and acquiring competence. Reasons for non‐usage included self‐consciousness, lack of enthusiasm, disappointing results, maintenance difficulties, concern about injury, use difficulties, unmet expectations, contingency reasons and displaced by current possessions. Investigates relationships between purchase motivations and reasons for non‐usage and discusses theoretical and managerial implications of this study.

It has previously been noted that channel relationships are more richly understood when viewed over time. Moreover, there is a lack of research on how two types of satisfaction (economic and social satisfaction) have differential effects on partner trust over time. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether (and if so how) these two types of satisfaction have differential effects on partner trust from the initial stage of channel relationship to the subsequent relationship period.

Longitudinal data are used in an effort to understand the dynamic process of channel relationships over time.

It is found that over time, the strength of the relationship between economic satisfaction and partner trust decreases, while the effect of social satisfaction on partner trust increases. Interestingly, the direct effect of perceived value on partner trust dramatically decreases from time point T to T + 1, indicating that these relationships exhibit significant temporal effects.

The most relevant theoretical implication is that social satisfaction has a desirable role of bridging the relationship between perceived value and partner trust at time points T and T + 1. Thus, social satisfaction is a key factor in sustaining a channel partnership over time even after initial perceived value has been enhanced via the route of economic satisfaction. The main limitation is that data were collected in South Korea – further validation would require data from multiple cultural contexts.

Results provide important implications for channel members aiming to enhance trust with partners. In initial stages of a relationship, channel members should concentrate their marketing resources on enhancing economic satisfaction, as it plays a key role in enhancing trust. As channel relationships evolve, the role of social satisfaction between perceived value and partner trust becomes more important. Thus, in the latter stages of a relationship, it would be prudent to focus more on activities which enhance social satisfaction.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is very little research focusing on temporal carryover effects. The authors thus contribute to the establishment and testing of temporal carryover effects of various business-to-business (B2B) relationship-related constructs, such as perceived value, economic and social satisfaction and partner trust.

The potential of the purchasing function to increase shareholder value is not well publicized and hence not widely recognized. This fact becomes self‐evident when the effect of purchasing strategies on performance is well understood. With an increasing number of organizations embracing long‐term oriented collaborative relationships, studies looking at performance implications of contemporary purchasing practices are particularly timely. Attempts to provide empirical evidence linking four purchasing strategies to two dimensions of procurement performance: effectiveness and efficiency. Results indicate that purchasing managers can enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of their purchasing efforts via cooperative negotiation with a small base of suppliers and by establishing collaborative long‐term oriented relationships with them, revealing the impressive ability of the purchasing function to enhance shareholder‐value.

This research aims to examine behavioral intentions toward purchase of energy‐efficient products utilizing the theory of reasoned action framework.

Survey data from a sample of 202 shoppers of electrical appliances and small electronic products was utilized to estimate the proposed model.

The main finding is that attitude toward energy‐efficient product has a stronger effect on intentions compared to the subjective norm component.

In order to maximize use of their financial resources, companies marketing energy‐efficient products need to focus more on enhancing consumer attitudes toward their brands and spend relatively less on efforts to educate consumers about using energy – efficient appliances in general.

Since attitudes are formed from beliefs and knowledge, use of informational ads that clearly illustrate energy‐saving consequences of their specific brands of products will be an effective marketing approach.

This study is timely considering the recent steady increase in energy prices accompanied by growing environmental concerns among businesses, governments, and consumers.

The purpose of this manuscript is to explore consumers’ perceptions of Internet retail service quality. This is accomplished via two studies. Study 1 utilizes qualitative depth interviews to identify five dimensions important to consumers in their assessment of the quality of Internet retailers. These are termed performance (how well an online retailer does in terms of meeting expectations regarding order fulfillment), access (Internet retailer’s ability to provide a variety of products from anywhere in the world), security (relating to perceptions of trust in the online retailer’s integrity regarding financial and privacy issues), sensation (interactive features of the e‐retailer’s Web site) and information (quantity and credibility of information provider by the online retailer). Study 2 quantifies the five dimensions using multi‐item scales, and conducts a survey to assess the reliability and validity (convergent, discriminant, and nomological) of these dimensions. Theoretical and managerial implications of the results are also discussed.