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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Source Of Value Online For Recreational Travellers: Customer Information Needs In The Buying Process And Internet Capability, Robert Grant Dec 2012

Source Of Value Online For Recreational Travellers: Customer Information Needs In The Buying Process And Internet Capability, Robert Grant

Robert Grant

The information needs of buyers of high involvement recreational travel products are potentially a source of customer value in their decision making process. The internet's ability to provide large amounts of information in real time with high levels of customer convenience are compounded by the ability to deliver information from multiple sources. In theory then, the internet seems able to largely replace the value delivered by retail travel intermediaries in the physical world. This critical review suggests however that the physical world intermediaries and online information sources are more likely to be complementary rather than competitive resources for shoppers for …


Online Information Values For Recreational Travellers: A Review Of Online Sources In Decision Making For An Unfamiliar Long Haul Destination, Robert Grant Dec 2012

Online Information Values For Recreational Travellers: A Review Of Online Sources In Decision Making For An Unfamiliar Long Haul Destination, Robert Grant

Robert Grant

Acquisition or purchase of travel arrangements involves an exchange of information which is theoretically suited for transfer from offline to online interaction. The ability to digitise material and ease access through searchability based on metatags (Reedy and Schullo, 2004, p 276) make the internet a potentially ideal medium for information gathering and exchange. This paper reviews the value of information sources for consumer decision making for a high involvement experience product with multiple and variable components and points to further research which help our understanding of the value of electronic networks.


Consumer Preferences For Online And Offline Resources In The Process Of Buying A High Involvement Service Bundle: A Qualitative Exploration, Robert G. Grant Aug 2012

Consumer Preferences For Online And Offline Resources In The Process Of Buying A High Involvement Service Bundle: A Qualitative Exploration, Robert G. Grant

Robert Grant

Adding online resources to a promotional mix adds a new level of complexity to marketing communications. The challenge for marketers is to retain a focus on value delivery which requires understanding both main effects and interactions between communication and promotional methods. This paper reports a qualitative study preceding a non-discrete choice experiment simulation to research information source effects at different stages of the buying process for different service types.


Determination Of Consumer Context In An Online Transaction Process For A High Risk Purchase, Robert G. Grant, Rodney J. Clarke, Elias Kyriazis Aug 2012

Determination Of Consumer Context In An Online Transaction Process For A High Risk Purchase, Robert G. Grant, Rodney J. Clarke, Elias Kyriazis

Robert Grant

This paper showcases/discusses a method of analyzing consumer website behavior that enables real-time purchase context identification. Such analysis will enable online vendors to serve content that is relevant to the consumer’s needs, addressing the apparent utility deficit that websites have for complex product transactions. The use of communication theory is a key component of a value co-creation process that leverages the data derived from website interactivity by analyzing the meaning of consumer activity on a website. Such an approach offers insights into the effect of information accessed by consumers in real time, enabling a responsive system for serving information in …


Relative Values And Complementarity Of Online And Offline Interactions In Consumer Buying Behaviour: A Proposed Research Plan To Study Purchasing Of A Consumer Service Product Bundle, Robert G. Grant Aug 2012

Relative Values And Complementarity Of Online And Offline Interactions In Consumer Buying Behaviour: A Proposed Research Plan To Study Purchasing Of A Consumer Service Product Bundle, Robert G. Grant

Robert Grant

Current research into online consumer behaviour seems to be limited in two respects, firstly it treats online interaction as a stand-alone phenomenon and secondly it focuses on discrete steps in consumer processes, neglecting links between the steps. This paper proposes a research method to investigate relative values and complementarity between online and offline interactions in a consumer's buying process, examining differences within and between steps. A range of information source types and functional resource options will be researched for both effectiveness and efficiency benefits as well as emotional preferences for both online and offline interactions. The research will focus on …


Process Flow Mapping Of Consumers In A High Involvement Service Purchase Process: An Exploratory Study, Robert G. Grant, Elias Kyriazis Aug 2012

Process Flow Mapping Of Consumers In A High Involvement Service Purchase Process: An Exploratory Study, Robert G. Grant, Elias Kyriazis

Robert Grant

This paper reports on an exploratory study undertaken to deal with the intricacy of consumer behaviour in a buying process for a complex high involvement service bundle spanning both offline and online channels. A key finding is that consumers switch repeatedly between online and offline channels and between different types of information source to satisfy their search needs. This offers a challenge for communications management if organisations wish to add customer value by minimising their customer time and effort search costs. Prior online channel research has not acknowledged off-line information complementarity for complex high involvement search. Travel agents and principal …