An Investigation of Antecedents and Consequences of Consumers’ Attitudes Toward an Apparel Website.

The percentage of U.S. consumers shopping and purchasing through the Internet is growing. The consumer has adapted to using the Internet to purchase products and retailers have profited from this new channel. Although the Internet is becoming an important part of business as well as consumers’ daily lives, little is known about how a website provides competitive advantage to a retailer and what makes a website appealing to consumers. In order to address the gap in research that exists regarding why and how consumers identify with online apparel retailers, the purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between website attributes (e.g., perceived attractiveness, informativeness), e-service quality (e.g., efficiency, fulfillment, system availability) and consumer-company identification for online information search and purchase behavior. More specifically, this research examines the links between consumer-company identification, perceived usefulness, and attitude toward a website, and their implications for the behavioral intention of consumers. Behavioral intention includes the consumer’s intention to search for information and intention to purchase within the online environment. Very little research has been done that connects consumer-company identification with information search and purchase behavior of apparel consumers in the online context. Combining elements from Social identity Theory and Technology Acceptance Model, this study proposes a conceptual model that builds on the Technology Acceptance Model and tests a total of seven hypotheses developed based on the key constructs and literature. Survey data were collected from a convenience sample of 291 students at the ii University of North Carolina at Greensboro, based on a pre-selected website (American Eagle: www.ae.com). Structural Equation Modeling was used to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings revealed that six of the seven hypothesized relationships were supported. This study makes several contributions to the literature. First, this study tests consumer-company identification to provide implications for Internet retailing. Second, the research provides important insights into consumers’ search and purchase intentions in relation to consumer-company identification with, perceived usefulness of, and attitude toward a website. Third, discussion of the relationship between website design attributes, e-service quality attributes and perceived usefulness provides suggestions for online marketing strategy. Fourth, this research connects psychological concepts like identity and organization identification with business strategies and consumer decision-making. Finally, this research confirms the unique value of Internet technology to retailing and emphasizes the importance of online store attributes to search and purchase intention

The Study of the Consumer-Company Identification on Mobile Application’s Attributes and Apparel Purchase Intention

PurposeIn this demanding and diversified social commerce market met by consumers’ quickly changing expectations, service quality for mobile-retailing is imperative. Consumer-Company Identification (CCI) is becoming an important tool for building a company’s brand. This research examines how mobile application (app) attributes, mobile-service quality and CCI lead to mobile consumers’ purchase intention for apparel products through app.Design/methodology/ApproachAn experimental survey was conducted with 300 respondents. Seven hypotheses were examined by a structural equation model to explore the relationships amongst mobile app attractiveness, mobile-service quality, CCI, perceived usefulness, and consumers’ intention to purchase products from the mobile app. Findings                                                                                          Our findings supported the relationships amongst consumers’ perceived usefulness of the mobile app, mobile-service quality attributes, and consumer purchase intention. Our findings also supported CCI’s impact on consumers’ intention to purpose through the application of the Technology Acceptance Model.Research implicationsOur research finding showed consumers’ psychological attachment toward apparel brands and its mobile app. The research further demonstrated the consumer-retailer relationships, and the findings support consumer purchase pattern through mobile app apparel purchase. Retailers’ attention to dimensions of mobile-service quality of app design will strengthen consumers’ perceived usefulness of their mobile app

Radical and Incremental Innovation Effectiveness in Relation to Market Orientation in the Retail Industry:Triggers, Drivers and Supporters

The retail industry market environment is very competitive; thus, in order to maintain their competitive advantage retailers are required to continuously come up with innovative offerings and systems. This chapter aims to provide useful insights for the retailers regarding the correlation between market orientation and innovation. The chapter illustrates the differences in start-up and mature companies, and reveals new insights with regard to market orientation and its constituent elements, and its relationship with both incremental and radical innovations. Readers learn that strong competitor orientation, a key ingredient of market orientation, has a positive relationship to incremental innovation for start-up companies, but it is counterproductive for mature companies, where a strong customer orientation is associated with radical innovation. The focus is to understand the dynamics of the entrepreneur versus manager during the transition process as a company grows.</jats:p