Sang-Eun Byun

The Dimensionality of Price Perceptions: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Asian Consumers

Recent research has found that rather than being a uni-dimensional construct, price has a variety of underlying dimensions; these underlying factors can be categorized as positive and negative. Some consumers interpret price as an indicator of product quality or prestige. Higher price is thus associated with higher likelihood of purchase. Other consumers may view price negatively, and seek to reduce the price they pay with different shopping strategies. Although much work homogenizes the consumer patterns of different Asian countries, limited research has focused on the similarities and differences in shopping habits and perceptions of price across Asian cultures. The focus of this study is to better understand price perceptions among Korean and Chinese consumers; the goal of this study is to contribute to the body of knowledge available to international marketers and to market scholars and strategists. In this manuscript, we first explore six price-related constructs before describing the study approach and addressing research findings. The results of this study indicate that both Korean and Chinese consumers perceive price as multidimensional, but in the case of Chinese participants, all price perceptions are negative.

The antecedents of in-store hoarding: measurement and application in the fast fashion retail environment

This study raised scholarly inquiry about the construct of in-store hoarding and investigated the antecedents of in-store hoarding in the fast fashion retail environment. As the market becomes dynamic and volatile, more retailers are moving toward fast fashion by constantly delivering new products throughout the season. As a result, a product life span is dramatically reduced, thereby accelerating perishability of fashion items. Moreover, in order to make constant room for new products and minimize markdowns, fast fashion retailers deliberately limit product availability, creating a sense of scarcity on the part of consumers. Based on the literature review and one-to-one interviews, perceived perishability, scarcity and low price were identified as primary drivers of in-store hoarding. Overall, results from a field study supported the proposed model. However, the findings indicated that perceived perishability and scarcity were central to understanding in-store hoarding, whereas low-price perception was least important with a marginally significant effect on in-store hoarding. This study made a significant contribution to the consumer and retailing literature by introducing, defining, and operationalizing new constructs and new measurements, including scales for perceived perishability, perceived scarcity, and in-store hoarding. This study also provided many implications for practitioners in developing and implementing marketing and merchandising management strategies.

Fast Fashion and In-Store Hoarding: The Drivers, Moderator, and Consequences

In-store hoarding refers to the practice of taking possession of an item and keeping it for themselves while shopping although they are not sure whether to buy or not. We examined theoretical links among in-store behavior, hedonic shopping value, and repatronage intention and a moderating role of fashion innovativeness in the impacts of the three fast fashion factors (perceived perishability, scarcity, and low price) on in-store hoarding. The model was tested using female shoppers from two leading fast fashion retailers in the U.S. We found that while perceived perishability was a stronger driver of in-store hoarding for the high innovativeness group, perceived scarcity was a stronger driver of this act for the low innovativeness group. In-store hoarding and perceived perishability tend to produce positive retail outcomes by increasing hodonic shopping value and repatronage intentions. We discussed theoretical and pratical implications for marketers or retailers in the fashion industry.

The Influence of Others: The Impact of Perceived Human Crowding on Perceived Competition, Emotions, and Hedonic Shopping Value

While human crowding has been considered a driver of negative emotions, leading to unpleasant shopping experiences, other studies have found that it does not necessarily result in negative emotions but creates excitement in certain shopping contexts. To fill the research gap, this study investigates whether perceived competition mediates the relationships among human crowding, emotions, and hedonic shopping value. The authors tested the model with actual shoppers from fast fashion retailers in the United States. Results showed that when perceived human crowding is mediated through perceived shopping competition, it creates positive emotions and induces hedonic shopping value.

Accessing opportunities in apparel retail sectors in India: Porter's diamond approach

Purpose – The Indian retailing industry has undergone dramatic changes because of the governments recent liberalization in retail sectors along with the countrys rapid economic development and emerging consumer groups with market power. Despite the increasing importance of India in the global market, little is known about apparel retail sectors in India and the information available is fragmented and under‐developed. The purpose of this paper is to assess the competitiveness of the Indian apparel retail industry and the changing market conditions since the 2006 retail trade liberalization to identify the opportunities and challenges of operating in the Indian market.Design/methodology/approach – This study employs Porters diamond model as the theoretical framework. This study conducts an extensive review of published documents including academic journals, trade publications, and government and industry web sites and discusses them within the framework of the diamond model.Findings – By analyzing the mu...

Reconceptualization of price mavenism: do Chinese consumers get a glow when they know?

Purpose – Buyers in China often communicate positive and negative purchasing experiences through word‐of‐mouth (WOM), which creates special problems and opportunities for marketers. Price mavenism, which is associated with price‐information searching and price‐sharing behavior, is often considered a negative dimension of price. The purpose of this paper, however, is to propose price mavenism as an outcome variable arising from both positive perceptions of price (prestige sensitivity) and negative perceptions (price and value consciousness) and examine that the “know” (price mavenism) will positively impact the “glow” (shopping hedonism) among the Chinese.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected through a survey in Shanghai, China. The conceptual model was tested using structural equation modeling.Findings – This study found that prestige sensitivity, price consciousness and value consciousness shaped price mavenism among the Chinese, supporting the idea that price mavenism arises from both positi...

Neural Correlates of Consumer Buying Motivations: A 7T functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Study

Consumer buying motivations can be distinguished into three categories: functional, experiential, or symbolic motivations (Keller, 1993). Although prior neuroimaging studies have examined the neural substrates which enable these motivations, direct comparisons between these three types of consumer motivations have yet to be made. In the current study, we used 7 Tesla (7T) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to assess the neural correlates of each motivation by instructing participants to view common consumer goods while emphasizing either functional, experiential, or symbolic values of these products. The results demonstrated mostly consistent activations between symbolic and experiential motivations. Although, these motivations differed in that symbolic motivation was associated with medial frontal gyrus (MFG) activation, whereas experiential motivation was associated with posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) activation. Functional motivation was associated with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activation, as compared to other motivations. These findings provide a neural basis for how symbolic and experiential motivations may be similar, yet different in subtle ways. Furthermore, the dissociation of functional motivation within the DLPFC supports the notion that this motivation relies on executive function processes relatively more than hedonic motivation. These findings provide a better understanding of the underlying neural functioning which may contribute to poor self-control choices.

Realignment strategies in the US retail industry during a recessionary time

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the range of realignment strategies employed by retailers in the USA in response to the 2008 economic recession. Design/methodology/approach – Following the grounded theory approach, National Retail Federation News Briefs published between 2008 and 2011 were analyzed by sorting them into thematic categories and comparing trends in strategic decisions during the recession (2008-2009) and after the recession (2010-2011). Based on the emergent categories, propositions were developed to provide theoretical explanations of the findings. Findings – The authors found five thematic categories of realignment strategies: promotional, organizational, price, operational, and product realignments. In line with contingency theories, retailers used these strategies to achieve a greater fit with the altered business environment and consumer consumption patterns. While promotional realignment was most prevalent, followed by organizational realignment, different realignment...