Hanna Schramm-Klein

Brand personality of retailers – an analysis of its applicability and its effect on store loyalty

In recent years, marketing research has paid considerable attention to the symbolic meaning consumers attribute to brands. One important symbolic brand association is brand personality. While the brand personality scale that Aaker has proposed in her well-known article has been applied to different products and product groups in different countries, an application to retailing is rare. Based on the data of an empirical study in Germany (n = 1337), we demonstrate that the scale is applicable for retail brands in Germany, that it serves well to clearly differentiate between retailers and that the dimensions of the brand personality directly influence the store loyalty of consumers.

Strategic Retail Management

This chapter explains the tasks of retailers within the distribution channel and recent trends surrounding these functions. This serves to demonstrate the complexity of retailers’ activities and explain their general role as intermediaries between suppliers and final customers.

The Relationship between marketing performance, logistics performance and company performance for retail companies

Abstract The objective of this research is to demonstrate the importance of logistics and marketing to overall company performance. The focus is on the relationship between logistics and marketing, because, in the intra-organisational context, the different perspectives of these two functions can lead to conflict between short-term objectives. Consequently, effective coordination between these two organisational units, not only at an intra-organisational, but also at an inter-organisational level, is extremely important. The theoretical assumptions are tested empirically through an investigation of the retailing industry.

An intersector analysis of the relevance of service in building a strong retail brand

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to try to show the relevance of service quality in building a strong retail brand. It addresses how retailer attributes affect customer‐based retail brand equity, when considering retailers as brands. These attributes are compared with one another, and the importance of service is set in proportion to the other retailer attributes, both intersectorally and sector‐specifically. An integrated model is used here.Design/methodology/approach – This is an empirical study across five retail sectors (grocery, textiles, DIY, consumer electronics and furniture retailing) based on a survey with 2,000 face‐to‐face interviews. Structural equation modelling is used to illustrate the impact of central dimensions of the perception of retailer service and of the other retailer attributes on customer‐based retail brand equity.Findings – In retailing, service quality appears to be the most important retailer attribute in building a strong retail brand – as demonstrated in four out o...

Multi-Channel-Retailing

Im Kontext der E-Commerce-Diskussion wurde die Thematik des Multi-Channel-Retailing und seiner Bedeutung fur den Handel vergleichsweise polarisiert und gleichermasen emotional diskutiert. Im Vordergrund stand dabei die Kontroverse, ob Multi-Channel-Retailing der „Konigsweg“ oder der „Todesstos“ fur den Einzelhandel sei. Diskutiert wurde v.a., in welcher Form sich die Einfuhrung von Multi-Channel-Retailing-Systemen auf den Unternehmenserfolg von Handelsunternehmen auswirkt. Gerade zu Beginn der Diskussion wurde eine Vielzahl von Studien zum Multi-Channel-Verhalten der Kunden und der Handelsunternehmen aus Wissenschaft und Praxis durchgefuhrt. Entweder wurde dabei die Einstellung vertreten, dass sich die Implementierung von Mehrkanalsystemen im Handel positiv auf den Unternehmenserfolg auswirkt, indem Kundenbindungseffekte und Neukundenakquisition zu Umsatzsteigerungen fuhren. Auf der anderen Seite wurde argumentiert, dass die Ausweitung von Absatzkanalsystemen nicht nur zu einer immensen Kostenbelastung durch den Aufbau der zusatzlichen Kanale, sondern zudem zu Kanalkonflikten fuhrt, die die positiven Effekte einer eventuellen Umsatzausweitung uberkompensieren wurden.

Moderating role of involvement in building a retail brand

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on one of the main antecedents of consumer behaviour concerning its role in building a retail brand. It addresses how consumer involvement influences perception of retailer attributes, which affects customer‐based retail brand equity when considering retailers as brands.Design/methodology/approach – A model is developed that includes the impact of central dimensions of the perception of retailer attributes, their effects on customer‐based retail brand equity and the moderating role of consumer involvement. The empirical study is based on a sample of 3,000 consumers spread over five retail sectors (grocery, clothing, DIY, electronics and furniture).Findings – Using multiple‐group structural equation modelling, the intersectoral relevance of involvement as a moderator in building a strong retail brand is demonstrated. In retailing, consumer involvement has a moderating effect on the influence of retailer attributes on retail brand equity. The direction of this...

Cross-channel integration – is it valued by customers?

It has been common for retail companies to use multiple channels simultaneously. However, simultaneous use is only the first step in creating a customer-centric multichannel system that demands channel synergies rather than parallel retail formats. Therefore, the perceived integration of customer-related functions and processes between the channels of multichannel systems is analyzed with respect to its significance for customer loyalty and usage of a multichannel system. Drawing on a sample (n) of 981 customers, the results indicate that linkages between retail channels positively affect customer loyalty and verify the importance of establishing a well-integrated – ‘seamless’ as perceived by the customer – multichannel system.

Who Is the Loser When I Lose the Game? Does Losing an Advergame Have a Negative Impact on the Perception of the Brand?

Many computer games are based on the principle of competition, making the outcome of the game, namely, the prospect of victory and the threat of defeat, a key element. A lab experiment was conducted to study the effects of a games outcome on the players mood, brand attitude, and game attitude as well as the experience of flow (N = 95; between-subject design: game lost versus game won versus no induction of the game outcome). The results show that although winners are not in a better mood after the game, they rate the game as better and assess the brands advertised more positively than before they played the game. They have an increased likelihood of experiencing flow, whereas no significant effects of losing the game could be detected due to the total mediation of the flow experience in the case of the losing condition.

Effects of cross-channel synergies and complementarity in a multichannel e-commerce system – an investigation of the interrelation of e-commerce, m-commerce and IETV-commerce

With the increasing availability of Internet-enabled devices (such as smartphones and tablet PCs), online shopping behavior changes and shifts to a multidevice usage. This implies that retailers have to operate and manage diverse online channel formats. Next to the individual capabilities of an individual online channel, we expect that interactions across the electronic retail channels (e-channels) are of relevance to create a holistic online shopping experience. Hence, this research merges knowledge from multichannel retailing and e-commerce to investigate the role of synergy and complementarity among e-channels and their effects on online shopping behavior. On the basis of theoretical assumptions, we develop a conceptual framework for a multichannel e-commerce environment and empirically test it with a data set of N = 904 consumers. We discuss our findings, which underline the relevance to create cross-channel synergy and complementarity among e-channels and derive implications for the management of multichannel e-commerce systems.

Retailer Corporate Social Responsibility Is Relevant to Consumer Behavior

With regard to the topicality of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in retail practice, only a few studies have comprehensively analyzed the role of CSR in retail. Due to the specific role of a retailer as a gatekeeper between the producer and the consumer in the supply chain, a comprehensive understanding of the impact of consumer perceptions of CSR activities is of great relevance. Therefore, this study contributes information regarding the impact of CSR activities on retailer performance. Using a comprehensive conceptualization of CSR, the results of our customer survey (N = 3,313) suggest that CSR has positive implications as driver of customer loyalty and favorable consumer purchasing behavior. The authors demonstrate the CSR dimensions that are most important for retailers to influence positively consumer purchasing behavior. This study highlights the significance of the credibility of retailer CSR activities and show that consumers’ CSR orientation impacts the relationship between retailer CSR activities and consumer behavior.