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The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of reward structure on the customer's value perception of the program, loyalty to the program and loyalty to the firm.

A 2 (type of reward) x 2 (timing of redemption) between subjects experimental design was conducted. In addition, the indirect effect of the customer's value perception of the program on loyalty to the firm via loyalty to the program is tested with Hayes and Preacher's mediation procedure.

Study results indicated that type of reward has a positive impact on the perceived value of a loyalty program. Program loyalty mediates the relationship between the perceived value of the loyalty program and customer loyalty, as well as the relationship between type of reward and customer loyalty.

The findings of this study demonstrate the importance of the type and timing of loyalty program rewards on customer perceptions of the value of the loyalty program. In addition, this study is a step forward in providing a deep understanding of the impact of such perceptions on loyalty. These findings fill a number of research gaps and provide tangible guidance for practitioners.

This paper studies the sociocultural drivers of materialism cross-culturally. Research in this area is scarce, even though rapid social transformations worldwide, fueled by globalization, make it imperative to identify the conditions under which commonalities and differences in materialistic tendencies are most likely to evidence among consumers as they seek to assert, restore, or enhance their self-concept and status in the context of global consumption trends.

The psychographic determinants of materialism were rigorously validated across a diverse set of eight countries, by investigating which facets of acculturation to global consumer culture and national ethnic identity, along with consumer ethnocentrism, encourage or repel materialism. Using multigroup SEM and other analyses, the authors confirmed construct dimensionality and ascertained the stability of the relationships.

The most consistent positive drivers of materialism were self-identification with global consumer culture and exposure to American-based global mass media. The results demonstrated the compatibility of national identity and traditions with materialistic tendencies. Materialism was positively related to or independent of consumer ethnocentrism.

The findings offer consequential insights for both research and practice, although the cross-sectional character of survey research and certain sampling characteristics limit their generalizability.

The results pinpoint segments that spill over national boundaries, and those that remain geographically constrained, thus providing guidance for marketing and communication strategies to practitioners.

The authors shed light on two widely held yet insufficiently researched assumptions: that the homogenizing effect of global consumer culture may be fomenting materialism worldwide, and that nationalistic, parochially oriented consumers may be more capable of resisting materialistic values.

The study design addresses several shortcomings of prior research, and its findings advance the understanding of materialism and its antecedents by identifying the conditions driving materialistic tendencies.