Impact of customers' assessment of website attributes on e-relationship in the securities brokerage industry: A multichannel perspective

The paper focuses on the comparison between pure e-retailers and multichannel retailers' customers and how they differ in their evaluations of functional and relational attributes of the website, as well as how these attributes impact online relationships. An online survey among online securities investors was conducted. Subjects were self-selected from blogs and forums dedicated to personal finance. A total of 326 questionnaires formed the final sample of this study. By using a series of univariate analyses of variance, structural equation modeling, and multi-group analysis, this research empirically demonstrates that the e-service quality evaluation and determinants of online relationship are different in multichannel contexts versus pure online ones. Results show that customers of multichannel retailers are not more loyal than those of pure online retailers. However, multichannel retailers exceed pure online retailers at achieving a higher level of online trust and a higher assessment of website features. The paper concludes with managerial implications that may be useful in multichannel retailing.     

Heterogeneity in the quality–satisfaction–loyalty framework

Few studies have attempted to compare the results of quality–satisfaction–loyalty (QSL) models across different groups to account for heterogeneity across Business-to-Business dyads. This study confirms the mediation effects of trust, commitment and information sharing in the QSL causal chain, and compares the confirmed model across selected sources of heterogeneity originating from the variance in actor demographics and market characteristics. Our study employed a focal firm approach to consider a network of buyers in the South African Computer Aided Design (CAD) industry. Data was collected from 497 respondents and the empirical model was tested using variance based Structural Equation Modelling and Finite Mixture modelling. Beyond offering further support for the quality–satisfaction–loyalty causal chain, the study provides evidence of heterogeneity often associated of high context emerging markets.     

Investigating cross-national heterogeneity in the adoption of online hotel reviews

Increasing reliance of potential guests on online hotel reviews has given rise to trepidation among some hospitality managers recently, thus necessitating a better understanding of its adoption. Literature on multicultural studies have suggested that behavioral models do not universally hold across cultures. In view of the limited generalizability and applicability of extant cross-cultural studies to this context, this study generates cross-national insights into the antecedents of travelers’ intention to use online hotel reviews to better understand the use of consumer-generated reviews across cultures. Generally, the predictive power of the model derived from the Motivation Theory and TAM holds true for both the United States and Singapore. Nonetheless, tests for structural invariance reveals some noteworthy differences between the two countries. The results highlight the complex cognitive mechanisms determining the acceptance of online hotel reviews in each country as moderated by national culture orientations. Findings hold implications for practitioners and researchers as they navigate through social media in different cultural contexts.     

Developing and validating a psychometric shopper-based mall equity measure

This paper introduces a new retailing concept called shopper-based mall equity (SBME). SBME is the differential effect of mall knowledge on shoppers' responses to a mall's marketing activities. The results of a study in two Canadian shopping malls consisting of 905 shoppers who were administered a questionnaire suggest that SBME is a bi-dimensional construct, composing two sub-scales, namely mall awareness and mall image. Further psychometric tests show a parsimonious SBME measure with support for convergent, discriminant and predictive validities. Multi-group latent mean structures show that the SBME measure is able to discriminate shoppers that globally attribute high-mall scores from those who globally attribute low-mall scores. The article includes theoretical and managerial implications.     

Combining quality and quantity. A psychometric evaluation of the self-anchoring scale

In this study a psychometric comparison is made between a category rating scale with fixed anchors and a self-anchoring category rating scale where respondents themselves define the end anchors by referring to their personal experiences with the construct being measured. A student-satisfaction questionnaire was administered to 301 undergraduate students on two test moments separated by a 1-month period. Both types of category rating scales were crossed with both test moments according to a 2 ×  2 mixed factorial design. Our results show that respondents perceive the construct being measured in the same way with both rating scales. A comparison concerning different indicators of reliability, i.e. test–retest reliability, internal consistency and the error variances associated with each item, also failed to find a difference between both rating scales. In a last analysis it is demonstrated that using a self-anchoring rating scale or a rating scale with fixed anchors has a small but significant effect on the ratings of the respondents. In conclusion, a self anchoring scale may be the scale of choice if additional qualitative information from the anchors is warranted, but when quantitative comparisons between groups are required, rating scales with fixed anchors are preferable thanks to their ease of use.     

Exporters and Non-Exporters of Manufactured Products:

This article focuses on profiling some differences between exporters and non-exporters of manufactured products in a small developing country. One hundred and nineteen firms were interviewed. On the basis of multiple discriminant analysis results, the majority of the discriminators were characteristics internal to the firm and its management. One implication is that public policy makers can target firms with exporter profiles and attempt to stimulate them to export.     

A longitudinal investigation to test the validity of the American customer satisfaction model in the U.S. hotel industry

This study was designed to test the validity of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) model specifically for the hotel industry. The main objective of this study was to determine consistency of the ACSI hotel model over three periods: 1994, 2001, and 2009. The model was tested using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique using a two stage data analysis procedure. The findings from multi-group structural equation modeling showed that the model fit of ACSI lodging is consistent, regardless of economic conditions, demonstrating the validity of that model. Several plausible interpretations are presented in explaining meaningful patterns of path coefficients, for each of the study test periods. Furthermore, as the model tests validate the model fit of the hotel ACSI, academicians studying customer satisfaction may use the theoretical underpinnings and conceptual foundation of the model as a basis for their research.     

Lesser evil? Public opinion on regulating fake news in Japan,South Korea,and Thailand – A three-country comparison

This study quantitatively examines and compares public opinion on regulating fake news, and factors affecting the opinion in three Asian countries: Japan, South Korea, and Thailand. Based on the third-person effect, it is hypothesised that the perceived harm of fake news on society increases people's support for fake news regulation. In parallel, according to the lesser evil principle, it is also anticipated that people will be less supportive of regulating fake news if they are aware that there are other non-regulatory counter fake news solutions such as fact-checking. Using original survey data collected from the three countries (n = 5218) and multi-group SEM, it is found that while the first hypothesis holds for all three countries, the second one holds only for Japan and South Korea (the two mature democracies), but not for Thailand (the semi-democratic country). This finding implies that the lesser evil principle also applies in Asian countries, but only in mature democracies where freedom of speech is protected.     

Differences in the city branding of European capitals based on online vs. offline sources of information

This study analyzes city branding in five European capitals and compares the brand equity generated through online and offline media. Specifically, this study is intended to fill this gap by proposing a multi-group analysis that presents the differences in brand generation and destination preference. The study focuses on divergences in the backgrounds, components, and consequences of brand equity based on the use of online or offline media. The empirical application is performed on the basis of a sample of 225 visitors who have traveled to the following five European capitals: London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, and Madrid. To evaluate the measurement model and contrast the hypotheses, we use partial least squares regression. The results of the study reveal relevant recommendations for tourism managers regarding city brand recognition, loyalty, and the equilibrium between offline and online tools to maximize brand equity.