Developing a theoretical framework of consumer logistics from a comprehensive literature review

Paper delivered at the 21st Logistics Research Network annual conference 2016, 7th-9th September 2016, Hull. Abstract Purpose: Logistics as a business discipline entered academic consciousness in the mid-1960s when work by marketing academics discussed the integration between marketing and logistics. However, the link with consumers in the point-of-origin to point-of-consumption typology was not explored until Granzin and Bahn’s conceptualisation and model of consumer logistics (CL) in 1989. Since then few contributions have followed and neglecting this aspect of logistics research is difficult to understand. Firstly, the consumer represents a productive resource as an important downstream supply chain member carrying out logistics activities and tasks. Secondly, logistics activities directed towards the consumer also act along a marketing axis, i.e. satisfaction and loyalty for an overall shopping experience both from transaction-specific and cumulative levels are influenced by product quality elements and service-related dimensions. This paper presents a theoretical framework for deeper research into the topic of CL. Research approach: A literature review was conducted first following philosophical or field conceptualization principles as a first step towards theory building. Data bases of major logistics and SCM journals were searched however the publication timeframe was not limited as the concept of CL is relatively new. Selection criteria and Boolean searches were conducted and keywords used within article abstracts and title fields of search. Due to a relative scarcity of contributions obtained by that approach and in-line with the principle of methodological triangulation, additional search strategies were applied using Google/ Google Scholar searches. The majority of the cited contributions were also cross-referenced and included in the analysis if appropriate. Findings and originality: The literature search yielded a mother population of 46 documents of which 24 have been considered relevant for further consideration. The document harvest was analysed using Granzin and Bahn’s original CL issues and additional features in order to explore, structure, articulate, orient, hierarchize and delimit the field of CL in the 21st century. Research impact: This paper updates Granzin and Bahn’s work to outline new and distinctive features of CL given the obvious changes in the retail landscape since their work 27 years ago, such as the Internet and omni-channel retailing. More broadly, conceptualizing CL in a holistic manner enhances SCM theory building by questioning traditional notions of time and space ranges, isolated marketing-merchandizing/logistics considerations, traditional understandings of sites /locations, and equipment (e.g. shopping cart or basket)/ infrastructure/ layout and buying stages that are in-line with external evolutions on organizational, technological and societal levels. Practical impact: Understanding and improving CL contributes to supply chain competitiveness via increased consumer satisfaction and loyalty, better order fulfilment via cost reductions and efficiency increases, and enhanced differentiation targeting consumers receptive for sustainability/ ethics/ mobility/ lifestyle/ life quality issues. A dedicated approach to CL also enhances management of repercussions and interactions with upstream/ B2B logistics, visible through retail stores being both a destination and a source for inventory, the rise of drop-ship vendor relationships and new fulfilment options and related infrastructure

Reimagining m-Commerce App Design: The Development of Seductive Marketing through UX

To increase the market share of m-Commerce in the retail sector, new user interaction paradigms must be sought to break out of the current saturation of ideas. While the global fashion industry is worth over $2.7 Trillion, less than 15% of sales derive from online transactions. Growth in the m-Commerce platform is slow and unlikely to recapture the monumental shift of the early Web 2.0 era without further innovation. Such change needs to address the overwhelming approach by m-Commerce apps to sell to customers through presenting a stream of products rather than develop an experiential marketing platform. This chapter re-imagines the customer experience of m-Commerce fashion apps to encapsulate seductive and powerful marketing experiences. These experiences are alongside the media traditionally used to make sales within apps. We present a conceptual app framework, grounded in contemporary research in marketing and UX design, inspiring designers and marketers alike in their future developments

Dynamics of hotel website browsing activity: the power of informatics and data analytics

© 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the temporal dynamics of users browsing activity on a hotel website in order to derive effective marketing strategies and constantly improve website effectiveness. Users' activities on the hotel's website on yearly, monthly, daily and hourly basis are examined and compared, demonstrating the power of informatics and data analytics. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 29,976 hourly Weblog files from 1 August 2014 to 31 December 2017 were collected from a luxury hotel in Hong Kong. ANOVA and post-hoc comparisons were used to analyse the data. Findings: Users' browsing behaviours, particularly stickiness, on the hotel website differ on yearly, monthly, daily and weekly bases. Users' activities increased steadily from 2014 to 2016, but dropped in 2017. Users are most active from July to September, on weekdays, and from noon to evening time. The month-, day-, and hour-based behaviours changed through years. The analysis of big data determines strategic and operational management and marketing decision-making. Research limitations/implications: Understanding the usage patterns of their websites allow organisations to make a range of strategic, marketing, pricing and distribution decisions to optimise their performance. Fluctuation of website usage and level of customer engagement have implications on customer support and services, as well as strategic partnership decisions. Originality/value: Leveraging the power of big data analytics, this paper adds to the existing literature by performing a comprehensive analysis on the temporal dynamics of users' online browsing behaviours

Supporting Organisational Critical Activities From Web Sites: An Evaluation Methodology Development

quot; Organisational critical activities quot; (OCAs) are activities which must be conducted by the organisation constantly in order to be successful in the industry. They are recognised as being essential to short, medium, and long-term success in that industry, have been significantly resourced and receive regular senior management monitoring and direction. Although these activities are extremely important, some empirical studies have shown that they are not well supported by organisations, particularly in the area of Web support. This thesis develops an evaluation methodology called the quot;organisational critical activity Web support evaluation methodology quot; (OCAWSEM) which can be utilised to elicit OCAs from organisations, evaluate whether an organisation acutes; OCAs are being supported by its Web site, and provide guidance on how the organisation can improve its Web site. To develop the OCAWSEM, this thesis reviews the relevant literature and proposes a prototype OCAWSEM. A new iterative case design (ICD) approach has been used in order to further develop the prototype, and then to test the improved OCAWSEM. The selected field cases were eight universities in New Zealand. In total, 43 semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior teams, middle level managers, and Web teams. A systematic review of these universitiesacute Web sites was performed from the provideracutes, rather than the useracutes perspective. The outcome shows that the Developed OCAWSEM is a valid and reliable methodology for the evaluation of the support for OCAs from Web sites in the universities in New Zealand. This thesis provides useful lessons, drawn from the development and testing processes, as the basis from which to develop more specific OCAWSEMs for use in other organisational and industry contexts. Both practitioners and academicians can gain a deeper understanding of the notion of OCAs, better elicit OCAs from management, conduct Web site evaluations, and discuss the support of the Web sites for the OCAs

Online consumers’ product purchasing behaviour, advertising and involvement in fashion consumption in South Africa

While store-based fashion retailing continues to be the prevailing channel for South Africans, the country’s consumers are increasingly engaging with products online. It should be noted that online fashion purchasing behaviour does not necessarily follow the traditional consumer behaviour of the brick-and-mortar retailing environment. Therefore, ecommerce organisations are required to investigate the determinants of customer online shopping engagement among their market segments. With an improved understanding of the consumer’s online purchase behaviour, pure-play fashion retailers can create useful and successful online shopping strategies to attract new and potential customers. Thus, the future market for this industry as well as factors influencing online behaviour must be investigated and improved upon. This research study aimed to present a general overview and analysis of how online fashion consumption can grow and be sustainable in South Africa. This was accomplished by identifying various key factors contributing toward online fashion consumption and purchasing behaviour, in creating an attractive online shopping environment, whilst generating more customers, building customer loyalty and increasing competitiveness. As in any retail business, customer satisfaction is the key component for online fashion success. The purpose of this study was to execute a novel assessment of online consumers’ product purchasing behaviour, as well as advertising and involvement in fashion consumption in the South African context. To achieve this purpose, an in-depth literature review and a positivistic research investigation were conducted. The selected method was the most appropriate approach to achieve the research objectives by answering the research questions as well as to test the proposed hypotheses in relation to The Perceived Success of Online Fashion Consumption (dependant variables). As mentioned, the study involved a deductive approach of the positivistic paradigm to identify online purchasing motivation and factors that can assist with indicating what the pure-play fashion interface needs to deliver to stay competitive and increase market presence. This research study is considerably valuable as data from 16087 respondents from the participating pure-play fashion retailer have been recorded and the results indicated that the proposed hypotheses were all supported, thus reporting a significant relationship and positive influence on the perceived success of online fashion consumption

Understanding the factors that attract travellers to use airline websites for purchasing air tickets

This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonIn order for e-commerce businesses to attract customers and consequently increase revenue, it is essential to understand the behaviour of online consumers. This involves understanding how consumers react to website elements, and what could influence the adoption of online channels. Given the applied nature of this research area, a number of studies have been carried out by marketers and information systems experts in order to develop a better understanding of consumer behaviour and web elements impact on adoption of online services. However, as web services continue to expand, so does the need for further research concentrating on specific types of products or services. Many academic articles have been published to cater for specific web portals such as retailing, banking, governmental transactions, hotel booking, and many other areas. Whilst this is the case, there remains a lack of research examining customer behaviour when using airline websites. Given the specific nature of online consumers, and the amount of business surrounding e-ticketing, it is imperative that this gap in research is addressed. Multi-faceted limitations surrounding online consumer behaviour within the airlines industry emerge from the literature. For example, the majority of previous research has relied solely upon traditional theories and as such, other important perspectives related to travel warrant investigation. Additionally, apparent links between website qualities and website adoption remain under investigated in the context of the airline industry. Another gap in research relates to the investigation of the moderating role of travellers’ characteristics such as their demographics, internet experiences, and travel habits. Based on these limitations, this research aims to develop a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary (i.e. consumer behaviour, information systems, travel and tourism) theoretical model that is capable of examining the factors that influence travellers’ online satisfaction and intention to purchase air tickets from airline websites. In developing this model, this research adopts a positivist, deductive, and quantitative approach. Thus, based on the analysis and synthesis of literature, a conceptual model comprised of nine constructs is proposed. Inspired by the Information Systems Success Model, e-satisfaction is centralised in the model and suggested as the main predictor of intention to purchase airline tickets. Information web qualities and system web qualities are considered as antecedents of e-satisfaction. The two constructs from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use) are also integrated into the model. Other important factors such as e-trust, airline reputation, and price perception are also embedded. The suggested model has been validated using a measurement scale based on previously validated items. This research adopts an online survey that targets real travellers from Saudi Arabia who have used airline websites. Interviews, focus groups, and a pilot study were conducted to validate the survey items. Data collection procedures utilized the social media channels for the two operating airlines in Saudi Arabia as well as a snowball method. Data analysis techniques including exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modelling were used to validate the relationships and to test overarching research hypotheses. Additionally, group comparison techniques including invariance analysis were used to explore the moderation effect of demographic characteristics (i.e. gender, age, education level, monthly income, occupation, and location), internet experience, and travel habits (i.e. origin of the airline used, actual tickets purchase, travel frequency, motivation for travel, type of travel, and type of funding). The results from this research suggest that the most influential factors motivating travellers to purchase online are e-satisfaction followed by website trust. Furthermore, travellers’ perceptions of website quality also played an important role in influencing e-satisfaction. Price was the next influential factor. Several other factors appeared to have direct and indirect associations with intention to purchase and e-satisfaction. Additionally, findings emanating from group analysis suggest that some demographic factors and travel habits have a moderating influence over the research hypotheses. As such, this research makes several contributions to the consumer behaviour and web quality literature within the travel and tourism context. The findings from this research can assist airlines in shaping their web development priorities and enable them to focus on the most influential factors. This thesis concludes with a discussion of the application of these findings, an evaluation of the studies undertaken, and suggestions for future research