Fabien Durif

The effect of perceived intrusion on consumers’ attitude towards using an RFID-based marketing program

Abstract Purpose Several retailers are currently implementing marketing programs based on RFID. This paper questions in a general manner whether consumers are ready to adopt RFID in an everyday setting and if they are willing to interact with the technology during their shopping experience. Design Data from 388 respondents was collected through an experimental design with scenarios based on RFID programs currently being tested or used in retail stores worldwide. An ANOVA was calculated on the consumers perceived intrusion and a structural equation model was performed on the most intrusive scenario. Findings Findings reveal that a basic RFID loyalty program will not generate more perceived intrusion than a regular loyalty program which indicates that consumers are ready to carry RFID tags that identify them at a distance by retailers. However, by increasing the programs intrusion factor, a surprisingly elevated threshold is found beyond which the consumers attitude towards adopting the program will be negatively affected.

Collaborative Consumption: Conceptual Snapshot at a Buzzword

Considerable work has focused on Collaborative Consumption (CC) from a managerial standpoint. Little academic research has been conducted into this specific concept. This paper proposes two theoretical contributions in that regard: 1) a definition of CC that enables to determine effectively whether any given resource distribution system can be labelled as CC or not; 2) the scope and limits of CC by contrasting it with other forms of exchanges. Consumers’ capacity to switch side from obtainment to provision or from “obtainer” to “provider” role constitutes the key criteria to identify a resource distribution system as being a form of CC. We define CC as the set of resource circulation systems which enable consumers to both obtain and provide, temporarily or permanently, valuable resources or services through direct interaction with other consumers or through a mediator. Collaborative Consumption is therefore a concept which stands in sharp contrast with the notion of Conventional Consumption. Conventional consumption – which underlies classic marketing thought – is a type of resource distribution system which involves passive consumers (not obtainers), who cannot, or are not given the capacity to, provide any resource or service (not providers). Incapable of engaging either in obtainment or in provision, their role is limited to that of buying – monetary exchange - and consuming organization-made resources or services, and, in the case of tangible resources, to discard them. In contrast, Collaborative Consumption involves not mere “consumers” but “obtainers” who may also be “providers”. In sum, consumers’ capacity to switch roles from provider to obtainer and from obtainer to provider, in a given resource distribution system, constitutes the key distinguishing criteria between conventional consumption and CC. We also introduce the consumer process that is specific to Collaborative Consumption by emphasizing that CC involves not only delegation, such as in conventional consumption, but also empowerment and quasi-empowerment. More specifically, delegation assumes that there is a clear distinction between organizations which produce and sell goods and consumers who buy those goods produced and sold by organizations. Consumers rely on organization-made advertising, texts, logos, labels, trademarks, brands and other communication to choose among the broad array of goods or other types of resources that are offered to them. Empowerment means that consumers are empowered to collaborate directly with each other. They organize, arrange and negotiate informally the terms and conditions of the exchange of valuable resources, including goods or services. Under the concept of empowerment, consumers engage in what we call pure collaboration, where both the obtainer and the provider are consumers, such as in a secondhand purchase or sale at a flea market. As a middle-ground between delegation and empowerment, quasi-empowerment involves consumer-to-consumer exchanges that are mediated by a third-party, which is typically an organization. Under the concept of quasi-empowerment, consumers engage either in sourcing collaboration or in trading collaboration. Sourcing collaboration means that the provider provides a resources or service to the obtainer through a mediator. On the other hand, trading collaboration means that the obtainer obtains a resource from the provider through that specific mediator.

E-relationship marketing: a cognitive mapping introspection in the banking sector

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to explore and better understand e-relationship marketing and to identify elements (key concepts) that are predominant to ensure success via the internet. Design/methodology/approach – The exploratory cognitive mapping technique (Cossette, 2004) employs three types of respondents, namely a banking expert, online banking customer and academic expert. Findings – The study points up similarities with traditional relationship marketing (e.g. satisfaction, commitment by bank) and identifies several new concepts spawned by the web-based environment. More precisely, the study highlights the importance of the simplicity and ease of the customers web experience. Research limitations/implications – The exploratory and qualitative nature of this study opens the door to validation with a broader sample using a self-administered questionnaire developed based on the cognitive mapping technique. Practical implications – In addition to guaranteeing customer satisfaction, it is importan...

Can Cognitive Mapping Enrich Our Understanding of Macneil's Contractual Norms? The Specific Case of Role Integrity

ABSTRACT Pursuing research into Macneils contractual norms could lead to an enriched understanding of role integrity. Recent studies have highlighted that this norm is typical of the phenomenon of interaction and has considerable impacts on business relationships. However, this norm is currently not the subject of any specific research, and the traditional tools used for data collection have provided only limited insights into the understanding of this norm. This investigation shows how the use of cognitive mapping can help with its understanding. Results provide a first and rather encouraging answer regarding the relevance of this methodology in studying Macneils norms.

Life after death? Study of goods multiple lives practices

Marketing scholars have devoted little attention to the study of practices which grant multiple lives to goods. However, these practices can considerably extend products lifecycles with far-reaching implications for traditional retailers and the economy. Accordingly, this paper aims to provide scales for perceived impact and motivations of goods multiple lives practices and to investigate the influence of impacts on motivations.,A qualitative phase (three discussion groups and 15 in-depth interviews) identified consumers’ motivations and perceived impacts of goods multiple lives practices. Two online surveys were then conducted on online panels, involving more than 2,200 consumers, to develop the measurement scales and test the structural model.,Results show that impacts measured only marginally influence economic motives but account significantly for a broad range of other motivations (ecological, protester and social contact motives).,The study design is cross-sectional, therefore lacking causality. Replication studies could cross-validate the findings by means of experimental research.,The findings may prove of specific interest to marketers and organizations in the goods multiple lives sector seeking to harness consumer interest in these types of practices for reasons above and beyond lone economic incentives.,This study is innovative in two regards: it explores a relatively under-theorized field in marketing, namely, goods multiple lives practices; and it proposes a challenging theoretical perspective which supposes that consumers’ perceived impact of their practices plays a significant role in motivating them to engage in practices of the like.

Does “sharing” mean “socially responsible consuming”? Exploration of the relationship between collaborative consumption and socially responsible consumption

The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which collaborative consumption (CC) enthusiasts are significantly more likely to engage into specific forms of socially responsible consumption (SRC), in contrast to regular consumers.,The authors administered an online questionnaire survey to a panel of 1,006 consumers. A cluster analysis combined with analyses of variance then determined the extent to which CC enthusiasts were more likely to engage in the focal SRC behaviors as opposed to others.,CC enthusiasts differ positively from other consumers concerning sustainable transportation, citizen consumption and composting but negatively from other consumers concerning recycling; they do not differ significantly with regard to environmental, animal protection and local consumption.,Conflating CC and SRC remains debatable. This study provides some preliminary evidence about the complex associations that exists between the two constructs.

Food deserts: is it only about a limited access?

Purpose Previous research has extensively examined “food deserts,” where access to healthy food is limited. However, little is known of the buying behavior at the individual household level in terms of buying habits and consumption in these areas. The purpose of this paper is to determine to what extent other factors than access can account for the purchase of healthy food products, namely, fruits and vegetables. Design/methodology/approach This paper proposes to partially fill this gap through a qualitative (n=55) and quantitative (n=512) study of those people who are in charge of their household purchases in two food deserts in the city of Montreal. Findings Results show that geographical access to supermarkets is not the main factor fostering the purchase of healthy foods (fruits and vegetables). Indeed, food education (e.g. information, simple recipes, cooking classes), associated with a changing mediation process through product diversification (e.g. availability of local products in bulk) and supply (e.g. farmers) seems to be more significant. Research limitations/implications Future studies could compare the results obtained through this study in different socio-demographic contexts. Longitudinal analyses could also increase the understanding of the social and commercial challenges. Originality/value In contrast to previous studies, the results show that geographical access to supermarkets is not the main factor fostering the purchase of fruits and vegetables. Indeed, food education (e.g. information, simple recipes, cooking classes), associated with a changing mediation process through product diversification (e.g. products in bulk) and supply (e.g. farmers) seem to be more significant.

Building theory from consumer reactions to RFID: discovering Connective Proximity

Academic research into RFID technology has largely neglected ethics. What scarce research was being performed has now dwindled despite having some consumers continue to express their ethical concerns. This article aims at reducing this apparent void by exploring the antecedents that cause the public to react when consumers are targeted by RFID technology. Through the analysis of 11 real RFID implementations used to target consumers, our research indicates that several factors can influence consumer response through the distinct nature of the technology, namely, (1) Customization of communications, (2) Imposition of tag use, (3) Segmentation and targeting, (4) Modified role of the sales representative, (5) Physical distance between the consumer and the tag, and (6) Security of transactions. The article then proposes a construct to determine the risk of raising consumer ethical concerns. The construct of “Connective Proximity” and its three components (physical proximity, exposure time, and information proximity) are defined. Our research highlights the need for further studies on the ethical considerations of tagging humans and specifically tracking consumers when performing marketing activities with RFID technology. Our article aims at invigorating research on this topic, which has a lot to contribute to both society and corporations.

Business at the fingertips of consumers: a scale for measuring resale motivations in online settings

Abstract Our current understanding of what motivates consumers to resell second-hand products online is limited. This article lays out the development and validation of an online resale motivation (ORM) scale based on three studies involving 1119 respondents. Study 1 presents the ORM scale development process and the resulting multidimensional construct, including the protester, economic, generative, recreational, practical and social facets of motivation. Study 2 replicates the scale and investigates its predictive value, demonstrating that the ORM scale successfully predicts online resale frequency. Study 3 examines the mediating role of ORM on the relationship between planned resale intentions and online resale behaviour. The findings show that there is no direct link between a consumer’s intention to resell an item prior to its purchase and the frequency with which they resell online. Rather, consumers who more frequently resell online items that they acquired with the intention of reselling do so because they perceive positive economic, practical and recreational outcomes associated with online reselling.

Towards Multilife Marketing: How Goods Multiple Lives Practices Create Value for Consumers

ABSTRACT Goods multiple lives practices (GMLPs) encompass a wide range of diverse practices that extend product lifecycles. We propose that it is through a holistic consideration of the concept that it is possible to understand its breadth and scope as well as its potential consequences in terms of increased value for consumers. Through 15 in-depth interviews and secondary data analysis, this study explores the value-creating potential of GMLPs for consumers. The results suggest that these practices are based upon three key dimensions to create perceived value for consumers: polymorphous exchanges, protean intermediation, and multichannel structuration.