This research examines consumers' general in-store mobile phone use and shopping behavior. Anecdotal evidence has suggested that mobile phone use decreases point-of-purchase sales, but the results of ...the current study indicate instead that it can increase purchases overall. Using eye-tracking technology in both a field study and a field experiment, matched with sales receipts and survey responses, the authors show that mobile phone use (vs. nonuse) and actual mobile phone use patterns both lead to increased purchases, because consumers divert from their conventional shopping loop, spend more time in the store, and spend more time examining products and prices on shelves. Building on attention capacity theories, this study proposes and demonstrates that the underlying mechanism for these effects is distraction. This article also provides some insights into boundary conditions of the mobile phone use effect.
Purpose - The service-dominant (S-D) logic views supply chains as value co-creation networks. These networks promote knowledge growth amongst network members via resource deployment and coordination. ...The exchange of knowledge and utilization of operant resources among the network members leads to co-created service offerings and value proposals for the end-users, with the ultimate goal of transforming end-user experiences to perceptions of superior value-in-use. The purpose of this paper is to develop an illustration of the value co-creation concept and use this illustration as guide to examine the research gaps that are yet to be tapped in the area where supply chain networks and S-D logic intersects.Design methodology approach - The literature on S-D logic is reviewed and research gaps are identified and categorized in three specific groups.Findings - Three categories of research gaps in S-D logic and supply chain management (SCM) areas include: gaps in utilization of internal operant resources by suppliers, manufacturers, and intermediaries; gaps in knowledge exchange and operant resource utilization between suppliers, manufacturers, and intermediaries; and gaps in knowledge exchange and operant resource utilization between end-users and value co-creation network partners.Originality value - An illustration of the value co-creation network from the supply chain perspective is presented in this paper. The illustration of the value co-creation network provided the guidance to categorize various research gaps in the area of S-D logic and SCM. This categorization offers a structure from which more systematic research may be produced. It is the authors' hope that the organization and guidance provided in the paper for specific research topics in the S-D logic area can result in research streams that could potentially offer significant contributions to SCM theory development.
•Showrooming is a technology-enabled behavior which can have severe consequences.•Showrooming has negative effects on both salesperson self-efficacy and performance.•Approach-based coping behaviors ...reduce the negative effect of showrooming on self-efficacy.•Cross-selling strategies help mitigate the negative effect of showrooming on performance.•Retail store managers must begin to address showrooming and determine how to respond to it.
The increasing product commoditization and price transparency afforded by online retail channels have left many brick and mortar stores bearing the costs associated with being used as a physical showroom without reaping the rewards of the final sale. As customers continue to take advantage of retail stores to gather information and turn to competing channels for purchasing, the role of the retail salesperson has shifted and retailers have been left without a clear understanding of how to manage this change in the retailing landscape. In this research, we first define “showrooming” – and investigate individual (i.e., salesperson)-level experiential consequences of perceived showrooming. We find negative relationships between perceived showrooming and salesperson self-efficacy and salesperson performance, which are positively moderated by salesperson coping strategies and cross-selling strategies. Our findings suggest that the negative effects of showrooming can be combated though specific salesperson behaviors and strategies. Further, exploratory findings at the store level reaffirm a negative relationship between perceived showrooming behaviors and performance. Finally, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings and offer specific managerial actions to address showrooming.
Both students and industry are demanding that marketing instructors incorporate discussions of environmental and social responsibility into their courses. Marketing educators play a critical role in ...developing the knowledge and skills students need to effectively integrate corporate social responsibility (CSR) into their future business endeavors. Yet many educators struggle with developing meaningful and effective strategies to incorporate CSR authentically into their curricula. The project discussed in this article outlines a learning tool that encourages students to consider CSR in the context of their own purchase decisions while also considering CSR from a broader macro environmental perspective. The main goal is to build a CSR awareness that extends beyond a student’s initial purchase exchange. Using retail as the context, students are required to consider CSR challenges including labor laws, environmental regulations, sourcing issues, and so on from the retailer and supplier relationships as well as the retailer and consumer relationships. Based on preliminary results, students’ awareness of CSR challenges throughout the supply chain increased and the project proved to be an effective way to engage students in real learning about CSR.
Providing end consumers with the ability to return products is an important part of a retailer’s service offering. While research in reverse logistics has explored the movement of returned ...merchandise upstream, little research examines the relational implications of returned merchandise in the business-to-business (B2B) context. This research explores the relational implications, as well as the impact on the supplier salesperson’s behaviors, of retailer returns. Using a comprehensive dataset which includes longitudinal archival returns data, as well as two waves of retailer surveys reporting on salesperson behaviors, our research investigates how retail returns impact salesperson responses in the following time period, retailer perceptions of the relationship in the following time period, and returns in the following time period. Consistent with a reciprocal exchange perspective, results suggest that when salespeople respond to returns by engaging in relationship building behaviors, these behaviors are noted by the retailer, which in turn results in fewer returns in a future time period.
For years, conscientiousness has been studied at the individual level as one of the Big 5 personality traits. A new wave of researchers are now exploring conscientiousness at the firm or brand level ...as firms move beyond CSR and embed a comprehensive stakeholder perspective into their organizations and brand identities. Moving beyond profit goals, conscientious organizations consider the impacts of their actions on customers, society, the environment, shareholders, and employees. Importantly, conscientious organizations also anticipate the impact of their activities on their business-to-business (B2B) partners as well. Moreover, the actions of a firm's B2B partners influence the firm's ability to achieve its own responsible management goals. While nascent research explores the development of conscientiousness at the organizational level, very little research to date has applied conscientiousness in the B2B context or examined the impact of a firm's conscientiousness on its channel partners. Using contagion theory, specifically normative pressures, as a lens, this research develops a propositional framework for how conscientiousness can permeate through B2B relationships, thus facilitating conscientious adoption between businesses. While this research is exploratory, it thoughtfully initiates a discussion about B2B relationships in the development and adoption of conscientiousness throughout organizations and the supply chain.
•Extending CSR research towards a more embedded, conscientious approach.•Understand the role of conscientiousness in B2B relationships.•Uses contagion theory as a lens to explore conscientiousness among channel partners.
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of retailer service culture. A service culture is the customer-centric culture aimed at exceeding customer expectations and creating ...superior customer value through the development of service and related performance competencies.Design methodology approach - In this research, surveys were conducted with key decision makers in various retail positions across the USA to develop a customer service-based measure of service culture and test it against traditional retail management performance outcomes.Findings - The results of this research demonstrate that service culture is a unidimensional construct and is positively related to increases in market performance and customer perceptions of quality for the retailer.Practical implications - Service culture provides retailers with a new perspective to examine their service orientation internally. Additionally, service culture extends to the relationships that retailers develop with their suppliers.Originality value - Examining retailing from a customer service perspective is becoming increasingly important as marketing research shifts its focus from being product-centered to more service-centered. In an increasingly turbulent economy, retailers have to create value propositions that provide customers with higher levels of customer service than ever before. This research develops a new construct that explores how retailers can incorporate service values in their overall culture. Additionally, this research validates the measure for future researchers to continue this path of study.
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