Disseminating new knowledge from professional conferences: best papers from ACRA 2011

Citation

Runyan, R.C. (2012), "Disseminating new knowledge from professional conferences: best papers from ACRA 2011", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 40 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijrdm.2012.08940eaa.001

Disseminating new knowledge from professional conferences: best papers from ACRA 2011

Article Type: Guest editorial From: International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Volume 40, Issue 5

This special issue emanates from best papers at the 2011 American Collegiate Retailing Association Conference, held in Boston, MA. The four articles address topics that have become quite important to both scholars and practitioners. The first three articles are new ideas or approaches to viewing customer relationships. The fourth article looks at pro-environmental behavior by consumers.

The first article, by Rosenbaum, Walsh, and Wozniak suggests that retail personnel may give favored treatment to people who share similar societal status via ethnic or sexual orientation. The authors ask, “Does reverse retail discrimination exist in the marketplace?” After conducting a review of research concerning consumer culture, group nepotism, and social identity theories, as well as retail discrimination behaviors, the authors use open-ended surveys and in-depth interviewing to investigate two sub-cultures, which experience a so-called family allowance (family is a euphemism used by gay men for those who are share the same sexual orientation). Gay men in the US, and Turks in Germany represent the stigmatized groups who share the same discriminations in social status. The authors also look at reactions of consumers from majority groups to the idea of the sub-groups’ receiving such benefits. Data reveal that family allowances between similar sub-cultures of retail employees and customers include: complimentary products, monetary discounts, service improvements, customer comfort, and sharing information. Relating to majority group members, most state that they would be annoyed if they actually witnessed the preferential treatment and 96 percent of those surveyed say that they would be resentful if this was happening. Retailers should understand that this could happen.

The second article by Atkins and Kim, looks at consumers’ perceptions and proposes to validate an instrument to measure smart shopping. The authors examine both the popular press and academic literature to develop a theoretical framework, and in-depth interviews using three product types to develop their instrument. They develop a pilot test, pretest, and study. Findings indicate smart shopping concepts include: minimization of time, money, and energy in addition to gaining pleasure and utilitarian value from shopping. Retailers could provide a combination of useful and hedonic experiences to better provide for their customers including: wish lists, store maps, in-store pickup, online and in-store information kiosks. Atkins and Kim suggest that targeting consumers’ smart shopping wants and needs may shift their focus away from being a sales shopper.

Kim, Kang, and Johnson, authors of the third article, examine the interrelationships among consumer relationship proneness (CRP), loyalty program attributes (advantage, complexity, and/or risk), and participants’ resistance to change. They create an online survey of loyalty program members, including data collection of perceived advantages and risks of loyalty programs, complexity, and resistance to change. Results indicate that consumers who are consistent patrons of a store see advantages to the loyalty program, resist change, and think it is neither complicated nor risky to remain with the loyalty program. Retailers can improve strategies to target the customer that shows relationship proneness by emphasizing the advantages of their loyalty program such as: price-offs, special services, personalization, customized products, frequent shopper programs, free clothing storage, dinner parties, fashion shows, and more.

The final paper compares consumers who are either pro-environmental in their consumption behavior, or non-environmental (operationalized here as green product purchasers/non-purchasers), and is authored by Park and Ha. The authors use a web-based survey, with a sample of 363 US residents to measure intentions to recycle. They find that green product purchasers have higher levels of cognitive and affective attitudes, as well as social and personal norms as they relate to in the intention to engage in recycling. The paper addresses the concepts of pro-environmental and green product purchasing, and retailers are advised to consider these in an overall strategy of sustainability.

Rodney C. Runyan, Irene M. Foster

About the Guest Editors

Rodney Runyan Associate Professor at the University of Tennessee, and the Secretary of the American Collegiate Retailing Association. His research expertise includes retail entrepreneurship, international retailing and methodology.

Irene Foster Professor at Framingham State University, and she has served as Co-Chair of the 2011 ACRA Conference. Her research expertise includes retail training, merchandising pedagogy and methodology.