Cynthia R. Jasper

Social cues in the store environment and their impact on store image

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the roles that social cues play in affecting patronage behavior and how consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence would moderate the influence of social cues on store image.Design/methodology/approach – A two (high vs low socially‐oriented in‐store graphics) by two (high vs low personalized customer service) between subject experimental design was conducted to achieve the research objective. A total of 193 surveys were used for data analysis.Findings – Consumers had a more favorable attitude toward merchandise and service quality and felt more aroused or pleased with a store where more social cues were present. They also had a more favorable perception of store image when high‐personalized service was provided. Consumers perceived that they would be more likely to shop in a store that had more in‐store displays of graphics with social meaning. Consumer susceptibility to informational influence (SII) played a moderating role in some cases.Practical...

Key Dimensions of Women's Ready-to-Wear Apparel: Developing a Consumer Size-Labeling System

Key dimensions were selected for womens ready-to-wear garments to generate an anthropometric size-labeling system designating garment size with body measurements. Two different statistical analyses were used to select key dimensions: residual variance analysis and factor analysis. The results of the study show that (a) the key dimensions selected by both means of analysis are similar, (b) the key dimensions used in most mail-order catalogs are appropriate, and (c) in addition to the key dimensions currently in use, another key dimension representing length or height is needed. Bust circumference was selected as a key dimension for all upper body garments. Hip and waist circumferences were selected for all lower body garments. The key dimensions representing length or height were sleeve inseam length or sleeve outseam length for long-sleeve shirts, shoulder height or shoulder length for short-sleeve or sleeveless shirts, crotch height for calf- or ankle-length pants, and waist height for skirts.

Multi‐channel shopping: channel use among rural consumers

Purpose – The research purpose was to identify whether changes occurred between 2000 and 2003 in the retail channel use of rural consumers for searching product information and for purchasing food and fiber products and to investigate whether differences existed between channel use groups (i.e. store only shoppers, store and catalog shoppers, and multi‐channel shoppers) concerning perceived time property, satisfaction with local offerings, community attachment, shopping criteria, and financial security.Design/methodology/approach – Survey methodology was used. Questionnaires were mailed to participants living in non‐metropolitan statistical areas of the USA with populations less than 12,500. In 2000, 2,198 participants returned the questionnaire. Follow‐up questionnaires were mailed to the same participants during 2003 and returned by 847 participants. The analysis is based on the responses of the 847 participants.Findings – To search for information on apparel, food, or home furnishing products, internet...

An Evaluation of Models of Consumer Spatial Behavior Using the Environment-Behavior Paradigm

This article presents an overview of models of consumer spatial behavior and evaluates them in the context of the environment-behavior paradigm. It is argued that the theoretical relevance of the consumer spatial behavior models to research on spatial cognition and wayfinding can be better understood when analyzed in this context. The models are evaluated on four dimensions: (a) the degree to which the model incorporates the notion of the physical environment, (b) the degree to which the model addresses person-based (individual difference) variables, (c) the use of behavioral outcome measures, and (d) the relationships between these variables. This analysis shows that many of the variables employed by the consumer models could be used in research on spatial cognition and wayfinding. Directions are proposed for broadening models of spatial cognition through the addition of the variables used in consumer research.

An Application of Rogers’s Innovation Model: Use of the Internet to Purchase Apparel, Food, and Home Furnishing Products by Small Community Consumers

The purpose of our research was to assess beliefs of small community consumers regarding use of the Internet for product acquisition. We applied a portion of Rogers’s (1995) innovation diffusion model where he hypothesizes characteristics of an innovation (e.g., complexity, trialability) that facilitate or impede adoption. In addition, we were interested in whether these characteristics differed between small community purchasers and non-purchasers of innovations. Usable questionnaires were returned by 2,198 small community consumers. Data were analyzed using multivariate and univariate analyses of variance. Small community consumers who purchased through the Internet were more likely than non-purchasers to perceive Internet shopping as being relatively advantageous; more compatible with their values, beliefs, needs, and past experiences; less complex; more trialable; and more observable. Furthermore, small community consumers who were purchasers using the Internet perceived Internet shopping as less risky than did non-purchasers. The results were parallel across the three product categories of food, apparel, and home furnishing products.

Factors Affecting the Financial Viability of Rural Retail Businesse

Rural retail businesses have been particularly hard-hit by the economic restructuring occurring inrural areas. Small-town businesses typically have been capturing a declining share of what too oftenhas been a shrinking market. Maintaining the viability of the rural retail sector is very important torural communities and their residents. This paper presents results of a study of financial characteristicsand performance of rural retail businesses in twelve states. Financial characteristicsexamined include total assets, debt, net worth, sales volume, net profit, return on assets, and returnon equity.

Operational planning and competitive strategies of male and female retailers

Interest in the managerial practices of females in business has increased over the past decade due to womens increased representation in business. Anecdotal evidence has suggested that women approach decision making differently from men. The purpose of this study is to determine if gender differences regarding managerial strategies exist in the retail setting. Targeted managerial strategies focused on short-term planning processes (personnel, financial, inventory and market planning) and competitive strategies in operation (differentiation, cost leadership and focus). In a sample of 459 retailers from a twelve-state region, MANOVA was used to determine if significant differences in managerial strategies existed between genders. The data on retail competitive strategies suggest that men and women more likely than male business owners to recognize in the importance of differentiation and focus as retail competitive strategies in their business operations. Gender differences were also found in the operation...

History of Costume: Theory and Instruction:

History of costume courses were part of the clothing and textiles curriculum in developing home economics programs early in the twentieth century. Since that time nineteenth-century theories of social evolution have been a continuing influence on history of costume courses, sometimes introducing misconceptions regarding origins and an elitism featuring Westerners as those who are privileged to know civilized rules for dress. Teachers can improve learning outcomes of courses by emphasizing a global view of dress, weeding out misleading carry-overs from evolutionary theory, and working out instructional strategies for utilizing newer theories regarding changes in form and meaning of dress. Using a tri-part conceptual scheme outlining the processes of cultural, temporal, and temporo-cultural authentication of dress is one step toward helping students comprehend how the art of borrowing elements of dress from a previous era across cultural lines leads to cultural conversion of the elements into forms unique to their setting. Additional work is needed to develop a comprehensive theoretical base that will utilize these or other constructs to improve learning outcomes for students.

Internet and distance channel use and European consumer complaint behavior

This exploratory study analyzes the effect of distance-shopping channel choice (i.e. the format first used by consumers in a retail transaction) on consumer complaint behavior, with a special focus on the Internet channel. It analyzes 2011 Eurobarometer data using a logistic regression model controlling for sociodemographic and country-specific variables to measure the impact of using the Internet, post/catalog, and telephone channels on complaint behavior. The results indicate that consumers using the Internet channel exhibit the greatest likelihood of complaint behavior when compared to consumers using traditional distance-shopping channels. Implications and suggestions for retailers are discussed, as are the contributions to the consumer complaint behavior literature.

RURAL RETAILERS: USING A BANKRUPTCY MODEL TO PREDICT HIGH PROFIT VERSUS LOW PROFIT FIRMS

ABSTRACT Bankruptcy models are used to predict business failure. These models are based on key financial indicators. The same key ratios might serve as anticipatory indicators of business success. Retailers in rural communities from twelve states took part in the study. The model developed by Miller and Miller to predict business failure is based on five key ratios. Our results show the model is a useful tool in predicting financial success (p<.001; 97.65% correct classification using logistical regression). Two of the five ratios were highly significant. Our ratio measures the influence of financial leverage on return on equity. Higher profit firms had higher return on total assets than did low profit firms. This ratio was the single best predictor of business success. Net Sales to Total Assets is also a significant predictor of profit. This ratio affects all major elements of the income statement and the balance. High profit firms in this study had a lower ratio. Generally low Net Sales to Total Assets ...