Natalia Rubio

Alternative panel models to evaluate the store brand market share

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the intra‐ and inter‐category differences of the store brand market share. Strategic, structural and performance factors are considered to be explanatory.Design/methodology/approach – The paper proposes four possible alternative fixed‐effects panel models for the data. The empirical analysis is performed on the Spanish consumer goods market in 50 traditional categories during the period from 1996 to 2000, when these brands consolidated their position as the best choices on the shelves.Findings – The paper obtains consistent results for the four models proposed. The analysis of these reveal which strategic, structural and performance factors influence the store brand market share and how they influence it at intra‐ and inter‐category levels.Research limitations/implication – The main limitations of this research derive from the conditioning factors of the information. Some potential explanatory variables could not be considered in the models or could onl...

Strategic management of store brands: an analysis from the manufacturer's perspective

Purpose – The main aim of this research is to provide empirical analyses about the store brand management by manufacturers and retailers from the manufacturers perspective, in the current context, which is one of intense competition between manufacturer and store brands. Particularly, this research pursues to analyse the profile of store brand manufacturers, their perceptions about the retail management of these brands and their own product management of the same.Design/methodology/approach – A postal survey was carried out directed at manufacturing business units of mass consumer products in Spain. Multivariate techniques are used in the information analysis such as contingency tables, variance and principal component analysis.Findings – The results highlight the differences between manufacturers and non‐manufacturers of store brands in their competitive position and in the type of manufactured product; the consensus of both groups regarding the perception of favourable merchandising for store brands; t...

Information Technology Use and Firm's Perceived Performance in Supply Chain Management

Purpose: This article proposes a theoretical model to investigate (a) a positive direct relationship between the specific use of ITs (applied to management) and the firms performance as perceived by retailers and (b) a positive indirect relationship through information quality and information sharing. Design/Methodology/Approach: The theoretical model proposed in this paper is contrasted using structural equation modelling of the retail distribution channel for home appliances. Findings: The research shows that there is no positive direct relationship between the specific use of ITs and the retailers perceived performance in the relationship with the provider. The results do, however, provide evidence for a positive indirect relationship through both information sharing and satisfaction obtained from the relationship with the provider. Research Limitations: The analysis has been developed from the retail perspective. We suggest that future research focus on the retailers and the providers perspectives. Practical Implications: In the context of SCM, the competitive advantages achieved through IT use derive from a better network of relationships between the firms involved as a result of greater information quality and information sharing. Specific use of ITs stimulates greater information sharing between retailer and provider and thus greater satisfaction and better perceived performance of the retailer in the relationship with the provider. However, the effect of IT use on information sharing occurs only through the quality of the information shared. Originality/Value: The study shows that information quality is an antecedent of information sharing and that both information quality and information sharing act as necessary conditions for improving the retailers perceived performance in the relationship with the provider. This article develops a measurement scale to evaluate the intensity of IT use. Finally, the research confirms that firm performance can be modeled as a second-level latent variable composed of three different dimensions (economic benefits, marketing benefits, and adaptation benefits).

Effect of strategy, structure and performance variables on store brand market share

The results obtained by store brands in a large number of markets have been favoured by a set of factors. Prominent among these factors are the actions by manufacturers and distributors on price and differentiation, market competition at both a manufacturer and a retailer level, and the economic-financial results of the latter for the product categories in which they work with a store brand. This research presents an explanatory fixed effects panel model of the market share of these brands that shows clearly the influence of the variables of competitive strategy, structure and performance. The study is applied to the Spanish market for 50 consumer product categories over 5 years, from 1996 to 2000.

Price–Quality and Market Share of Consumer Goods in Spain: Retail Brands and Manufacturer Brands1

The development of retail brands has been favoured by the creation of large chains and by the high level of business concentration in the retail sector. It has been supported by an increasing number of consumers who are aware of value and consider that retail brand is the best alternative, with quality levels similar to those of leading manufacturer brands but with lower prices. In this survey, we analyse the price differentials between manufacturer brands and retail brands in several categories of widely consumed products. We study the relationship between the price differential and the mean category price with the market share of retail brands, for foodstuff, perfumes and cleaning materials categories. Finally, we determine the possible connection between the price of a consumer good brand and its real quality.

Understanding brand loyalty of the store brand’s customer base

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to attempt to understand the extent to which price consciousness and quality consciousness influence attitudinal loyalty to store brands (SBs) in different segments of consumers: heavy, medium and light buyers of SBs. SBs are currently consolidated among price-conscious consumers, but less established among the quality-conscious consumers. Design/methodology/approach – After reviewing the literature and constructing a theoretical model, the authors performed a study on Spanish food products, a sector in which SBs have achieved a significant market share. They collected data through a personal survey and analyzed it using structural equations modeling, and they performed a multigroup analysis of heavy buyers, medium buyers and light buyers of SBs. Findings – The results obtained alert retailers to the tremendous importance of price vs quality in the formation of SB value and loyalty to SBs among heavy buyers of these brands, show the balance between price and quality ...

Consumer identification with store brands: Differences between consumers according to their brand loyalty

Retail management of store brands (SBs) has focused on achieving positioning in value and creating associations of smart or expert shopping. The result is that value-conscious consumers and market mavens are the main targets of these brands. This study proposes and contrasts empirically a theoretical model of the effect of market mavenism and value consciousness on consumer identification with SBs. We also perform a multi-group analysis based on the consumer tendency to be loyal to the brands he or she buys. Consumers who are loyal to brands are very attractive segments for firms, due to the potential benefits these consumers represent in the long term, whereas consumers with little loyalty to brands can be an attractive segment for potential benefits in the short term. The results obtained in this study show differences between these two groups. For consumers who are loyal to brands, the results stress strong identification with the SB among the most value-conscious consumers, due fundamentally to their greater disagreement with the greater functional risk of these brands as compared to manufacturer brands and due to their greater conviction of the better price-quality ratio of SBs. In consumers with little brand loyalty, we find identification with the SB among the consumers with the greatest market mavenism, as a result of their greater perception of smart or expert shopping for these brands. Significant implications for management are derived from this study.

Gossip in social networking sites

This study examines the effects of online gossip propensity in social networking sites (SNSs). We posit that online gossip propensity affects SNS identification, which in turn determines normative pressure and SNS engagement. The ultimate outcome is electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) intention. We also explore the impact of two types of SNS communication channel, i.e. handheld (mobile devices and tablets) and traditional (desktop PCs and laptops) computing devices. The data were collected from a questionnaire survey with 400 general consumers. Using a scenario approach, we asked the respondents how they would react to a special discount campaign for a popular beer brand ad posted on an SNS. Our structural equation modelling results indicate that online gossip propensity is indeed a significant driver of SNS identification. All hypothesised paths are supported, except the one from normative pressure to eWOM intention. Furthermore, SNS communication channels had a clear impact, since the latent means are greater for most of the constructs in the handheld computing device group than in the traditional computing device group.

Explanatory factors regarding manufacturer brand price consistency

Purpose – In the marketing process, the positioning effort exerted by manufacturers for their brands is slowed by the commercial objectives of intermediary firms. In addition, to act as buyers, retailers act as suppliers of demand segments. When they receive privileged conditions in their product purchasing contracts, they do not always transfer them, totally or partially, to the final consumers through prices. The purpose of this paper is to analyse price dispersion tools available to consumer goods manufacturers to obtain price consistency.Design/methodology/approach – An empirical study was conducted that analysed the retail price dispersion of 66 manufacturer brands in the categories of packaged foods, drugstore products, personal care products, and cellulose derivatives marketed in 574 Spanish retail outlets in different cities.Findings – In general, manufacturer brands achieve greater price‐consistency, and therefore less price dispersion, when the consumers knowledge of the product category is gre...

Value and store brand identification in food products

Purpose – Store brands have become consolidated in the food market and are currently considered real brands. The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors that contribute to consumers’ identification with store brands, as well as the possible effect of consumers’ identification with store brands on their loyalty to the retail establishment. Design/methodology/approach – The paper achieves its goal by reviewing the academic literature on the topic and proposing and validating a theoretical model for consumer-store brand identification. The theoretical model is validated through an empirical study of the Spanish market for food products using data gathered from individuals responsible for shopping for their homes who claim to have purchased store brand food products at least once. Structural equations modeling is then used to estimate and perform a multigroup analysis for heavy and light buyers of store brands. Findings – The results obtained reveal, first, that consumers’ store brand identification...