Eva Thelen

The role of the dominant social paradigm in environmental attitudes A multinational examination

Abstract The purpose of this paper was twofold. The first purpose was to expand the domain of inquiry in the study of business and the natural environment. Traditional approaches have focused primarily on attitudes toward the environment, behavioral intentions, and behavior. Most of the research to date has been data-driven, however, and lacks a theoretical framework. We attempt to rectify this by proposing and testing an expanded model. Here the domain is expanded to include political, economic, and technological variables, referred to as the socioeconomic domain of the dominant social paradigm (DSP). While much has been written about the general nature of the DSP, its specific form has not been defined adequately in the environmentally related literature. The second purpose was to begin testing the proposed model empirically. The model suggests that as ones belief in the DSP increases, their expressed concern for the environment decreases. Further, as their concern for the environment increases, their perception of necessary changes and willingness to change to achieve environmental balance will also increase. Finally, we examined differences between countries and concluded that there were differences consistent with the proposed model. Overall, the results of the study confirm the proposed model. The policy implications of this result are also discussed.

Using means-end structures for benefit segmentation : An application to services

Although the basic idea of benefit segmentation lies in using causal, as opposed to descriptive, factors as segmentation criteria, most of the empirical studies do not differentiate between product attributes and the benefit sought by consumers. The objectives of this article are to clarify the distinction between attributes and benefits sought, and to apply a modified laddering technique, based on means‐end theory to use the elicited benefits to form benefit segments. A comparison with attribute‐based segments demonstrates that means‐end chains provide a powerful tool for “true” benefit segmentation.

What evokes the brand or store? Consumer research on accessibility theory applied to modeling primary choice

Abstract Using survey responses (n = 401) of a sample of households in one market area in Austria, we test hypotheses grounded in accessibility theory: a concept or object may be ‘available’ from memory but may be ‘accessible’ only under certain conditions. Accessibility estimates strength of the cue-to-object link: a strong link facilitates retrieval of the object upon presentation of the cue. Hypotheses: (H1) top-of-mind, associate-to-store memory-retrievals are associated with most frequent choice (e.g., a consumers primary store); (H2) each competing store (or brand) in a product-market has a unique configuration of top-of-mind, associate-to-store retrievals linked with its selection as primary store choice; (H3) each store, among two or more stores having the same name and operated by the same management and located in the same geographic market, has a unique configuration of top-of-mind, associate-to-store associations with its selection as primary store choice; and (H4) situational factors (e.g., problem contexts) are powerful framing influences that result in changing both the associations among top-of-mind, associate-to-store retrievals and the consumers primary store choice. The findings provide support for the first, second, and fourth hypotheses, but only partial support for the third.

Brand-driven leadership for change management in retailing

Change management theorists largely overlook using the brand as a vehicle for change. Similarly, while branding has become an increasingly popular research and business topic, the branding literature appears to neglect change management. Our research bridges this gap through the development of brand identity as the main driver of organizational renewal. In the article we provide insights into brand-driven leadership for change which have been develope by collaborative action research with CEOs and owners of retail firms over a twenty year period. In contrast to the usual planning of change attempting to fit the firm to external trends and considering internal resources our brand-driven approach is based on resonance with consumers by the use of external socio-cultural meanings in society. We highlight phases in the development of brand identity by reference to a prototypical retail case study and presenta framework to help managers with brand-driven leadership for change.

Using Means-End Structures for Benefit Segmentation in a Service Industry

Haley (1968) and Wind (1973) have proposed to segment markets on the basis of benefits sought by identifiable groups of consumers. While psychografic and general attitudinal approaches to segmentation may work statistically well they are less helpful when it comes to deriving effective marketing strategies (Young, Ott, and Fein, 1978). Therefore, benefit segmentation has become the preferred technique for successful product positioning, new product introduction, pricing, advertising, and distribution (Wind, 1978).

Ein gedächtnispsychologischer Ansatz zur Erklärung des Geschäftswahlverhaltens des Konsumenten

Aufbauend auf gedachtnispsychologischen Ansatzen wird ein Zwei-Stufen-Modell zur Erklarung der Geschaftswahl vorgestellt. Die Konsumenten konzentrieren sich zuerst auf eine spezifische Einkaufsaufgabe, in der einige wenige Nutzen von Geschaftsalternativen fur sie relevant sind. Zu den relevanten Nutzen wird in einem zweiten Schritt automatisch ein Geschaftsname aus dem Gedachtnis abgerufen. Nach einer theoretischen Fundierung des Modells werden Hypothesen formuliert, die mit Hilfe einer empirischen Untersuchung von 401 Haushalten uberpruft werden.

Customer Automatic Thinking and Store Choice

We offer a two-step model of how customers select brands and shop at stores that they are familiar with: first, they focus on framing a shopping problem/opportunity. Second, they retrieve a few benefit-to-brand (or benefit-to-store) linkages relevant to the frame in their working memories. Such thinking and problem-solving is done automatically usually, without effort. Empirically, we demonstrate models of automatic customer benefit-to-store thoughts that explain store choice and similar models that explain store rejection.

Identifikation von Kundenerwartungen an die Dienstleistungsqualität — Evaluierung attributorientierter Methoden

Um hervorragende Dienstleistungssqualitat zu erreichen, ist es notwendig, die diesbezuglichen Anspruche und Erwartungen bestehender und zukunftiger Kunden zu erfassen (vgl. Parasuraman/Zeithaml/Berry, 1985, S. 43 ff.; Teas, 1994, S. 132 ff.). Fur die Identifikation der wichtigsten Anspruche steht eine Vielzahl von Marktforschungsmethoden zur Verfugung (vgl. Berekoven 1991, S. 69 ff.). Diese reicht von attributorientierten bis zu ereignisorientierten Verfahren (vgl. Botschen/Bstieler/Woodside, 1995; Haller, 1993; Hentschel, 1992; Stauss/Hentschel, 1990, S. 26 ff;). In empirischen Untersuchungen bezuglich der Erwartungen von Kunden hinsichtlich der Dienstleistungsqualitat oder einzelner Bereiche davon wird meist nur eine Methode angewandt. Nur wenige Studien bedienen sich eines Multimethoden-Ansatzes, um ein und dasselbe Phanomen zu erforschen (vgl. Heeler/ Okechuku/ Reid, 1979, S. 60ff; Vernett, 1987, S. 1ff; Stauss/Hentschel 1991, S. 26ff). Die Beschrankung auf ein Verfahren zur Identifikation der Erwartungen erschwert es dem Forscher zu beurteilen, welche der zahlreichen Verfahren zur Erhebung von Erwartungen im Bereich der Qualitat von Dienstleistungen besonders geeignet sind.