Randall Shannon

Cross-Cultural Differences in the Effect of Received Word-of-Mouth Referral in Relational Service Exchange

Because of suggested beneficial effects of word-of-mouth (WOM) referral, service companies have invested large amounts of money in customer referral programs as well as programs aimed at fostering positive communication among their existing customers. The question of cross-cultural differences in the effectiveness of WOM has recently gained increased prominence. The authors contribute to research on this topic by proposing a positive effect of received WOM on service quality perceptions among existing customers. Moreover, they predict that cultural values moderate this effect. They test the model on 1910 bank customers in 11 countries. The results show that received WOM has a positive effect on customer service quality perceptions. Furthermore, received WOM has a stronger effect on the evaluation of customers in high-uncertainty-avoidance than in low-uncertainty-avoidance cultures. No other cultural value is a significant moderator. The results imply that received WOM is also important to existing customers and that managers should adjust their strategy of referral marketing to match their target groups uncertainty-avoidance level.

Drivers of Trust in Relational Service Exchange: Understanding the Importance of Cross-Cultural Differences

Customer trust is of vital importance for relationship marketing in services. Service providers increasingly market their services globally, yet few researchers have addressed differences in customer trust across cultures. Our research fills this void by proposing a model, based on existing trust literature, that suggests the overall feeling of trust in the service provider depends on customers’ beliefs about service providers’ ability, benevolence, predictability, and integrity. The model, tested in a banking context with data from 2,284 customers in 11 countries, explains trust well across culturally diverse countries. The results of a hierarchical linear model, however, show that customers differ in the way they build trust in their service provider across cultures. Moderating effects of the cultural values of the target group largely explain this variation. Only the effect of ability on trust is robust across countries. Global service firms should consider all four trust drivers when striving to build trust. The emphasis they put on each of these trust drivers, however, should differ across countries. When applying these principles to the design of marketing activities or market segmentation, marketing managers should collect data on the cultural values of their specific target groups in particular countries or cultural milieus.

Causal path modeling of grocery shopping in hypermarkets

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine attitudinal and behavioral shopping patterns related to hypermarket shopping in an Asian market, which has undergone a revolutionary transition from traditional to modern trade food retailing in the past decade. The first class includes shopping enjoyment, risk aversion, price signaling, innovativeness, trust and future purchase intentions. The second group of behavioral shopping patterns includes advocacy, time, and money spent shopping.Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 244 shoppers was interviewed across Bangkok using a structured questionnaire through face‐to‐face personal interviews.Findings – The study finds that grocery shoppers tend to be more risk averse when time pressured, but less risk averse if they are innovative. Bangkok Thais score high on innovativeness and shopping enjoyment and are more frequent patrons of hypermarkets than other grocery store formats. While a particular aspect of hypermarket grocery shopping behavior is found to ...

The transformation of food retailing in Thailand 1997--2007

Prior to the economic crash of 1997, Thailand had been one of the fastest growing economies in the world. A number of foreign retailers invested in the market, which became easier to do after this date due to relaxed ownership restrictions. Rapid expansion ensued which led to complaints and attempts at regulation. This study reviews the food retail scene in Thailand, highlighting what has happened in the last decade in terms of how retailers have adapted to cultural differences in consumer behaviour, competition and government regulation.

Why Private Label Grocery Brands Have Not Succeeded In Asia

Abstract Lower disposable income among Asian grocery shoppers, heavily discounted private label grocery brands, relative to national brands, and a favorable retail distribution structure would seem to predispose the former to success. But this has not been the case. To learn why private label grocery brands have not succeeded in Asia, two identical shopper surveys were conducted in Wichita, Kansas (United States) and Prakanong-Bangna, Bangkok (Thailand) to examine possible factors relating to retail grocery shopping differences. The authors found that poor market knowledge, and the tendency of Thai consumers to infer product quality by using extrinsic cues such as high price were salient. Additionally, Thai choices were influenced more by social factors than Americans, making them less prone to bargain hunting. The paper concludes with the discussion of managerial implications and offers recommendations to retail chain owners operating in the region.

Materialism and life satisfaction: the role of religion.

This study examines the role of religion and religiosity in the relationship between materialism and life satisfaction. The findings suggests that religion may be a key factor in understanding differences in findings of previous studies regarding the inverse relationship found in the vast majority of previous studies. Based on a large-scale study in Malaysia—a country comprised of several religious subcultures (mainly Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus), the findings suggest that the influence of religiosity on materialism and life satisfaction is stronger among Malays than among Chinese and Indians, and life satisfaction partially mediates the relationship between religiosity and materialism. The paper discusses implications for theory development and further research.

The Effects of Family Structure and Socialization Influences on Compulsive Buying: A Life Course Study in Thailand

Abstract Compulsive consumption is regarded as a global phenomenon that can adversely affect consumer well-being. Although the topic has been studied in different cultural settings, we have seen relatively little theory development and explanations of compulsive behavior Nearly all previous empirical studies attempt to explain this behavior by correlating measures of compulsive behavior with independent variables taken within the same time frame. However, recent developments in social sciences suggest that such a phenomenon may best understood in the context of the persons earlierin-life experiences. Using the life course paradigm as an overarching framework, the present research extends previous work on this topic. Following hypotheses were drawn from literature review: HI: The earlier in childhood and adolescence a person experiences family dislocation, the greater his or her likelihood of exhibiting compulsive behaviors in adulthood. H2: The earlier in life the young person experienced family dislocation, the greater the number of family disruption events the young person experienced prior entering adulthood years. H3: Family dislocation leads to (a) increased frequency of socio-oriented family communications and (b) decreased frequency of concept-oriented family communication. H4: Young adults who were raised in families characterized by a strong socio-oriented communication structure are more likely to exhibit compulsive consumption tendencies than those who were raised in families characterized by a weak socio-oriented family communication structure. H5: Young adults who were raised in families characterized by a strong concept-oriented communication structure are less likely to exhibit compulsive consumption tendencies than those who were raised in families characterized by a week concept-oriented family communication structure. H6: The relationship between family disruption events experienced during adolescence and perceived stressfulness of these events is moderated by (a) global family support, (b) emotional family support, and (c) material family support. Those reporting higher levels of family support as teenagers are less likely to report experiencing stress due to family disruption events. H7: Perceived stressfulness of family disruption events experienced during adolescent years are associated with compulsive consumption tendencies in early adulthood. H8: The greater the number of family disruption events young adults experienced during their adolescent years the more frequent was their communication about consumption with their peers. H9: The more frequent was the young persons’ communication with their peers about consumption during their adolescent years, the more likely they are to report compulsive buying tendencies as young adults. We use a sample of 120 Thai undergraduate students attending classes taught in English as part of a four-year international program. Product-moment correlations, hierarchical regression analysis and partial correlation were used to analyze data. Results of testing hypotheses showed that hypothesis 2, 4, 7 and 9 were supported and hypothesis 1, 3, 5, 6 and 8 were not supported. Our study did not find a significant relationship between the age when a person experienced family dislocation and their compulsive behavior tendencies expressed as young adults. We did not find a significant relationship between family dislocation and family communication structures. But we found a significant positive relationship between socio-oriented communication structure and compulsive buying and a significant relationship between our peer communication and compulsive buying measures. Also we found perceived stressfulness due to the disruptive events to have a significant positive relationship between the perceived stressfulness and compulsive buying. Implications from these findings, limitations of this research and future research suggestions were discussed.

The influence of country image on luxury value perception and purchase intention

Purpose This study aims to develop a theoretical concept by examining the country image effects on luxury value perception, a matter past studies have overlooked. Multiple facets of country image, cognitive and affective dimensions, have been developed to evaluate perceived luxury value and purchase intention. However, no prior studies have considered all the types of perceived luxury values: utilitarian value, hedonic value, symbolic value and economic value, considered in relation to cognitive and affective country image in an emerging country’s market. Accordingly, this study has attempted to explore the ways Thai luxury consumers perceive the image of the country and the influence of the perceived value of Thai luxury brands, to learn which country attributes strengthen the luxury brand’s value and customers’ purchase intention. Design/methodology/approach A total of 407 Thai respondents, who were luxury-product consumers who knew and previously had bought either Thai luxury brands or global luxury brands, comprised the final sample examined. Structural Equation Modeling was employed in this research to test the research hypotheses. The structural model proposed a causal relationship between two endogenous constructs, cognitive and affective country images, and five exogenous constructs: utilitarian value, hedonic value, symbolic value, economic value and purchase intention. Findings The findings confirmed that countries are like brands in that the perceived image of each country’s aspects, cognitive and affective, influences the perceived value in each dimension differently, and so affects purchase intention. This implies that the evaluation of perceived quality or perceived value for money, as in past studies, cannot accurately demonstrate what particular benefits consumers receive when they utilize the country-image cue. Country image has both symbolic and emotional significances for consumers. The findings have provided a more precise measure of the effects of country image as well as important information on country positioning the in the world market. Research limitations/implications There are some limitations in this study. The reliance on Thai samples from one city has limited the generalizability of the findings. Moreover, this study considered only one country of brand origin, and only one product category has been chosen as the stimulus, which together are the major limitations of this study. Future research could also consider further testing country image effects on value perception with other extrinsic attributes, rather than using a single cue, as this study did. Additionally, antecedent variables that may have an influence on country-image effects should be considered in future studies. Practical implications The relation of country image and value perception could help both governments and companies support their national brands more effectively, or to export products in accordance with the image aspect that most strongly impacts consumers’ positive perception of value. Moreover, it would be valuable for companies producing luxury products to know which country attributes strengthen the brand’s value. Luxury-brand managers will have to take these aspects into consideration when developing their communications strategies (Krupka et al., 2014). Originality/value There is a lack of research as regards the impact of a brand name’s perceived origin on the luxury perception associated with that brand (Salciuviene et al., 2010). This research is the first to investigate the theoretical framework of luxury value perception found in relation to cognitive and affective country images. From an academic perspective, this study sought to increase the theoretical research relating to the ambiguous conceptualization of the country-image effect on consumers’ perception of value in luxury products. Additionally, the relation of country image to luxury value perception could help both governments and companies support their national luxury brands more effectively, or to export luxury products in accordance with the image aspect that most strongly impacts consumers’ positive perception of value.

Effects of Social Influence on Satisfaction with PL Brands in Thailand

Food retailers have been expanding rapidly in Asian countries, yet may face unexpected problems with consumer acceptance due to cultural differences. Collectivist culture and extended families imply it is likely there are more people in the shopping group, and the importance of face and status may lead to higher social risk in regards to buying private label (PL) brands. This study finds that social risk has a negative effect on satisfaction, while PL familiarity has a positive effect, and to a lesser degree perceived quality variation and price consciousness.

Contrasting Thai and Chinese Shopper Behavior and Satisfaction with PL Brands

Food retailers have been expanding rapidly in Asian countries yet may face unexpected problems with consumer acceptance of private labels due to cultural differences. PL acceptance has thus far been low in Asian markets, yet few studies have been conducted to explore potential issues related to culture. This study explores Thai and Chinese shopper behavior and their level of satisfaction with PL brands. This study finds that Chinese are more time pressured and price conscious, and have more trust in established brands, whereas Thai consumers have more experience with PL, and also higher satisfaction.