Stan Ernst

Signaling Quality in an E-Commerce Environment

Abstract “Quality” is a unique concern in food marketing with powerful strategic connotations and consumer emotion. Consequently, retailers, with the help of food processors, have built their industry around communications with consumers which compare the value of one product over another using key quality attributes as carriers of that value. This involves both simple and complex signaling techniques that consumers have grown accustom to. With the onset of online food sales, many of these signaling techniques are less effective. This research evaluates food quality communication signals, presenting findings from three related E-Grocery studies, linked through a meta analysis.

Beliefs of small, independently owned rural retailers about internet use: a typology

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a typology of small, rural retailers based on personal beliefs about business use of the internet and to identify similarities and differences between the retailer subgroups in attitude, perceptual performance, and behavioral intention to use the internet.Design/methodology/approach – A mail survey is completed by owners of small, independently owned retailers in rural communities across the USA.Findings – Cluster analysis reveals three types of retailers: optimists, efficiency minded, and skeptics. Differences in attitudes towards use of the internet and intention to use the internet for purposes of strategic positioning are found across the groups.Research limitations/implications – The sample frame consists of small, independently owned retailers in rural communities, the response rate is low, and results will not generalize to small retailers in urban areas.Practical implications – The stories of optimist retailers can show efficiency‐minded retailers ...