The article offers an insight into category management (CM) practices and their relative impact on customer satisfaction within Kuwaiti grocery retail market. A Category Management Key Variables Model incorporating six variables (that is, product assortment, product pricing, product presentation, product promotion, product availability and customer service) was tested in a Kuwaiti category managed superstore. Descriptive research approach based on quantitative research design involving questionnaire-based survey was used to collect data from 309 Kuwaiti customers. Findings indicated that customer satisfaction was largely driven by product assortment, product availability and excellence in customer service. Other CM variables (that is, product price, product presentation and product promotion) had insignificant impact on customer satisfaction.
There has been a significant growth of malls in India in the past two decades. The current research studies predictors to Indian consumers’ mall involvement with respect to mall attributes and demographic factors. Kapferer and Laurent's CIP was adapted to study consumers’ mall involvement. The findings postulate that demographic factors (household income, age, gender) and mall factors (service and ambience) influence consumers’ mall involvement. The involvement predictors can help in planning mall ambience and assortment. This study attempts to fill the research gap on Indian consumers’ mall shopping behavior with respect to their involvement with mall attributes. The findings can be helpful to mall managers and developers in mall-planning strategies.
Acknowledging that traditional matrix-form customer portfolio models that result in crisp clusters are clouded with ambiguity, we propose the use of fuzzy clustering in customer portfolio analysis. This has been done in order to assist managers in better understanding their overall customer portfolio and reducing the effect of descriptive indicators. Our approach is tested on a supermarket data set of 3076 customers and its results are compared with a conventional customer portfolio matrix. A qualitative and quantitative assessment of the categorization generated both by our fuzzy clustering approach and the conventional matrix-based crisp clustering has been carried out along the following parameters: substantiality and balance of portfolio. The results show that the use of fuzzy clustering yields more substantial clusters, as well as a more balanced portfolio of customers. Although a particular portfolio matrix has been chosen for this research, the approach proposed here could be modified for use with other portfolio matrices.
Wang and Finn (in press) used Multivariate Generalizability Theory (MGT) to develop the first brand level consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) scale. It is an important addition to CBBE measurement literature. However, in general, the goal of MGT is to examine measurement scale in terms of reliability and to deal with the precision of observed raw data. It has little interest in correcting the observed measures (that is, brand ratings) for differences among the various elements encountered by each brand during a data collection design. The elements such as individual differences, dimensions and items are all confounded with CBBE measures. In order to address this issue, we introduce Many-facet Item Response Theory to complement the information provided by MGT analysis. These two measurement approaches, used together, allow for balanced and thorough interpretations of brand performance assessment data and offer better ways of improving performance measurement.
Effective frequency, a cornerstone of media planning, says how many times consumers should be exposed to advertising in order for advertising to be the most effective. Basic effective frequency level is believed to be ‘three-plus’ exposures and this figure is adopted by most media planners. Beside the basic level, marketing, media and creative copy factors influence the final determination of effective frequency level. Such factors, defined by Ostrow in 1982, were not revised for more than 29 years and still are used in media planning textbooks. This exploratory study examines how local media professionals make their decisions about frequency levels for advertising campaigns.
The industry of pet-related products and services has increased 10 times since the late 1990s, yet little is known about how pet owners consume pet-related services, let alone how best to segment owners into distinctive groups and market petrelated products to them strategically. To examine the segments within this market, this study forms its framework by incorporating factors from human–pet relationships, consumption values, information search behaviors and retail selection preferences. The main study included 578 Taiwanese pet owners. By using pet-related services, this research identified three segments of pet owners through cluster analysis. With this study's findings, the owners’ characteristics are elaborated with potential strategic implications for the service industry. The contributions of this research's findings are discussed in light of recent consumer studies literature.
This study examines the factors that influence three SMS advertising responses namely willingness to receive SMS messages, read/delete the ad, and intention to purchase (take the offer). We posited that factors that influence response to SMS ads may be different according to the measure of response. One factor that recurs, regardless of the response measure, is attitude towards the SMS ads. A second factor that influences whether an SMS ad will be accepted and then read or deleted is the credibility of the message. As the response requires more commitment from consumers, such as to purchase a product or service, the more the factors that need to be articulated by managers. In such responses, informativeness and personalisation of the message together with incentives are critical.
One of the most profound changes in the business landscape over the last two decades has been the new emphasis on evaluating and managing performance. The urgency of financial performances has been accompanied by growing awareness that these are not sustainable unless the pillars on which they are based – marketing included – are properly assessed. On the other hand, many organizations and professionals still consider marketing as a highly qualitative and creative discipline where almost everything fits and few things are measured. Recent evidence shows that this is not the case. This article seeks to highlight the importance of audits as a means of revising and improving marketing practice, arguing that the concept, while well developed, will need to address some new realities emerging from the changing marketing landscape. This is necessary if marketing audits want to maintain their viability as an important management tool in the future.
Business Online Communities are fast becoming excellent tools for operational and collaborative Customer Relationship Management (CRM) with co-creation soon gaining pace as a strategic outcome of Collaborative CRM. This research article aims at analyzing the determinants of Individual Network Value (INV), further goes on to develop a framework for calculating Community Network Value and subsequently, empirically identifies individuals who have high INV. By segmenting the consumers, the research study discusses how organizations can identify consumer co-creators. The community value of a network is of great importance to organizations, especially from the CRM, Marketing and Customer Experience standpoint. The study segments consumers using hierarchical cluster analysis into groups to identify consumer co-creators. Greater participation in an online community, backed by greater commitment, online trust and loyalty towards an organization are individual traits that are useful to companies for identifying consumer co-creators for new product development, sharing innovative ideas and consumer evangelism.
This research provides insights into how targeted and non-targeted customers perceive firms’ marketing tactics. Important implications exist regarding how targeted and non-targeted customers perceive the influence of marketing tactics and, accordingly, how firms handle them. A multiple-phased study approach involved exploratory interviews, pilot tests and the main survey, which employed a self-administered questionnaire. As a stage one research, initial results offer a perspective on how marketers can maintain and enhance the two key customer groups in a unified framework. Targeted customers respond more strongly to service quality and communication, whereas price is more important to non-targeted customers. It is hoped that the study may serve as a framework for future studies to contribute to the literatures on customer management and, in particular, on how marketers should manage targeted and non-targeted customers with their tactics. Identifying the different perceptions of targeted and non-targeted customers should help marketers develop more effective segmentation and customer relationship management strategies.
Previous research on dog–human companionship shows that there are multiple dimensions characterizing the relationship between dogs and their owners. The purpose of this research is to identify key consumer behavior-based segments and show how such dimensions of dog–human companionship vary across these segments. A two-stage research design was employed utilizing 75 in-depth interviews, and a resultant survey of 745 US dog owners. Cluster analysis using shopping-related variables produced three distinct segments of dog owners. Results show that how people shop for their dogs is systematically related to the nature of their relationships with their dogs. These results add to the literature on dog-related consumer behavior and provide practitioners with a more detailed perspective on targeting dog owners.
Purpose: The aim of this research is to measure the relationship between customer personality, age, income and brand personality of the cell phone market in Iran.Design/methodology/approach: First, different models of brands and customer personalities are investigated, and then based on the Big Five Model a questionnaire is designed. The target audiences of the research are customers of the cell phone market in Tehran (capital of Iran). All the questionnaires have been examined with the SPSS software, and finally the relationships between customer personalities, gender, income level and brand personality have been surveyed.Findings: The results show positive relationships between customer personalities (Extroversion, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness) and brands personalities (Activity, Responsibility and Adventurousness). In addition, differences between men and women and income level and their effects on perception of brand personality are measured. The results do not show any differences between customers with regard to their gender and income and brand personality. Originality/value: The article surveys the relationship between customer personality, gender and income and brand personality.
The effects of socio-cultural factors have been studied in marketing and management for years. After the expansion of globalization in the mid-twentieth century, acceptance of foreign products by customers of targeted markets has become a challenging issue for companies. Therefore, many scholars have focused on studying the impact of those factors, such as customer ethnocentrism and patriotism. This study tested the reliability and validity of CETSCALE as one of the most replicated measurements of customer ethnocentrism by conducting the research among Iranian customers. The findings of this study have supported some of the previous findings in this area that CETSCALE is multi-dimensional variables. However, the results have indicated that measuring ethnocentrism in the Iranian market have higher reliability and validity by using only 14 out of the original 17 questions.
Measuring indirect importance of various attributes is a very common task in marketing analysis for which researchers use correlation and regression techniques. We have listed and illustrated some common problems with widely used latent importance measures. A more theoretically sound approach – the Shapley Value decomposition – was applied to a rich data set of US internet stores. The use of store-level data instead of respondent-level data allowed us to reveal the factors, which are powerful in explaining, why some stores have higher rates of willingness to make repeat purchases than the others. By confronting the indirect importance and performance measures for three different internet stores, we have revealed strengths, weaknesses, attributes that the company should bring customers' attention to and attributes that do not require immediate improvement.
Couples often have difference in preference for a product. They are likely to use either coercive or non-coercive means to resolve their differences. This behavior is, however, likely to vary from person to person. We operationalize the difference of opinion through perturbation and models heterogeneity in an individual's propensity to coerce based on a certain level of perturbation. We use a mixture modeling approach using the Expectation-Maximization Algorithm to model this heterogeneity for a product of joint consumption – movies. We show that for the same level of perturbation, couples do behave differently in using coercive strategies to settle their disagreements. Although most individuals appear to be averse to using coercion as a means of resolving their differences, some do fight in order to get their way. We also attempt to profile such individuals on the basis of certain demographics.
Researchers have continued to study green consumer demographics with mixed results. The relevant literature since 1998 (the last review) was summarized to determine what demographics seemed to impact environmental purchasing. The greatest consistency was found for gender with women more likely to exhibit green behaviors. This research article analyzed survey responses to determine the environmentally friendly behaviors of consumers and their relationships to demographics. Several demographics were found to be related to a number of specific environmentally friendly behaviors, more than in prior research. The authors concluded that using specific behaviors, in contrast to general statements or attitudes, may be more sensitive to the effects of demographics.
Existing consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) scales were developed to differentiate consumers. They cannot be reliably used to examine other objects such as brands and sub-brands within and across brand portfolios in a product category, due to much similarity among them. The multidimensional nature of CBBE (covering brand awareness, brand associations, brand loyalty, perceived quality and uniqueness) makes the brand portfolio CBBE measurement even more difficult. In order to fill this gap, we develop a new scale to better differentiate brands and sub-brands within and across brand portfolios and examine its psychometric performance at both the dimension and the item levels by using Multivariate Generalizability Theory. We collected CBBE data for soft drinks crossed with respondents for an empirical demonstration.
Cross-cultural/national research is essential for both scholars and practitioners. Although the methodological issues specific to this research have long been acknowledged in the literature, recent studies confirm that the standards demanded by earlier studies have not been met. Accordingly, we review some of the most relevant methodological issues involved in cross-cultural/national research and provide guidelines for addressing these issues, offering a fresh perspective based on the new trends and suggestions from recent literature. This study seeks to encourage greater methodological rigor in survey research conducted across cultures and/or countries to develop more theoretically robust and managerially relevant international market research.
Owing to the theoretical and managerial importance of materialism, several attempts have been made to cross-culturally examine Richins and Dawon's Materialistic Values Scale (MVS). However, the foreign applicability of the scale remains inconclusive. The current research responded to calls related to the use of reverse-worded items and the development of a shorter version of a single scale that can be cross-culturally applicable by examining Richins and Dawson's MVS in two different countries that possess different socioeconomic conditions and cultural values. The United States (n=276) and Thailand (n=262) were examined through the use of multigroup confirmatory factor analysis to assess measurement invariance. The findings revealed a reduced 10-item three-factor model of materialism that might be applicable in cross-cultural studies. Implications and future research directions are also addressed.
The present study attempts to establish measurement invariance of a scale to measure religiosity across two diverse cultures with samples from India (N=201) and the United States (N=144). A series of confirmatory factor analyses were carried out to establish measurement invariance. Results indicate that the religiosity scale is a reliable scale and could be used in culturally diverse countries. Correlation analysis also shows that the meaning people attach to their religiosity and their behaviors might be influenced by their culture. Implications of the findings are also discussed.
