Indrajit Sinha

Consumer-level factors moderating the success of private label brands

Abstract We examine how different determinants of perceived risk help explain variations in purchasing preferences for national brands versus private label (store) brands (PLBs), across twelve different product categories. Such intercategory differences are the most important source of variation in PLB share across markets, retailers and categories (Dhar and Hoch, 1997) , but little prior consumer-level research has thus far tried to explain these crucial variations. Supporting theory-based expectations, we find that PLB purchases in a category increase when consumers perceive reduced consequences of making a mistake in brand choice in that category, and when that category has more “search” than “experience” characteristics. Theoretical and managerial implications of these results are discussed, especially the important role played by “experience” attributes in leading consumers to favor national brands over PLBs.

The effect of consumer price consciousness on private label purchase

Abstract Several reasons have been advanced to explain the remarkable success and growth of private label brands (PLBs) in Western Europe and North America. One important factor that has not been adequately highlighted is the role of consumer price consciousness and consequent consumer resistance to the prices of national brands. We develop a framework for understanding consumer price consciousness, why it varies across product categories, and how it may result in PLB purchase, and calibrate the model on category-level field data. Our findings establish that perceived category risk and perceived price unfairness of national brands in that category are significant antecedents of consumer price consciousness, and that variations in such price consciousness across categories is a significant reason why consumers buy PLBs more in some categories than in others. Additionally, we show that perceived price–quality association has a significant effect on private label purchase in risky categories.

The impact of price and extra product promotions on store preference

Focuses on consumer evaluations of store preference when presented with promotional deals that are equivalent on a unit‐cost basis and/or are equivalent on a total cost basis but are worded differently. An experimental design setting is used to examine the effect of three deal frames: one, stated in terms of a straight price promotion (“50 percent off”), the second, as an extra‐product or volume promotion (“buy one, get one free”), and a third as a “mixed” promotion (“buy two, get 50 percent off”). Four typical supermarket product categories are considered in a shopping scenario to investigate the effect of two category‐based moderating factors: product stock‐up characteristic and price level. Results show that the nature of framing significantly affects consumer deal preference and store preference even though the deals are equivalent on a unit cost basis and two of the deals are also equivalent on a total cost basis.

The impact of culture on brand perceptions: a six‐nation study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how cultural differences affect the perception of a brand.Design/methodology/approach – A study was carried out in six countries among different involvement groups. The study uses Hofstedes cultural dimensions and Aakers brand personality dimensions to see if brand perceptions of a product are similar among all six countries.Findings – This study provides clear evidence that a same brand is perceived differently in different cultures in spite of its identical positioning. This means that if a firm wishes to achieve the same brand perception in different countries, the firm needs to create brand positioning strategies that emphasize the characteristics that enable consumers to perceive the product in a similar way.Originality/value – This paper examines the perception of a single brand in the context of cultural dimensions in a global setting – in particular in six countries on three continents.

Role of Market Turbulence in Shaping Pricing Strategy

Abstract Several authors have highlighted the need for research into the strategy of firms operating in turbulent markets, characterized by both environmental complexity and uncertainty, which typify the “high technology” firms of today. Similarly, while pricing is a major marketing decision problem faced by managers in these high technology industrial firms, relatively little research is available that addresses the issues that lead to the choice of one pricing strategy over another. We examine three broad pricing problems: (1) pricing over the product life cycle; (2) use of reference price; and (3) firms tendency to offer as well as charge price premiums. We test our theory-driven hypotheses through a research study conducted on a national industry sample of purchasing managers. Our research integrates the evidence available from consumer-level pricing research, and results in several important implications for managers of high technology industrial firms which we also outline.

Retaining or returning

Purpose – Relatively scant attention thus far has been accorded in the marketing literature to the examination and explanation of return behaviour of consumers, especially within the mail order industry. The issues examined here consist of the nature and influence of such factors as “buying experience”, “perceived risk”, and “return frequency”. The aim of this paper is to analyse four groups of returners (“heavy returners”, “medium returners”, “light returners”, and “occasional returners”).Design/methodology/approach – This paper details an empirical study of return behaviour based on a field survey that was conducted specifically focusing on the apparel category. Exploratory factor analyses and analyses of variance (ANOVA) have been employed to test the proposed hypotheses.Findings – Results show that there exist different reasons for returns among the four groups of returners. In particular, they differ in their initial shopping motivation for mail order purchases, their group‐specific reasons for produ...

A stochastic multidimensional unfolding approach for representing phased decision outcomes

This paper presents a stochastic multidimensional unfolding (MDU) procedure to spatially represent individual differences in phased or sequential decision processes. The specific application or scenario to be discussed involves the area of consumer psychology where consumers form judgments sequentially in their awareness, consideration, and choice set compositions in a phased or sequential manner as more information about the alternative brands in a designated product/service class are collected. A brief review of the consumer psychology literature on these nested congnitive sets as stages in phased decision making is provided. The technical details of the proposed model, maximum likelihood estimation framework, and algorithm are then discussed. A small scale Monte Carlo analysis is presented to demonstrate estimation proficiency and the appropriateness of the proposed model selection heuristic. An application of the methodology to capture awareness, consideration, and choice sets in graduate school applicants is presented. Finally, directions for future research and other potential applications are given.

Banking on the youth: the case for finer segmentation of the youth market

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the differences among the different subgroups of the youth market in the context of their financial interests and usage. The study examines what determined their choice of banks. It also looked at what factors influence their satisfaction, loyalty, and behavioral intentions with regard to their banking needs.Design/methodology/approach – Using a multiple‐item survey instrument, 242 Austrian respondents were queried on what factors affect their choice of banks, their choice of financial services, usage patterns, satisfaction, loyalty, and behavioral intentions. Descriptive analysis, factor analysis and cluster analysis were employed in the study. Different tests such as chi‐square tests, discriminant analysis and ANOVA were used to validate the chosen cluster solution.Findings – Differences were found among the four clusters in terms of their interest in financial services, their usage, and their likelihood of switching. In addition, determinants of satisfa...

The product and branding strategy of „Muji“

The owner of the Muji brand of stores — Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd. — has, since gaining its autonomy from the Seiyu department store chain in 1989, been developing and providing daily consumer necessities, such as apparel, household goods, and food items. The company’s basic principle is to develop simple and novel products that are reasonable priced and that make the best use of available materials and know-how.

Network buzz and pull

Those of us who follow the fortunes of business, media, and popular culture frequently hear expressions of awe and wonder at the scale of successes and failures today. Nowadays, a product, book, film, music group, or celebrity that is acclaimed to be a hit is not merely a modest success but often grandiosely so. Conversely, failures are no longer “passable” failures as in the old days, but usually abject and abysmal flops. Coke C2 (two-calorie cola) was such a flop — it barely registered a ripple on the sea of new products that are launched each year. In contrast, consider the blockbuster success of the Apple iPod, the Dyson vacuum cleaner, The Da Vinci Code, the Arctic Monkeys rock group, or the Harry Potter series. It is reported that the iPod has an unbelievable 75 percent market share in the MP3 player market — this despite the existence of several worthy competing brands that offer the same or better functionality at a much cheaper price. The Da Vinci Code reportedly has sold 40 million copies worldwide as well as being translated into dozens of foreign languages!