Perceived congruence and online loyalty as segmentation variables in multichannel retailing: a comparison between appparel and electronics

As the interest of the literature on congruity between offline and online stores is relatively recent, empirical evidence is required to help marketing managers choose the most effective ways of contributing to the formation of consistent offerings as well as their contribution to generate customer loyalty. This study examines whether congruity can help to identify segments of heterogeneous consumers that differ significantly regarding these variables as well as other constructs related to the customer relationship with the retailer. The study attempts to identify which congruity attribute(s) are most relevant for differentiating customers by their loyalty towards the online store, so that retailers can design strategies for improving congruity between physical and online stores, and ultimately, increase online store loyalty

THE CURRENT WTO AGRICULTURAL NEGOTIATIONS: OPTIONS FOR PROGRESS; SYNTHESIS

World Trade Organization, International Relations/Trade,

Consumers of ethnic apparel and textile crafts from alternative trading organizations

Increasingly, craft producers from developing countries are turning to alternative trading organizations (ATOs) for assistance in craft exporting. ATOs know the needs of the craft producers with whom they work; however, little is known about the ATO consumer;The purpose of the study was twofold. One goal was to describe consumers who had purchased products from alternative trading organizations (ATOs). The second goal was to further examine ATO consumers\u27 preferences for ethnic apparel. Theory in consumer behavior and social psychology provided the conceptual framework for the study. Major variables included in the study were values, Latin American involvement, altruism, clothing evaluative criteria, mail-order risk, past purchase behavior, and future purchase intentions;Data were collected with a mail survey of consumers randomly drawn from the stratified mailing list of Pueblo to People (usable response rate = 48.6%, n = 376). The basis for stratification was past purchase behavior and included: (1) Clothing Purchasers, (2) Other Purchasers, and (3) Non-Purchasers. Factor analysis uncovered latent variables among a large number of items. Multiple discriminant analysis revealed which independent variables were useful for distinguishing among consumer groups. Finally, path analysis was used to examine the causal relationships among variables affecting future purchase intentions;Perceived quality of ethnic apparel, support for ATOs, attitudes about social and political conditions in Latin America, past travel experience, concern for persons in developing countries, education, age, and willingness to sacrifice product expectations were useful for discriminating among past purchaser groups. Similar variables exerted strong influence on future purchase intentions. Results from both analyses were combined into a model describing ATO consumer behavior;The research makes numerous contributions. ATOs will benefit from knowledge that quality is an influential product characteristic. Theoretical contributions include the differentiation of ethnic apparel consumers from textile craft consumers and from consumers of mass-produced Western apparel, recognition of the value of less parsimonious models for explaining consumer behavior, and an understanding of the differing roles that attitudes toward objects and attitudes toward behaviors have in explaining purchasing. The research also recognizes socially responsible consumers who are concerned with others\u27 needs as well as their own

The Demand for Environmental Quality in Driving Transitions to Low Polluting Energy Sources

The purpose of this paper is to understand the long run demand for energy-related environmental quality, its influence on legislation and on transitions to low polluting energy sources. It starts by presenting a simple framework of the relationship between the demand for and supply of environmental quality, environmental legislation and energy. This forms the structure for presenting a series of episodes in British history where a demand for improvements in energy-related environmental quality existed. This analysis proposes that markets can drive transitions to low polluting energy sources, in specific economic conditions. However, most probably, governments will need to push them, and this cannot be expected without strong and sustained demand for environmental improvements. Yet, while demand is a prerequisite, it is not enough. It must also be spearheaded by strong, creative and sustained pressure groups (i.e., powerful lobbying and the weakening of the counter-lobby) to introduce legislation, to enforce it and to avoid it being over-turned by future governments.Energy Transitions, Historical, Environmental Quality, Air Pollution.

Hunger: Beyond the Reach of the Invisible Hand

The work described in this report differs from many others in that the analysis of policies is based on a common integrated framework. It shows why hunger persists, why many policies advanced in popular literature do not work, and what kind of policies can work. Although based on analyses using a quantitative, sophisticated system of models, the book is addressed to the nontechnical layman and to the general reader. The arguments go beyond economic and technical analysis and deal with political and moral aspects. The authors show that solutions that rely only on the market mechanism do not work to eliminate hunger rapidly enough. This analysis shows that even policies that try to intervene, modify, and distort the market do not help to reduce hunger effectively if they rely on the market mechanism

Growth and Inequality: The Role of Foreign Trade and Investment

This paper addresses the influence of foreign trade and investment on inequality or, more generally, on the distribution of income, with a focus on developing countries. There has been some scholarly debate on the influence on economic growth of economic openness to the rest of the world. Since growth affects the level of poverty and the distribution of income, the trade–growth nexus is also addressed. "Distribution of income" has several quite different meanings, apart from the issue of the specific measurements that are used to describe it. Economic theory has mainly been concerned with the functional distribution of income, that is, with the returns to different identifiable factors of production and their respective shares in total income of a particular country, such as the share of labor income in national income. Popular and political discourse is more concerned with the size distribution of income, such as the fraction of national income accruing to the top ten percent, or the bottom decile, of residents of the country in question — and in particular on whether inequality has risen or declined. In recent years, concern with the size distribution of income has extended to the global distribution, where observations are on countries, grouped by per capita income, rather than on individuals. The two concepts of distribution are related by the ownership of the factors of production, especially land in a predominantly agrarian economy, capital in a modern economy. If ownership of land and capital were evenly distributed across a population, even significant changes in the functional distribution of income would have little impact on the size distribution of income.Economic

Taiwanese Consumers\u27 Perceptions of Luxury Handbags: The Country-of-Origin Effect

The research on the effect of country-of-origin (COO) or Made in.. . label has attracted extensive attention from academic researchers and marketers for the past three decades. Moreover, the country-of-origin effect will be more progressively salient in the era of the global marketplace due to multinational companies who are seeking production in lower cost countries. Thus, considering the country-of-origin effect on consumers\u27 perceptions of products becomes more important. This study is the first to examine the country-of-origin effect, and how it may possibly influence Taiwanese consumers\u27 perception and purchase intentions when evaluating a luxury handbag. The specific purpose of this research study was (a) to examine the effect of the COO on consumers\u27 perception of product quality, prestige, workmanship as well as their purchase intentions; (b) to explore the relative importance of the COO and the brand name when consumers evaluate a luxury handbag; (c) to explore the influences of incongruent information between the COO and brand origin on consumers\u27 product evaluation; (d) to explore consumers\u27 purchase intention and the price they are willing to pay for luxury handbags made in different countries; and (e) to generate practical implication for luxury handbag manufacturers that consider moving their production into less reputable countries. The findings of this research study indicated that Taiwanese consumers are sensitive to the country-of-origin information when evaluating a luxury handbag. Taiwanese consumers tend to believe that luxury handbags made in well-developed countries will have better quality, prestige, and workmanship than handbags made in less-developed countries. Additionally, Taiwanese consumers have higher expectations from a higher equity brand; thus, the incongruent information between the COO and the brand origin will produce larger negative effects on product evaluation. With regard to the price expectation, Taiwanese consumers are willing to pay a higher price for the reputable COO and expect greater price discounts for the less reputable COO. Recommendations for luxury handbag manufacturers and future study are also discussed

poverty: Inequality and Human Development in Nlgerla: Appraising the Non-Attainment of the MDGs

The challenge of the 2 I'' century has been how to confront and reduce widespread inequalities and poverty. This remains the core of development problems that underline the principal objective of development policy as embodied in the Millennium Declaration. Despite significant improvements over the past 50 years in advancing human well-being, extreme poverty and inequities remain widespread in the developing world. The world today is characterized by vertiginous accumulation of wealth by a few to the exclusion of larger majority who suffer untold hardrhip and Impoverishment. These conditions have been exacerbated by the adoption of free market paradigm anchored on private accumulation. This has engendered an overlap of all types of injustice and social polarization that now define the basis for social life in most countries of the world, including Nigeria where 70 percent of the population lives below US$ one dollar a day. As an exploratory study, secondary sources ofdata were engaged to interrogate the policy of market fundamentalism and the man((estations of inequities it has engendered The paper argued that the lack of access to essential goods and services for a dignified human existence, the unevenness in the distribution of incomes and fruits of economic growth, as well as constraints in the access to power, self-esteem and freedom coupled with the prevalence of ethnic, religious, gender differences and orientations have generated violence, unrests, war. terrorism and deepen social conflicts- which reinforce the conditions of growing social inequality. The paper further proposed a restructuring of the present one-size-fits all model of social relations of economic globalization to one which require closer economic cooperation, where people and countries collectivezv act together to solve their common problems qf trade, capital and environment. Besides, there is need for international financial institutions such as the World Bank/IMF to respect national sovereignty, allow each country 10 make appropriate decisions that will shape and strengthen the process of nation building and better quality of life. In all, decision-making about economic globalization must be democratic and recognize that economics is not zero-sum, .but one about transforming the lives of peopl

Consumer Perception of Environmentally Friendly Antimicrobial Textiles: a case study from India

The recent global pandemic and increasing awareness of hygiene led to changes in consumers’ behaviour towards their health and wellbeing. Owing to growing consumers’ knowledge on the environmental impact of textiles, especially those who are health conscious and living in cities, it becomes vital to explore their perception towards antimicrobial textiles. This study investigated the consumer perception and specific requirement of sustainable antimicrobial textiles. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted online and collated from 306 participants (Female 49.3%; Male 50.6%) of five main cities in India including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Chennai. The majority of participants were healthcare workers and academics with an average age of 32 ± 7 (6.6 standard deviation). The questionnaire had high internal consistency and reliability, and the factor analysis indicated 15 items relating to four attributes that were relevant to extract information from the community on environment-friendly antimicrobial textile. The findings show that consumer’s awareness of rural health, hygiene and environmental issues could influence the purchase of sustainable antimicrobial textiles made of organic fibres with herbal finish. Consumers believe that by purchasing a sustainable product they contribute towards society. This is the first study to report on consumers’ preferences for sustainable antimicrobial textiles and contributes to the literature by developing a scale with high reliability that is community-relevant, consumer centered, and product-specific. This research underscores the importance of consumers’ awareness, knowledge, and preference of environmentally friendly antimicrobial hygiene textiles. The outcomes will benefit various stakeholders [healthcare workers, industry, and community] in promoting environmental-friendly and sustainable products among consumers in India