Group Buying Research Articles

Organizational adoption behavior of CO2-saving power train technologies: An empirical study on the German heavy-duty vehicles market

This study analyzes the preference structure of buyer groups that influences their willingness to select CO2-saving power train technologies for medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles (HDV). Based on the Technology–Organization–Environment framework for organizational adoption decision making and organizational buying criteria a theoretical construct was developed. Variables were validated in exploratory preliminary research and subsequently tested based on factor analysis using 27 survey items in a quantitative web-based study among 177 organizations operating HDV in Germany. Knowledge, experience, use and purchase consideration concerning alternative power train technologies and further measures to reduce fuel consumption were additionally queried. Based on a multiple linear regression analysis, key findings show that at the current stage of market maturity environmental attitude and corporate social responsibility exert the strongest significant influence on willingness to select CO2-saving power train technologies. A hierarchical cluster analysis revealed six customer groups in order to yield behavioral market segmentation. Hereby it is shown that the performed transportation tasks do not determine the preference structures. Early adopting organizations are larger than average and driven by non-economic aspects as image or corporate social responsibility, whereas the mass market awaits lower purchasing prices. Crossing this chasm will be a major challenge for policymaker and manufacturers.

The diffusion of grassroots innovations for sustainability in Italy and Great Britain: an exploratory spatial data analysis

Little research so far has been devoted to understanding the diffusion of grassroots innovation for sustainability across space. This paper explores and compares the spatial diffusion of two networks of grassroots innovations, the Transition Towns Network (TTN) and Gruppi di Acquisto Solidale (Solidarity Purchasing Groups – GAS), in Great Britain and Italy. Spatio‐temporal diffusion data were mined from available datasets, and patterns of diffusion were uncovered through an exploratory data analysis. The analysis shows that GAS and TTN diffusion in Italy and Great Britain is spatially structured, and that the spatial structure has changed over time. TTN has diffused differently in Great Britain and Italy, while GAS and TTN have diffused similarly in central Italy. The uneven diffusion of these grassroots networks on the one hand challenges current narratives on the momentum of grassroots innovations, but on the other highlights important issues in the geography of grassroots innovations for sustainability, such as cross‐movement transfers and collaborations, institutional thickness, and interplay of different proximities in grassroots innovation diffusion.

Paradoxes of sustainable food and consumer coping strategies: a comparative study in France and Italy

AbstractThis article aims to study consumer behaviour towards the paradoxes of Sustainable Food (SF). Consumers may perceive various paradoxes today affecting the sustainable marketing offer, e.g. the concept of the sustainable product, its environment and actors offering these products. Consequently, they cope with these perceptions through different strategies. By adapting Mick and Fournier's (1998) model to SF we investigate two main classes of coping mechanism: avoidance strategies and problem‐solving strategies. In order to understand what consumers perceive and how they act in everyday life, we conducted semistructured interviews in two specific countries (France and Italy) using two different consumer profiles: 84 non‐engaged individuals and 18 consumers who had already engaged in networks supporting local food purchases, such as members of the Association for the Preservation of Local Farming (AMAP) in France and the Solidarity Purchasing Groups (GAS) in Italy. Findings show different combinations of paradoxes and strategies between non‐engaged French and Italian consumers. Their discourses highlight the influence of the context and cultural conditions of each country, whereas participants in AMAP and GAS seem to be similar when they evoke paradoxes and the way they act on the basis of a common culture. In conclusion, the article presents contributions to the conceptual framework, the model adaptation and discusses barriers to Sustainable Consumption (SC) in France and Italy.

Effects of socio-economic factors on home purchases: the cases of Yenimahalle and Çankaya in Ankara

The intention in this study is to investigate the effects of different socio-economic factors on the probability of home purchases, focusing on the Cankaya and Yenimahalle districts of Ankara. To this end, an extended Cox regression analysis was undertaken using data garnered during an interview survey with a group of new home buyers in these districts. The results of the Cox regression analysis reveal that the probability of home purchase is significantly related to the method of housing acquisition, the level of education of both the head of the household and partner, the total number of children and whether or not the household has school-aged children. The results of the analysis also revealed that most of the factors that have been found to be significant in previous literature, such as the permanent income and the employment status of the household, had no significant influence on the likelihood of the surveyed households purchasing homes. Rather, the data derived from the household survey shows tha...

Cyber-Shilling in Automobile Auctions: Evidence from a Field Experiment

We run a large field experiment with an online company specializing in selling used automobiles via ascending auctions. We manipulate experimentally the “price grid,” or the possible amounts that bidders can bid above the current standing price. Using two diverse auction sites, one in New York and one in Texas, we find that buyer and seller behavior differs strikingly across the two sites. Specifically, in Texas we find peculiar patterns of bidding among a small but prominent group of buyers suggesting that they are “cyber-shills” working on behalf of sellers. These patterns do not appear in the New York auctions. (JEL C93, D12, D44, L62, L81)

Books in Review: Beyond Alternative Food Networks: Italy’s Solidarity Purchase Groups

Books in Review: Beyond Alternative Food Networks: Italy’s Solidarity Purchase Groups

Between Resistance and Resilience. How Do Italian Solidarity Purchase Groups Change in Times of Crisis and Austerity?

This Paper deals with the current transformations of Solidarity Purchase Groups (SPGs) in Italy. We particularly wonder if and eventually how the economic crisis and austerity policies have affected SPGs. Through an approach based on the literature on political consumerism and social movements, six hypotheses are proposed: ‘less economic resources, less SPGs,’ ‘cultural path dependency,’ ‘increased op-portunities,’ ‘isomorphism,’ ‘civic traditions,’ and ‘resilience.’ Empirical data focus on Italian and Tuscan SPGs, by both articulating different research methods and focalizing on different levels. Although our work has only an explorative aim, our analysis shows that the amount of available economic resources cannot per se lead to a satisfying understanding of the evolution of SPGs. Hypotheses based on culture and politi-cal processes seem to be more promising and can point to the resilience capacity of those groups. Post-materialistic values resulting from economic well-being might have produced organized practices of political consumerism. However, once political consumerism gets structured—this is our tentative argument—not only does it resist to external shocks but also it transforms itself and adapts to the new conditions imposed by crises, that is, it becomes ‘resilient.’ The ‘resilience hypothesis’ applied to SPGs nevertheless has to face some social cleavages.

A Network of Resistances against a Multiple Crisis. SOS Rosarno and the Experimentation of Socio-Economic Alternative Models

SOS Rosarno was launched in 2011 by a group of small farmers and activists based in the Gioia Tauro Plain, Calabria, Southern Italy. The idea was to sell organic citrus fruits through short self-organized supply chains, essentially based on Solidarity Purchase Groups, in order to allow producers to pay migrant workers according to the law, to receive a fair remuneration, to guarantee healthy and affordable food to consumers, to protect the integrity of the environment. This paper aims to reconstruct the ideological frame and the genealogy, the organization and the practices, the impact and the limits of SOS Rosarno, drawing mainly on the political documents produced by the association and in-depth interviews with its diverse members. It clarifies, on one side, the strategies of alternative economy and the new social alliances implemented in order to challenge those conditions which impoverish small producers and let migrant farmworkers be exploited and become the target of racism in many Italian countrysides. It explores, on the other side, the development of a new peasant civilization as alternative to the current economic and environmental crises, in terms of de-commodification of nature and labour, construction of a convivial democratic society, transition from monoculture to food sovereignty.

Consumer benefit creation in online group buying: The social capital and platform synergy effect and the mediating role of participation

Drawing upon social capital theory and the platform synergy perspective from systems theory, this study develops an explanatory model to explain how social capital, platform synergy and active participation affect consumer benefits in an online group buying (OGB) context. Data gathered from OGB consumers through a large-scale online survey is used to test the hypotheses. The conceptual model was validated using the partial least squares (PLS) technique. The results show that (1) the consumer benefits created by engaging in OGB are contributed collectively by social capital (i.e., social interaction ties, trust, and value of sharing), active participation and platform synergy; (2) the social capital enhances consumer benefits by increasing consumers’ active participation; (3) the OGB platform synergy has a positive impact on social capital, active participation and consumer benefits. Our findings highlight the important role of active participation in mediating the effect of social capital and platform synergy on OGB consumer benefits. The results provide insights into (1) how OGB platform developers can provide synergic functionalities that are compatible to OGB activities to enhance consumers’ capabilities and the efficiency of OGB processes; (2) how OGB managers and initiators can leverage platform synergy to enhance social capital and the mediating role of OGB consumers’ active participation in exchange resources within the OGB community, thereby leading to effective consumer benefit creation.

Factors Influencing the Online Group Buying: Behaviour Peculiarities of Leisure Services Coupons Buyers

Growing popularity of the online group buying supposes an imperative to identify what factors influence the buyers to buy products or services online, to make informal teams, gaining power of negotiation. The research question the article addresses is s follows: what factors influence the buyers in online group buying sites to buy leisure services coupons. The findings of the survey showed the main influence factors for the choice of the leisure services coupons: site design, guarantees provided and impulsivity of the buyer. The barriers and limitations to increase the quantity of e-trade of the leisure services coupons are discussed. The factors appreciable by a purchaser are identified: quick comparison of price, good price for a quality and opportunity of self-decision making. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/10.5755/j01.ss.87.1.12318

Curating the quest for ‘good food’: The practices, spatial dynamics and influence of food-related curation in Sweden

What is ‘good food’? Is it fair trade, local, organic or ethically produced? With an ever-expanding array of products and ‘qualities’ to consider, consumers in the global North may find it increasingly difficult and time-consuming to make the ‘right’ choices. As a result, a range of intermediaries, including food apps and collective buying groups, are emerging to support and influence people with their food choices. While intermediation refers to all activities linking producers and consumers, this paper narrows the focus and considers one important, yet poorly understood, intermediary function within the food marketplace: ‘curation’. Although the concept of curation has long been associated with museums and art worlds, curatorial practices are evolving in the contemporary marketplace and are performed by a growing range of actors operating in physical, temporary and virtual spaces. Rather than acting as brokers or gatekeepers, curators interpret, translate and shape the marketplace by sorting, organising, evaluating and ascribing value(s) to specific products. They also offer general and personalised recommendations to consumers. Although the literature on local food privileges the direct relations between producers and consumers, this paper considers the important role of intermediaries. Drawing on interviews and participant observation in Sweden it contributes to the existing literature on curation by examining the spatial dynamics and nature of curatorial practices, the motivations behind them and the values they create for consumers. The findings demonstrate that a range of activities can be understood as curation and that in order to nuance and extend existing conceptualisations of curation a wider and more dynamic range of actors (food apps), spaces (blogs) and values such as inspiration, convenience and sense of community need to be considered.

United We Stand: The Impact of Buying Groups on Retailer Productivity

In diverse industries, from grocery retailing to health care, retailers join buying groups to achieve better terms with suppliers. The authors track the buying group membership of Europe's largest grocery retailers over a 15-year period and evaluate why some buying groups are better than others in increasing retailer performance and why different members belonging to the same group do not always benefit equally from their membership. They find that, on average, buying groups indeed generate scale advantages for their members: group scale increases group members' productivity and sales and decreases their cost of goods sold. Still, bigger is not always better. Retailers benefit less from buying group scale when the group is more heterogeneous in terms of member size and when it extends its scope across too many markets. Moreover, the smaller a member is within the group and the more it overlaps with fellow members, the less it benefits.

Are “good guys” more likely to participate in local agriculture?

In recent years a new form of food production and distribution organisation, as part of small-scale and local agriculture, has been gaining ground. Generically termed short supply chains (SSCs), this new model of food procurement comprises various forms such as community-supported agriculture, box schemes and solidarity purchase groups. Consumer participation in SSCs is dictated by deep motivations: while consumers are principally encouraged by the desire to preserve local producers, as well as the social and environmental aspects of farming, the attraction of SSCs is also tied to different and more complex ways of perceiving food quality. The quality issue in SSCs is not only seen in the light of classic attributes, such as taste and safety, but also in terms of social criteria built on the basis of aspects of products linked to social and environmental domains.This study provides an empirical assessment of consumers participating in SSCs to ascertain whether, and to what extent, those actively involved in an SSC show differences in terms of what is more personal and subjective, such as universal values and food-related lifestyles, compared with those who do not participate. In order to assess such relationships, data were collected from a solidarity purchase group in Sicily (southern Italy). For comparison, a group of consumers in conventional food outlets were also interviewed in the same city. Data were analysed with the propensity score matching method. Our results show that the decision to participate in a solidarity purchase group is especially dictated by profound ideological and emotional considerations. They emphasise the interest in preserving, protecting and sustaining the welfare of other people, in line with the fundamental purpose of short supply chains.

The Influence of Internet Advertising and Electronic Word of Mouth on Consumer Perceptions and Intention: Some Evidence from Online Group Buying

This article presents a theoretical link among information (Internet advertising [IA] and electronic word of mouth [EWOM]), consumer perceptions (perceived value [PV] and perceived risk [PR]), and consumer intentions in a new mode of electronic commerce—namely, online group buying (OGB). A quantitative study was carried out and data were obtained through a mall-intercept systematic sampling distribution of questionnaires. The results indicate that IA and EWOM have a positive effect on consumers' PV and PR of using OGB sites, which in turn have a significant influence on their intentions to shop at OGB sites. A significant relationship also emerges between IA and EWOM. The article concludes with implications of the findings and future research directions.

The Effects of Risk and Hedonic Value on the Intention to Purchase on Group Buying Website: The Role of Trust, Price and Conformity Intention

By assuming that group buying websites offer consumers an opportunity to gain consumption value from experiential products with potential risks, a theoretical model was proposed to explore the factors affecting buyers' purchase intentions. In this model, trust, price consciousness and conformity behavior were viewed as antecedents of risks. A study of 164 responses found that the purchase intention was induced primarily by hedonic value; while at the same time, perceived risks will decrease the subjects' purchase intention, and trust is the only one that can effectively reduce the risks. The results indicate that whether to purchase in group buying website or in brick-mortar stores is actually a trade-off between the perceptions of values gained and risks exposed; and trust plays a pivotal role in reducing risk, leading to stronger purchase intention. Finally, academic and managerial implications are offered.

A model of advance selling with consumer heterogeneity and limited capacity

We study advance selling in a model with a capacity constraint for the seller and in the presence of both consumer heterogeneity and demand uncertainty. Buyers face different levels of uncertainty about their valuations in the advance selling period: one group of buyers (called informed buyers) know their individual valuations while the other group (called uninformed buyers) only know the distribution of their valuations. We find that the seller’s optimal pricing strategy depends on his capacity size as well as the size of informed buyers. For a small capacity size, the Constant Price strategy with the highest possible price is adopted. For sufficiently large capacity sizes, both Advance Purchase Discount and Advance Purchase Premium strategies may be optimal. In general, the larger the size of informed buyers the more likely an Advance Purchase Premium strategy is adopted.

Beyond Alternative Food Networks: Italy's Solidarity Purchase Groups. CristinaGrasseni. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2013. 210 pp.

American EthnologistVolume 42, Issue 2 p. 385-386 Book Review Beyond Alternative Food Networks: Italy's Solidarity Purchase Groups. Cristina Grasseni. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2013. 210 pp. RACHEL A. HORNER BRACKETT, RACHEL A. HORNER BRACKETT Black Hawk CollegeSearch for more papers by this author RACHEL A. HORNER BRACKETT, RACHEL A. HORNER BRACKETT Black Hawk CollegeSearch for more papers by this author First published: 29 April 2015 https://doi.org/10.1111/amet.12136_12Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume42, Issue2May 2015Pages 385-386 RelatedInformation

Protected Area Certificates: Gaining Ground for Better Ecosystem Protection?

Protected areas are vital to sustain a number of ecosystem services. Yet, many protected areas are underfinanced and lack management effectiveness. Protected area certificates have been suggested as a way to resolve these problems. This instrument would allow land managers to certify an area if it meets certain conservation criteria. The certificates could then be sold on an international market, for example to companies and any consumers that are interested in environmental protection. Some pilot initiatives have been launched, yet little is known about future demand and features of protected area certificates. To fill this knowledge gap, we conduct a choice experiment with close to 400 long-distance tourists from Germany as a potential group of buyers. Our results indicate that the respondents have the highest willingness to pay for certificates that conserve sensitive ecosystems and in addition to this lead to poverty reduction and safeguard water resources. For other attributes such as a greenhouse gas reduction, the preferences are less significant. Overall, the results are rather homogenous irrespective of where the protected areas are located. These insights are important for the future design and marketing of protected area certificates.

A Fixed Pricing Group Buying Decision Model

In order to explain the consumer decision process in the fixed pricing group buying (FPGB) context, this study proposed an FPGB decision model from the social perspective. To reflect the social perspective, the proposed FPGB decision model included social factors such as network externalities and subjective norm as triggers for shopping motivations. According to the analysis results, all social factors directly or indirectly affected consumers' buying intention at FPGB websites. To be more specific, of the social factors, perceived complementarity was the most significant determinant of FPGB buying intention not just in the direct influential paths but in the indirect influential paths. Subjective norm did not directly affect FPGB buying intention, but it did indirectly. These results imply that the managers of FPGB websites should carefully consider social factors as triggers for shopping motivations when designing and operating FPGB websites.

Comparison of socio-psychological characteristics of conventional and battery electric car buyers

Knowledge about consumer groups is important for effective measures to encourage consumers to adopt fuel-efficient or alternative fuel cars. In this study, a latent class cluster analysis was conducted to differentiate consumer groups among conventional car buyers based on the latest purchased car’s features. Consequently, a series of analysis of variance and a partial least square path modelling were performed to compare five conventional car buyer groups and a group of battery electric car buyers on a range of socio-psychological variables. The results indicated that battery electric car buyers had a significantly different socio-psychological profile from any group of conventional car buyers. In general, conventional car buyers evaluated convenience and performance attributes of the car more important than battery electric car buyers. All groups, however, generally held positive attitude and a high level of perceived behavioural control over buying fuel-efficient cars. Meanwhile, they exhibited weak social and personal norms to choose such cars. Implications for design of effective measures are discussed.