Stephanie Gillison and Kristy Reynolds
Shoppers often shop for and purchase products for other individuals during the course of routine shopping experiences. The purpose of this study is to investigate differences in…
Abstract
Purpose
Shoppers often shop for and purchase products for other individuals during the course of routine shopping experiences. The purpose of this study is to investigate differences in the shopping trip based on whether the shopper is purchasing a product for him/herself, purchasing a product for someone else’s use that is not intended as a gift and gift purchases.
Design/methodology/approach
This research utilizes a survey of shoppers to test the proposed hypotheses.
Findings
The results of the study indicate differences in positive affect, flow, fantasy, satisfaction, hedonic shopping value and utilitarian shopping value across the three groups of shoppers. Individuals shopping for themselves generally have the lowest overall shopping trip outcomes, followed by those shopping for a non-gift product for another person. Those making gift purchases have highest shopping trip outcomes.
Originality/value
While existing shopping research generally assumes the shopper is making a purchase for him/herself, this study shows previous research by showing differences in the shopping trip based on who the shopper is making a purchase for, either him/herself or someone else. Additionally, this research also shows differences between shoppers making gift and non-gift purchases for another person.
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Stephanie Gillison and Kristy Reynolds
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how shoppers’ expectations regarding the amount of search and disconfirmation of these search expectations affect outcomes of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how shoppers’ expectations regarding the amount of search and disconfirmation of these search expectations affect outcomes of the shopping trip.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey of shoppers is used to test the proposed hypotheses.
Findings
Survey results indicate that search disconfirmation is conceptually distinct from but related to search effort and search regret. The results show that negative search disconfirmation mediates the relationship between search effort and shopper satisfaction, hedonic and utilitarian shopping value, choice confidence, search regret and negative word-of-mouth intent.
Originality/value
The findings underscore that search effort itself is not negative for shoppers. However, when search effort is perceived as excessive compared to shoppers’ expectations, negative retail outcomes can occur. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
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Arilova Randrianasolo, Alexey Semenov, Mark Arnold and Kristy Reynolds
This paper aims to propose an original model of cultural intelligence (CQ), global identity and consumer willingness to buy foreign products. Previous research has discussed the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose an original model of cultural intelligence (CQ), global identity and consumer willingness to buy foreign products. Previous research has discussed the relationships between CQ and global identity but only in the context of multi-cultural management teams. The research presented here proposes a model that is applicable to consumer marketing.
Design/methodology/approach
Online surveys are used to collect data from the USA with a snowball sampling technique and from the UK with panel data. A structural equation model (SEM) is estimated in analysis of moment structures 25 and Hayes bootstrap mediation tests are used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The SEM results show that global identity influences motivational CQ, motivational CQ influences cognitive, metacognitive and behavioral CQ and cognitive and behavioral CQ influence consumer willingness to buy foreign products. Results from Hayes Bootstrap mediation tests show that motivational CQ mediates the relationships between global identity and the other three CQ dimensions.
Practical implications
The findings imply that firms can gauge and enhance consumer CQ levels by investigating or influencing levels of global identity; managers can influence or gauge consumer metacognitive, cognitive and behavioral CQ through motivational CQ; and managers can target consumers with high cognitive and behavioral CQ levels when marketing foreign products.
Originality/value
This paper not only provides a deeper understanding of the relationships between global identity and cultural intelligence but also incorporates CQ in a consumer context. Previous research has only discussed CQ in the context of managers.
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Hyunju Shin, Alexander E. Ellinger, David L. Mothersbaugh and Kristy E. Reynolds
Services marketing research continues to be largely focused on firms’ reactive interactions for recovering from service failure rather than on proactive customer interactions that…
Abstract
Purpose
Services marketing research continues to be largely focused on firms’ reactive interactions for recovering from service failure rather than on proactive customer interactions that may prevent service failure from occurring in the first place. Building on previous studies that assess the efficacy of implementing proactive interaction in service provision contexts, the purpose of this paper is to compare the influences of proactive interaction to prevent service failure and reactive interaction to correct service failure on customer emotion and patronage behavior. Since proactive interaction for service failure prevention is a relatively underexplored and resource-intensive approach, the authors also assess the moderating influences of customer and firm-related characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach
The study hypotheses are tested with survey data from two scenario-based experiments conducted in a retail setting.
Findings
The findings reveal that customers prefer service providers that take the initiative to get to them before they have to initiate contact for themselves. The findings also identify the moderating influences of relationship quality, situational involvement, and contact person status and motive.
Originality/value
The research contributes to the development of service provision theory and practice by expanding on previous studies which report that proactive efforts to prepare customers for the adverse effects of service failure are favorably received. The results also shed light on moderating factors that may further inform the exploitation of resource-intensive proactive interaction for service failure prevention. An agenda is proposed to stimulate future research on proactive customer interaction to prevent service failure in service provision contexts.
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Gaby Odekerken-Schröder, Kristof De Wulf and Kristy E. Reynolds
Relationship marketing is not effective in every situation or context. This study investigates the impact of three categories of potential contingency factors on the effectiveness…
Abstract
Relationship marketing is not effective in every situation or context. This study investigates the impact of three categories of potential contingency factors on the effectiveness of relationship marketing efforts in a retail services context: demographic characteristics of the consumer (age and gender), personal values of the consumer (social affiliation), and shopping-related consumer characteristics (product category involvement, consumer relationship proneness, and shopping enjoyment). The data relate to more than 1,700 mall intercept personal interviews conducted in the United States, and in two western European countries (the Netherlands and Belgium), covering a wide variety of food and apparel retailers. The found moderating influences were inconsistent across samples, stressing the need for an adapted relationship marketing strategy per country and industry. The results do provide a first indication that relationship marketing efforts are relatively more effective if they are directed at consumers who are young and female, have a high need for social affiliation, and show high levels of product category involvement, consumer relationship proneness, and shopping enjoyment. The results provide a preliminary framework for retailers to optimize the allocation of their relationship marketing budgets.
Michael A Jones, Kristy E Reynolds, Mark J Arnold, Colin B Gabler, Stephanie T Gillison and Vincent Myles Landers
The purpose of this study is to explore consumers’ overall attitude toward relationship marketing and to determine the influence of consumers’ overall attitude on consumers’…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore consumers’ overall attitude toward relationship marketing and to determine the influence of consumers’ overall attitude on consumers’ intentions and behaviors. Many services companies practice relationship marketing and customer relationship management. Although the benefits and drawbacks of relationship marketing for consumers have been established, little is known about whether consumers have a relatively positive or negative attitude toward relationship marketing practices.
Design/methodology/approach
This research investigates consumers’ attitudes toward relationship marketing using a national survey of 245 consumers and a survey of 417 consumers living in the southern region of the USA.
Findings
Although approximately 70 per cent of our national consumer sample had a somewhat positive attitude toward relationship marketing, about 30 per cent had a somewhat negative or neutral attitude. Furthermore, approximately 39 per cent of consumers in the study would choose a company that does not engage in relationship marketing over a company that does. The results also indicate that consumers’ overall attitude toward relationship marketing impacts their likelihood to respond favorably to specific relationship marketing tactics.
Research limitations/implications
Some limitations should be noted. First and not uncommon to most survey research in marketing, the relationships between constructs in this study may be inflated because of common methods bias. Second, this research reports the results from two studies. Although one of the studies represents a national sample, additional research using the scales developed in this research is needed.
Practical implications
This research indicates that consumers’ attitudes toward relationship marketing impacts their willingness to engage in relationships with service companies and their response to specific relationship marketing tactics. Because consumer attitudes toward relationship marketing vary, companies should consider segmenting their customer base using this information.
Originality/value
This study extends previous research by using quantitative techniques to measure consumers’ overall attitudes toward relationship marketing and assessing the influence of those attitudes on intentions and behaviors.
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Lauren Skinner Beitelspacher, R. Glenn Richey and Kristy E. Reynolds
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of retailer service culture. A service culture is the customer‐centric culture aimed at exceeding customer expectations and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of retailer service culture. A service culture is the customer‐centric culture aimed at exceeding customer expectations and creating superior customer value through the development of service and related performance competencies.
Design/methodology/approach
In this research, surveys were conducted with key decision makers in various retail positions across the USA to develop a customer service‐based measure of service culture and test it against traditional retail management performance outcomes.
Findings
The results of this research demonstrate that service culture is a unidimensional construct and is positively related to increases in market performance and customer perceptions of quality for the retailer.
Practical implications
Service culture provides retailers with a new perspective to examine their service orientation internally. Additionally, service culture extends to the relationships that retailers develop with their suppliers.
Originality/value
Examining retailing from a customer service perspective is becoming increasingly important as marketing research shifts its focus from being product‐centered to more service‐centered. In an increasingly turbulent economy, retailers have to create value propositions that provide customers with higher levels of customer service than ever before. This research develops a new construct that explores how retailers can incorporate service values in their overall culture. Additionally, this research validates the measure for future researchers to continue this path of study.
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Stephanie Gillison, Alexa Martinez Givan, Sharon E Beatty, Kyoungmi (Kate) Kim, Kristy Reynolds and Julie Baker
This paper aims to explore the mother–adolescent daughter shopping trip to better understand the experiences and process that occur during these shopping trips. Adolescent girls…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the mother–adolescent daughter shopping trip to better understand the experiences and process that occur during these shopping trips. Adolescent girls and their mothers are an important shopping companion pair that has received minimal study.
Design/methodology/approach
This research investigates the mother–adolescent daughter shopping trip using in-depth interviews with 28 mothers, adolescent daughters and retail employees in the USA.
Findings
The interviews reveal that the mother–adolescent daughter shopping trip consists of three important developmental experiences: conflict and struggle, education and influence and bonding between mother and daughter. Similarities and differences between middle- and high-school daughters relative to these issues are explored.
Originality/value
This study is the first to bring together the interplay processes of conflict, education and influence and bonding during mother–adolescent daughter shopping trips. This study extends research regarding family identity interplay, companion shopping, adolescent identity development and consumer socialization. The authors find that the mother–adolescent daughter shopping trip involves daughters’ efforts to separate from their mothers and form their own identities, often producing struggle and conflicts; daughters developing as consumers and individuals; and an opportunity to bond.