Wolfgang Weitzl

Implausible alternatives in eliciting multi-attribute value functions

Many methods to elicit preference models in multi-attribute decision making rely on evaluations of a set of sample alternatives by decision makers. Using orthogonal design methods to create this set of alternatives might require respondents to evaluate unrealistic alternatives. In this paper, we perform an empirical study to analyze whether the presence of such implausible alternatives has an effect on the quality of utility elicitation. Using a new approach to measure consistency, we find that implausible alternatives in fact, have a positive effect on consistency of intra-attribute preference information and consistency with dominance, but do not affect inter-attribute preference information.

The In-Store Antecedents and Consequences of Perceived Shopping Value for Regularly Purchased Products

The study contributes to the knowledge of the complex relationships between store image, shopping value, and key retail outcomes. For the first time, a holistic approach is presented to identify key in-store image characteristics and their influences on both hedonic and utilitarian shopping value, as well as to investigate the consequences of perceived shopping value on customer satisfaction and store loyalty. A quantitative survey was conducted and 342 grocery store customers of a major Austrian retail chain were interviewed. Results show that the two shopping value dimensions (hedonic and utilitarian) are influenced by various store image characteristics. Moreover, the study provides evidence that a positive relationship between shopping value and store loyalty exists. This link, however, is fully mediated by customer satisfaction. The impact of the utilitarian shopping value on customer satisfaction was found to be stronger than the impact of its hedonic counterpart.

Introduction to the Research

It is not assumptive to claim that trust is the key ingredient of social relationships, communications and economic transactions. For Luhmann (1979), one of the most influential researchers in the domain, trust is nothing less than a general prerequisite for human behaviour, as it is “a basic fact of social life” (p. 4). For the sociologist, the absence of trust would impede us in undertaking normal everyday activities, such as talking with others and making new friends. Trust, its causes, nature and consequences, is recognized as a critical concept and acknowledged not only by sociologists; academics from a wide spectrum of intellectual disciplines, such as psychology, economics, marketing and communications, have contributed to our current body of knowledge.

The Influence of Shopping Carts on Customer Behavior in Grocery Stores

Univ. Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Udo Wagner is Professor of Marketing at the University of Vienna, Department of Management, Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1, A-1090 Vienna, Austria, Phone: +43-(0)1-4277-38011, Fax: +43-(0)1-4277-838012, E-Mail: udo.wagner@univie.ac.at Univ. Doz. Dr. Claus Ebster is Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Vienna, Department of Management, Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1, A-1090 Vienna, Austria, Phone: +43-(0)1-4277-38017, Fax: +43-(0)1-4277-838012, E-Mail: claus.ebster@univie.ac.at Mag. Ulrike Eske is Research Assistant at the University of Vienna, Department of Management, Oskar-MorgensternPlatz 1, A-1090 Vienna, Austria, Phone: +43-(0)1-4277-38012, Fax: +43-(0)1-4277-838012, E-Mail: ulli.eske@aon.at Mag. Wolfgang Weitzl is PhD Student at the University of Vienna, Department of Management, Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1, A-1090 Vienna, Austria, Phone: +43-(0)1-4277-38012, Fax: +43-(0)1-4277-838012, E-Mail: wolfgang.weitzl@gmx.net The Influence of Shopping Carts on Customer Behavior in Grocery Stores

Review of Literature and Theoretical Background

This chapter reviews prior research on the concept of trust across various disciplines. First, the importance of trust for human affairs and communications is emphasized. This is followed by a discussion of the disciplines’ different approaches to conceptualizing, defining and operationalizing trust. Subsequently, this chapter provides a classification framework of trust components which integrates interdisciplinary knowledge and on which further investigation of the trust concept in the domain-specific context of eWOM is based.

Success Factors of Brand Communication on Facebook: A Structured Abstract

Strong consumer–brand relationships are highly valuable assets for both interaction partners: While consumers benefit from satisfying their social needs by creating and maintaining bonds with a desired brand, the brand benefits from increased customer loyalty and advocacy (Algesheimer et al. 2005). With the advent of social media, marketers are confronted with new opportunities to foster meaningful relationships with their customers and to disseminate information for creating strong brands with a rich and clear brand knowledge structure in the consumer’s mind (Gensler et al. 2013). Facebook brand fan pages (BFP) are deemed as one of the most powerful instruments to strengthen consumer–brand relationships and to enhance interaction as well as dialogue with and among a brand’s consumers. A BFP is here defined as company-initiated online community representing a brand’s official channel on Facebook to communicate with its former, current and potential customers. By “liking” such a page, people become part of a consumer community of similar-minded individuals and which enables them to publicly share their brand experiences with others. In such an environment, marketers have lost their pivotal role as authors of their brands’ meaning (Kuksov et al. 2013): Consumer-generated content has a considerable impact on the audience’s opinions, feelings, and behaviors (e.g., Hennig-Thurau et al. 2010) that potentially undermine corporate brand communication. Hence, for companies BFP are a double-edged sword. This raises the question arises whether marketers’ considerable efforts to create corporate brand postings ultimately convert into strong consumer–brand relationships or, more precisely, consumer-based brand equity (CBBE), or not.

Discussion, Implications and Future Research

Regardless of the insights of the majority of formal academic disciplines which have already acknowledged the key role that trust plays in the context of interpersonal communication as well as influence, research in the field of online consumer research put little emphasis on a systematic investigation of the trust concept in the context of inter-consumer communication. This situation may be not attributable to the fact that online scholars haven’t recognized the construct’s general importance also in their own research area, but is explainable by a latent conceptual confusion of what trust in eWOM really is. A variety of industry reports and academic studies have nevertheless attempted to measure the construct or closely related concepts (e.g., Briggs et al., 2002; Pan & Chiou, 2011; Racherla et al., 2012; Sen, 2007; Smith et al., 2005). While this research stream represents a valuable contribution, especially to the recognition of the important role of the trust concept for review research, these writings are commonly characterized by a lack of understanding of the construct’s content and scope.

Conceptualization of the Construct, Research Questions and Hypotheses

In this chapter – after discussing the role of trust for online review impact – this thesis presents a literature-based definition and conceptualization of eWOM trust. Hereafter, thirteen research questions and fifteen hypotheses are proposed in order to assess multiple forms of construct reliability and validity, including translation-, criterion-, and nomological validity. For testing the latter, a comprehensive theoretical framework of eWOM trust including its antecedents, consequences, and correlates is presented.

Creating Brand Performance with Social Media: An Abstract

In the light of the growing popularity of Facebook brand fan pages as important channels for brand communication and consumer-brand interactions, understanding how consumers’ perceptions of these pages impact customer-based brand equity is certainly a critical research point. The research described in this paper uses Keller and Lehmann’s (2003) brand value chain as a theoretical foundation and adapts it to the social media context. This enables us to investigate the role of multiple brand fan page characteristics in triggering consumer engagement and in forming a favourable consumer-brand mindset. Specifically, we study the impact of perceived vividness, interactivity, information and entertainment value of brand posts’ content, as well as the positive brand fans’ comments on consumer engagement, brand awareness, image and attitude. Preliminary results show that consumer-oriented brand fan pages can translate into positive brand outcomes such as loyalty and recommendation.

Measuring Electronic Word-of-Mouth Effectiveness

In der Ara des Social Commerce sind Online Kundenrezensionen und –empfehlungen (eWOM) zu einem wichtigen Marketinginstrument geworden. Marketingforscher und Praktiker stimmen uberein, dass eWOM einen weitreichenden Einfluss auf Kaufentscheidungen haben kann, dass dieser Einfluss jedoch vor allem von dem Vertrauen, das Konsumenten den Meinungen und Empfehlungen anderer im Internet entgegenbringen (eWOMTrust), bestimmt wird. Dennoch ist nur wenig uber dieses zentrale psychologische Konstrukt, seine Eigenschaften, Rolle und Auswirkungen bekannt. Diese Dissertation versucht diese Wissenslucken zu schliesen indem sie (i) eine theoriebasierte Konzeptualisierung des Konstrukts anbietet, welches zentrale interdisziplinare Erkenntnisse uber die Inhalte, Grenzen und Komplexitat des Vertrauensbegriffs berucksichtigt; (ii) seine funf Hauptkomponenten identifiziert; (iii) eine valide und reliable 22-Item Skala zu seiner Messung (eWT-S) einfuhrt; (iv) das Konstrukt in ein theoretisches Online-Shopping-Model bettet, das es mit seinen Determinanten, Korrelate und Konsequenzen in Beziehung setzt und das es daruber hinaus erlaubt, eWOM Rezipienten umfangreich zu charakterisieren; und (v) einen neuen Segmentierungsansatz fur Online Konsumenten einfuhrt, welcher es ermoglicht, diese anhand ihres Vertrauens in (a) eWOM und (b) Online Werbung (oADTrust) zu kategorisieren und die Mitglieder der vier Cluster zu beschreiben. Der Forschungsprozess umfasste eine Serie von empirischen Untersuchungen mit mehreren Stichproben aus drei Landern. Die Arbeit bietet Unternehmen unter anderem neue Ansatzpunkte fur die Anpassung von Kommunikationsstrategien an die Bedurfnisse von Konsumenten sowie die Moglichkeit zur Antizipation des Einflusses von Online Werbung und positiven/negativen Rezensionen auf unterschiedliche Marktsegmente.