Gary Mortimer, Syed Muhammad Fazel-e-Hasan, Kathleen A. O’Donnell and Judi Strebel
Off-price fashion retailers are expected to dominate the retail sector over the next five years. Surprisingly, selling excess designer labels, in what some describe as a…
Abstract
Purpose
Off-price fashion retailers are expected to dominate the retail sector over the next five years. Surprisingly, selling excess designer labels, in what some describe as a disorganized manner, appeals to certain shoppers who enjoy the “thrill of the hunt.” Recent research conceptualized consumers, whose motivation for, and outcomes from, fashion shopping set them apart from previously reported shopper types. Referred to as “Sport Shoppers,” they view fashion shopping as an achievement domain. The purpose of this paper is to quantify such shoppers through the development of a valid psychometric scale.
Design/methodology/approach
Four studies, comprising depth interviews and online surveys, across two countries were employed to develop a three-dimensional scale of the sport shopping experience. Factor analyses and structural equation modeling were used to analyze and test a theoretically hypothesized model.
Findings
Study 1 generated items aligned to the three theoretical dimensions of the sport shopping experience. Study 2 confirmed reliability and factor structure of the psychometric scale. Study 3 provides evidence of convergent and discriminant validity with previous shopper types. Finally, Study 4 demonstrates nomological validity through a theoretically hypothesized model of the sport shopping experience.
Originality/value
This is the first study to employ achievement goal theory in a consumer behavior context to delineate an emergent shopper type. The developed scale is the most comprehensive, multi-dimensional measure of the experience of this new consumer type. As such, it represents a valuable contribution to fashion retail and consumer behavior literature. The scale enables practitioners to quantify target markets and identify relationships to other factors, such as overall satisfaction and brand repurchase intentions.
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Empirical studies of the shareholder valuation impact of firms’ international joint venture (IJV) participation have usually emphasized firm‐specific factors, but rarely extended…
Abstract
Empirical studies of the shareholder valuation impact of firms’ international joint venture (IJV) participation have usually emphasized firm‐specific factors, but rarely extended their analysis to location‐specific factors. This is a crucial omission because the two sets of factors are interconnected vis‐a‐vis their influence on firms’ performance. Yet, previous work has neither identified how the two sets of factors complement each other nor investigated the effect of these complementarities on the shareholder value of firms who enter into IJVs. This study attempts to fill these gaps. It develops a typology of IJVs and then performs cluster analysis on a sample of 241 equity IJVs. Results indicate eight clusters in the data, including three clusters with positive shareholder value. In deriving support for its six hypotheses, the study highlights both value‐creating and value‐neutral configurations of firm‐ and location‐specific variables.
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Añiela dela Cruz, Vera Caine and Judy Mill
Canadian epidemiological data suggest an increasing number of HIV infections among people from HIV-endemic countries, including sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, there are few…
Abstract
Purpose
Canadian epidemiological data suggest an increasing number of HIV infections among people from HIV-endemic countries, including sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, there are few studies that focus on the lived experience of HIV illness among Canadian residents of African ancestry. The purpose of this paper is to study the lived experiences of African immigrants living with HIV in Canada, using narrative inquiry methodology.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative study focussed on the experiences of sub-Saharan African immigrants living with HIV in Alberta, Canada. Using the philosophical underpinnings of narrative inquiry methodology (Clandinin, 2013), three African immigrants living with HIV in Alberta contributed to this study over an extended period of time. Between five and six interviews were conducted with each participant, over a period of 12 months. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, and negotiated with each participant during analysis to uncover the experience and meaning of living with HIV as African immigrants in Canada.
Findings
The researchers found several narrative threads related to: stigma, social, and family exclusion; as well as HIV illness as a complex personal, familial, and social experience. Also, narratives across different geographic and social spaces shaped the complex experience among African immigrants living with HIV in their new host country of Canada.
Research limitations/implications
The authors recognize that the sample size, though appropriate for narrative inquiry study, was small. The intention with this research was not to generalize findings to the broader African immigrant community that is affected by HIV illness in Canada. Rather, the intent was to demonstrate a deeper understanding of lived experience, among African immigrants living with HIV in Canada.
Social implications
The findings show the complex personal, familial, and societal factors that shape the experience of living with HIV and HIV-related stigma among African immigrants. It is important to understand such factors and the experience of HIV-related stigma because such experiences impact access to health and social services, as well as health and social outcomes of immigrants living with HIV.
Originality/value
This is the first Canadian study to examine lived experience of African immigrants living with HIV in Canada. This study demonstrates a deep understanding of lived experience, among African immigrants living with HIV in Canada. Complex personal, familial, and societal factors shape the experience of living with HIV and HIV-related stigma. Based on the findings of this study, further research is needed to: study more closely the familial contexts of African families affected by HIV in Canada; explore the social and political landscapes that impact the experience of HIV illness and related stigma in Canada, in the context of migration and settlement; and examine the relationship between these experiences and the health and social outcomes of African immigrants living with HIV in Canada.
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Syed Muhammad Fazel-e-Hasan, Gary Mortimer, Ian Lings and Judy Drennan
Occasionally, retail employees “break the rules” in order to help customers. Currently, there is little research on the mechanisms by which a sales assistants’ positive deviance…
Abstract
Purpose
Occasionally, retail employees “break the rules” in order to help customers. Currently, there is little research on the mechanisms by which a sales assistants’ positive deviance intentions help them attain specific personal and organisational goals. The purpose of this paper is to examine one mechanism, hope, which develops employees’ deviance intentions to provide benefits to the customer, themselves and the organisation.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey captured responses from 270 frontline employees from the retail and services sector. AMOS 23 was used to conduct measurement, path and mediation analyses.
Findings
This study highlights the role of employee hope in developing employees’ positive deviance intentions, and improving perceptions of organisational performance. Results demonstrate that the direct positive impact of hope on positive deviance intention was significant. Furthermore, positive deviance intention was found to positively impact employee goal attainment and perceived organisational performance. The authors’ employee hope model offers a better understanding of positive outcomes of employee deviance, suggesting that retail managers should invest resources to build strong employee–organisation relationships.
Originality/value
This is the first study to empirically demonstrate that employee hope can explain how customer-oriented positive deviance intentions help employee goal attainment and improve their perceptions of organisational performance.