Predicting electronic commerce adoption in Chilean SMEs

The Theory of Planned Behavior is used to predict a variety of behaviors, but its use in dealing with predicting e-commerce intentions in small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and in developing countries is limited. We use the TPB to model intentions to adopt e-commerce among 212 managers/owners of SMEs in Chile. Hierarchical regression results show that the subjective norm and attitude constructs positively and significantly predict intentions, but the perceived behavioral control construct does not. Results can be used by developing countries, especially those in Latin America, to encourage the adoption of e-commerce among SMEs.     

Antecedents and consequents of consumers not adopting e-commerce

This study investigated the antecedent and consequent factors of the non-adoption behavior of e-commerce, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). For the antecedents, this research used the constructs of ‘attitude’, ‘subjective norms’, ‘perceived behavioral control (PBC)’, and ‘intention’. For the consequents, the constructs were ‘negative word-of-mouth’ and ‘disinterest in e-commerce’. The noteworthiness of this study is the investigation of non-adoption of e-commerce and its effects, as adoption behavior of e-commerce is more often studied. In addition, the study explains the resistance behavior of the consumer toward e-commerce through the TPB, which is rarely used for understanding resistance behaviors. Moreover, it explains the antecedents of non-adoption of e-commerce with constructs that reflect the perceptions and beliefs of the individual, which differs from previous studies. A survey was conducted with 260 people who stated they did not buy through e-commerce. To analyze the data, we used structural equation modeling with PLS. The results showed that the construct intention is positively influenced by the constructs attitude and PBC. Behavior was positively influenced by both intention and PBC and was the influencer of two consequent behaviors: negative word-of-mouth and disinterest in e-commerce. We observed no statistical significance between subjective norms and intention when considering the control variables. This research brings relevant information that can help e-commerce companies develop strategies specially aimed at reaching consumers resistant to online shopping.     

A guide to the seen costs and unseen benefits of e-commerce

As consumer shopping preferences shift from traditional retail channels toward e-commerce, the negative effects of e-commerce are easy to see and are often noted in the popular press. Yet, the benefits of this shift are often unseen. In this article, we first consider empirical evidence that suggests technological innovation is generally a net positive for society. We look at the unseen benefits along with each of the seen costs of e-commerce growth to fully understand the impacts on society. To do this, we consider packaging and waste, traffic and emissions, and energy and resource consumption—all considered costs of e-commerce. Based on this evidence, we propose that policymakers should exercise caution before developing policies that may alter this shift and limit innovation.     

Estimating the effect of brand beliefs on brand evaluations when beliefs are measured with error

We consider the internal validity of estimates of the effects of brand beliefs on brand evaluations when beliefs are measured with error. Consumer research suggests numerous errors that may impact belief measures. However, the literature has not determined precisely why and how myriad types of error matter for the evaluation-belief relationship. Furthermore, the literature has not explicitly considered what is necessary and sufficient to control for different types of belief error when using the latent general factor approach. We show that the important distinction for empirical research is not the origin of the error per se but its relationship to affective evaluation. Error related to brand evaluation has an inflationary effect on estimates of the evaluation-belief relationship while error unrelated to brand evaluation has an attenuating effect. We use a bifactor structural equations model to decompose belief measures into general and specific dimensions. The model uses bias free variation in specific beliefs to identify effects on brand evaluation while controlling for a general belief dimension correlated with evaluation. Compared to models that do not adjust for the bias, estimates of the bias corrected marginal effects are smaller but positive and significant.     

(Dynamic) willingness to pay and e-commerce: Insights from sparkling wine sector in Russia

Although economic theory clearly provides reasons for a hedonic price function to change over time, this is not how it is traditionally approached empirically. For wine, which is one of the most widely used implications of hedonic price analysis, such time invariance can be traced down to the issues of data availability and price rigidity in the food and beverage sector. The development of e-commerce changes both these premises, providing reasons for more frequent price adjustments and making price data available at each point of time. Is willingness to pay for particular product attributes indeed time-invariant? In this paper, daily price quotes from the largest online grocery market in Russia are used to address this question using sparkling wines as an example. The results indicate that time invariance might be a rather strong empirical assumption, suggesting that the time dimension should be included into hedonic price studies whenever the data allows for it.     

An investigation of consumer intention to use pick-up point services for last-mile distribution in a developing country

Pick-up point services are one response to last-mile distribution challenges in the e-commerce growth scenario. However, in large cities in developing countries where the low-income and high-income groups are clearly divided, differences in consumer behavior between income groups may affect service distribution. The literature shows that most consumers may use pick-up points when available. However, the service implementation is facing huge inertia. A survey was carried out with 396 consumers in São Paulo, and a conceptual framework was proposed to expand the Diffusion of Innovation Theory to reveal these behaviors. Data were accessed using advanced structural equation modeling techniques (Multigroup and IPMA) to conduct a case study. The findings suggest that ‘Trialability’, ‘Compatibility’, and ‘Relative advantage’ constructs most affect consumer behavior. Location security and accessibility are matters of great concern. The higher preference to use the pick-up point system comes from low-income consumers (social classes D and E); almost 96% of them reported being affected by delivery issues. They also prefer personal attendance and supermarkets as safe and accessible locations. Higher social classes (A and B) still prefer home delivery. This research will help retailers to understand how to operate in a given market to provide an effective, fair, and sustainable service, promoting its diffusion.     

Headquarters to subsidiary transfer effects on marketing strategy exploitation

The transfer of locally created marketing strategies worldwide represents a key competitive advantage for multinational corporations (MNCs). Although a research topic of much interest, empirical content of past studies is scarce. Absorptive capacity studies typically test direct effects of either the transfer capacity of the strategy's initiator or the recipient's ability to process and exploit the strategy on related learning outcomes. Mixed findings allow the possibility of more complex relationships. This study examines the relationships between MNC headquarters and marketing units located in subsidiary firms using a sample of 213 marketing managers. The study systematically explores linear, interaction, and quadratic effects within a structural equation modeling paradigm. The findings indicate that the relationship between a MNC headquarters' transfer capacity and a subsidiary marketing unit's processing capacity on the strategy's exploitation is one of mediation and moderation. The subsidiary marketing unit's processing capacity is a key mediating variable and headquarters' transfer capacity moderates the effects of this variable on the exploitation of the marketing strategy by the subsidiary's unit.     

Shopping orientations as antecedents to channel choice in the French grocery multichannel landscape

This paper investigates the influence of consumer shopping orientations on grocery channel attractiveness and choice. It extends the concept of shopping orientation (utilitarian and hedonic) to account for emerging motivations among French consumers: shopping in line with sustainable and ethical values. In doing so, it helps profile segments of consumers who choose to shop through new online channels (Drive through) and newly deployed store formats (city stores). A sample of 300 French customers, responsible for shopping in the household, was surveyed. Hypotheses were tested through Latent Class Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling with categorical outcomes. Our findings indicate that consumers shopping orientations influence the way consumers will combine the different channels and store formats for grocery purchase. In particular, our results highlight the importance of responsible retail practices and ethical assortments in consumers' choice of online formats whilst local product orientation influences the choice of city stores and market places.     

Predicting green product consumption using theory of planned behavior and reasoned action

The extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) incorporates environmental concern, a critical variable in green marketing literature, intending to achieve triple bottom line (TBL). In this context, this study aims to validate TPB and its extended form (mediating role of TPB variables), as well as the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), to predict Indian consumers’ green product purchase intention. We collected primary data from 521 respondents as input, establishing validity through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Our empirical results of structural equation modeling (SEM) show that extended TPB has higher predictability than TPB and TRA in green marketing settings. Consumer attitude and perceived behavioral control significantly predicts purchase intention whereas subjective norm does not. Our findings also suggest that TPB mediates the relationship between environmental concern and green products purchase intention. An additional construct in the new model considerably contributes to improving the understanding of green products purchase intention formation and could become a sustainable mainstream variable.     

Consumer adoption of No Junk Mail stickers: An extended planned behavior model assessing the respective role of store flyer attachment and perceived intrusiveness

Although store flyers play a crucial role in retailer communication, their environmental burden has raised a public debate, fostering No Junk Mail sticker adoption by a growing number of households. This study proposes and tests a planned behavior model of consumer intentions towards adopting a sticker that extends to the sticker adoption alternative (i.e., receiving store flyers) by introducing store flyer attachment and perceived intrusiveness as two potential intent determinants. While confirming the relevance of the extended model, the findings support a typology of store flyer consumers that enlighten retailers on possible shifts in their audience.     

Crafting an environment to foster integration in new product teams

The integration of functionally diverse members in new product teams is a long-standing managerial challenge. This study addresses two questions to help meet this challenge: 1) how can the environment around teams be crafted to foster integration, and 2) does integration help teams to create superior or more advantageous new products? Based on a survey of 206 cross-functional new product teams, we learned that certain environmental factors (market-oriented reward system, planning process formalization, managerial encouragement to take risks, and managerial involvement in new product projects) facilitate integration in teams, which, in turn, leads to the creation of superior or more advantageous new products.     

Exploring the factors that drive consumers to use contactless delivery services in the context of the continued COVID-19 pandemic

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the launch of contactless delivery services. This research integrates resource matching, service quality evaluation, and perceived value theories to explore the factors that promote the use contactless delivery services. The data was obtained through questionnaire surveys, and research hypotheses were verified through the structural equation modelling approach. With the exception of convenience, the results show that privacy, reliability, security, and flexibility have a significantly positive effect on consumers' intention to use “contactless” delivery services through consumers' perceived value. This study contributes to the literature by introducing theoretical frameworks from various paradigms and enriches the academic research on existing theoretical structure models. It also helps optimize resource allocation and realize the social environment related to coexisting with the COVID-19 pandemic.     

Reinventing the branch: An empirical assessment of banking strategies to environmental differentiation

The present study investigates the effects of two atmospheric differentiation strategies currently used by banks: co-locating with a hedonic business vs. refurbishing through an upscale environment. We assessed the potential moderating effects of congruency between the retail environment and the type of services. Using a Structural Equation Model based on 300 bank visit intercepts, we found significant differences between modern branch concepts and the traditional one in their influence on customers’ retail experience. More specifically, the type of atmospheric strategy moderates the relationship between retail environment and customers’ affect and the relationship between affect and approach behavior. Also, the mediating role of the employees and financial services evaluation varies depending on the branch environment. We conclude that a modern, mildly arousing and pleasure-oriented retail environment is the most suited at maximizing customers approach behavior. Adverse effects from a highly-arousing environment are discussed in the light of the financial services context. Theoretical and managerial implications along with avenues for future research are proposed.