Purpose – This paper aims to explore the process by which four store environment (music, light, employee, and layout) and two individual characteristics (shopping enjoyment tendency (SET) and impulse buying tendency (IBT)) influence impulse buying behavior through positive and negative affect, and urge to buy impulsively. Design/methodology/approach – The data were obtained using a structured questionnaire from 733 respondents in a mall survey conducted in Chennai, South India. Findings – In the structural model tested with AMOS, the authors found that store environment drove impulse buying (IB) through positive affect and urge. Results also showed that the personality variables (SET and IBT) influenced IB through positive affect and urge. This paper did not find support for the relationship between negative affect and urge. Research limitations/implications – Theoretically, the authors add to the list of antecedents of impulse buying, and to the outcomes of store environment. From a managerial viewpoint,...

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Impact of store environment on impulse buying behavior

This study attempts to examine the impacts of the retail service quality dimension (that is, Personal Interaction, Policy, Physical Aspects, Reliability and Problem Solving) and the product quality dimension (including Features, Aesthetics and Customer-perceived Quality) on customer loyalty. It focuses on the store and staff levels of retail relationships, in particular on a specific sector of the retail industry, the curtain retail sector. Data were collected through a survey of existing customers of a window fashion gallery and further coded using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. The study shows that only three dimensions (Physical Aspects, Reliability and Problem Solving) are positively related to customer loyalty to store, and one dimension (Personal Interaction) of retail service quality is positively associated with customer loyalty to staff. By contributing to the body of knowledge in this area, this research adds significant and valuable information on the marketing behaviour of customers in the curtain industry, which will be novel to many readers.

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The effect of retail service quality and product quality on customer loyalty

Reduced tillage is increasingly promoted to improve sustainability and productivity of agricultural systems. Nonetheless, adoption of reduced tillage by organic farmers has been slow due to concerns about nutrient supply, soil structure, and weeds that may limit yields. Here, we compiled the results from both published and unpublished research comparing deep or shallow inversion tillage, with various categories of reduced tillage under organic management. Shallow refers to less than 25 cm. We found that (1) division of reduced tillage practices into different classes with varying degrees of intensity allowed us to assess the trade-offs between reductions in tillage intensity, crop yields, weed incidence, and soil C stocks. (2) Reducing tillage intensity in organic systems reduced crop yields by an average of 7.6 % relative to deep inversion tillage with no significant reduction in yield relative to shallow inversion tillage. (3) Among the different classes of reduced tillage practice, shallow non-inversion tillage resulted in non-significant reductions in yield relative to deep inversion; whereas deep non-inversion tillage resulted in the largest yield reduction, of 11.6 %. (4) Using inversion tillage to only a shallow depth resulted in minimal reductions in yield, of 5.5 %, but significantly higher soil C stocks and better weed control. This finding suggests that this is a good option for organic farmers wanting to improve soil quality while minimizing impacts on yields. (5) Weeds were consistently higher, by about 50 %, when tillage intensity was reduced, although this did not always result in reduced yields.

Shallow non-inversion tillage in organic farming maintains crop yields and increases soil C stocks

Understanding the mediated moderating role of customer expectations in the customer satisfaction model: The case of casinos

This essay summarizes the author’s argument for the recent genesis of international human rights and asks what implications for the future that argument has. The essay lays emphasis on the mobilizational origins of current human rights, and insists on the need to reorient them away from the historically specific and politically minimalist compromise between Utopianism and realism that human rights current represent.

The Future of Human Rights

The phenomenal growth of retail in India is reflected in the rapid increase in number of supermarkets, departmental stores and hypermarkets in the country. However, this unprecented growth trend has been challenged by the shadow of the current economic slowdown, which has raised a fear of dip in consumption and slowdown of growth for Indian organized retailers. At a time when consumer spending is on decline, success will lie with those retailers that can drive customer loyalty by responding to the demands of the discerning consumer. This study is an attempt to address issues related to store attributes and their relevance in the store selection process. Eleven variables (store attributes) have been identified in this article based on theory and judgment. Factor analysis has yielded three factors: Convenience & Merchandise Mix, Store Atmospherics and Services. The factors identified and recommendations made in the article would be of use to retailers in designing their outlets with store attributes that would meet the expectations of shoppers and thus motivate them towards store patronage decisions.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057%2Frlp.2009.27.pdf

Customer expectations of store attributes: A study of organized retail outlets in India

This paper presents the concerns in agri-food supply chain. Further the research investigates the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in agri-food supply chain and determines the impact of supply chain management (SCM) practices on firm performance.,The theoretical framework was proposed for the study on the basis of existing literature. Data for the study was collected with the help of structured questionnaire from 121 executives and officers of the public food distribution agency. Partial least square (PLS)–structured equation modeling was employed to test the framework and hypotheses.,The results indicate that ICT and SCM practices (logistics integration and supplier relationships) have a significant relationship. Furthermore, SCM practices (information sharing, supplier relationship and logistics integration) have a significant and positive impact on performance of the organization.,Further research could be carried out to test the moderation effect of SCM practices between ICT and organizational performance (OP). Extending the research study to the companies operating in other sectors can enhance the external validity of the study and improve the accuracy of parameters examined.,This study can be of interest to the agri-food industry as well as other industry practitioners interested in improving the performance of the organization from the view of supply chain.,The outcomes of this study have important implications that translate into a series of recommendations for the management of public food distribution as well as other agri-food-based supply chains.

Exploring the relationship between ICT, SCM practices and organizational performance in agri-food supply chain

Background: In the current business environment, competition is no longer between the organisations but it is among the supply chains of the organisations. India’s public distribution system is one of the biggest systems for food supply and distribution carried out through fair price shop (FPS). There is a wide gap concerning the empirical study on the fair price shops (FPS) and this is the rationale of the study. The paper aims to determine the relationship between different supply chain management practices and operational performance of the fair price shops in India. The authors propose the theoretical framework and empirically test the model. The study aims to expand the knowledge structure of supply chain management field. Methods: The paper opted for an exploratory cum descriptive study. The authors randomly selected 200 Fair price shops from a list available on the government website and identified the key persons from each shop as the respondent to get our questionnaire filled. The data were collected using structured questionnaire. Total 200 questionnaires were given to MBA students to collect the data from those fair price shops dealers who qualify the screening questions and situated in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh (India) in the month of March – April’ 2017. Finally, 87 useful questionnaires were obtained, with a response rate of 43.5%, Authors employed the PLS-structural equation modelling (SEM) to test the theoretical model and hypothesis. Results: The study provides that three dimensions of SCM practices have a significant and positive relationship with the operational performance. The paper provides empirical insights about how change is brought about operational performance of the fair price shops. It suggests that supply chain management practices positively & significantly associated with the performance of fair price shops. Conclusion: This paper emphasizes the importance of supply chain management practices on the day to day operations of the fair price shops and provides an insight that these practices if employed properly they will give an added advantage. The study fulfils an identified need to study how supply chain management practices can impact the performance of fair price shops and the study directly measures the impact of supply chain management practices on operational performance of the fair price shops in India. The biggest limitation of this study is the size of the sample. Thus the research results may not be generalized. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed framework at a broader level.

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Supply chain management practices and operational performance of fair price shops in India: an empirical study

PurposeThe objective of the study is to test a conceptual model based on the interrelation between data-driven supply chain quality management practices (DDSCQMP) and the performance of organized retailing firms in India.Design/methodology/approachBased on a comprehensive review of literature, the dimensions of DDSCQMP concerning the Indian organized retail sector have been extracted. Considering the research objectives, the research data has been collected using a structured questionnaire from Indian retailers. Overall 133 questionnaires were responded successfully from retailers. The model was tested using structured equation modeling (SEM) through PLS 3.0.FindingsThe research findings confirm hypotheses and reveal the statistically significant relationship between DDSCQMP and retailers' performance at an aggregate level. However, the results of the individual-level analysis of DDSCQMP appear to vary from practice to practice. Among various DDSCQMP, “customer focus” with the highest beta (ß) value was found to have the greatest impact on performance followed by “employee relations”.Originality/valueThe study provides empirical justification for a structural model that identifies a positive and significant relationship between DDSCQMP and organizational performance within the context of organized retail sector of India.

Influence of data-driven supply chain quality management on organizational performance: evidences from retail industry

In today’s highly competitive environment, green logistics issues are gaining high attention. Since it is an important part of supply chain management and plays an important role in the improvement of transport system. Logistics facilitates in getting products and services as and when they are needed and desired to the customer. It serves as a major enabler of growth of trade and commerce in an economy because it is helpful in economic transactions. The American Council of Logistics Management defines logistics as “the process of planning, implementing and controlling the efficient, cost effective flow and storage of raw materials, in-process inventory, finished goods and related information from point of origin to point of consumption for the purpose of meeting the customers requirements. Contemporary technological developments have improved the cost, efficiency and reliability of freight and passenger transport systems. At the same time, the negative environmental impacts of transportation have gained wide recognition and are at the core of issues of sustainability, especially in urban areas. Since the applications of logistics are generally positive for the efficiency of transport systems, it has been suggested that logistics should be environmentally friendly, thus the concept of “green logistics”. This paper will investigate the issue of green logistics and the environmental impacts it creates. This paper analyses how logistics managers could lead the initiative in this area by incorporating environmental management principles in to their daily decision-making process so that sustainable development could be achieved.

Anil Kumar

Papers

Customer expectations of store attributes: A study of organized retail outlets in India

Exploring the relationship between ICT, SCM practices and organizational performance in agri-food supply chain

Supply chain management practices and operational performance of fair price shops in India: an empirical study

Influence of data-driven supply chain quality management on organizational performance: evidences from retail industry

Green Logistics for sustainable development: an analytical review