Exploring the Use of Managerial Intuition in Retail Site Selection Decisions

This study empirically investigates the process by which retailers make site selection decisions. As Craig, Ghosh, and McLafferty (1984) note in a special edition of the Journal of Retailing devoted to locational analysis, “the choice of a store’s location is perhaps the single most important decision a retailer has to make… even slight differences in location can have a significant impact on market share and profitability” (pg. 5). Recent changes in the retail landscape make the continued study of retailer site selection a worthwhile pursuit (Mejia and Benjamin 2002, Wood and Reynolds 2013). Among the many variables included in contemporary site selection theories, one notable gap is the use of intuition. Most theories rely heavily on quantitative inputs at the expense of qualitative retailer experience. Although many researchers have noted the importance and widespread adoption of managerial intuition in choosing retail sites (e.g. Clarke, Horita, and Mackaness 2000; Hernandez and Bennison 2000; Simkin, Doyle, and Saunders 1985; Wood and Reynolds 2013), few empirical studies consider the construct and those that do tend to examine it in isolation from the other more quantitative variables (for an exception see Blattberg and Hoch 1990). This gap is addressed in the present study. This study provides empirical evidence as to how managerial intuition, or what is often called retail nose within the industry, is incorporated into the decision making process. Intuition is investigated in conjunction with the more quantitative variables typically used to model site selection and it is found to make a significant, albeit small, contribution to the choice process

Turn the Other Cheek or an Eye for Eye: Exploring Brand-to-Brand Dialogue on Social Media

While popular press articles frequently highlight humorous, snarky exchanges between brands on social media, academically, this behavior is relatively unexplored. As consumers’ perceptions of the use of humor in brand-to-brand dialogue may have meaningful managerial and theoretical implications, this research examines consumers’ perceptions of brands that engage in dialogue with one another on social media. To understand the dyadic relationship between two brands who engage with one another on social media, we explore two different types of humorous comments (low aggression and high aggression) and how the type of humor employed affects consumers’ perceptions of both the brand initiating the dialogue and the brand who responds. Interestingly, we find that the safest strategy for brands who elect to initiate with another brand on social media is to avoid either type of humor; thus, avoiding perceptions of manipulative intent. However, for brands that elect to respond to another brand, their use of humor can vary based upon the tone of the initiating brand’s comment

Provider and Customer Response to the Service Environment: a Field Experiment

This research extends service theory by examining the relationship between providers and customers in an actual retail setting. Findings indicate that employee evaluations of the service environment improve in the presence of a pleasant, congruent ambient scent; providers are also more courteous and customers more friendly. Most importantly, provider mood states act as moderators of the relationships between the service environment and employee attitude as well as customer perceptions of employee behavior. Implications for managers include careful consideration of whether it is desirable to introduce ambient scent, and how to reduce the impact of negative employee mood states

Beyond Endorsements: How Celebrity Creative Directors Influence Consumers’ Attitudes toward the Advertisement

Many marketers are beginning to expand the roles that celebrities play in support of brands. Connections now go beyond the typical endorsement relationship to include employing celebrities as Creative Directors. It is imperative to understand the implications of these new relationships, as they may have different outcomes for the brand. Relying on research from the brand alliance literature, theories on the associative network model of memory, and cultural transfer of meaning, we suggest that hiring celebrities to act in the capacity of Creative Directors may have additional positive ramifications for the brand that go beyond simply utilizing celebrities as brand endorsers. Theoretically, this research extends our understanding of how consumers react to the varied roles celebrities might assume in support of a brand. Two studies are presented. The first shows that expanding the celebrity role to Creative Director, as opposed to merely an endorser, can have positive implications for the brand. This study also investigates the mediating potential of consumer perceptions of the celebrity’s expertise. The second study expands upon the first by identifying the moderating impact of consumer skepticism toward advertising. Specifically, our results suggest that when celebrities are given the title of Creative Director (as opposed to endorser), perceptions of celebrity expertise increase, leading to correspondingly more positive attitudes toward an advertisement containing the celebrity and the brand. Further, the present research expands the literature to show that skepticism toward advertising moderates the relationship between the role that a celebrity plays in regard to a brand and consumer perceptions of celebrity expertise. Theoretical and managerial implications of these results are considered and ideas for future research are presented

How Social Media Influencer Collaborations are Percieved by Consumers

Within the social media community, influencers engage in a variety of collaborative practices such as tagging, reposting content from, or forming partnerships with other influencers and brands. While such collaborative efforts are a known practice, less is understood about how influencer collaborations affect consumers\u27 perceptions of the partnering influencers, specifically when a status differential exists within the collaboration. We suggest that such collaborative practices, specifically those where the focal influencer has a higher status than the collaborating partner, may help to weaken consumers\u27 perceptions that the influencer\u27s actions are purely self‐focused. A pilot study, analyzing both influencer–influencer collaborations and influencer–brand collaborations, provides evidence that influencers engage in collaborations with other influencers and brands of different status levels. Two studies then support our theorizing that influencers who collaborate with lower‐status influencers are perceived as less self‐serving and more altruistic, while influencers who collaborate with lower‐status brands are only perceived as less self‐serving. This suggests that, for influencers who desire to enhance how consumers perceive them, an effective strategy is to engage in collaborations with either a lower‐status influencer or brand

The Forum: Fall 1999

Fall 1999 journal of the Honors Program at the University of North Dakota. The issue includes stories, poems, essays and art by undergraduate students.https://commons.und.edu/und-books/1041/thumbnail.jp

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Online Service Benefits’ Impact on Relationship Strength, Quality, & Continuation Intention

Many service providers now use social media, both as a way to interact efficiently with their customers, and as a means of gathering customer data needed to better manage customer relationships. Thus, social media can both provide service and assist in developing better future service. In the present research, we examine in detail whether and how social media perform the first of these tasks by examining its use as a tool for online service benefit provision. Then, we consider how benefits customers receive from maintaining relationships with service providers via social media impact outcomes, including reported relationship strength, customer loyalty, commitment, and intention to continue with the service. We also consider how customer choices regarding characteristics of the relationship itself (duration and frequency of interaction) may impact its effectiveness at driving these outcomes. The results of this study will contribute to theory by examining how existing relationship theory applies to relationships between online firms and their customers. We observe how moving a relationship online changes the impacts observed in more traditional environments. We also consider moderators (duration and frequency of interaction) that we do not believe have been considered previously in online settings. Finally, we offer managerial implications related to design of online services

Grocery Shopping before, during and after the Pandemic: A Qualitative Study.

This research compares grocery shopping attitudes and behaviors before and during the COVID‐19 pandemic, particularly online/offline shopping modes. Prior to COVID‐19, more consumers shopped in person, even if it was not preferred; consumers who preferred to shop online were found to have greater need for control. During the pandemic, more consumers adopted online grocery shopping, and differences in need for control disappeared. Qualitative research suggests that need for control was superseded by lower‐order needs related to food/safety. There is also a growing consumer desire to grocery shop in person, so postpandemic, this is anticipated to increase relative to online shopping.</p