Exploring Consumer Collecting Behavior: A Conceptual Model and Research Agenda

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the behaviors that revolve around collecting, the motivations behind these behaviors and the psychological benefits collectors receive from engaging in these collecting behaviors. Design/methodology/approach A thorough literature review and integration of prominent psychological and social psychology theories are used to propose a conceptual model, several research propositions and potential research questions for future scholarship. Findings This paper proposes that a collector salient identity and collecting motives drive tension-inducing social and solitary collecting behaviors and that these behaviors in turn reinforce the collector salient identity. Relevant aspects of the collecting phenomenon are explored, and included propositions provide future research direction to validate a proposed conceptual model designed to provide insights into a common consumer behavior. Originality/value This paper provides a broad conceptual model and explores several details of consumer collecting behavior as a basis for future research

Trust and Experience in Online Auctions

This paper aims to shed light on the complexities and difficulties in predicting the effects of trust and the experience of online auction participants on bid levels in online auctions. To provide some insights into learning by bidders, a field study was conducted first to examine auction and bidder characteristics from eBay auctions of rare coins. We proposed that such learning is partly because of institutional-based trust. Data were then gathered from 453 participants in an online experiment and survey, and a structural equation model was used to analyze the results. This paper reveals that experience has a nonmonotonic effect on the levels of online auction bids. Contrary to previous research on traditional auctions, as online auction bidders gain more experience, their level of institutional-based trust increases and leads to higher bid levels. Data also show that both a bidder’s selling and bidding experiences increase bid levels, with the selling experience having a somewhat stronger effect. This paper offers an in-depth study that examines the effects of experience and learning and bid levels in online auctions. We postulate this learning is because of institutional-based trust. Although personal trust in sellers has received a significant amount of research attention, this paper addresses an important gap in the literature by focusing on institutional-based trust

Exploring the Sources of Design Innovations: Insights from the Computer, Communications and Audio Equipment Industries

Whereas business research has focused on the impact of design innovations on market response and financial performance, the sources of design innovations, as opposed to those of technological innovations, have largely escaped investigation. In this research, we examine the organizational, financial, and environmental drivers of design innovations and how they contrast to technological innovations. Our study utilizes a unique dataset encompassing a 10-year window of innovation output drawn from the computer, communications, and audio and video equipment manufacturing industries. Our results suggest that design innovations are driven primarily by investments in research and development and slack organizational resources. Interestingly, we find that design innovations are more prevalent in smaller but fast-growing markets as opposed to technology innovations, which are prevalent in larger markets. Contrary to expectations, we find no association between marketing investments and design innovations. Our research contributes to the extant business literature by considering the sources of design innovations separately from the sources of technology innovations. We also contribute to the literature by distinguishing design and technology patents, developing a deeper understanding of design innovation, and illuminating a lesser understood source of competitive advantage for firms

The Upside Of Showrooming: How Online Information Creates Positive Spill-Over For The Brick-And-Mortar Retailer

The ubiquitous nature of mobile internet devices (i.e., smartphones and tablet computers) has led to an increase of their use within the retail environment as a shopping assistive technology. Consumers use them for a variety of shopping-related tasks, the most significant of which is researching product information. The use of these devices has clearly impacted how consumers shop, but what is not clear is how these devices affect shopper satisfaction, trust in the retailer and subsequent shopper intentions. The purpose of this paper is to better understand these relationships and extend existing research on the use of mobile internet devices in the retail industry. Several hypotheses are offered, and survey data from a nationwide random sample of consumers tested the hypotheses using structural equation modeling. Results indicate that shoppers’ satisfaction and trust in an online information source creates a spill-over effect on satisfaction and trust towards the retailer. Additionally, retailer repatronage intentions increase as a result of this spill-over effect. Contributions to emerging mobile marketing literature and theory, managerial implications, and future research recommendations are discussed