How gun control policies influence consumers’ service businesses evaluations

Purpose Given the growing prevalence of gun control policies in service settings, this study aims to investigate how the adoption of a gun control policy by a service businesses influences consumers’ evaluations of the service businesses. Design/methodology/approach Three experiments were conducted to examine how the adoption of a gun control policy by a service businesses influences consumers’ brand favorability of that service businesses and how value congruence (i.e. the alignment between a consumer’s own personal values and perceptions of the brand’s values) is the underlying mechanism. Findings This study documents several major findings. First, the authors find that the adoption of a gun control policy by a service businesses increases consumers’ brand favorability. Second, the authors highlight a boundary condition to this effect, such that a gun control policy actually decreases consumers’ brand favorability for people high (vs low) in support for gun rights. Third, the authors show that value congruence is the psychological process underlying these effects. Fourth, the authors generalize the focal effects to a real-world brand and demonstrate that the adoption of a gun control policy increases brand favorability for consumers low (vs high) in patronage behavior of the brand. Finally, the authors find that a pioneer brand strategy in the adoption of a gun control policy significantly increases brand favorability, whereas a follower brand strategy in the adoption of such a policy is less effective. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to provide critical insight to service businesseses as to how their position regarding guns influences consumers’ evaluations of the service businesses.

Retail atmospherics and retail store patronage of supermarkets in emerging economies: mediating role of perceived service quality

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to establish the mediating role of Perceived Service Quality on the relationship between Retail Atmospherics and Retail Store Patronage of Supermarkets in Emerging Economies using empirical evidence from Uganda.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a cross-sectional research design and quantitative approach to understand stand the structured reality of Retail Store Patronage of supermarkets in context of emerging economies. In the context of this study, the data were drawn from Uganda's supermarkets. A sample of 1,504 customers were selected from 136,270 customers. Data was collected from supermarket customers using closed ended questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were derived to describe the behavior of customers and draw conclusions on population using sample statistics. Correlation analysis was used to establish the degree of association between the variables. Hierarchical regression was applied to assess the unique contribution of each variable; control variables-income and age, predictor variables – Retail Atmospherics and Perceived Service Quality on dependent variable – Retail Store Patronage. Mediation was done following the four-step procedures of mediation of Baron and Kenny (1986).FindingsThe results revealed significant positive relationship between Retail Atmospherics, Perceived Service Quality and Retail Store Patronage, confirming the direct hypotheses. Perceived Service Quality partially mediated the relationship between Retail Atmospherics and Retail Store Patronage. The findings depict that Retail Store Patronage is influenced directly by Retail Atmospherics and indirectly through Perceived Service Quality as a mediating variable. However, in situations where the atmospherics is good but perceived service quality is poor, Retail Store Patronage may not be fully realized.Originality/valueThe study provides information that is relevant for filling the practical and theoretical gap in the Retail Store Patronage in Ugandan supermarkets. Previous research studies investigated patronage behavior of shoppers in single retail units yet there is paucity of research on patronage behavior across different retail formats in the world. This study can be generalized and have strategic implications to developing economies that seek to grow and sustain their businesses. It points to the gaps that are normally overlooked and could lead business failure. The focus of most previous studies were on developed economies more especially Europe and America. This study in particular focused on the role of perceived service quality in the relationship between retail atmospherics and customer retail store patronage in emerging economies like Uganda as a testing ground.

The Effect of Corporate Philanthropy on Consumer Behavior: Open Innovation in the Operating Mechanism

The aim of this study was to highlight the effect of corporate philanthropy (CP) on consumer patronage behavior. For this purpose, reciprocity was taken as the key mechanism which determines consumers’ willingness to participate in and buy goods or services of a company performing philanthropic activities. The moderating effect of trust and vicarious licensing was also studied. Considering the importance of CP to society and its residents, it is essential to recognize its effect on consumer patronage behavior. To accomplish this objective, data were collected from 340 respondents via a questionnaire. The results of this research revealed that reciprocity shows a statistically significantly positive association with both participation intention (R = 0.729, R2 = 0.531, p = 0.000, b = 0.740) and purchasing intention (R = 0.71, R2 = 0.534, p = 0.000, b = 0.878). Similarly, trust strengthens the relationship of reciprocity with both participation intention (b = 0.250) and purchasing intention (b = 0.310). However, vicarious licensing weakens the relationship of reciprocity with both participation intention (b = −0.175) and purchasing intention (b = −0.187). The mediation effect of participation intention was also examined in this study. The results of this research will contribute to the benefit of society, since philanthropy plays a vital role in society’s progress. The greater response of consumers towards companies performing philanthropic activities justifies the importance of CP.

“My Regular Pharmacy”

The objectives of this chapter are (1) to develop an instrument that incorporates the core attributes of evaluative criteria that are used by patients/customers in selecting and repeatedly visiting a community pharmacy, (2) to analyze the proposed attributes in order to put forward valid dimensions of evaluative criteria, and (3) to assess the reliability of this instrument. The selection criteria incorporated in the final list were selected based on an extensive literature review and on experts' and customers' opinions. To collect the data, a survey was conducted in the area of Macedonia, Greece. In total, 223 questionnaires were collected. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed a four-factor structure of the proposed instrument namely: price, availability of products, staff competence, and pharmaceutical care services. Moreover, reliability was assessed through Cronbach's alpha coefficient and average variance extracted. The current study outcomes can guide pharmacists' strategic actions in boosting customer patronage behavior in the highly competitive pharmaceutical sector.

How does perceived cost and value influence pharmacy patronage? A scoping review

Purpose To date, community pharmacy research has largely focused on the impact of service quality elements on patronage behavior. Investigation into the influence of cost and value is limited. The purpose of this study is to explore what is known about customers’ perceptions of cost and value, and how these influence patronage patterns in community pharmacy. Design/methodology/approach A scoping review framework was used to conduct a systematic search of four databases with the addition of articles sourced from reference lists. The database search was reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis: Extension for Scoping Reviews protocol. Studies were analyzed in terms of author name, date of publication, study location, study population, methods and key findings. Findings The 26 studies retrieved were qualitative or quantitative in nature and included a broad sample population. Both cost and value were found to be key factors influencing pharmacy choice. Pharmacy customers were found to perceive costs in terms of monetary, psychological, emotional and convenience-related sacrifices. Value was either perceived as relating to the worth or utility of a good or service, or in terms of a trade-off relationship between what was received and given up by the consumer. Research limitations/implications A comprehensive interrogation into the true meaning of “value” to consumers is warranted to improve quantitative measurement instruments. Practical implications Pharmacies may attempt to influence customer behavior by minimizing unfixed costs to the consumer such as the price of goods and services and time costs. Originality/value This review highlights the need for academic enquiry into how consumers trade-off perceived costs for service in community pharmacy.

Google Popular Times: towards a better understanding of tourist customer patronage behavior

Purpose This paper aims to investigate actual tourist customer visiting behavior with behavioral data from Google Popular Times to evaluate the extent that such an online source is useful to better understand, analyze and predict tourist consumer behaviors. Design/methodology/approach Following six hypotheses on tourist behavior, a purpose-built software tool was developed, pre-tested, and then used to obtain a large-scale data sample of 20,000 time periods for 198 restaurants. Both bi-variate linear regression and correlation analyzes were used for hypothesis testing. Findings Support was established for the hypotheses, through an analysis of customer reviews, timing effects, the number of pictures uploaded and price segment information provided by tourists to a given restaurant. Also, a relationship to average duration time was found to be positive. The findings demonstrate that data provided through Google Popular Times matches theoretical and logical assumptions to a high degree. Thus, the data source is potentially powerful for providing valuable information to stakeholders (e.g. researchers, managers and tourists). Originality/value This paper is the first to both conceptually and empirically demonstrate the practicality and value of Google Popular Times to better understand, analyze and predict tourist consumer behaviors. Value is thereby provided by the potential for this approach to offer insights based behavioral data. Importantly, until now such an approach to gathering and analyzing this volume of actual customer data was previously considered far less practical in terms of time and expense.

The Urban Forest and Shopping Environments

Many cities and communities are working toward urban sustainability goals, and the urban forest is one strategy to achieve environmental and social co-benefits. Yet retailers and merchants may not find environmental benefits to be compelling when compared to the direct costs of landscape and trees. Nonetheless, a quality outdoor environment can extend store appeal to the curb and boost positive experiences of visitors while in a shopping district. This chapter presents information about the atmospherics of green retail environments. A multi-study program of research shows that having a quality urban forest canopy within business districts and commercial areas can promote positive shopper perceptions and behavior. Positive responses have included store image, patronage behavior, and willingness to pay more for goods and services. This chapter provides a summary of the research, connects results to various psychological marketing theories, provides evidence-based design recommendations, and suggests future research activity.

Effectiveness of Retail Marketing-Mix on Consumer Patronage: A Performance Assessment of Selected Supermarkets

Retail market in India is becoming bigger with the multinational and national brands making rapid changes in order to survive in the highly competitive environment. The changes are not limited to the type of retail format but include all the factors which can improve consumer buying experience. Therefore, the current study seeks to develop a conceptual framework for analyzing the impact of retail marketing mix such as product, services offered, brand, customer perception, customer attitude, promotional measure of the selected mall on its customer satisfaction, patronage intention, patronage behavior and word of mouth using primary data in Nagpur city. The study measure the performance of selected malls and retail outlets situated in Nagpur city. The nature of research is descriptive. A structured questionnaire was designed and distributed among 200 respondents, who have made recent purchases from supermarket operated in Nagpur through convenience sampling. Data was collected by visiting supermarkets multiple times on different timings incorporating more and less crowded situations. Cross tabulation, ANOVA, regression and correlation tests are applied to know the statistical significant relationship among variables.

Patronage behavior of Islamic bank’s consumers: the importance of Shariah compliance within total Islamic banking system

This study aims to investigate the patronage behaviour of Islamic banks customers and the importance of Shariah compliance, within a total Islamic banking system, compared to other criteria in their selection decisions. The sample consists of 395 valid and complete responses of bank customers. Factor analysis is used to classify a set of 23 items submitted to participants for their opinion. Findings revealed that within a pure Islamic banking system Shariah Abidance of the Islamic bank is the most important factor in bank patronage. The study has many implications for marketers in designing and planning their marketing strategies and plans and future investments of their organizations, especially when intense competition exist in the industry. The study adds to the existing literature on consumer bank patronage behavior a pure Islamic banking system in the context of Sudan