Rajasree K. Rajamma

Services purchased at brick and mortar versus online stores, and shopping motivation

Purpose – This study seeks to explore the idea that consumers select a particular shopping mode – i.e. bricks and mortar versus online outlet – based on their perceptions about whether a product or service is best bought from one or the other. It aims to posit that this perception is associated with the importance allocated to various shopping motivation dimensions.Design/methodology/approach – Data for this study were collected using a self‐administered mail survey from 689 internet‐enabled US households. They represent a 28 percent response from 2,500 households that received the survey. Extensive non‐response analysis ruled out serious bias in the data.Findings – The results from this empirical study suggest that different shopping motivations indeed influence perceptions of service type and shopping mode congruence differently. In addition, the results also suggest that services are more likely to be associated with the online shopping mode, whereas more tangible products are likely to be associated w...

Why do shoppers abandon shopping cart? Perceived waiting time, risk, and transaction inconvenience

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore the factors leading to the consumers propensity to abandon the shopping cart at the transaction completion stage.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected using a self‐administered survey distributed through the internet. The sample consisted of consumers who shopped online at least once during the preceding one‐year period.Findings – The results indicate that perceived transaction inconvenience is the major predictor of shopping cart abandonment. The other predictors are perceived risk and perceived waiting time. Positive relationship was found between perceived transaction inconvenience, perceived risk and propensity to abandon the shopping cart. It was also found that propensity to abandon the shopping cart is negatively associated with the perception of waiting time.Practical implications – The paper provides transaction completion stage specific guidance to the managers operating in an online environment to prevent shopping cart abandonment a...

Dimensions and outcomes of B2B relational exchange: a meta‐analysis

Purpose – The primary purpose of the present paper is to critically evaluate the extant literature on relational exchange, a fundamental driver of buyer‐seller relationship management in the twenty‐first century. Toward that goal, a meta‐analytic approach is employed to determine specific conditions under which relational exchange may have a greater or lesser impact on B2B relationship outcomes.Design/methodology/approach – The data were extracted from a multitude of effects in the large body of empirical research investigating relational exchange within the business and allied social sciences research. Then, a meta‐analytic methodology using multiple regression was used to assess the in/congruity across relational exchange effects.Findings – The findings indicate that the association between relational exchange and outcome variables is highly dependent on three factors: how relational exchange is operationally defined, who evaluates the relationship (upstream firm versus downstream firm and high‐status e...

The Impact of Consumers’ Need for Uniqueness and Nationality on Generation Y's Retail Patronage Behaviors: Investigating American and Taiwanese Consumers

ABSTRACT Generation Y (Gen Y) consumers are now one of the most influential buying segments in U.S. history. This article empirically assesses the extent to which American Gen Y consumers and same-aged Taiwanese consumers’ need for uniqueness serves as a meaningful discriminant across retail patronage behaviors for branded apparel products. Results indicate a great deal of similarity between the two cultures’ need for uniqueness. Empirical findings reveal that consumers’ need for uniqueness does influence retail patronage behaviors. The implications of the similarities and differences between American Gen Y consumers and their Taiwanese counterparts serve as potential managerial mechanisms for building and sustaining retail patronage in a globalization era.

Learned ethical behavior: An academic perspective

The authors analyzed the reactions of various academic-level respondent groups to 14 short scenarios reflecting ethical dilemmas in higher education and research. As the authors hypothesized, groups differed in their views of the dilemmas presented. The results did not support a 2nd hypothesis predicting a linear relationship between academic achievement of respondent groups and their ethical responses. The authors expected that as respondents gained more exposure to ethical perspectives through further education, they would respond accordingly, supporting a correlation effect. Despite significant differences between groups in their assessments of the dilemmas, situational differences other than educational attainment appeared to be most influential. The authors discussed implications, which raised doubt about whether teaching ethics enhances ethical behavior.

Value co-creation through knowledge exchange in franchising

Purpose – This paper proposes a knowledge-exchange framework for value co-creation in franchise network. Design/methodology/approach – This conceptual study integrates literature on franchising, knowledge based view of the firm, absorptive capacity, and service dominant logic to propose a theoretical framework for value co-creation in franchising using knowledge as an operant resource. Findings – The proposed framework suggests that in a franchise network value is co-created by three key actors – franchisor, franchisees, and the customers; the operant resource these key actors bring to the value creation process is knowledge; and the absorptive capacity of principal actors and the appropriation hazard affect the flow and sharing of knowledge. Research limitations/implications – The authors hope that the proposed knowledge exchange framework for value co-creation in franchise networks provides an impetus for future research in this critical aspect of franchising – i.e. viewing knowledge as an operant resou...

Determinants of medical tourism destination selection process

ABSTRACT Even though American health care providers have incessantly raised their prices, medical insurers have managed to achieve (greater) profitability covering fewer services for a smaller number of clientele every year. Against this backdrop, there has been a sharp increase in the number of people seeking health care in foreign countries. Using prospect theory, this study finds medical tourism consideration to be driven by domestic medical costs, patient privacy concerns, medical restrictions, and foreign destination desirability. The latter is in turn influenced by tourist attractions and service quality assurance in addition to domestic medical costs. The findings and their implications and limitations are also discussed.

Planning and Implementing a Graduate Online Team-Taught Marketing Course

Online courses have become an important educational delivery tool for institutions of higher learning throughout the world. While popular among students and administrators, many faculty members have expressed concerns with online courses. Therefore, this article highlights online team teaching as a potential solution to many of the concerns harbored by faculty members. In particular, we discuss the potential challenges that can be faced by an online teaching team during the various stages from conceptualization to implementation, and offer prescriptive guidelines that would help future teams in navigating those challenges. Importantly, this article explores online team teaching from the perspective of marketing faculty and outlines positive educator outcomes associated with the development of a team-taught marketing course.

Franchising, Knowledge Transfer, and Development in Emerging Markets

Recent global events have made it clear that the well-being of developed economies is intricately connected with the wellbeing of the citizens from the rest of the world, especially emerging and underdeveloped economies. Developed economies must do more to enhance the well-being of the emerging and underdeveloped economies, than just offer charity, else, the growth of developed economies will be exploitative and unsustainable. However, emerging and underdeveloped economies (EUDEs) differ from developed economies on several dimensions, e.g., social, cultural, economic, legal and regulatory environment; knowledge bases as well as absorptive capacity; and the number and quality of key economic player (Arikan 2010; Burgess and Steenkamp 2006; Cohen and Levinthal 1990; Paswan and Trang 2012). These economies also suffer from an unfavorable gap in the demand and supply of resources such as basic needs related resources, skilled human resource, and knowledge resources. This is where developed economies can help, not by providing charity, but by providing a catalyst which empowers the citizens to help themselves. Based on the literature on entrepreneurship in emerging economies (Paswan and Trang 2012), we propose that entrepreneurship at the grass roots level in the form of small and medium private enterprises may be the answer, and franchising could be the catalysts to jump start this process by providing the right knowledge (which does not necessarily mean opening more McDonalds or KFCs in emerging economies).

Consumers’ Propensity to Choose Non-Conventional Health Care Treatments: Hippocratic or Hypocritic Prognosis for U.S. Health Care?

Although medical practitioners have long ascribed either formally or informally to the Hippocratic oath, the complexities of today’s health care setting challenge the extent to which this deontological norm may be relevant in today’s health care settings. Economic and legal stressors coupled with new public policy initiatives are prompting some physicians to shift responsibilities to their patients. Indeed, consumers’ increased role in the self-evaluation of health care treatments and their respective costs has important implications for public policy makers. The use of non-conventional health care treatments in the U.S. continues to grow. U.S. consumers are spending more than ever on non-conventional -- complimentary and alternative medication (hereafter, CAM) -- therapies in recent years despite the out-of-pocket expenses associated with these choices. Recognizing the implicit public policy issues underlying consumers’ self-directed health care choices, this research explores consumer characteristics that impact their propensity to use non-conventional treatments within the framework of control theory. Several control related factors such as self-efficacy, health locus of control and neuroticism were investigated as potential antecedents with health value as the moderator.