Natalia Kolyesnikova

Gender as a moderator of reciprocal consumer behavior

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show how purchasing behavior is approached as a customer‐perceived need to reciprocate for services received. The study seeks to examine involvement, knowledge, and identity as predictors of reciprocal consumer behavior. Two components of reciprocity – gratitude and obligation – are expected to mediate the relationships. The effect is expected to be different for men and women.Design/methodology/approach – Wine was chosen as a product category to test the relationships in the models. Data collection was conducted via distribution of surveys to tasting room visitors at six wineries. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.Findings – The impact of knowledge, identity, and involvement were important findings from the research. The differences between males and females with regard to their feelings of gratitude and obligation and the impact on purchasing are pronounced. Obligation to make a purchase had a stronger effect on the purchasing behavior of...

Gender differences in information search: implications for retailing

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence on search behavior of gender, purchase confidence, and internal knowledge in different purchase situations. It is expected that there will be gender differences on search behavior, particularly given different purchase situations.Design/methodology/approach – Multivariate analysis of variance was used to analyze the main and interaction effects of the independent categorical variables on multiple dependent interval variables. An online survey was distributed to employees in different geographic locations in the USA.Findings – The results of situational use indicate that sources of information are perceived differently by males and females depending on their levels of purchase confidence and internal knowledge, suggesting that, when consumers consider sources of information, such as retail clerk, family/friends or themselves, the purchase situation influences that decision.Research limitations/implications – The measure of the situational infl...

Consumer attitudes towards local wines in an emerging region: a segmentation approach

Purpose – The current study is an initial attempt to segment the wine market in an emerging region and examine local residents’ attitudes towards local wines.Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted using data collected from US households through a telephone survey. Consumer attitudes towards local wines were operationalized through assessment of local wines; recommendation of local wines to others; and rating of quality of local wines. The K‐means clustering algorithm was applied to classify the respondents into clusters.Findings – The developing wine market was segmented into four clusters: “local enthusiasts”, “local detractors”, “local advocates” and “local non‐advocates”. Socio‐demographic and wine consumption profiles for each segment are developed. Of particular interest was the difference in recommendation behavior between two of groups of consumers with similar relatively high‐quality ratings and assessments of the local wines. Despite the similarity in attitudes, local advocates are...

Motivations of young people for visiting wine festivals.

Traditional wine marketing efforts have targeted established wine drinkers who are at least forty years old. These people are typically the largest consumers of wine. Recently however, more attention has been focused on younger people and efforts to develop their interest in wine consumption. Interest in younger consumers began as the wine industry began to realize that these people are the next potential group with the income and ability to purchase wine. Therefore, venues such as special events and festivals that can attract young people and provide an opportunity for them learn about wine can be important in influencing their attitudes and potential wine purchases. Food and wine festivals are one type of event that has become very popular in many countries. A large number of cities throughout the world have developed community events in order to promote wine and build local identity. This is especially true in new world wine regions where there is considerable interest in learning about wine. These events are often several days long and may coincide with the grape harvest or release of new wine. Many researchers recognize the need to encourage interest in wine among younger consumers in order to ensure the long-term survival of the wine industry (Fountain & Charters, 2004; Mitchell et al., 2000). There has been concern that the majority of wine is consumed by people aged 40 and older and that younger age groups have little interest in wine consumption. Levine and Morgan (2004) pointed out that the wine industry looks beyond the aging baby boomers market for its next generation of consumers. The goal is to identify the characteristics of these new market segments, find ways to reach them, capture their attention, and bring them to the wine world. Only recently efforts have been made by wine companies to appeal to young consumers. There have been a number of efforts to develop programs to attract young people to wine. For example, the Wine Brats movement is the first attempt to capture the youth market. The movement was started to help develop a strong core of young people who could be a new generation of wine consumers. Operating under the “Changing the Face of Wine” slogan, Wine Brats is a nonprofit organization that seeks to demystify wine among the younger generation through a variety of events and educational programs. Festivals can help attract young people as they typically offer opportunities to socialize and a variety of entertainment and music options. This association with the wine industry and the relaxed setting can help motivate young people to become interested in wine. The purpose of this study is to identify the motivations of young visitors to two festivals – one in Indiana and the other near Dallas, Texas. This study will examine their motivations and other characteristics and compare them with older visitors to these same festivals. By understanding the characteristics, attitudes, and behaviors of selected groups this can permit event organizers to tailor promotions and develop desired services. Data have been collected from the two wine festival sites which will provide added information than if the data were from the same festival. The festivals are very different in nature and by comparing the data there may be additional insights concerning the nature of visitors and their motivations.

Effects of Winery Visitor Group Size on Gratitude and Obligation

Building on reciprocity theory, the current study explores whether wine tourists feel a need to buy wine at tasting rooms due to a perceived need to reciprocate for services received. In this research, wine and souvenirs bought fully or partly out of the desire to repay hospitality and services received are identified as gratuity purchasing. Specifically, the study investigates the role of gratitude and obligation in wine tourist purchasing behavior. The results indicate that the higher visitor feelings of gratitude and obligation while at a winery, the bigger the expenditures. In addition, the research examines the effect of visitor group size on purchasing. It appears that visitors who travel to wineries in smaller groups experience higher levels of gratitude and obligation than visitors of larger groups. Consequently, visitors who come to wineries in smaller groups tend to spend more money on wine and/or souvenirs than larger groups. Managerial implications are discussed.

Facets of brand equity and brand survival: a longitudinal examination

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how brand equity influences brand survival in the wine industry. Specifically, the aim is to investigate the influence of two key facets of brand equity (brand awareness and perceived quality) on brand survival.Design/methodology/approach – Two types of data were used: consumer survey data and longitudinal data on brand survival over a 16‐year period. Perceptions of quality and brand recognition data were collected via survey at the beginning of the time frame (1991), longitudinal data regarding the brand survival were obtained for the years through 2006 and survey data were again collected in 2006. Twenty‐seven brands from wineries of a specific region were used for the study. Brand survival (measured in years) was analyzed using logistic regression with brand recognition and perceived quality as the predictors.Findings – A slightly positive relationship between consumer ratings of perceived quality and the probability of brand survival was found. However...

There is no such thing as a free wine tasting: the effect of a tasting fee on obligation to buy.

Building on reciprocity theory, the current study suggests that, at least to some extent, consumers purchase goods and services in response to sampling due to a perceived need to reciprocate for trying the products/services. In addition, the study explores the effect of charging for sampling (i.e., wine tasting) on tourist behavior. The sample (N = 357) was drawn from visitors to six wineries in an emerging wine region. Three of the sampled wineries charged a small fee for tasting, while the other three wineries offered complimentary wine tasting. The study examined whether differences exist in a perceived need to buy wine between visitors who paid a tasting fee and those who tasted wine for free. The results indicated that visitors who had complimentary wine tasting spent significantly more money at the wineries than visitors who paid a fee for tasting. Furthermore, visitors who tasted wine for free felt significantly more appreciative of the personnel than did visitors who paid a tasting fee. Also, visitors who had complimentary wine tasting reported significantly higher levels of obligation to make a purchase at the end of their visits to the wineries. Managerial implications are discussed.

Gratuity purchasing at wineries: an investigation of the determining factors

Purpose – Wine and accessories bought partly or fully out of a perceived need to repay services received at a winery are defined here as gratuity purchasing. The purpose of the research is to identify factors that predict gratuity purchasing at wineries. Specifically, the study seeks to investigate the role of gratitude and obligation, along with other consumer characteristics, in purchasing.Design/methodology/approach – Winery visitors were sampled from six Texas wineries. A total of 357 questionnaires were analyzed. Hierarchical multiple regression, correlation and factor analyses were employed.Findings – Gratitude and obligation were found to be strong predictors of purchasing at wineries. Visitors who feel grateful to personnel and/or obliged to buy wine are likely to spend more money at wineries. Involvement and knowledge also appear to be related to purchasing.Practical implications – Since gratitude and obligation appear to be strong predictors of buying decisions, winery managers need to find ways...

Consumer affective responses to direct mail messages: The effect of gratitude and obligation

The research opens new ways of utilizing emotional content in direct mail messages. The study considered the capacity of gratitude (e.g. to personnel for services received) and obligation (e.g. to make a purchase) to act as separate affective influences upon consumer purchase intent and attitudes toward the company. Participants (N = 120) were exposed to direct mail copy text in mock postcards sent from a hypothetical winery to its visitors. A total of six postcards were used (two gratitude-inducing, two obligation-inducing, and two neutral controls). The study offers strong evidence that gratitude and obligation operate differently in their impact on consumer attitudes and behaviors. Gratitude exerts a more positive influence than does obligation. Communicating through gratitude, and even neutral, messages was found to be more persuasive than those messages conveying obligation.

The Influence of Product Knowledge on Purchase Venue Choice: Does Knowing More Lead from Bricks to Clicks?

This study examines consumer choice of purchase venues. Specifically, the study explores consumer characteristics (product knowledge, product involvement, and age) as they relate to the choice of purchase venue: physical venues (restaurants, bars, grocery stores, or liquor stores) versus virtual venues (mail order or Internet). The results indicate that subjective product knowledge is positively related to the use of virtual purchase venues. Conversely, objective knowledge is positively related to the use of physical purchase venues and negatively related to the use of virtual venues. Product involvement and age are positively related to both subjective and objective knowledge. In addition, both product involvement and age have indirect and positive relationships with purchase-venue choices.