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1 – 10 of 27The purpose of this paper is to examine the transformation of the perspective applied to distribution structures in the late 1900s. This change implied that the previous focus on…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the transformation of the perspective applied to distribution structures in the late 1900s. This change implied that the previous focus on channel management by a channel captain was abandoned because of changes in the business reality. This perspective was replaced by models and concepts featuring collaboration and joint coordination between actors and relationships embedded in networks.
Design/methodology/approach
Changes of perspectives on phenomena are assumed to occur through the dynamic interplay between business reality, the conceptualisation of this reality and the managerial recommendations derived from this conceptualisation. The study is based on a thorough longitudinal literature review.
Findings
Shifts of perspectives occur when there is an increasing mismatch between the current business reality and mainstream conceptualisations. In this transformation, new constructs are required to illustrate new aspects of the business reality, exemplified in the study by interaction and networks. Some established concepts lose their significance, illustrated by the channel captain. Others may be re-interpreted, as is the case with the power concept. The study also shows that “forgotten” conceptualisations can be re-wakened, exemplified by the view of distribution structures as network constellations. In turn, these changes in the conceptualisation of distribution impact the managerial recommendations.
Originality/value
To the best of the author’s knowledge, there are no previous studies analysing how the perspective on a certain phenomenon changes through the dynamic interplay between business reality, conceptualisations and managerial recommendations.
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Keywords
Erik Winell, Jonas Nilsson and Erik Lundberg
This study aims to examine and compare the influence of the disposition to engage in engagement behaviors on physical and virtual engagement platforms, as well as the influence of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine and compare the influence of the disposition to engage in engagement behaviors on physical and virtual engagement platforms, as well as the influence of these engagement behaviors on brand loyalty, value-in-use and word-of-mouth.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected using a survey distributed to a random sample of 10,000 fans of five teams in the Swedish top-division of elite football. An exploratory factor analysis was performed to derive a distinction between prevalent platforms, scales were validated through a confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling was used to test the research model.
Findings
Customer disposition to engage with the sports team had a significant influence on customer engagement behaviors on both physical and virtual engagement platforms. However, engagement behaviors on virtual platforms were found to be more important than engagement behaviors on physical platforms for fostering brand loyalty and value-in-use.
Practical implications
The results highlight the importance of engagement behaviors with a brand on virtual engagement platforms. Thus, brand managers should prioritize their presence on social media to generate the positive outcomes of customer engagement behaviors.
Originality/value
By examining the effects of customer engagement behaviors on both physical and virtual engagement platforms, this study provides new insights to the emerging customer engagement literature.
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Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the brand impact of consumer knowledge regarding a common supplier and shared product specifications between manufacturer and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the brand impact of consumer knowledge regarding a common supplier and shared product specifications between manufacturer and private label brands.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses three fast‐moving consumer goods in an experimental setting.
Findings
The study finds that knowledge about common sourcing and shared specification decreases perceptual gaps between private labels and manufacturer brands and improves attitudes towards the retailer.
Research limitations/implications
The study uses a student sample, although all product categories and brands tested are popular with this demographic, and they are a key target market for the tested industries.
Practical implications
Manufacturer brands that supply private labels need to make sure that this information does not reach consumers and/or ensure their own brand version remains superior to the private label. Retailers that use well‐known manufacturer brands as suppliers of their high‐quality private labels might wish to share this information with customers as a means of improving attitudes towards the private label and retailer brands.
Originality/value
This paper builds on earlier platform sharing research and shows the dangers and opportunities of sharing product specification across brands with differing reputations and prices.
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Retail marketers use brand communities (BCs) on social media (SM) to create digital engagement and reach new customers. However, this marketing form needs perceived content…
Abstract
Purpose
Retail marketers use brand communities (BCs) on social media (SM) to create digital engagement and reach new customers. However, this marketing form needs perceived content vividness and enduring involvement with products. The purpose of this study compares digital engagement (measured as an intention to recommend a retail brand online) produced by BCs of retailers at three levels of cognitive load (measured as exposure time to website).
Design/methodology/approach
Online quasi-experiments were conducted to analyze how SM platforms with diverse levels of enduring involvement with products, perceived content vividness and cognitive load influence digital engagement.
Findings
Results show enduring involvement with products produced digital engagement. In addition, cognitive load produced an inverted U-shaped effect on digital engagement in the condition of high content vividness (perceived). In the low content vividness condition, cognitive load produced similar or greater positive effects on digital engagement than those produced in the high content vividness condition.
Research limitations/implications
The study implies a willingness to recommend online serves as a proxy of digital engagement failing to capture the reciprocal activities from the firms to customers. It also assumes that measuring product importance and usage frequency of the product serve as proxies of enduring involvement failing to capture the hedonic motivations related to products.
Practical implications
Practitioners should prioritize enduring involvement with products over perceived content vividness to improve digital engagement and reach new customers through their BCs on SM platforms. In addition, managers should use SM with content perceived with low vividness to improve digital engagement.
Originality/value
The study shows the influence of enduring involvement with products on digital engagement. It supports applying the resource-matching theory in SM platforms. It offers an alternative operationalization of constructs. The study compares multiple products and SM platforms providing empirical evidence of distinct levels of content vividness between SM platforms, not considered in previous studies.
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