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The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to identify a list of fashion attributes preferred by young Bangladeshi consumers while buying casual clothes; second, to test the applicability of Kano’s quality theory in the apparel industry; and, finally, to explore the differences in fashion priorities between male and female consumers.

This study is based on primary data collected through a survey from 1,177 young consumers of urban Bangladesh. Structural equation modeling was used to develop the attribute index. Also, convergent and discriminant validity and construct reliability of the index were tested.

The study offers a four-dimensional 19-item index representing the desirable fashion attributes. This paper also confirms the applicability of Kano’s theory in the apparel industry. Results revealed that “well-designed casual attires” and “discount offers” are top-ranking attributes as perceived by both male and female consumers. However, there are differences in the preferences. Women prioritized irritation-free, durable and soft fabric, whereas men preferred attributes such as suitability of color and functionality in the workplace.

The findings of the study provide clothing suppliers of Bangladesh with information that may be utilized while preparing their options. For instance, as casual clothes are frequently worn and washed, a quality fabric that looks good even after several washes is highly recommended. Dress manufacturers need to offer colorful attires to women, whereas for men, more color options should be available. Casual clothes should be made in a way that they are acceptable in the community and workplace.

As research on exploring desirable fashion qualities in developing markets (especially in South Asian region) is rare, this study is contributing to the literature by offering validated apparel attribute index.

This paper aims to identify the determinants of school choice and factors that define the success of a school as perceived by the parents and then compare “Public” and “Private” schools with respect to the explored criteria to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the institutions.

The study is based on 1,121 quantitative data collected through survey questionnaire from the parents living in urban areas of Bangladesh. The school choice model was developed and validated by applying structural equation modeling.

This paper offers a statistically significant, robust and reliable five-dimensional 23-item school choice model that includes both school characteristics and preferred outcomes as perceived by the parents. Characteristic-wise comparisons in terms of characteristics revealed that public schools are superior to private institutions in fulfilling several choice criteria such as parents–teacher relationships, performance of the teachers, offerings of special programs, safety assurance in the campus and in having bigger campus with playground. On the other hand, private schools dominate in providing better educational environment, arranging training to the teachers, ensuring satisfactory library services and delivering information effectively to the parents. Among outcome determinants, government schools are well ahead in creating self-discipline, morality and good work habits among students. Private schools are superior in developing critical thinking skill of the kids.

There is a gap of comprehensive empirical study on school choice in South Asia region that includes both school characteristics and outcomes. Therefore, this paper contributes significantly to the relevant literature.

A major transformation in retail logistics over the few years is backed by enormous improvements in internet technologies. It is now easy for e-retailers to entertain delivery progression, or consumers can share use-experience with future customers and thereby reducing information asymmetry. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of different signals on consumer behavior in the presence of information asymmetry, in the context of online group buying (OGB) markets in China.

Based on the lemon market theory (LMT) and signaling theory, the study develops a research model of the OGB consumers’ context in China, which is validated using data from an online survey. A total of 528 responses are used for data analysis applying structural equation modeling technique.

The findings of the study show that perceived vendor quality (PVQ) and perceived product quality (PPQ) have significantly positive effects on intention to purchase from OGB websites. PVQ is associated with perceived reputation and perceived trustworthiness (PT) of vendor, and the determinants of PPQ are quality assurance information of products, and information about mer-chants. Further, PT has a mediating effect, while asymmetry of information has a moderating effect.

The research model is valid as a generic OGB model that can be investigated in other contexts to understand the generalizability of the findings. Future research is needed to incorporate additional relevant factors (e.g. price, advertising activity/investments) that may help increase the acceptability of the model to a wide range of e-commerce contexts. Two of the control variables (gender and prior internet experience) were found to be significant; this could be further examined in future studies to determine the relative impact on each causal relationship.

Whereas prior studies in the domain of consumer service proposed different signaling mechanisms that were believed to eliminate information asymmetry from a market, the study sheds light on the effectiveness of the signals in the OGB context. This is a unique effort that applies and extends LMT and signaling theory in OGB context by theorizing the associated dimensions and their causal effects.

This paper aims to argue that the traditional belief that “consumer ethnocentrism is a phenomenon of the developed countries only” is no longer true. To establish this argument, our study assesses the applicability of the Consumer Ethnocentric Tendencies Scale (CETSCALE) in Bangladesh by judging the unidimensionality feature of the same.

The methodology is based on sample of 788 respondents collected from 27 border and non-border districts of Bangladesh.

Statistically significant results show that for the consumers of border and non-border districts, the original CETSCALE is, to a great extent, applicable as those groups have shown positive attitudes in retaining 12-14 items out of the 17 items of the original scale. However, the groups and the respondents as a whole did not agree with the unidimensionality feature of the CETSCALE.

The results of the study show that Bangladeshi consumers prefer to see “Made in Bangladesh” tags when buying consumer products – a significant potential threat that the multinational companies need to address while planning to expand business in Bangladesh.

This type of rigorous study on Bangladesh has never been done before. Moreover, the study identifies the difference in ethnocentric behavior of the consumers living in border and non-border areas – a study of ethnocentrism from a different point of view.