Angie Lee and Te-Lin Doreen Chung
Retailers recently have started communicating their corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitments to their consumers directly on social media. That is to say, CSR…
Abstract
Purpose
Retailers recently have started communicating their corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitments to their consumers directly on social media. That is to say, CSR communication has expanded to social media that allow two-way communication, distinct from traditional CSR communication channels. As transparency has been recognised as a crucial factor influencing the effectiveness of traditional CSR communication, this study investigated its role in the social media context.
Design/methodology/approach
A two-level, single-factor (i.e. transparency of a mock retail company's CSR communication) between-subjects experimental design was employed, and 237 responses from an online survey were used for PROCESS macroanalysis.
Findings
Transparent CSR communication was found to increase the consumers' perceived CSR credibility and attitude toward the company, which influenced consumers' subsequent purchase intention (functionalistic outcome) and intention to respond to the CSR communication (constitutive outcome). The results of the study also corroborated that consumers' level of elaboration when processing CSR communication on social media depends upon their level of concern over the social issue.
Originality/value
The study extends the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) to CSR communication in the social media context by validating that consumers' level of information elaboration is determined by their level of concern over the social issue. In addition, it provides the first empirical support for the significance of transparent CSR communication on social media and explains the mechanism of transparency's influence. Transparency indirectly affects consumers' behavioural intentions by forming a favourable attitude toward a retailer. The findings can help retail practitioners communicate CSR commitments persuasively on social media. The study also integrates functionalistic and constitutive perspectives of social media CSR communication, which is notable and discussed in depth.
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Amy Shane-Nichols, Diane McCrohan and Te-Lin Chung
The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore male and female sports fandom through examining the prototype of a loyal National Football League (NFL) fan.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore male and female sports fandom through examining the prototype of a loyal National Football League (NFL) fan.
Design/methodology/approach
Eighteen in-depth interviews were conducted with male and female participants who self-identified as NFL fans from the Midwest and Northeast regions of the US. Data were analyzed using open coding.
Findings
Both female and male participants identified three common criteria for being a prototypical NFL fan: loyalty, knowledge and wearing of team apparel. The findings also demonstrated gender differences in both how a fan identifies a prototypical fan and how that dictates fan identity, attitudes and behavior. Additionally, prototypical fandom might need to be defined differently for males and females.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by exploring the perspectives of both genders of NFL fans and by providing a more balanced perspective of how males and females define prototypical fans and how each gender perceives the fan behavior of the opposite sex.
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Eonyou Shin, Te-Lin Doreen Chung and Mary Lynn Damhorst
The purposes of this study were twofold: (1) to develop a scale for measuring consumers' perceived problems of finding a good fit (PFGF) and (2) to provide evidence of several…
Abstract
Purpose
The purposes of this study were twofold: (1) to develop a scale for measuring consumers' perceived problems of finding a good fit (PFGF) and (2) to provide evidence of several types of scale validities including nomological validity through examining the relationship between PFGF and body esteem based on attribution theory.
Design/methodology/approach
Scale development took place in three steps: (1) An initial pool of items was generated based on a previous study; (2) preliminary quantitative tests of reliability and validity of items were performed, including confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs); and (3) final scale validation through a discriminant and nomological validity test was conducted using CFA and the structural equation model (SEM). CFAs and SEM with the mediation effect were performed using Preacher and Hayes' (2008) bootstrap procedure in Mplus.
Findings
Of the 20 items (four items for physical, eight items for aesthetic and eight items for functional) generated in Step 1, a total of 14 items (four items for physical, five items for aesthetic and five items for functional) were remained through preliminary tests of reliability and validity of the scale in Step 2. In Step 3, the 14 items were finalized and validated through testing the hypothesized mediating effect of internal attribution of fit problems between the PFGF scale and the measures of body esteem. The results of consumers' internal causal attribution process of fit problems supported attribution theory.
Originality/value
The study contributes to understanding consumer fit perceptions by developing a scale to assess PFGF that may be a key factor influencing multiple apparel shopping behaviors. The multidimensional scale of perceived PFGF should be useful to provide solutions to PFGF based on information from customers. Better understanding of perceived PFGF will ultimately increase consumer satisfaction with apparel.
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Te‐Lin Chung, Brian Rutherford and Jungkun Park
This study aims to examine the multi‐faceted job satisfaction of retail employees. In addition, it seeks to investigate the moderating effect of gender on the relations between…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the multi‐faceted job satisfaction of retail employees. In addition, it seeks to investigate the moderating effect of gender on the relations between proposed antecedents and multifaceted job satisfaction. The seven facets of job satisfaction include satisfaction with supervision, overall job satisfaction, company policy and support, promotion, pay, co‐workers, and customers.
Design/methodology/approach
Data for this study constitute a subset of a larger study examining salespeople from both business‐to‐business (B‐T‐B) and retail sales contexts in the USA. A total of 352 usable responses from retail employees were retained. Hypothesized relationships were tested by multiple regression analyses, Chow equality tests, and hierarchical regression analyses.
Findings
The study suggests that perceived organizational support, role ambiguity, and emotional exhaustion are the most influential factors for most facets of retail employees' job satisfaction. Role conflict and work‐family conflict only predict satisfaction with promotion, and family‐work conflict does not predict any facets of job satisfaction. Gender differences only played a part in satisfaction with customers. All other variables, such as perceived organizational support, work‐family conflict, family‐work conflict, and emotional exhaustion affect male and female employees differently.
Practical implications
The study provides managerial implications, suggesting that there is no one perfect policy to satisfy retail employees in all aspects and retailers should be more careful in assigning tasks to employees.
Originality/value
The literature concerning multifaceted job satisfaction has contributed significantly to understanding sales personnel job satisfaction. However, as many of the job characteristics for B‐T‐B and retail are different, a separate examination of factors influencing retail employees' job satisfaction is necessary. This study extends the current literature examining the job satisfaction of retail employees by borrowing from retail literature concerning global job satisfaction and from sales management literature about multifaceted job satisfaction.
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Won‐Moo Hur, Jeong‐Ju Yoo and Te‐Lin Chung
The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of consumption values and the moderating role of consumer innovativeness for intentions to purchase convergence home robots.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of consumption values and the moderating role of consumer innovativeness for intentions to purchase convergence home robots.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected from 506 participants in South Korea, where convergence home robots with a combination of multiple functions have rapidly penetrated the marketplace. A hierarchical moderated regression model was employed in order to analyze the data.
Findings
The results show that functional, epistemic, and emotional values are important factors affecting intentions to purchase convergence home robots. In addition, consumers' innovativeness shows a moderating effect on the relationship between emotional value and purchase intentions. This result showed that the effect of emotional value has a greater influence on purchase intentions for the high consumer innovativeness group than for the low consumer innovativeness group.
Practical implications
Marketers should focus not only on functional value, but also on the hedonic value represented by the emotional value, as well as the epistemic value that convergence home robots provide, especially to innovative consumers in the marketplace. Consumer innovativeness is a useful variable to divide value‐based segments in convergence products.
Originality/value
As technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, the convergence of technology has shifted people's lifestyles. However, it was not until a few years ago that convergence products were investigated. It is necessary for researchers to understand the factors influencing intentions to purchase convergence products, as well as the consumption value and consumer innovativeness that consumers place on these products in order to accurately direct marketing efforts. This paper contributes to that understanding.
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JungKun Park, Te-Lin (Doreen) Chung, Frances Gunn and Brian Rutherford
The main purpose of the study is to examine the relationships between e-listening and customers’ perceptions of interpersonal service quality and utilitarian value during…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of the study is to examine the relationships between e-listening and customers’ perceptions of interpersonal service quality and utilitarian value during e-contact center interactions.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants completed an online survey about their service experiences with e-contact centers. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.
Findings
This study found that e-listening is highly related to interpersonal service quality and utilitarian value. Interpersonal service quality is positively related to e-satisfaction and e-loyalty, both with e-contact centers and e-retailers.
Research limitations/implications
The study utilizes general active empathetic listening (AEL) constructs identified in previous research. Although these constructs provide a way to differentiate the cognitive aspects of AEL, and therefore, a mechanism for discerning utilitarian value, further qualitative studies on nonverbal cues in online communications would develop insights into more granular, behavioral dimensions and effects of e-listening. In addition, the study is based on general e-retailing processes, and is not focused on a specific business or sector. The magnitude of the effects of e-listening on the different factors related to customer relationships may vary with different sectors.
Practical implications
E-contact centers should provide interpersonal interactions that emphasize utilitarian value. The centers should be staffed by employees who are well trained in AEL and who are provided with appropriate resources. The interactions of these e-contact centers can provide significant input to e-retailers about the improvement of service quality and resulting customer e-loyalty.
Originality/value
The research provides an original view of service quality in e-contact center contexts and makes a valuable contribution to understanding the evolving service offerings of multi-channel e-retailing. The study provides support for the argument that value and quality in interpersonal interactions with e-contact centers lead to satisfaction and consequently to customer loyalty.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between job attributes, job position, and workplace friendship. This paper also attempts to expand the ontology of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between job attributes, job position, and workplace friendship. This paper also attempts to expand the ontology of workplace friendship.
Design/methodology/approach
The independent variables consisted of five job attributes and a category recorded by anticipant's self‐response. The dependent variable is workplace friendship. The hierarchical polynomial regression is conducted to test the independent variables, dependent variable, and control variables. This paper adopts two‐way analysis of variance which is conducted to test the relationship between job attributes, job position, and workplace friendship to address the two research problems.
Findings
There are two research findings, first, within a particular job attribute, this paper shows that supervisors have better workplace friendship than subordinates. Second, this paper proves that with a particular job attribute, supervisors/subordinates from Taiwan have better workplace friendship than those from Mainland China.
Research limitations/implications
In this paper, there are two research limitations. The first limitation is that the data are only collected from the eastern coastland of China. This means that the data may not be able to truly reflect the situation of every company in China. The second limitation is that the questionnaire is filled in by self‐reporting participants.
Practical implications
The development of workplace friendship is mainly based on the requirement of team work in an organization. The higher demand of team work corresponds to better development of workplace friendship. There are differences in workplace friendship in Taiwan and China due to different regional cultures and individual cognitions of job attributes which are eventually affected by individual and organizational elements.
Originality/value
The major contribution of this paper is that it expanded the ontology of workplace friendship. Furthermore, this paper verifies workplace friendship difference in an organization which is affected by different job positions and job attributes and also compares the nature of the relationship in Taiwan and Mainland China.
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Tamara Masters, Michael Swenson and Gary K. Rhoads Rhoads
Personnel, particularly frontline employees, represent the face of retailers and help promote the brand, enhancing customer loyalty and satisfaction through positive interactions…
Abstract
Purpose
Personnel, particularly frontline employees, represent the face of retailers and help promote the brand, enhancing customer loyalty and satisfaction through positive interactions. This research examines retailing versus non-retailing marketing positions to uncover factors that can increase job satisfaction in retail: work environment factors, job characteristics and psychological factors. These factors allow for a holistic view of today’s competitive market that addresses human motivation theory and reveals important insights for attracting and retaining retail talent who can provide compelling, positive experiences for customers.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey research provided the means to collect data and compare retailing versus non-retailing marketing positions. A paid online panel of 2,334 marketing and retail professionals yielded 659 completed surveys. To capture workplace experience of retailers and other marketing professionals, the study measured work environment factors (compensation, customers, recognition received, supervisor support and co-workers), job characteristics (performance feedback, power and control, work variety, autonomy and altruistic opportunity) and psychological factors (job stress, work overload, role conflict and job burnout).
Findings
The findings suggest that job characteristics, psychological outcomes, organizational factors, family support and altruistic opportunity affect retail employee satisfaction. These findings offer actionable responses for retailers in their quest to attract and retain retail employees in today’s competitive job market and, in turn, enrich the customer experience journey.
Research limitations/implications
Competition for the best marketing people to work in retail and avoiding negative interactions between retail employees and customers can be expected to increase brand competitiveness. This research was based on survey responses of individuals in marketing positions suggesting individuals that care about their marketing careers. This research has implications for marketing leadership with regard to critical issues of today’s retail personnel. There is an opportunity to make a difference. Without highly satisfied employees, retail will continue to face challenges in finding and keeping individuals who enhance the customer journey and promote desirable brand experiences. Research consistently shows that when job characteristics, satisfiers and stress are negative aspects of the job, people shift to other jobs that provide more personal career fulfillment (Leider et al., 2016; Stamolampros et al., 2019). Even carefully executed digital marketing, strategic data analytics, aesthetics and promotions cannot drive customers to become raving fans of a retail brand without satisfied employees. Retail personnel are critical as they represent the brand and have a significant impact on the customer experience. With limited resources available to retail management, a priority could be in recruiting and training managers to attract and retain the best retail workers and improve the customer experience. Creating positive customer connections is critical in retail.
Practical implications
Practically, this research provides insight into specific areas that need strategic management action to make retail more appealing.
Originality/value
The study provides an overview and comparison of the key aspects of job satisfaction in retail marketing positions compared with non-retail marketing positions.