Heterogeneity distributions of willingness-to-pay in choice models

We investigate direct and indirect specification of the distribution of consumer willingness-to-pay (WTP) for changes in product attributes in a choice setting. Typically, choice models identify WTP for an attribute as a ratio of the estimated attribute and price coefficients. Previous research in marketing and economics has discussed the problems with allowing for random coefficients on both attribute and price, especially when the distribution of the price coefficient has mass near zero. These problems can be avoided by combining a parameterization of the likelihood function that directly identifies WTP with a normal prior for WTP. We show that the typical likelihood parameterization in combination with what are regarded as standard heterogeneity distributions for attribute and price coefficients results in poorly behaved posterior WTP distributions, especially in small sample settings. The implied prior for WTP readily allows for substantial mass in the tails of the distribution and extreme individual-level estimates of WTP. We also demonstrate the sensitivity of profit maximizing prices to parameterization and priors for WTP.

The role of fashionability in second-hand shopping motivations

Second-hand consumption has been quietly undergoing a makeover in recent years. As part of this shift, the concept of shopping for second-hand goods has been redefined. In today's retail marketplace, a mix of thrift stores, high-end stores, and online retailers are recognising the value of second-hand and hosting flea markets or launching their own vintage product collections. However, limited research attention has been paid to role of ‘fashionability’ as a motivation for consumers to shop for second-hand goods. In this study, we explore modern consumer second-hand shopping behaviour and motivations, inclusive of fashionability. Through a segmentation of second-hand store shoppers, we identify four distinct segments. While we find a polarisation of fashionability motivations, the vast majority (83%) of second-hand shoppers are driven by fashion when shopping in second-hand stores. The findings present several implications for second-hand retailers, including new ways to expand their customer base by tapping into elements of fashionability.     

The role of flexibility in online business

Companies are trying to be more competitive by establishing a presence on the fast-growing Net. At the same time, the Net's business environment is growing more complex and uncertain. Management literature argues that flexibility can enhance corporate responsiveness to such an environment. However, research on e-businesses has focused mainly on the idea of customizing online offerings. Here is a holistic view of flexibility, investigating how online companies can become flexible through the different functional aspects of their business—technology, human resources, operations, marketing, finance, and management. What are the related opportunities and pitfalls? And what guidelines can managers follow?     

The role of ratio differences in the framing of numerical information

It is well documented that presentation of qualitatively equivalent information in different frames has considerable impacts on consumer preferences and evaluations. In this research, we demonstrate a type of framing effects that targets numerical information of an attribute.In three experiments, we find that the perceived differences between two options loom larger when equivalent attribute information is expressed in a large ratio frame than when it is expressed in a small ratio frame. Moreover, preferences shift toward an option when its superior attribute is presented in a large rather than a small ratio condition. We also show that this framing effect goes beyond the effects of loss aversion and those of numerical anchoring.     

The moderating role of local embeddedness on the performance of foreign and domestic firms in emerging markets

This paper examines the impact of the firm’s degree of local embeddedness on its performance in emerging markets using the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey Manufacturing Sector Module data on 15,715 firms covering 78 emerging markets. We use the degree of localization of sourcing and sales to measure the degree of embeddedness in the host country market. We argue that since embeddedness brings the firm into closer interaction with local firms and institutions, the costs of embeddedness should be lower for local firms than for MNE subsidiaries, since local firms can be assumed to be better able to decipher local institutions. We find that both dimensions are subject to a reversed U-shaped function. That is, by extending the degree of local sales and local sourcing up to a certain percentage, a firm can realize positive performance growth by becoming more embedded into the emerging market, but beyond this point, the performance impact is negative. We also find that foreign firms involved in local sales seem to lose part of their ability to exploit their ownership advantages as compared to foreign firms that export their production.     

Personal values and impulse buying: The mediating role of hedonic shopping motivations

This research is the first to examine how personal values (resultant conservation and resultant self-enhancement) relate to impulse buying, and how hedonic shopping motivations mediate this relationship. We draw on information from a preliminary sample of 510 Portuguese respondents and a MTURK sample of 249 Americans, and use structural equations modeling to test the research model. The results from both samples denote some consistency, showing that both resultant self-enhancement and resultant conservation are indirectly related to impulse buying, highlighting a mediating role for hedonic shopping motivations.     

A new theoretical framework of shopping motives and channel preference behaviour in the digital era

The unprecedented dissemination of digital technology has changed people's psychology including their shopping behaviour in the last two decades. Smartphone led digital applications and advancements have disrupted consumers' shopping processes, purchase decisions, and priorities as well as increased their exposure, aspirations and expectations inevitably. Therefore, it is imperative to examine the relevance of various elements of shopping motives holistically. Therefore, the present study aims to develop a new theoretical framework based on significant elements of shopping motives for physical products in the digital technology era. For this purpose, an exploratory study, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modelling (SEM) were used. EFA generated five latent factors by grouping 18 independent variables. CFA validated latent factor construct and measured model fit. SEM visualized the path analysis and portrayed the pattern of relations between latent factors into a single factor structural model (consumer shopping motives framework). Results show that consumers' shopping priorities are changing as 3 conventional variables (‘role-playing’, ‘status and authority’, and ‘pleasure of bargaining’) became obsolete and 3 new (‘anywhere and any-time shopping’, ‘safe and secure digital transaction’, and ‘unbiased reviews and ratings”) came into existence prominently. The format and perspective of ‘fun, entertainment and recreation’ ‘social interaction and communication’, and ‘exposure to new and latest trends' have been changing. Consumers are becoming more technology-dependent in their shopping processes and purchase decisions. The validation of the framework on channel preference behaviour revealed that consumers largely prefer offline channels for the fulfilment of risk-free and social sub-motives, and online channels for convenience sub-motive. Therefore, broad structural change and clarity, specification of priorities, a shift in the format and perspective of few elements of shopping motives, intrinsic passion for the use of digital technology and web service in the shopping journey, and simplification of antecedents for growing popularity of multi-channel shopping paradigm are the key novelty of this study.     

Business at the fingertips of consumers: a scale for measuring resale motivations in online settings

Our current understanding of what motivates consumers to resell second-hand products online is limited. This article lays out the development and validation of an online resale motivation (ORM) scale based on three studies involving 1119 respondents. Study 1 presents the ORM scale development process and the resulting multidimensional construct, including the protester, economic, generative, recreational, practical and social facets of motivation. Study 2 replicates the scale and investigates its predictive value, demonstrating that the ORM scale successfully predicts online resale frequency. Study 3 examines the mediating role of ORM on the relationship between planned resale intentions and online resale behaviour. The findings show that there is no direct link between a consumer’s intention to resell an item prior to its purchase and the frequency with which they resell online. Rather, consumers who more frequently resell online items that they acquired with the intention of reselling do so because they perceive positive economic, practical and recreational outcomes associated with online reselling.     

The role of customer online brand experience in customers' intention to forward online company-generated content: The case of the Islamic online banking sector in Palestine

The purpose of this study is twofold: Firstly, to assess the impact of customer online brand experience (COBE) with online banking on customer's intention to forward online company-generated content (CGC). Secondly, to explore the role of online brand community engagement (OBCE) and the perceived trust of brand community page (BCP) as mediating variables between COBE and the intention to forward online CGC. This research conducted an online survey among various Islamic bank customers in Palestine who were members of online brand communities (fan pages) on Facebook. 375 valid responses were collected and results revealed that COBE exerts a dual influence on intention to forward CGC. This study is a pioneering empirical research on the role of OBCE in customers' intention to forward online CGC within the fast-growing Islamic banking industry. This study contributes to fill this research gap by assessing the effect of COBE on OBCE and intention to forward online CGC within the context of the Islamic online banking sector in Palestine. In this sense, this study is a first-of-its-kind research on the role of experience on customer engagement with regard to online brand communities of Islamic banks.     

The role of the brand in driving online loyalty for multichannel retailers

Multichannel retailers offer shoppers the possibility to cross channels to complete their shopping process. Multichannel retailers, unlike pure online sellers, offer shoppers multiple contact points to experience the brand. Also, multichannel retailers can leverage the trust and attachment to their brands that has been built with their offline presence to drive customers to buy online. Our paper explores the role of the customer relationship with the brand, with variables such as brand trust, brand attachment and length of brand relationship, as drivers of loyal behaviours towards the online channel. We compare the impact of these variables with those of the technology acceptance model. Multiple linear regression analysis is applied to data collected through a survey answered by 1533 multichannel retail shoppers in two product categories (apparel and consumer electronics) in two countries (UK and Spain). Our findings show that both brand trust and brand attachment have a positive impact on loyal behaviours towards the online channel, and that different loyalty behaviours, i.e. purchase intentions, word of mouth and electronic word of mouth are explained by different variables.     

Consumer socialization process: The role of age in children's online shopping behavior

The aims of this research are to develop an understanding of children perception of online shopping and to explore the extent of its adoption within the retail sector. This study also endeavors to investigate the role of age in the development of children's perceptions of online purchase. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 35 children aged 8–15 years old, and 28 parents in Australia. Template analysis was carried out to analyse the data. The results show that children aged 8–11 and aged 12–15 were different in their behavior and perceptions of online shopping. The results from the interviews suggest that the level of children's online shopping varies and is influenced by many factors, such as age, parental guidance, social networks, and peer influence. The gap in the knowledge of cyberspace also resulted in the reverse-socialization and granted more power for children. In addition, social media have become an emerging influential socialization agent strengthened by early use of the Internet. In terms of the originality, the study provides empirical evidence relating to children's perceptions and behavior in the online environment as consumers, which remain under-researched in the marketing literature. Moreover, the role of children’s age was incorporated in the study, allowing more insights to be obtained.     

How online trust evolves over time: The role of social perception

Using customer service scenarios in an online retail context, the current study examines how cognitive and affective trust develop over time and how service failure negatively impacts trust, along with the trust restoration opportunities provided by recovery. Study 1 findings reveal that the relationship between Web site social perception and affective trust is stronger for repeat visitors than for first-time visitors. Study 2 findings indicate that failure timing and recovery duration play important roles in service failure situations. Overall, the results demonstrate that consumer cognitive and affective trust develop through the number of interactions with a retail Web site over time and that increased Web site social perceptions facilitate the trust-building process.     

The role of etail quality,e-satisfaction and e-trust in online loyalty development process

The purpose of this study is to propose and test an integrative model of e-loyalty development process by conceptualizing that e-loyalty is influenced by e-satisfaction, e-trust and multi-dimensional aspects of etail quality. In order to capture the full picture of etail quality, we attempt to cover the complete purchase experience by focusing on four dimensions of etail quality that go beyond website functionality or system quality aspects: fulfillment/reliability, website design, security/privacy and responsiveness. From the 182 usable data obtained, hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling. The results indicate that the e-loyalty development process is influenced by both e-satisfaction and e-trust. The relationship between e-trust and e-satisfaction is found to be significant as well. Components of etail quality have differing effects on e-satisfaction and e-trust. Evaluation of fulfillment/reliability influences e-satisfaction as well as e-trust. Website design positively influences e-satisfaction while security/privacy has a positive effect on e-trust. However, contrary to our expectation, responsiveness affects neither e-satisfaction nor e-trust. Managerial implications are provided following presentation of the findings.     

The Moderating Effects of Status-Consumption Motive and Age in the Relationship between CSR Advertising Appeal Type and Purchase Intentions

The primary purpose of this study was to examine factors that influence the effectiveness of benefit appeal types (i.e., help-other vs. help-self) in Corporate Social Responsibility advertising. To that end, we designed and administered a between-subjects experiment where participants viewed one of the two CSR advertisements crafted with help-self and help-other benefit appeals. Results provided evidence supporting the moderating effects of status-consumption motives and age on purchasing intentions. Additional analysis suggested consumers younger than 48 years old were more likely to be persuaded by a help-other ad appeal when they didn't have strong desires for status consumption. Results were discussed in light of the self-concept theory and value-expressive framework in CSR advertising.     

Young adults' online shopping addiction: The role of self-regulation and smartphone use

Online shopping addiction can be defined as an Internet-based behavioural addiction which may lead to economic problems. Even though shopping is increasingly common through mobile devices, the effects of smartphone use on online shopping addiction are underexamined. Following a survey of 1000 18 to 29-year-olds in Finland, we examined young adults' online shopping addiction and economic problems from the perspective of self-regulation and problems in regulating smartphone use. The results indicated that low self-regulation in an online environment facilitates online shopping addiction, which further leads to dissatisfaction toward personal money management through indebtedness. Moreover, we illustrated how distractive stimuli of digital environments can act as primers for addiction by showing how problems in regulating smartphone use facilitates online shopping addiction for young adults with generally low self-regulation. We conclude our article by offering guidance on how the teaching of self-regulatory strategies as well as financial and information communications technology skills may decrease the tendency for online shopping addiction.     

Reputation and new venture performance in online markets: The moderating role of market crowding

Reputation represents an important driver of new venture performance. This article shows that the performance benefits of reputation are substantially contingent on ventures' market conditions. My study of 797,087 sales transactions by 5760 new ventures in 119 platform-mediated online markets provides strong evidence that market crowding attenuates the reputation–performance relationship. Ventures benefit 38% to 42% more from a favorable reputation when they compete in an uncrowded (versus crowded) market. By disentangling the underlying mechanisms of reputation, my study allows for more accurate predictions about why, when, and how ventures benefit from reputation.     

农产品流通组织创新:动因与方向

随着改革开放的发展和社会主义市场经济的不断深入,原有的农产品流通组织已不能适应现阶段农村经济的发展,农产品流通组织创新势在必行。本文通过对我国农产品流通组织创新的内涵、现状进行分析,指出农产品流通组织创新的动因(内部、外部)及制约因素,继而提出农产品批发商规模化、建立合作竞争关系、树立品牌意识、连锁经营将是我国农产品流通组织创新的方向。     

The informational value of multi-attribute online consumer reviews: A text mining approach

In the digital age, customers use online reviews to minimize the risks associated with purchasing a product. Major online retailers help customers choose the right product by exposing reviews that received many “helpful” votes at the top of the review section. Given that reviews that have received the maximum helpfulness votes are considered more important in purchase decisions, understanding determinants of helpfulness votes offers clear benefits to online retailers and review platforms. This study focuses on the effect of review informativeness, which is measured by the number of attributes discussed in a review, and its interplay of review valence on customers' perception of review helpfulness. We applied a word-level bigram analysis to derive product attributes from review text and examined the influence of the number of attributes on the review's helpfulness votes. More importantly, we also suggested the moderating role of review valence. Estimation results of the Zero-inflated Poisson models on 21,125 reviews across 14 wireless earbuds indicated that as more attributes are discussed in a review, the more the review can earn helpfulness votes from customers. Furthermore, the positive association between the number of attributes and helpfulness was enhanced among negative reviews. This study contributes to customers' information processing literature and offers guidelines to online retailers in designing a better decision support system.     

The Role of the Beneficiary in Willingness to Pay for Socially Responsible Products: A Meta-analysis

Many companies have made significant investments in socially responsible production practices for their products. Environmentally safe cleaning products, fair trade coffee, and sustainable seafood are just a few examples. In this paper, we conduct a meta-analysis of over 80 published and unpublished research papers across a large number of product categories to better understand differences in willingness to pay (WTP) for socially responsible products. In particular, we are interested in whether the beneficiary of the social responsibility program—humans, animals, or the environment—affects WTP. We use two dependent variables: the percentage premium people are willing to pay and the proportion of respondents who are willing to pay a positive premium. We find that the mean percentage premium is 16.8 percent and that, on average, 60 percent of respondents are willing to pay a positive premium. Importantly, across both dependent measures, we find that WTP is greater for products where the socially responsible element benefits humans (e.g., labor practices) compared to those that benefit the environment. Implications for retailers, manufacturers, and future research are discussed.