Economy During Civil War and Slavery

Economy During Civil War and Slavery Group A: Colonial Experience 3. How could each of the various labor arrangements extant in the colonies be characterized? Why did the mix of people working under different arrangements change over time? The labor arrangements in colonial times widely varied from indentured servitude, redemptioners, prisoners, African slaves, to those from the free population. Indentured servants were individuals contracted to a certain type of work for an agreed upon amount of time, typically lasting from four to seven years (Hughes Cain, 2007). Their contracted work is in return for transportation across the Atlantic, as well as food, clothing, housing and perhaps training in a specific craft. Redemptioners were immigrants from Europe who were brought over by ship captains and were allowed a specified time to pay the captain back after arrival; according to Hughes Cain, payments were often made by placing one of their children into indentured servitude. While the transportation of prisoners over to colonial America was not the most popular of methods to acquire workers, it was still an important one nonetheless. Men and women convicted of a crime punishable by death in England were allowed to liv e on the condition of transporting themselves elsewhere. Ship captains welcomed prisoners on their voyage, as they proved to be a valuable commodity since they would trade them for produce before making the voyage back to Europe. The most well-known of all labor arrangements was that of African slaves. They were not protected as British subjects nor had any status in court, which means the slaves were unable to contract their own labor. Slaves were also considered their master’s property for life, including any children the slaves may bear. Lastly, the final form of labor was those from the free population who on their own funds purchased transportation to the colonies, which therefore made them eligible for individual land grants. Over time, indentutured servants became less enticing to employers, as slaves were cheaper for unskilled labor; most indentured servants were eventually replaced by African slaves or white servants. Once America gained its independence, British prisoners were understandably less welcomed in the new country as well. As new circumstances arise, the labor market changes accordingly to fit with the needs of the new market. Group B: Slavery and the Civil War 4. In what ways were the economic situations and economic policy interests of the south and other regions shared and different, in the years leading up to the civil war? While the Civil War mainly revolved around the fundamental differences between the north and the south, often times the similarities of economic policy of the two sides can be overlooked. For starters, both economies relied heavily on farming and they both used similar methods while working the land, even if the north was far more advanced from an industrial manufacturing point of view. As far as the economic differences, one need not look any further than the labor market of the two sides. In the south, the labor market was obviously driven by slave labor, as that was one of their main fighting points and a direct reason for secession; while the north did not allow slavery, but as a consequence, the labor was significantly more expensive than that of the south. Tariffs were a fundamental difference between the two sides as well; the south opposed tariffs entirely, as they wanted to keep the price of imported goods low. The north on the other hand was a proponent of imposing high tar iffs; this is because the higher the tariff from other countries, the more competitive the price of goods produced in the north would be. Without such tariffs, the goods from Europe were a cheaper option for the south to purchase, instead of directly benefitting the northern economy. As Baack and Ray assert, â€Å"the fact that tariff cuts were systematically associated with fast growth industries†¦lends support to our contention that tariff rates across industries and tariff changes over time were structured to serve the narrow economic protectionist needs of special interest groups† (Hughes Cain, 2007). The north had narrow interests in supporting their own economy and imposing tariffs served as that protection for special interest groups, exactly as Baack and Ray contended. This idea also lends itself with the concept of infant industry, where new economies may achieve domestic economic growth if only they initially shield themselves from foreign competition. The fin al difference lied in industrial manufacturing, as it was almost solely occurring in the north while the south had little involvement in the initial American industrial revolution. Group C: The Nineteenth Century 8. What were the key characteristics of industrialization in US, and important contributing factors? Immediately following the Civil War, the United States underwent what is now referred to as the â€Å"industrialization† process, where production by machine replaced manual labor and where new inventions and applied science were greatly emphasized. Some key characteristics of American industrialization include an increasing proportion of workers involved with manufacturing, as well as an overall greater availability of labor. Hughes and Cain (2007, p. 343) contend, â€Å"[w]orkers generally made their way into the industries experiencing the most rapid growth and demand for labor, producing relatively rapid labor force expansion.† Other key characteristics included growth of a national transportation network and expanded markets with ability to move products and raw materials quickly. Industrialization necessitated a wide-reaching transportation system for rapid movement of raw materials and finished products, which gave way for the steam engine and the railroad system . As Hughes and Cain (2007, p. 287) assert, â€Å"[t]he products of farm and factory, thousands of miles apart in their origins, were now easily mixed in the country’s new establishments of manufacturing and distribution.† The rail network provided a way for products to be shipped from New York to far reaching west coast towns at a pace previously unimagined. Isolated markets quickly became a thing of the past in the United States, as individuals living in previously unreached economies now had the access to products that were completely unavailable before the advent of the railroad. One of the final key characteristics of American industrialization included a steady increase in size and population of urban areas. As the population and labor availability increased, cities meant jobs and a variety of opportunities for a myriad of individuals. The extent of the economic scale of cities includes: transportation, education, medicine, sewage systems, central water, commutat ion, etc. The different amenities and job prospect attracted individuals to urban areas across the United States. Industrialization was clearly a major component of the advanced society of today, as it connected America through transportation, communication, utilizing cheaper raw goods, and taking advantage of an abundance of employment opportunities.

Kodak Company Case Study

Hyun Lee Eastman Kodak v. Image Technical Services — Plaintiff This is yet another case that concerns the standard for summary judgment in an antitrust controversy. The principal issue here is whether a defendant's lack of market power in the primary equipment market precludes — as a matter of law — the possibility of market power in derivative aftermarkets. Eastman Kodak Company manufactures and sells photocopiers and micrographic equipment. Kodak also sells service and replacement parts for its equipment. Respondents are 18 independent service organizations (ISOs) that in the early 1980s began servicing Kodak copying and micrographic equipment. Kodak subsequently adopted policies to limit the availability of parts to ISOs and to make it more difficult for ISOs to compete with Kodak in servicing Kodak equipment. Respondents instituted this action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California alleging that Kodak's policies were unlawful under both  §Ã‚ § 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, 1 and 2. After truncated discovery, the District Court granted summary judgment for Kodak. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed. The appellate court found that respondents had presented sufficient evidence to raise a genuine issue concerning Kodak's market power in the service and parts markets. It rejected Kodak's contention that lack of market power in service and parts must be assumed when such power is absent in the equipment market. Kodak manufactures and sells complex business machines — as relevant here, high volume photocopier and micrographics equipment. Kodak equipment is unique; micrographic software programs that operate on Kodak machines, for example, are not compatible with competitors' machines. Kodak parts are not compatible with other manufacturers' equipment, and vice versa. Kodak equipment, although expensive when new, has little resale value. Kodak provides service and parts for its machines to its customers. It produces some of the parts itself; the rest are made to order for Kodak by independent original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Kodak does not sell a complete system of original equipment, lifetime service, and lifetime parts for a single price. Instead, Kodak provides service after the initial warranty period either through annual service contracts, which include all necessary parts, or on a per call basis. It charges, through negotiations and bidding, different prices for equipment, service, and parts for different customers. Kodak provides 80% to 95% of the service for Kodak machines. Beginning in the early 1980s, ISOs began repairing and servicing Kodak equipment. They also sold parts and reconditioned and sold used Kodak equipment. Their customers were federal, state, and local government agencies, banks, insurance companies, industrial enterprises, and providers of specialized copy and microfilming services. ISOs provide service at a price substantially lower than Kodak does. Some customers found that the ISO service was of higher quality. In 1985 and 1986, Kodak implemented a policy of selling replacement parts for micrographic and copying machines only to buyers of Kodak equipment who use Kodak service or repair their own machines. As part of the same policy, Kodak sought to limit ISO access to other sources of Kodak parts. Kodak and the OEMs agreed that the OEMs would not sell parts that fit Kodak equipment to anyone other than Kodak. Kodak also pressured Kodak equipment owners and independent parts distributors not to sell Kodak parts to ISOs. In addition, Kodak took steps to restrict the availability of used machines. Kodak intended, through these policies, to make it more difficult for ISOs to sell service for Kodak machines. It succeeded. ISOs were unable to obtain parts from reliable sources, and many were forced out of business, while others lost substantial revenue. Customers were forced to switch to Kodak service even though they preferred ISO service. In 1987, the ISOs filed the present action in the District Court, alleging, inter alia, that Kodak had unlawfully tied the sale of service for Kodak machines to the sale of parts, in violation of  § 1 of the Sherman Act, and had unlawfully monopolized and attempted to monopolize the sale of service for Kodak machines, in violation of  § 2 of that Act. Kodak filed a motion for summary judgment before respondents had initiated discovery. The District Court permitted respondents to file one set of interrogatories and one set of requests for production of documents, and to take six depositions. Without a hearing, the District Court granted summary judgment in favor of Kodak. As to the  § 1 claim, the court found that respondents had provided no evidence of a tying arrangement between Kodak equipment and service or parts. The court, however, did not address respondents'  § 1 claim that is at issue here. Respondents allege a tying arrangement not between Kodak equipment and service, but between Kodak parts and service. As to the  § 2 claim, the District Court concluded that although Kodak had a â€Å"natural monopoly over the market for parts it sells under its name,† a unilateral refusal to sell those parts to ISOs did not violate  § 2. Noting that the District Court had not considered the market power issue, and that the record was not fully developed through discovery, the court declined to require respondents to conduct market analysis or to pinpoint specific imperfections in order to withstand summary judgment. The court then considered the three business justifications Kodak proffered for its restrictive parts policy: (1) to guard against inadequate service, (2) to lower inventory costs, and (3) to prevent ISOs from free riding on Kodak's investment in the copier and micrographic industry. The court concluded that the trier of fact might find the product quality and inventory reasons to be perpetual and that there was a less restrictive alternative for achieving Kodak's quality related goals. The court also found Kodak's third justification, preventing ISOs from profiting on Kodak's investments in the equipment markets, legally insufficient. As to the  § 2 claim, the Court of Appeals concluded that sufficient evidence existed to support a finding that Kodak's implementation of its parts policy was â€Å"anticompetitive† and â€Å"exclusionary† and â€Å"involved a specific intent to monopolize. † It held that the ISOs had come forward with sufficient evidence, for summary judgment purposes, to disprove Kodak's business justifications. The dissent in the Court of Appeals, with respect to the  § 1 claim, accepted Kodak's argument that evidence of competition in the equipment market â€Å"necessarily precludes power in the derivative market. † With respect to the  § 2 monopolization claim, the dissent concluded that, entirely apart from market power considerations, Kodak was entitled to summary judgment on the basis of its first business justification because it had â€Å"submitted extensive and undisputed evidence of a marketing strategy based on high quality service. A tying arrangement is â€Å"an agreement by a party to sell one product but only on the condition that the buyer also purchases a different (or tied) product, or at least agrees that he will not purchase that product from any other supplier. † Such an arrangement violates  § 1 of the Sherman Act if the seller has â€Å"appreciable economic power† in the tying product market and if the arrangement affects a substantial volum e of commerce in the tied market. Kodak did not dispute that its arrangement affects a substantial volume of interstate commerce. It, however, did challenge whether its activities constituted a â€Å"tying arrangement† and whether Kodak exercised â€Å"appreciable economic power† in the tying market. We consider these issues in turn. For the respondents to defeat a motion for summary judgment on their claim of a tying arrangement, a reasonable trier of fact must be able to find, first, that service and parts are two distinct products, and, second, that Kodak has tied the sale of the two products. For service and parts to be considered two distinct products, there must be sufficient consumer demand so that it is efficient for a firm to provide service separately from parts. Jefferson Evidence in the record indicates that service and parts have been sold separately in the past and still are sold separately to self service equipment owners. Indeed, the development of the entire high technology service industry is evidence of the efficiency of a separate market for service. Kodak insists that because there is no demand for parts separate from service, there cannot be separate markets for service and parts. By that logic, we would be forced to conclude that there can never be separate markets, for example, for cameras and film, computers and software, or automobiles and tires. That is an assumption we are unwilling to make. â€Å"We have often found arrangements involving functionally linked products at least one of which is useless without the other to be prohibited tying devices. Kodak's assertion also appears to be incorrect as a factual matter. At least some consumers would purchase service without parts, because some service does not require parts, and some consumers, those who self service for example, would purchase parts without service. Finally, respondents have presented sufficient evidence of a tie between service and parts. The record indicates that Kodak would sell parts to third parties only if they agreed not to buy service from ISOs. Having found sufficient evidence of a tying arrangement, we consider the other necessary feature of an illegal tying arrangement: appreciable economic power in the tying market. Market power is the power â€Å"to force a purchaser to do something that he would not do in a competitive market. † It has been defined as â€Å"the ability of a single seller to raise price and restrict output. † The existence of such power ordinarily is inferred from the seller's possession of a predominant share of the market. Respondents contend that Kodak has more than sufficient power in the parts market to force unwanted purchases of he tied market, service. Respondents provide evidence that certain parts are available exclusively through Kodak. Respondents also assert that Kodak has control over the availability of parts it does not manufacture. According to respondents' evidence, Kodak has prohibited independent manufacturers from selling Kodak parts to ISOs, pressured Kodak equipment owners and independent parts distributors to deny ISOs the purchase of Kodak parts, and taken steps to restrict the availability of used machines. Respondents also allege that Kodak's control over the parts market has excluded service competition, boosted service prices, and forced unwilling consumption of Kodak service. Respondents offer evidence that consumers have switched to Kodak service even though they preferred ISO service, that Kodak service was of higher price and lower quality than the preferred ISO service, and that ISOs were driven out of business by Kodak's policies. Under our prior precedents, this evidence would be sufficient to entitle respondents to a trial on their claim of market power. To review Kodak's theory, it contends that higher service prices will lead to a disastrous drop in equipment sales. Presumably, the theory's corollary is to the effect that low service prices lead to a dramatic increase in equipment sales. According to the theory, one would have expected Kodak to take advantage of lower priced ISO service as an opportunity to expand equipment sales. Instead, Kodak adopted a restrictive sales policy consciously designed to eliminate the lower priced ISO service, an act that would be expected to devastate either Kodak's equipment sales or Kodak's faith in its theory. Yet, according to the record, it has done neither. Service prices have risen for Kodak customers, but there is no evidence or assertion that Kodak equipment sales have dropped. Respondents offer a forceful reason why Kodak's theory, although perhaps intuitively appealing, may not accurately explain the behavior of the primary and derivative markets for complex durable goods: the existence of significant information and switching costs. These costs could create a less responsive connection between service and parts prices and equipment sales. For the service market price to affect equipment demand, consumers must inform themselves of the total cost of the â€Å"package† — equipment, service and parts — at the time of purchase; that is, consumers must engage in accurate life cycle pricing. Lifecycle pricing of complex, durable equipment is difficult and costly. In order to arrive at an accurate price, a consumer must acquire a substantial amount of raw data and undertake sophisticated analysis. The necessary information would include data on price, quality, and availability of products needed to operate, upgrade, or enhance the initial equipment, as well as service and repair costs, including estimates of breakdown frequency, nature of repairs, price of service and parts, length of â€Å"downtime† and losses incurred from downtime. Much of this information is difficult — some of it impossible — to acquire at the time of purchase. During the life of a product, companies may change the service and parts prices, and develop products with more advanced features, a decreased need for repair, or new warranties. In addition, the information is likely to be customer specific; lifecycle costs will vary from customer to customer with the type of equipment, degrees of equipment use, and costs of downtime. Indeed, respondents have presented evidence that Kodak practices price discrimination by selling parts to customers who service their own equipment, but refusing to sell parts to customers who hire third party service companies. Companies that have their own service staff are likely to be high volume users, the same companies for whom it is most likely to be economically worthwhile to acquire the complex information needed for comparative lifecycle pricing. A second factor undermining Kodak's claim that â€Å"supracompetitive† prices in the service market lead to ruinous losses in equipment sales is the cost to current owners of switching to a different product. If the cost of switching is high, consumers who already have purchased the equipment, and are thus â€Å"locked in,† will tolerate some level of service price increases before changing equipment brands. Under this scenario, a seller profitably could maintain â€Å"supracompetitive† prices in the aftermarket if the switching costs were high relative to the increase in service prices, and the number of locked in customers were high relative to the number of new purchasers. Moreover, if the seller can price discriminate between its locked in customers and potential new customers, this strategy is even more likely to prove profitable. The seller could simply charge new customers below marginal cost on the equipment and recoup the charges in service, or offer packages with life time warranties or long term service agreements that are not available to locked-in customers. Respondents have offered evidence that the heavy initial outlay for Kodak equipment, combined with the required support material that works only with Kodak equipment, makes switching costs very high for existing Kodak customers. And Kodak's own evidence confirms that it varies the package price of equipment/parts/service for different customers. In sum, there is a question of fact whether information costs and switching costs foil the simple assumption that the equipment and service markets act as pure complements to one another. We conclude, then, that Kodak has failed to demonstrate that respondents' inference of market power in the service and parts markets is unreasonable, and that, consequently, Kodak is entitled to summary judgment. It is clearly reasonable to infer that Kodak has market power to raise prices and drive out competition in the aftermarkets, since respondents offer direct evidence that Kodak did so. It is also plausible, as discussed above, to infer that Kodak chose to gain immediate profits by exerting that market power where locked in customers, high information costs, and discriminatory pricing limited and perhaps eliminated any long term loss. The alleged conduct — higher service prices and market foreclosure — is facially anticompetitive and exactly the harm that antitrust laws aim to prevent. Respondents also claim that they have presented genuine issues for trial as to whether Kodak has monopolized or attempted to monopolize the service and parts markets in violation of  § 2 of the Sherman Act. â€Å"The offense of monopoly under  § 2 of the Sherman Act has two elements: (1) the possession of monopoly power in the relevant market and (2) the willful acquisition or maintenance of that power as distinguished from growth or development as a consequence of a superior product, business acumen, or historic accident. † The existence of the first element, possession of monopoly power, is easily resolved. As has been noted, respondents have presented a triable claim that service and parts are separate markets, and that Kodak has the â€Å"power to control prices or exclude competition† in service and parts. Monopoly power under  § 2 requires, of course, something greater than market power under  § 1. Respondents' evidence that Kodak controls nearly 100% of the parts market and 80% to 95% of the service market, with no readily available substitutes, is, however, sufficient to survive summary judgment under the more stringent monopoly standard of  § 2. The second element of a  § 2 claim is the use of monopoly power â€Å"to foreclose competition, to gain a competitive advantage, or to destroy a competitor. † If Kodak adopted its parts and service policies as part of a scheme of willful acquisition or maintenance of monopoly power, it will have violated  § 2. As recounted at length above, respondents have presented evidence that Kodak took exclusionary action to maintain its parts monopoly and used its control over parts to strengthen its monopoly share of the Kodak service market. Liability turns, then, on whether â€Å"valid business reasons† can explain Kodak's actions. Kodak contends that it has three valid business justifications for its actions: â€Å"(1) to promote interbrand equipment competition by allowing Kodak to stress the quality of its service; (2) to improve asset management by reducing Kodak's inventory costs; and (3) to prevent ISOs from free riding on Kodak's capital investment in equipment, parts and service. † Factual questions exist, however, about the validity and sufficiency of each claimed justification, making summary judgment inappropriate. As respondents argue, Kodak's actions appear inconsistent with any need to control inventory costs. Presumably, the inventory of parts needed to repair Kodak machines turns only on breakdown rates, and those rates should be the same whether Kodak or ISOs perform the repair. More importantly, the justification fails to explain respondents' evidence that Kodak forced OEMs, equipment owners, and parts brokers not to sell parts to ISOs, actions that would have no effect on Kodak's inventory costs. None of Kodak's asserted business justifications, then, are sufficient to prove that Kodak is â€Å"entitled to a judgment as a matter of law† on respondents'  § 2 claim. In the end, of course, Kodak's arguments may prove to be correct. It may be that its parts, service, and equipment are components of one unified market, or that the equipment market does discipline the aftermarkets so that all three are priced competitively overall, or that any anticompetitive effects of Kodak's behavior are outweighed by its competitive effects.. Accordingly, the judgment of the Court of Appeals denying summary judgment is affirmed.

Factory Outlet vs Departmental Outlets

CUSTOMER PERCEPTIONS OF FACTORY OUTLET STORES VERSUS TRADITIONAL DEPARTMENT STORES Dr. G. S. Shergill* Department of Commerce, Massey University, Albany Campus, Private Bag 102 904 NSMC, Auckland, NEW ZEALAND Ph: 0064 9 414 0800 x9466, Email: G. S. [email  protected] ac. nz & Y. Chen Department of Commerce, Massey University, Auckland, NEW ZEALAND, Email: [email  protected] com CUSTOMER PERCEPTIONS OF FACTORY OUTLET STORES VERSUS TRADITIONAL DEPARTMENT STORES Abstract This paper examines customers’ perceptions of two different types of retail stores; factory outlet stores and traditional department stores; as well as their purchasing preferences. In addition, the paper compares these preferences across demographics. It explores four critical factors which significantly influence customers’ perceptions of both types of retail store. Findings are base on a mall intercept survey with 205 respondents across a range of demographics. The results indicate that factory outlet stores are perceived as having comparatively lower prices and attractive promotions in comparison to traditional department stores, while traditional department stores have competitive advantages in terms of the other three factors. Also it is found that different demographic characteristics play an important role in influencing differences in customer perceptions regarding the different types of stores. The main implication of these findings is that factory outlet stores are perceived favourably and that they need to build more positive marketing strategies accordingly. Keywords- Factory outlet stores, Traditional department stores, Customer preferences. Nowadays, an increasing number of customers choose factory outlet stores as their alternative shopping places, rather than continuing to shop at traditional department stores. Since customer loyalty is becoming more important for marketers in achieving sales performance goals (Kulpa, 1998), this increase in the use of factory outlet stores as an alternative choice poses a significant challenge to traditional department stores. This circumstance means that the competition between these different retail channels has become extremely intense. A factory outlet store is owned and operated directly by a manufacturer to sell only its brand of merchandise, whereas a traditional department store does not manufacture products itself but instead sells a variety of products manufactured by independent firms (Meyers, 1995). In a factory outlet store, the manufacturer has full control over the product offering, in-store customer service and the quality and price of the product sold, as well as the physical attributes of the store. Traditional department stores are owned 1 and operated independent of manufacturers. Manufacturers of the products sold at these stores have limited control over in-store customer service, prices of the products sold and the physical attributes of the stores. Initially factory outlet stores were established to offer end-of-line goods and seconds at the lowest possible prices (Lombart, 2004). As a result it was mainly customers in lower socio-economic groups who were willing to buy through this channel. These outlets have begun, however, to be gradually accepted by more customers, in part due to special annual sale promotions which began during the 1980s (Lombart, 2004). Additionally, customers’ increasing value-consciousness has stimulated the development of factory outlet stores. This has especially been the case in the United States, where there are over 10,000 factory outlet stores now in operation (Meyers, 1995). Nowadays, factory outlet stores which provide the same range of brand name merchandise attract more and more customers, and have developed into showcases in much the same form as that of traditional department stores (Fernie and Fernie, 1997). It is unclear, however, whether customer perceptions of factory outlet stores versus traditional department stores may differ in general and across demographics, as well as how such differences may be seen. The findings will assist marketers, particularly those employed by manufacturers, in understanding the ways in which customers view both traditional department stores and factory outlet stores. This insight will allow such marketers to set more suitable customer-oriented marketing strategies and business objectives, achieve superior financial performance and develop their marketing performance in the retail industry. The main objective of this paper is to explore customers’ perceptions of these different types of retail stores, as well as their purchasing preferences. In addition, the paper examines customer preferences across demographics regarding customers’ perceptions of factory outlet stores and traditional department stores. The paper contains five sections. Following the introduction is an overview of literature, summarising previous studies, and sets the hypotheses to be tested. The next two 2 sections deal with research methodology, data analysis and findings. Conclusions and implications are discussed in the last section. LITERATURE REVIEW Factory outlet stores vs. Traditional department stores Factory outlet stores An increasing number of factory outlet stores have been built for various reasons. Some of these stores have been created to deal with seconds’ products, some are presented as discount stores associated with new distribution channels, and some have been designed by manufacturers in order to reduce the price of their products through savings on overhead costs (Parker et al. , 2002). This last reason has been pursued in order to attract more current and potential customers in price-oriented and price-sensitive markets and satisfy customers’ varying needs and wants (Parker et al. , 2002). Initially, the factory outlet store was identified and established as an off-price retailer (Joshi, 2003). Internationally, especially in Europe, factory outlet stores were built and developed for four basic reasons: to sell discounted products; to reduce overhead costs and carry out sales promotions; to create flexibility of stock running; and to achieve brand promotion (Joshi, 2003). The roles and functions of factory outlet stores have changed significantly over the past few decades. They are no longer designed only as low price stores, but are also used for branded product promotions, especially in Europe and the US. For example, manufacturers of the Reebok, Levi, Gap and Warnaco brands regard their brand promotion to be one of the key functions of their factory outlet stores (Joshi, 2003). Factory outlet stores have also been designed as specific seconds stores and discount stores, and are located in many of Japan’s major cities (Joshi, 2003). There has been a 62% increase in factory outlet stores since 1990 and the trend is for this increase to continue (Rudnitsky, 1994). Factory outlet stores have been developed using original styles by including some specific characteristics of conventional shopping centres in order to provide products with attractive prices and a leisurely shopping environment for most price-oriented customers (Golub and Winston, 1983). 3 Nowadays, the factory outlet stores are normally recognised as â€Å"†¦ gaining a larger market share through price reductions, which are aimed at capturing the mass market† (Hellofs and Jacobson, 1999, p. 3). Therefore, the factory outlet stores need to develop their level of customer satisfaction and ensure that the products sold in these stores are of a reasonable quality in comparison to the previously built brand images (Parker et al. , 2002). Overall, the trend in factory outlet store development is quite satisfactory. For example, according to a sur vey discussed in Happy Campers at Outlets (Rauch, 2005), around 84% of respondents agreed that the prices in these stores met, and even exceeded, their expectations. Also, nearly 93% of the respondents indicated their intention of making a return visit (Rauch, 2005). In summary, the development of factory outlet stores is rapid. They are seen as offering reasonable and lower prices than traditional department stores, and a much better shopping environment and atmosphere than ever before. Therefore, the sales performances achieved by factory outlet stores are satisfactory, tending towards positive maintenance and a continuous increase in this type of store. Traditional Department Stores Nowadays, traditional department stores are facing a significant threat because the number of consumers who shop at traditional department stores is decreasing, although the sales of these stores have increased (Nasri, 1999). The number of customers who shop at traditional department stores has dropped sharply (Li, 2003). This means that department stores are in an endangered situation, and are receiving a lessening portion of the total retail sales. This situation has led to a significant decrease in the number of department stores (Li, 2003). Traditional department stores are perceived by customers as playing a distinctive fashion role and offering a range of up-to-date fashion merchandise with reasonable prices, high levels of customer service and a comfortable shopping atmosphere 4 (Johnson, 1994). Customers are more willing to enter into, and purchase products in, traditional department stores, which offer more excitement and emotional attachment than do outlet stores. As a result traditional department stores tend to be developed to create and satisfy various demands of customers of different ages and with differing perceptions of fashion trends (Facenda, 2005). This could be a competitive advantage which traditional department stores can utilise to attract and maintain customers, as well as increase market share as an effective defence against the threat presented by factory outlet stores. In summary, unlike discount stores, traditional department stores tend to be challenged into finding and creating a winning combination of a diverse customer and merchandise mix, along with service and price expectations, rather than addressing and focusing on attracting bargain-seeking customers through niche target marketing (Coward, 2003). Therefore, the first hypothesis to be tested in the research can be stated as follows: H1: There is a significant difference in customers’ store preferences (traditional department stores, or factory outlet stores) across their demographics. Product Brand Image Loyal customers may hold strong and positive images of a brand which are hard to change and lead to long-term sales revenue (Wyner, 2003). A well-known brand as one important extrinsic factor can significantly affect customer perceptions (Ailawadi and Keller, 2004). Retailers have an obvious opportunity, and are in an ideal position to build these kinds of positive experiences for customers (Schmitt, 2003). Brookman (2004) noted that brand images should be used to link merchandise ranges and store design. Parker et al. (2002) also recommended that good brand imagery leads to good sales revenues. Ailawadi and Keller (2004) pointed out that there was a direct relevance between branding and customer perceptions of retailer imagery, which has been confirmed by a large number of researches in this topic area. Inman et al. 2004) pointed out that customers associate different branded product ranges with different types of retail stores. Accordingly, store image is impacted significantly by customer perceptions 5 of the different branded products and services offered by retailers (Ailawadi and Keller, 2004). The greater the breadth of different products and services offered by a retail store, the greater the number of customers who will frequently patro nage the store, as the variety of product categories provided in the same store provides a much more convenient shopping experience for customers (Messinger and Narasimhan, 1997). Furthermore, the depth of within-category brand products is another very important factor in influencing store image in customer perceptions, and could be a main stimulator in the customer store choice decision (Ailawadi and Keller, 2004). Developing a selection, a range of styles, and favourable categories of branded products are the most important keys to increasing customer perceptions of store image and, as a consequence, achieving higher sales (Dreze et al. , 1994). Therefore, the design of brand-name products can be a comparable factor in creating images for factory outlet stores and traditional department stores. The customer image of retail stores is highly and positively influenced by the quality of the manufactured product brands (Ailawadi and Keller, 2004). Accordingly, Jacoby and Mazursky (1984) noted that carrying strong positive images of brands could improve the positive image of retail stores. Furthermore, they noted that it was much easier to increase sales and achieve market share by increasing both the images of the brands and of the retail stores in the current saturated retail environment (Jacoby and Mazursky, 1984). Nevertheless, Jacoby and Mazursky (1984) also mentioned that a good product brand image would be damaged if it was associated with a retail store which had a poor image. Therefore, brand products sold in either type of retail store should be designed and managed to create and improve relevant customer perceptions. In summary, customers having good brand image tend to be much more loyal in their shopping patterns, whether at traditional department stores, or factory outlet stores. Also, customers who wish to purchase high quality branded products would consider whether the quality and value of the brand products sold in traditional retail stores is higher than those products sold in factory outlet stores (Parker et al. , 2002). So, the second hypothesis to be tested in the research could be stated as follows: 6 H2: The brand images of those products sold in traditional department stores are higher than for those products sold in factory outlet stores. Retail Store Image The store image plays a very important role in creating profit and maintaining customer loyalty. Therefore, it could be a determining factor in customer perceptions (Parker et al. , 2002). A high quality store image implies the possibility of differentiation, loyalty and profitability, while a low-quality store image paves the way for price wars by emphasising and intensifying customer price sensitivity (Hallanan, 1994). The conclusion that retail stores should develop a positive, clear and favourable self-image to be an alternative choice in customers’ minds was drawn by Martineau (1958). Understanding the impact of product brand image, and how a retailer should be positioned, is extremely important in building the image of a retail store (Ailawadi et al. , 1995). Building the image of a retail store requires the identification of sufficiently different goods and services from those of their competitors, which tends to increase customers’ appreciation (Keller, 2003). There are lots of different attributes which significantly influence store image. These include the quality of merchandise and services, the tore appearance, the quality of the purchase service, the physical facilities, the behaviour and service of employees, the price levels, the depth and frequency of promotions and the store shopping atmosphere (Lindquist, 1974). Two basic dimensions can be used to analyse the store image. These dimensions are in-store atmosphere, and price and promotion (Ailawadi and Keller, 2004, p. 333). In-store atmosphere is one of the most important factors in the influenc e of customer perceptions of retail stores. Baker et al. 2002) pointed out that a store’s shopping environment plays an extremely important role in providing information and shopping guides to customers, and is the key attribute in building store image. The in-store environment; particularly physical features such as merchandise pricing, quality and store design and layout, as well as social service facilities such as employees’ service 7 and friendliness, as well as food-court service; can influence customers’ economic and psychological shopping behaviours (Baker et al. , 2002). Certainly, store environment plays a major role in providing informational cues and signals to customers about the type of merchandise and service they should expect (Parker et al. , 2002). Merchandise quality and service quality are key variables in influencing store image (Parker et al. , 2002). This indicates that service attributes might be some of the most important factors in store image brand building, and deeply influence consumer purchase behaviours (Hicks, 2000). This leads to the creation of long-term sales revenue and profitability (Hicks, 2000). Furthermore, when different retailers stock similar products and brands, an appealing in-store atmosphere can play a critical role in building retailer brand image (Ailawadi and Keller, 2004). In this research, the in-store atmospheres of factory outlet stores and traditional department stores are compared, especially in terms of the physical characteristics and social service features. Two further hypotheses need to be tested, as follow: H3: The physical features (such as lighting, air conditioning, washrooms, music, cleanliness, displays, etc. of traditional department stores are perceived to be better than those of factory outlet stores. H4: The in-store customer service features (such as friendliness, helpfulness of salespeople, etc. ) of traditional department stores are perceived to be better than those of factory outlet stores. Price and promotion is another factor which directly affects customer perceptions of different types of retail stores and their images. A store’ s image in terms of price and promotion will be influenced by average levels of prices, seasonal variations in prices, and the frequency and depth of promotions (Dickson and Sawyer, 1990). Different customers hold different perceptions of the store choice decision, according to the different images of stores. For example, large basket shoppers like every-day low price stores, while small basket shoppers prefer high-low promotional pricing stores (Bell and Lattin, 1998). Traditional department stores tend to create â€Å"†¦ a diverse customer and merchandise mix, service expectations and price point †¦Ã¢â‚¬  in order to design a desirable shopping experience (Coward, 2003, p. 27). For example, Coward (2003) suggested that 8 stores needed to rethink convenient designs, return policies and commission policies in order to make their service more flexible and satisfying for customers. Parker et al. (2002) pointed out that there is an incredible interaction between price levels and customer perceptions of product brand images and store images. In particular, comparatively lower price levels would lead to negative customer perceptions of the retail stores (Parker et al. , 2002). To identify the different price and promotion images of retail stores, the hypotheses formulated are: H5: The price and promotion features of products sold in traditional department stores are perceived as being higher than that of factory outlet stores. H6: There is a significant difference in customers’ store ratings (traditional department stores vs. factory outlet stores) across their demographics. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The study was conducted in a mid-sized multicultural city with a range of local and international retailers, including a number of traditional department stores and factory outlet stores. Using Parker et al. ’s (2002) nineteen items developed for measuring store characteristics, a questionnaire was constructed which measured preferences for generic stores. A five point scale was used in the questionnaire, anchored by 1=very poor and 5=very good. In addition, four items designed to measure the demographic characteristics of the respondents were also included. The data was collected using intercept surveys. The respondents were selected equally at both types of retail outlets. The usable sample was 205 respondents. The sample profile is given in Table I. DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS Sample Profile The sample profile of 205 respondents is summarised in Table I below. There are 107 female and 98 male respondents in the survey. The majority of the respondents are less than forty-five years of age (approximately 71% of the total sample). Furthermore, the majority of the respondents had completed secondary school and completed at least one trade diploma, or certificate degree. Additionally, around 78% of the respondents earned 9 a yearly gross income (before tax) of over NZ$20,000. Respondents with a yearly income over NZ$60,000 only comprised 9. % of the sample, with the majority having a yearly income of between NZ$20,000 and NZ$40,000. Table I: Gender Sample Profile (N=205) Percentage Female Male Total Under 25yr 52. 2 47. 8 100 15. 6 25. 9 29. 8 18. 5 7. 8 2. 4 100 16. 6 30. 2 38. 5 14. 6 100 21. 5 45. 4 23. 9 9. 3 100 Demographics Formatted: Swedish (Sweden) Age 25-34yr 35-44yr 45-54yr 55-64yr Over 64yr Total High School Degree Educati on Trade Diploma/Certificate Bachelor Degree Masters Degree Total Individual tax) yearly Less than NZ$20,000 NZ$20,001–$40,000 NZ$40,001–$60,000 Over NZ$60,000 Total ross income (before The reliability analysis was utilised to test whether the nineteen questions used in the questionnaire fit the factor analysis criteria. Using Cronbach alpha, we found that the nineteen items’ reliability for traditional department stores was . 889 and for factory outlet stores was . 880, both figures being at an acceptable level (Nunnally, 1978). Factors which Customers keep in mind while Shopping at Traditional Department Stores (TDS) and Factory Outlet Stores (FOS) Table II displays the factor analysis results for different scales of TDS in the questionnaire. Four factors were extracted through the factor analysis for TDS. Factor 1 concerns the in-store customer service characteristics of TDS. The variables relating to 10 customer service in the stores; such as friendly, helpful, familiar with merchandise, exchanges, salespeople’s’ pressure and enough salespeople; are loaded more highly than other variables contained in Factor 1. Customers are especially concerned with whether the salespeople in traditional department stores are helpful. Within Factor 2, higher loadings are given to quality, wide selection, newest styles and fully stocked in regards to the products sold in the stores. These loadings indicate that Factor 2 largely displays concerns about the brand images of products sold in TDS. Table II: Factor Analysis Results for Traditional Department Stores and Factory Outlet Stores Traditional Department Stores Factor 1: In-store customer service features Factor 1: In-store customer service features Factory Outlet Stores Variables Factor 2: Brand images of products Factor 2: Brand images of products Factor 4: Price & promotion features Salespeople are friendly Salespeople are helpful Salespeople are familiar with merchandise Exchanges happily Less pressure from salespeople Enough salespeople Quality is good Selection of products is wide Styles of products are newest Stock level Store is attractive Store is not crowded Store is clean Store is neat Store is bright .600 . 746 . 637 . 571 . 601 . 580 . 449 . 763 . 771 . 702 . 458 . 545 . 763 . 745 . 672 .628 . 717 . 652 . 590 . 640 . 639 . 471 . 694 . 779 . 740 . 556 . 697 . 822 . 677 . 160 Factor 4: Price & promotion features Factor 3: Physical features Factor 3: Physical features 11 Prices are good Value for price Markdowns are attractive Prices of products are marked clearly .655 . 810 . 468 . 360 .359 . 325 . 882 . 739 Customers shopping in TDS tend to pay more attention to whether products sold in the stores display a wide selection, with the newest styles and are fully stocked, rather than being concerned about their quality, as the loadings of these three variables are 0. 763, 0. 771 and 0. 702, respectively, while the loading of quality is only 0. 49. Furthermore, Factor 3 shows significant loadings on the variables of attractive, not crowded, clean, neat and bright, at 0. 458, 0. 545, 0. 763, 0. 745 and 0. 672, respectively. Therefore, Factor 3 can be identified as containing the physical features of TDS. Specifically, the variables of clean and neat have much higher loadings than the others. This implies that these two factors significantly influence customer perceptions of the physical features of TDS. Factor 4 shows customers’ considerations regarding the price and promotion features of products sold in TDS. Within the fourth factor, comparatively higher loadings are found for the variables of price, value for price, markdowns and clearly marked price. These loadings are 0. 655, 0. 810, 0. 468 and 0. 360, respectively. In particular, customers’ who preferred traditional department stores tended to give more consideration to whether they could gain reasonable value from their purchase. Table II also displays the factor analysis results for the different variables of the factory outlet stores (FOS) in the questionnaire. Again, a similar group of four factors is extracted through factor analysis. As in the TDS analysis, Factor 1 concerns the in-store customer service features of FOS. The variables regarding customer service have higher loadings than the other variables contained in Factor 1. Respondents were concerned as to whether the service offered by the salespeople is helpful or not, as it is given the highest loading, at 0. 717. The variables of quality, wide selection, newest styles and fully stocked, regarding the products sold in FOS are included in Factor 2. Their high loadings indicate that Factor 2 is related to measuring the brand images of the products 12 sold in the retail stores. The customers who shop in FOS tend to give more consideration as to whether the products sold in these stores are comparatively new styles and have satisfactory stock levels, as shown in the related high loadings of these two variables (0. 779 and 0. 740, respectively). These customers do not pay much attention to the quality of the products sold in FOS, however, as this variable’s loading is only 0. 471. Moreover, Factor 3’s variables of attractive, not crowded, cleanliness, neat and bright have loadings of 0. 556, 0. 697, 0. 822, 0. 677 and 0. 160, respectively. Thus, Factor 3 can be identified as concerning the physical features of FOS. More specifically, customers tend to be concerned about the cleanliness of FOS, but few of them indicate that store brightness is important. Lastly, Factor 4 concerns the price and promotion features of the products sold in FOS. Higher loadings are given to the price, reasonable price for value, markdowns and clearly marked price variables included in the fourth factor, at 0. 359, 0. 325, 0. 882 and 0. 739, respectively. Customers of factory outlet stores tend to be more concerned as to whether the markdowns of the products sold in the stores are attractive, and whether the prices of the products are clearly marked. Customer Store Preference across Demographics To know if there is a trend to shop at factory outlet stores, we asked respondents which store they normally prefer to shop. To control for any possible response bias, we selected respondents equally at both types of retail outlets. As shown in Table III, the number of respondents who prefer TDS as their shopping place is 113, compared to 92 respondents choosing FOS as their preferred shopping place. This implies that a sizable number of customers prefer and/or are shopping at factory outlet stores. Table III: Frequency analysis of store choice Frequency Traditional department stores Factory outlet stores 113 92 Percentage 55. 1 44. 9 13 Total 205 100. 0 Chi-square is next used in order to examine whether there are any significant effects from the different demographic characteristics on customer decision-making in regards to shopping choices. As shown in Table IV, significant differences exist in customers’ store choice as regards to their different genders, levels of education and gross yearly income, as the relative P-values for these variables are 0. 001, 0. 000 and 0. 003, respectively. Nevertheless, there are no significant differences between customers’ shopping preferences in regard to age, as the P-value is 0. 690. Table IV: Store choices and demographic characteristics Department Chi-squa re values 11. 343 Traditional Demographics Gender Female Male Total 47 66 113 19 28 36 18 8 4 113 13 24 56 20 113 60 32 92 13 25 25 20 8 1 92 21 38 23 10 92 107 98 205 32 53 61 38 16 5 205 34 62 79 30 205 20. 223 . 000 3. 065 . 690 . 001 P-values Factory Total Outlet Stores Stores Age Under 25yr 25-34yr 35-44yr 45-54yr 55-64yr Over 64yr Total Formatted: Swedish (Sweden) Education High School Grad. Trade Diploma/Certificate Bachelor Degree Master Degree Total Individual yearly tax) gross income (before Less than NZ$20,000 NZ$20,001–$40,000 NZ$40,001–$60,000 Over NZ$60,000 Total 18 46 33 16 113 26 47 16 3 92 44 93 49 19 205 14. 256 . 003 14 More specifically, female respondents tend to prefer shopping in factory outlet stores, while nearly two-thirds of the male respondents prefer to shop in traditional department stores. Furthermore, customers with higher levels of education are more likely to choose traditional department stores as their shopping preference. As shown in Table IV, the number of customers who possess degrees and prefer shopping at traditional department stores is much higher than the number of those customers who are willing to go to factory outlet stores. In addition, customers who earn a higher yearly income; particularly those whose gross yearly income is between NZ$40,001 and NZ$60,000, or over NZ $60,000; tend to choose traditional department stores over factory outlet stores. These statistics are summarised in Table IV above. Therefore, H1 is supported on gender, education and income, but not on the demographic of age. Customer Perceptions of Brand Images of Products Sold in Traditional Department Stores and Factory Outlet Stores Table V below provides a comparison of the brand images and T-test results of products sold in traditional department stores and factory outlet stores. According to these results, H2; which holds that the brand images of products sold in TDS are higher than those of products sold in FOS; is supported (see Table V). In other words, the overall mean rating of TDS branded products is significantly higher than that of FOS branded products, at 16. 02 and 9. 1, respectively. Specifically; according to the analysis of the individual items of product features; the respondents gave higher ratings for products sold in TDS (regarding their wide selection, newer styles and satisfactory stock levels), than for the products sold in FOS. There is a significant difference between the mean ratings of the branded products sold in TDS and FOS. Thus, the results from the data analysis show th at there is a significant difference in the brand images of the products sold in traditional department stores and factory outlet stores. Customers tend to have higher, and more positive, images of branded products sold in traditional department stores than they do for branded products sold in factory outlet stores. 15 16 Table V: Comparison of brand images of products sold in stores Factory Outlet Brand Images of Products Sold Traditional Stores in the stores Department Stores Mean SD Mean SD P-values Quality is good Selection of products is wide Styles of products are newest Stock level 3. 88 4. 05 4. 02 4. 07 16. 02 .70 . 81 . 93 . 88 2. 69 3. 11 2. 53 2. 16 1. 91 9. 71 .77 . 89 . 87 . 94 2. 73 .000 . 000 . 00 . 000 . 000 Overall Customer Perceptions of Store Images of Traditional Department Stores and Factory Outlet Stores Table VI below provides a comparison of the store images and T-Test results of both types of retail stores. As shown, the respondents’ overall mean ratings, as well as their item-wise mean ratings of TDS physical features are significantly higher than for FOS, at 19. 87 and 16. 13, respect ively. Therefore, H3 is accepted. That is, the physical features of traditional department stores are perceived as being better than those of the factory outlet stores. There is a significant difference between the mean ratings of the physical features of TDS and FOS. Thus, the respondents indicated that the physical characteristics of traditional department stores are more attractive than those of factory outlet stores. Further to this finding, the respondents’ overall mean ratings, as well as their item-wise mean ratings of TDS in-store customer service features are significantly higher than those for FOS, at 22. 18 and 20. 48, respectively. Therefore, H4 is accepted. That is, in-store customer service features of traditional department stores are perceived as being better than those of factory outlet stores in New Zealand Furthermore, H5; which holds that the price and promotion features of products sold in traditional department stores are perceived as being significantly higher than those of factory outlet stores; is accepted, as indicated in Table V. The applicable overall mean ratings of TDS and FOS are 12. 70 and 16. 11, respectively. Also, the individual scale 17 items of price and promotion features are much higher for the factory outlet stores. This finding indicates that respondents consider the prices of products sold in FOS to be comparative lower than those sold in TDS and that the promotions offered by FOS are more attractive and satisfactory. Table VI: Comparison of the features of traditional department stores (TDS) and factory outlet stores (FOS) Features Traditional Factory Outlet P-values Department Stores Stores SD Mean SD Physical Features: Mean Store is attractive . 000 . 94 3. 32 . 84 3. 63 Store is not crowded . 000 . 85 3. 25 . 81 3. 70 Store is clean . 000 . 83 3. 44 . 75 4. 10 Store is neat . 000 . 86 3. 49 . 73 4. 16 Store is bright . 00 . 70 2. 62 . 73 4. 28 Overall In-store Customer Service Features: Salespeople are friendly Salespeople are helpful Salespeople are familiar with merchandise Exchanges happily Less pressure from salespeople Enough salespeople 19. 87 Mean 3. 86 3. 76 3. 77 3. 39 3. 48 3. 91 22. 18 Mean 2. 88 2. 82 3. 38 3. 63 12. 70 2. 96 SD . 67 . 73 . 86 . 84 . 81 . 85 3. 45 SD . 83 . 88 . 91 . 88 2. 71 16. 13 Mean 3. 59 3. 52 3. 42 3. 07 3. 36 3. 51 20. 48 Mean 3. 99 3. 66 4. 22 4. 24 16. 11 3. 10 SD . 82 . 82 . 88 . 87 . 87 . 96 3. 95 SD . 65 . 76 . 79 . 84 2. 26 .000 . 000 . 000 . 000 . 000 . 000 . 000 . 000 Overall Price & Promotion Features of Products Sold in the stores: Prices are good Value for price Markdowns are attractive Prices of products are marked clearly .000 . 000 . 000 . 000 . 000 Overall Customer Perceptions of Traditional Department Stores and Factory Outlet Stores across Demographics To investigate Objective 4 (to evaluate whether demographic characteristics are related to customer perceptions of traditional department stores and factory outlet stores), the ANOVA and T-tests are used to determine whether there are significant relationships between customers’ store ratings and their demographic characteristics. Table VII 18 displays the customer perceptions of overall store ratings and their relevant four demographic characteristics. As shown in Table VII, only the income level shows significant mean differences in the ratings of TDS. In other words, customers’ concerns regarding the physical features and price and promotion features of TDS are highly influenced by their income level. More specifically, the higher the customer’s income is the more favourable will be the mean ratings for physical features and price and promotion of TDS. There is, however, no difference in the customer perceptions of TDS and FOS across gender, age groups and educational levels, as the respective P-values are all much higher than 0. 05. Therefore, H6 is supported only on income, but not on gender and education levels. Table VII: Store ratings and Demographic Characteristics Demographics Traditional Department Stores Physical Physical features features In-store customer service features In-store customer service features Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Price & promotion features Price & promotion features Product features Product features Factory Outlet Stores Traditional Department Stores Factory Outlet Stores Traditional Department Stores Factory Outlet Stores Traditional Department Stores Factory Outlet Stores Formatted Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Gender: Female Male P-value 3. 93 4. 02 . 682 . 54 . 64 3. 32 3. 12 . 059 . 60 . 63 3. 66 3. 74 . 307 . 58 . 57 3. 43 3. 40 . 832 . 64 . 68 3. 14 3. 22 . 636 . 70 . 65 4. 02 4. 03 . 635 . 58 . 56 3. 97 4. 04 . 734 . 65 . 69 2. 48 2. 7 . 476 . 74 . 61 Age: Under 25yr 25-34yr 35-44yr 45-54yr 55-64yr Over 64yr 3. 88 3. 95 4. 05 3. 94 3. 86 4. 48 . 270 . 55 . 60 . 57 . 59 . 66 . 74 3. 23 3. 22 3. 20 3. 38 3. 14 2. 76 . 330 . 69 . 62 . 64 . 44 . 69 . 82 3. 82 3. 63 3. 71 3. 59 3. 85 3. 73 . 450 . 56 . 57 . 60 . 52 . 57 . 89 3. 47 3. 39 3. 38 3. 59 3. 28 2. 73 . 097 . 59 . 66 . 64 . 57 . 76 . 66 3. 24 2. 99 3. 31 3. 13 3. 27 3. 10 . 206 . 69 . 70 . 58 . 65 . 77 . 68 4. 09 3. 88 4. 05 4. 14 4. 09 3. 80 . 225 . 48 . 57 . 60 . 46 . 56 . 56 4. 13 3. 90 4. 09 3. 99 3. 86 3. 90 . 532 . 58 . 8 . 63 . 72 . 75 . 67 2. 54 2. 32 2. 44 2. 50 2. 44 2. 10 . 572 . 80 . 64 . 65 . 74 . 56 . 65 Formatted: Swedish (Sweden) P-value 19 Education: High School Grad. Diploma/Certificate Bachelor Degree Masters Degree 3. 96 3. 85 4. 02 4. 11 . 201 . 62 . 53 . 60 . 65 3. 38 3. 34 3. 11 3. 14 . 058 . 68 . 52 . 68 . 53 3. 59 3. 70 3. 76 3. 63 . 480 . 55 . 50 . 60 . 67 3. 51 3. 55 3. 26 3. 42 . 590 . 74 . 56 . 65 . 71 2. 94 3. 15 3. 31 3. 15 . 066 . 72 . 65 . 65 . 72 3. 99 4. 09 3. 97 4. 08 . 552 . 60 . 50 . 63 . 45 3. 83 3. 99 4. 10 4. 00 . 281 . 85 . 59 . 6 . 85 2. 57 2. 41 2. 30 2. 63 . 075 . 72 . 52 . 70 . 82 P-value Yearly gross income: Less than NZ$20,000 NZ$20,001–$40,000 NZ$40,001–$60,000 Over NZ$60,000 3. 90 3. 87 4. 11 4. 27 .64 . 54 . 58 . 62 3. 22 3. 28 3. 19 3. 06 . 524 .66 . 63 . 59 . 55 3. 67 3. 66 3. 78 3. 74 . 674 .56 . 59 . 56 . 58 3. 44 3. 48 3. 29 3. 34 . 413 .68 . 67 . 63 . 65 2. 88 3. 20 3. 30 3. 43 .71 . 67 . 59 . 68 4. 02 4. 05 4. 01 3. 99 . 960 .57 . 57 . 53 . 66 3. 85 3. 97 4. 12 4. 28 . 060 .76 . 65 . 62 . 58 2. 61 2. 38 2. 31 2. 55 . 130 .75 . 61 . 63 . 93 P-value .010 .005 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS The findings on customer store preference across demographics show that customers with different genders, levels of education and gross yearly incomes tend to make different store choices, however, they perceive traditional department stores and factory outlet stores similarly regardless of their age. More specifically, male customers regard traditional department stores offering famous branded products as their first choice, however, female customers are willing to shop at factory outlet stores in order to seek branded products with comparatively lower prices. Female customers tend to be more price oriented and price sensitive. Furthermore, the higher the level of education customers have the more likely they are to choose traditional department stores as their shopping preference. This finding indicates that more highly educated customers tend to have greater concerns in regards to the shopping environment and atmosphere offered by traditional department stores. In addition, customers earning higher yearly incomes are more willing to choose traditional department stores over factory outlet stores. In regards to customer perceptions of brand images of products sold in traditional department stores and factory outlet stores, there is a significant difference in the brand images of products sold across these stores. The brand images of products sold in traditional department stores are perceived more positively than are those of products 20 sold in factory outlet stores. Customers perceive traditional department stores as offering wider and more satisfactory selections of various types of merchandise in comparison to factory outlet stores. The stock levels in traditional department stores are also seen as being superior. Obviously, the wider selection and greater breadth of different branded products offered in the stores, the greater the number of customers who will be more attracted to TDS. In regard to customer perceptions of store images of traditional department stores and factory outlet stores, there is a significant difference between traditional department stores and factory outlet stores. Firstly, respondents feel that the physical features of traditional department stores are more satisfactory, comfortable and attractive than those of the factory outlet stores. Customers believe that they will enjoy shopping at traditional department stores, as they provide them with a more comfortable in-store shopping environment and atmosphere. Secondly, there are significant differences in the in-store customer service features of traditional department stores and factory outlet stores. Customers believe that traditional department stores provide a higher quality of in-store customer services. TDS are also seen as having better exchange policies and an adequate number of salespeople offering to meet customers’ different wants and needs. Therefore, traditional department stores do have distinctive advantages in terms of their in-store customer services, in comparison to those offered by factory outlet stores. Thirdly, traditional department stores have much higher prices when compared with factory outlet stores. This is due to their different marketing orientation and segmentation. Customers tend to be attracted by the prices and value of products sold in factory outlet stores. Schneiderman (1998) found in his research that customers believed that factory outlet stores could provide greater value for their money than did traditional department stores. Results on the examination of customer perceptions of traditional department stores and factory outlet stores across demographics indicate that only income levels have any significant effects on customers’ mean ratings of traditional department stores, but that 21 o significant differences exist across the variables of gender, age and education. This means that customer perceptions of physical features and price and promotion features of traditional department stores are highly influenced by their different income levels. Customers with higher incomes tend to be attracted to physical features and price and promotion features of traditional department stores. They are interested in shopping in a comfortable environment and seeking famous and fashionable branded products, rather than being price sensitive, bargain seeking customers. The implications of these research findings include the point that traditional department stores should maintain their competitive positions by continuing to offer good physical facilities and environments, satisfactory in-store customer services and famous branded products, in order to maintain and attract more customers. This will also help to maintain their market share and gain competitive advantage against the intense competition created by factory outlet stores. Customers perceive that the prices offered in traditional department stores are much higher than those of factory outlet stores. Therefore, department stores are facing a big challenge from factory outlet stores in terms of price and promotion strategies. As a result, they need to assess their value positions and adapt more reasonable prices to provide satisfactory value for customers. Clearly identifying and dividing their current and potential customers into different target segments is necessary for retailers in setting differing price strategies. During sales seasons, more attractive promotion of branded products could be undertaken in traditional department stores. Certainly, customers tend to purchase more when there are large sales and attractive promotions of branded products in traditional department stores. In order to target appropriate segments, traditional department stores need to identify what relevant level of branded products should be sold and assign these products reasonable prices in stores across different ages, genders, and levels of education and income. Traditional department retail stores also need to provide more selection characteristics (in terms of their branded products adapting to the newest styles frequently and maintain good stocks level), in order to 22 eep their competitive advantages through being perceived as offering more positive brand images of the products sold in their stores. Furthermore, strategic alliances between different traditional department stores and their distributors could also be developed. In such an alliance, competitive advantages (such as better offerings of quality in-store services and pro viding similar branded products with reasonable prices and promotions) could be shared by traditional department stores, , which should reduce costs for the alliance partners. Regarding implications for factory outlet stores, they need to learn from the comparative disadvantages of traditional department stores and engage in enhancing their current competitive positions on price and promotion offerings, in order to improve customer perceptions of their stores. Maintaining their comparatively lower prices and providing frequent promotions of branded products is one of the most useful price and promotion strategies for factory outlet stores in maintaining and enhancing their competitive positions in this area. Meanwhile, manufacturers which utilise factory outlet stores need to control the values of the products through assessments. As a result, customers who are not only price sensitive, but are also value seeking will be satisfied with the prices and promotion features of the products sold in the factory outlet stores. It is extremely important for manufacturers to immediately improve their products’ brand images. Widening the selection of characteristics, improving stock levels and offering positive branded products in the stores are ways which this could be achieved. Nowadays, factory outlet stores are no longer established for the sale of seconds or comparatively lower quality products with lower prices. Therefore, they need to build more positive brand images for the products sold in the stores instead of being perceived as discount stores. They need to invest more in the stores’ physical facilities to offer a better shopping environment and atmosphere. 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Qualitative Organisational Research - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2581 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Research paper Level High school Did you like this example?   Qualitative Organizational Research Table of Contents Introduction Codes and Policies for Research Ethics What is Ethical Research? Why ethical rules are specifically needed in research? Discussion of Qualitative Management research Breach of a code and misconduct in research Conclusion References Introduction The à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"ethicsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ focuses on the disciplines that study standards of conduct, such as philosophy, theology, law, management, psychology, or sociology. One may also define ethics as a method, procedure, or outlook for deciding how to act and for analyzing complexity of problems and issues. For example, in considering a complex issue like global financial crisis, one researcher may take an economic, environmental, political, or ethical perspective on the problem. While an economist might examine the cost and benefits of various policies related to global financial crisis. Qualitative research possesses ethical issues and challenges unique to the study of human beings and animals. Traditional science, such as physics, chemistry and biology allows the researcher to assume a standpoint removed from the object of study phenomena in question. In contrast to positivist inquiry, in which independence, measurement and probability are all elements or expected outc omes, qualitative inquiry canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t predict, non-replicable, and unclear in its ability to ensure a consistently objective stance toward the research work. Qualitative research requires a common standpoint, researcher to participant, human being to human being. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Qualitative Organisational Research" essay for you Create order Codes and Policies for Research Ethics Given the importance of ethics for the conduct of research, it should come as no surprise that many different professional associations, government agencies, and universities have adopted specific codes, rules, and policies relating to research ethics. Many government agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and etc. have ethics rules for funded researchers. (National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research, 2013) Other influential research ethics policies include the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals, the Chemists Code of Conduct, Code of Ethics, Statements on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, Statement on Professional Ethics and etc. (National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research, 2013) Although codes, policies, and principals are very important and useful, like any set of rules, they do not cover every situation or as pect, they often conflict, and they require significant clarification. It is therefore important for researchers to learn how to understand, assess, and apply various research rules and how to make decisions in various situations. What is Ethical Research? As a researcher, and indeed as a member of society, it is important that ethics in practice and research are understood and formed the basis of all activities. The principles of ethics do not change, but the understanding and application may change time to time. Research ethics have been developed over the past century, and landmark events and statements have been shaped on understanding of ethical research practice. International and national statements, codes and guidelines are the framework for ethical conduct of research. As an example, in Australia, the leading documents for guidance are the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, which provides working guidance and the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research. This expresses the ethical basis for the conduct of research involving humans. Every person involved in conducting any type of research activity is bound to follow to these principles. Small scale projects on research as well as maj or researches should be well planned, conducted, and reported according to these principles. These documents are not for the researchers only, in fact many professionals, particularly involved in clinical practice at hospitals in a research environment use these documents as primary guide lines and resources. The documents are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"livingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, as updates are regularly made and it is important and useful the researcher to note what is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"newà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ about the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Researchà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . The National Statement is organized around four values: Respect for human beings Research merit and integrity Justice Beneficence These four values provide a broad framework of principles to guide the concept, review and conduct of research. The National Statement also covers the specific guidance for different types of research, e.g. research using qualitative methods and research using human tissue samples, as well as guidance for research involving particular kinds of participants, e.g. children and people in dependent relationships. In addition, it contains detailed guidance for research institutions, e.g. hospitals, universities, and their human research ethics committees formed to review on proposed studies. (Australian code for the responsible conduct of research, 2013) Why ethical rules are specifically needed in research? Even if it is often said that ethics is about drawing the line between right and wrong, ethics has a natural justification of its own as a disciplinary field. Most research questions have some ethical aspects: if not directly related to the research questions, then they might be related to research practices, processes or to the overall research field, or the ways we understand the relationships between the researcher and research topic and communicate about the research. And also there are several reasons why it is important to follow the ethical standards in research. This supports the purposes of research, such as knowledge, truth, and therefore avoidance of error is vital. For example, it is extremely important that prohibition should be made to avoid the lies, forgery, or misrepresentation of research data to promote the truth and avoid the errors in contents. Since research often involves a great deal of cooperation and coordination among many different people in different characteristics and societies, ethical standards promote the values such as trust, responsibility, mutual respect, and equality. For example, many ethical standards in research, such as guidelines for ownership, copyright and patent policies, data sharing policies, and confidentiality rules in peer review are designed to protect intellectual property. Most researchers want to receive credit for their contributions and do not want to have their ideas stolen. Many of these standards help to guarantee that researchers can be held responsible to the public. For example, federal policies on research misconduct, conflicts of interest, the protection of human values, and animal care and use, are necessary in order to make sure those researchers who are funded by public money to be held accountable to the public. These standards also help to build public support for research. People are keener to trust on research project if they can trust the quality and truthfulness of the research. Many of the norms of research promote a range of other important ethical and social values, such as social responsibility, human rights and animal welfare, compliance with the law, and health and safety. Discussion of Qualitative Management research In Qualitative management research is to improve awareness and knowledge of organizational issue through the observation and interview the people who are working. At the nature of this investigative process is the need, to collect data in an appropriate manner. But what if the method of data collection is considered as unethical or creates difficult personal or emotional issues for the researcher? Whether engaging in long periods of covert participant observation, reflecting on people, processes and the interactions is an ethical way to learn about organizational problems. The literature reviews regarding this research method focusses on the knowledge of the subject, methodological relationship and the associated problems of researcher subjective, bias, and research outputs that are often distinctive descriptions of the issue being researched. The ethics of the management research have been broadly discussed in the literature review, as the research ethics involved in investi gating organizational issues. At the same time, allow the valuable contributions made in the literature, little credence has been given to the ethical thoughts and concerns for the researcher affecting to the collection and use of data. In positioning the contribution of this discussion makes to the concerning ethical nature of covert participant observation in management research, but researchers also need to consider the consequences on themselves when choosing to conduct management research in a covert way. The use of covert participant observation in management research has historically raised serious questions. However, perhaps just as important to the subject knowledge and methodological debate regarding this research method, is that of the ethical debate pertaining to the collection and use of data from research participants. For example, correct approaches focus on the essential rights of research participants, such as the right to privacy, respect and self-freedom. Mu ch of the literature on ethics is filled with terms such as informed consent, confidential and the avoidance of harm and misuse. But in practically the participants in the research process not being informed in full and accurate way and giving their freedom to participation. So based on consequential perspective focused on outcome, research is considered being ethical, and the benefits are balanced. A view could thus be taken on the relative costs and benefits of the research, considering the contribution of the research against the chances and level of harm. This view was supported by the ethic of comparable reason in observational research. In terms of potential benefits, the researcherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s role as a manager-researcher in a business provided the opportunity to become immersed in a generally under-researched area of employee coping strategies in small businesses. The collection of data on the issues being researched might not generally be available to external resear chers. Researchers need to consider that, the research has the potential to make a contribution within the company. Having a fuller understanding of the actions and reactions of staff in a aggressive and very unstable working environment was likely to contribute to the researcher managerial role. Being able to recognize the actions of staff as coping strategies and recognizing when staff was acting to use some identity or control over their work would be valuable information for the researcher in understanding and getting some stability to the workplace. Recognizing these actions for what they are, and accepting or perhaps even helping them where this is appropriate would be an important method and was likely to be beneficial to the individuals concerned and the workplace. Therefore, that the research had a number of potential benefits and these were considered against the potential harms. At the same time the research was covert, and had been carried out without the informed consent of staff, it was also undertaken without the knowledge of the chief executive and management. Whilst rarely can absolute guarantees be given that identities will remain hidden, it was likely that the identity of the company would remain confidential. Thus, the potential harm to participants and the impact on participantsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ would also be minimal. It was on this basis, covert participant observation was deemed ethical. Breach of a code and misconduct in research Charges of deviations from this Code and of misconduct at research works will be up dated from time to time. A prompt and effective response is required in each case. All affected parties must be treated fairly and reasonably and the situation remedied, and appropriate steps be taken to maintain public confidence in the research endeavor. As an example: In Australia, minor matters have been handled entirely within institutions. However, more serious matters have been dealt with in various ways, to avoid lacking consistency and public acceptance. Recent studies in Australia, United States and the United Kingdom indicate a higher rate of unreported offences than expected. Reviewers have revealed that growth in the rate of serious offences is factual and is the result of commercial and other pressures for success, particularly in areas such as biotechnology and medicine. A complaint on which researcher has not acted responsibly, requires a response that may include the following steps: a discreet investigation a formal inquiry The imposition of a sanction or penalty Actions to remedy the situation Advice to expert groups and public statements as appropriate. In most cases the response will not be required in all form of these steps. For example when the complaint cannot be sustained or when the researcher has been conceded. However, an allegation of serious misconduct that may attract a significant penalty, if proven, will require all the steps and great care. The process outlined above resembles the process for almost all complaints of misconduct. However, research is complex and requires great care to get it right because of the number of interested parties and the extent to which a serious offence may lead to collateral damages. The number of serious misconduct cases may be increasing, but it is still negligible, and there is the number of people with experience in managing such cases. Therefore, it is important that processes are consistent and that there is a repository of experiences and advice to guide future cases. Conclusion It is important to have ethics in research since it promoted the aims of research. It provides values that are essential to collaborative work like faith, responsibility, shared respect and equality. It also helps to build public support for the research and promotes a variety of other important moral and social values. And also it is a need for research to be done on more serious topics such as drugs and chemicals. In these instances, the need for ethics is greater than ever as a lot of the research is undertaken on animals or humans. In these cases there are strict rules and ethical guidelines that need to be followed when research is done. The animals and humans must be treated fairly, understand each step of the research and, in the case of humans, must fully consent before the research can begin. There are also guidelines about the confidentiality of personal information, as well as protecting the rights and the privacy of those involved in the study. This goes for the part icipants of research surveys too as guidelines dictate that the sensitive information given should be used in an ethical manner. References Angrosino, M, Perez, K, (2000). Rethinking observation: from method to context (pp673-702). Handbook of Qualitative Research, Thousand Oaks, Sage Australia. National Health and Medical Research Council. (2013).National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research. Retrieved from https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/health-ethics/human-research-ethics-committees-hrecs/human-research-ethics-committees-hrecs/national Australia. National Health and Medical Research Council. (2013).Australian code for the responsible conduct of research. Retrieved from https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/health-ethics/human-research-ethics-committees-hrecs/human-research-ethics-committees-hrecs/national Bommer, M, Gratto, C, Gravander, J, Tuttle, M, (1987).A Behavioral Model of Ethical and Unethical Decision Making. Journal of Business Ethics, 4(6), 265 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 267 Eide, P., Kahn, D. (2008).Ethical Issues in the Qualitative ResearcherParticipant Relationship. Nursing Ethics, 15(2), 199-207.Retrieved fromhttps://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0969733007086018 Eriksson, P, Kovalainen, A, (2008).Qualitative methods in business research,(pp62 76). North America, Sage Hammersley, M. and Atkinson, P. (1995), Ethnography: Principles and Practice. London, Routledge McGarry, J. D. M. P. (2010). Exploring the effect of conducting sensitive research. Nurse Researcher, 18(1), 8-14. Murphy, E, Dingwall, R, (2001), Ethics in ethnography. Handbook of Ethnography. London, Sage Nitsch, D, Baetz, M, Hughes, J, (2005).Why Code of Conduct Violations go Unreported: A Conceptual Framework to Guide Intervention and Future Research. Journal of Business Ethics, 57(), 327 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 341 Oliver, J., Eales, K. (2008).Research ethics. Qualitative Market Research, 11(3), 344-357. Retrieved from https://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13522750810879057 Resnik, D, ( May,2011).What is Ethics in Research Why is it Important?. National Institute of Environment Health Science. Retrieved from https://www.ni ehs.nih.gov/research/resources/bioethics/whatis/ Stewart, J, (2008).What is Ethical Research?. Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research, 38(3),178 -179 Wyld, D, Jones, C, (1997).The Importance of Context: The Ethical Work Climate Construct and Models of Ethical Decision Making à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" An Agenda for Research. Journal of Business Ethics, 16(), 465 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 472 K.M.V.K Siriwardena (32420936)Page 1