Editorial

Citation

Fernie, J. (2009), "Editorial", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 37 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijrdm.2009.08937baa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Volume 37, Issue 2

The second issue of 2009 is mainly written by US-based authors on themes such as trust and fashion marketing; however, our first paper is by three academics from Zaragoza, Spain, on franchising. Victoria Bordonaba and colleagues discuss the influence of entry time on long-term survival of franchises in the Spanish fashion and catering sector. Using data primarily drawn from the SABI database, 188 franchise chains were analysed from 1995 to 2003 by applying the Cox proportional hazard model to examine survival. Results show that early entry promotes different organisational structures and size which leads to lower failure rates. However, previous experience and types of distribution channels can impact upon survival rates.

Our second paper is by Kim Hahn and Jihyun Kim and deals with online brand trust and perceived internet confidence through offline retailer trust. Thus, consumers who have built up trust in a bricks and mortar store would have confidence in shopping at their online store. From a sample of 262 students and using structural equation modelling, the research confirmed that in order to encourage offline purchasers to adopt the online channel for product information search and purchases, multi-channel retailers should provide consistent customer service throughout different channels. The third paper by Stephen Grzeskowiak and Jamal A. Al-Khatib also deals with trust but as a moderating role in marketing channels negotiations. They draw upon a sample of 259 purchasing professionals (members of US Institution of Supply Chain Management) to report on their negotiating behaviour. Their study shows that being perceived as trustworthy suppresses opportunistic behaviour for some causes of opportunism, mainly deceit, but fails to reduce opportunism due to flattery or cynicism.

Yoo-Kyoung Seock and Lauren Bailey explored the use of information sources by Hispanic consumers in apparel shopping. In a survey of 336 Hispanic consumers in SE USA, they show advice from family and friends on key sources of information when shopping for apparel items followed by sales people at the store. In terms of impersonal information sources, store displays, observed street wear and fashion magazines were the three most important sources. The results should enable marketers to target Hispanic consumers more effectively with their promotional efforts. Our final paper by Hyun-Mee Park and Pauline Sullivan also focuses upon the clothing sector, specifically on the segmentation of the university student casual apparel market. Questionnaires were distributed to students at Florida State University and from the 184 sample, clothing benefits generated six factors, attribute evaluation two factors, while shopping orientation generated three factors. Three consumer groups were identified and there were significant differences in consumers’ hedonic and utilitarian attribute evaluation among groups.

John Fernie