Differences in perceptions about food delivery apps between single-person and multi-person households

The growth in mobile communications is a significant reason attributed to the O2O commerce explosion in China. Mobile applications have seized this opportunity adapting it to restaurants and food delivery services, recognized as an alternative strategy to increase sales revenue and for consumers to conveniently receive products and services. This study was designed to specifically explore five salient quality attributes representing convenience, design, trustworthiness, price, and various food choices associated with food delivery apps in consideration of their impacts upon user-perceived value, attitudes and intention to continuously use. Results determined that user trustworthiness was the most important quality attribute of the food delivery app business. Additionally, this study found that single-person households placed most importance upon quality attributes for ‘various food choices,’ ‘price’ and ‘trustworthiness.’ Comparatively, multi-person households placed most importance upon ‘design,’ ‘convenience,’ and ‘trustworthiness.’ Managerial implications, limitations and recommendations for future research are provided.     

Consumer Quality Perception in Traditional Food: Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese

Abstract

The paper aims to classify the quality cues and attributes of grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, an Italian traditional food cheese, exploring if they affect consumers’ quality perceptions and expectations. Analysis is based on a questionnaire administered in hypermarkets where grated Parmigiano Reggiano is sold. A factor analysis, using varimax rotation, and a cluster analysis, were performed, using the Stata 12 software package. The clusters used were: geographical origin and packaging (cluster 1); price, brand and quality certification (cluster 2); all sensory attributes (cluster 3); and a combination of sensory attributes with price, brand, and quality certification (cluster 4). This is the first study to examine the quality cues and attributes affecting quality perception and expectations of cheese for grated Parmigiano Reggiano from a consumer perspective. It is also the first to classify cheese attributes following a quality approach, encompassing previously studied sensory and other attributes.     

The role of brand personality,self-congruity,and sensory experience in elucidating sky lounge users’ behavior

This study attempted to develop an integrated model linking brand personality, self-image congruity, hedonic and utilitarian values, and behavioral intentions in the sky lounge context. Our results indicated that brand personality was significantly related to self-image congruity, which in turn influenced hedonic and utilitarian values. While hedonic value significantly affected intentions to revisit and recommend, utilitarian value significantly influenced intention to recommend. Moreover, self-image congruity and values played a significant mediating role. Furthermore, the links from hedonic value to intentions to revisit and recommend, and from utilitarian value to intention to revisit were significantly moderated by sensory experience.     

A picture is worth a thousand words: The role of a cover photograph on a travel agency’s online identity

Online travel agencies (OTAs) allow lodging businesses to select one cover photograph to represent itself on the OTA site. The cover photograph plays a crucial role for attracting customers’ attention from among alternatives, and lure viewers to view the webpage with detailed information. The present study investigates how the content of a business’ cover photograph on OTAs’ sites influences customers’ behavior when searching for information. The content of a cover photograph may fall within five categories according to attributes: façade, type of place, room amenities, scenery, and property amenities. Only façade and property amenities have positive impacts on customers’ viewing times of the webpages with the detailed information of businesses. In contrast, scenery has a negative influence on customers’ viewing times. The results of the study contribute, theoretically and methodologically, to OTAs’ knowledge base and can assist practitioners’ identification of effective cover photographs.     

An Investigation into Restaurant Attributes: A Basis for a Typology

This article has the aim of presenting the basis for a new, clearer classification of restaurant attributes. The research followed an interpretive approach with a systematic review of the literature, compared and contrasted with the findings of six focus group interviews. A new model was devised with seven categories of restaurant attributes. This article presents a model that needs to be tested. Also, follow-up articles with more detail about the attributes under each category will be presented. This article organizes the disparate literature on restaurant attributes and looks into the relationship between attributes, particularly its influence on perceived consumer value.     

The role of psychological and socio-demographical factors for electric bike use in Norway

The electric bike (e-bike) is emerging as a new sustainable transport mode in Norway and has the potential to lead to increased cycling among the population. However, little is known about psychosocial determinants of e-bike use. The aim of the study was to examine the role of normative and environmental beliefs, the perceived attributes of e-bikes, and innovativeness and demographical factors related to e-bike use in a Norwegian sample. An online survey was used to collect data from 910 respondents, including both e-bike users (252) and non-users (658). The respondents were recruited via a commercial panel (response rate 42.04%) and a Facebook post. A structural equation modeling analysis was used to analyze the data. The structural model had a good fit to the data. The results showed that attitudes towards e-bike use followed by innovativeness were the most important predictors of e-bike use. The normative processes measured within the Norm Activation Model activated positive attitudes towards e-bike use, which in turn predicted e-bike use. There was a negative relationship between e-bike and conventional bike use, while a positive relationship was found between car and e-bike use. The results are discussed with regard to their implications for interventions aiming to promote e-bike use.     

Terrorism,country attributes,and the volatility of stock returns

This study investigates the interplay between terrorism and finance, focusing on the stock return volatility of American firms targeted by terrorist attacks. We find terrorism risk is an important factor in explaining the volatility of stock returns, which should be taken into account when modelling volatility. Using a volatility event-study approach and a new bootstrapping technique, we find volatility increases on the day of the attack and remain significant for at least fifteen days following the day of the attack. Cross-sectional analysis of the abnormal volatility indicates that the impact of terrorist attacks differs according to the country characteristics in which the incident occurred. We find that firms operating in wealthier, or more democratic countries, face greater volatility in stock returns relative to firms operating in developing countries. Firm exposure varies with the nature of country location, with country wealth and level of democracy playing an important role in explaining the likelihood of a terrorist attack. Our results show that despite significant terrorist events this past decade, stock markets in developed countries have not taken terrorist risk into sufficient consideration.     

How the sound frequency of background music influences consumers’ perceptions and decision making

This study examined how music frequency affected consumers’ perception and decision making. The results of three experimental studies show that music frequency affects perceived distance between the sound source and the perceiver. Consequently, the representation of marketing message that matched (vs. mismatched) the background music's frequency enhanced consumers’ evaluative judgments. Specifically, Study 1A demonstrates that low‐frequency (vs. high‐frequency) music increased perceived distance. Studies 2, 3A, and 3B indicate that low‐frequency (high‐frequency) music matched products with abstract (concrete) representations and marketing messages signifying far (near) psychological distance. The congruency between psychological distance induced by music frequency and mental representations of products and message orientation offers a novel perspective on the notion of congruency. Moreover, Study 2 provides evidence that supports the congruency–fluency–evaluation chain (i.e., the mediating role of fluency), and Studies 3A and 3B show that the congruency has downstream effects. This study provides a theoretical contribution to the literature on the effects of music in marketing contexts by presenting convergent evidence that individuals exposed to low‐frequency (high‐frequency) music are inclined to construe a marketing message at a high (low) level.     

The impact of hard discounter presence on store satisfaction and store loyalty

Hard discounters, such as Aldi and Lidl, have become more important in the last decade. Recent research suggests that the presence of a hard discounter (HD) decreases customers’ share of wallet. In this study, we aim to understand why this occurs, by considering how HD presence affects store attributes and store satisfaction. In particular, we investigate whether HD presence affects store satisfaction formation as well as the effect of store satisfaction on share of wallet. We analyze Dutch data on store attribute evaluations, store satisfaction and share of wallet. Our results show that HD presence decreases convenience evaluations of a store, satisfaction and share of wallet. Moreover, we show that the relationship between convenience and store satisfaction becomes more important when a HD is present, while we then also find a stronger positive relationship between satisfaction and share of wallet. Simulations based on our model estimations show that especially price-oriented retailers should fear decreases in share of wallet when a HD is present.     

Board faultlines and the value of cash holdings: Evidence from Chinese listed companies

Faultlines can affect a board of director’s effectiveness in supervising senior managers, which in turn affects the value of a company’s cash holdings. Based on sample data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2004 to 2016, we examine the relationship between board faultlines and the value of cash holdings. The empirical results indicate that board faultlines have a significant inhibitory effect on cash holding value. This inhibitory effect is stronger for board faultlines resulting from deep-level attributes. Furthermore, the inhibitory effect of board faultlines is stronger in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) than in non-SOEs. As an important governance mechanism, management shareholdings can reduce agency costs and mitigate the negative impact of board fissures on cash holdings. Overall, we enrich the literature on the economic consequences of board faultlines and their influence on cash holding value. We also offer companies practical suggestions for improving the supervisory mechanism of their board of directors.