An alternative perspective on relationships,loyalty and future store choice

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to provide an alternative perspective for retailers to develop relationships and loyalty. This study suggests that traditional trust and commitment theories are somewhat imperfect in predicting future store choice. Through path modelling, we introduce two additional constructs of store functional loyalty and relationship worth. These constructs together with commitment are powerful predictors of future store choice. Furthermore, the study examines the antecedents of relationships, loyalty and future store choice. We conclude with new insights and practical suggestions for retailers to build relationships, loyalty and influence customers' future store choice.     

Cowboys,Indians and Perky Waitresses: Contesting Tourist Myths of the American West

Emily Post, an upper-middle class American divorcée, not yet the byword for correct social behaviour, as her Blue Book of Etiquette was to be published seven years later, set off from New York in April 1915 to motor to San Francisco. Armed with many misconceptions about the Wild West, she took two evening dresses, a block and tackle and a solid silver picnic set, and planned to see how far she could go in comfort. Her attitudes changed dramatically as she drove west, and she wrote perceptively about the disjunction between myth and reality and the inherent theatricality of the tourist experience. This paper analyses three incidents in her journey: the meeting with a taciturn cowboy who hailed from Massachusetts, her assessment of the vaudeville nature of a Native American dance performance, and her sensation of being behind the scenes at a theatre as a trainload of passengers were served by the legendary Harvey Girls. The creation of the myth of the Old West was well under way in 1915; this micro-study of an elite traveller's reactions suggests that the myth did not go uncontested.     

Investigating aggregation bias in the case of the interest rate pass-through

This analysis examines aggregation bias in the case of the interest rate pass-through in the Republic of Macedonia. By using bank-level data, the authors investigate whether there are heterogeneities and asymmetries in the size and speed of the adjustment of lending rates to changes in the cost of the funds rate. The findings in general suggest the presence of aggregation bias in the literature, implying that the empirical studies based on aggregated data may provide biased results.     

Retailers’ Merchandise Organization and Price Perceptions

Retailers’ presentation of merchandise to consumers is often organized by brand or by price to facilitate comparison and processing of competitive information. While such organization of product information is presumed to assist consumer decision-making, we suggest that sorting of alternatives on brand names strain cognitive resources more than a price sort, leading to differences in sensitivity to prices for a target product accompanying these two sorts. We conduct three studies to examine this issue and find that sorting of alternatives interacts with consumers’ motivation and influences price perceptions. Our results add nuance to the findings from previous studies examining how assortment affects consumers’ price sensitivity, and suggest that retailers whose appeal is not primarily price-based could benefit by presenting merchandise information sorted by brand name so as to increase perceptions of quality and value.     

Healthy eating habit: A role for goals,identity, and self‐control?

Supporting healthier eating habits is crucial for improving population health outcomes. Underpinning everyday eating patterns are recurring actions that may lead to positive or negative health outcomes depending on the healthfulness of such actions. The aim of this research was to explore individual‐level determinants of a healthy eating habit and consider to what extent personal goals and self‐control are linked to a healthy eating habit. One thousand one hundred nine adults completed a survey focusing on a range of factors that potentially sway food choice behaviors. A structural model, developed based on a review of existing literature, was tested using self‐reported healthy eating habit (Verplanken & Orbell, 2003 ) as the dependent variable. Analysis suggests that along with health‐conscious identity and food hedonism, self‐control was one of the strongest determinants of a healthy eating habit. Furthermore, while healthy eating goals had a direct significant effect, other goals, economizing and emotional, did not. However, all three goals along with food hedonism had a significant indirect effect that was mediated through self‐control. In revealing the role of self‐control, this work questions the underlying assumption of automaticity in a healthy eating habit. This leads to the questions: what is a healthy eating habit and to what extent can healthy eating behaviors ever be truly characterized as controlled by heuristics and automaticity? This analysis suggests that healthy eating is an ongoing behavioral project that requires the continued engagement of deliberative processes; thus habit within this context, and as measured using self‐reported habit, may be a misnomer. The use of healthy eating routines, as opposed to habits, may be more appropriate to acknowledge the role of both automatic and deliberative processes with self‐control being central in everyday decision making. Important practical and theoretical implications are discussed along with potential approaches for health and food sectors to support healthier eating behavior in the future.