Channel Preference Research Articles

Incorporating Consumers’ Low-Carbon and Freshness Preferences in Dual-Channel Agri-Foods Supply Chains: An Analysis of Decision-Making Behavior

The purchasing decisions of consumers increasingly incorporate considerations of freshness and the carbon footprint of agri-foods. This study aims to investigate the impact of consumer preferences on decision-making behavior within dual-channel supply chains. Specifically, it classifies the structure of the supply chain channels into two types: producer-led and seller-led online channels, and examines two distinct decision-making scenarios: centralized and decentralized decision-making. The study applies the game theory modeling method to analyze the differences in the selling prices, freshness, low carbon levels, and profits of agri-foods in these scenarios. The findings indicate that as consumer preference for the online channel grows, it becomes more challenging to sell homogeneous agri-foods at higher prices through physical (entity) channels. Moreover, the introduction of online channels by sellers leads to higher selling prices for agri-foods in the supply chain under decentralized decision-making compared to centralized decision-making, and the freshness and low carbon level of agri-foods primarily depend on the cost structure of the supply chain. From the perspective of enhancing produce quality, promoting low carbon development, and attaining high-quality products at a reasonable price, centralized decision-making within the supply chain and seller-led online channels are more advantageous. However, it is important to note that pursuing these benefits may result in a certain amount of sacrifice in terms of supply chain profit.

The pricing strategy of group buying under a dual-channel supply chain with price discounts and waiting time

PurposeAs an important form of the e-commerce industry, online group buying is under the spotlight from with two sides: cheaper price but longer waiting time. The purpose of this paper is to adequately investigate the interaction between saving and waiting time of group buying comprehensively.Design/methodology/approachTo fill the research gap, the authors elaborate a dual-channel supply chain (SC) with regular retail (individual buying) and group-buying channel, and formulate the demand based on the consumer utility with the positive effect of saving money and the negative effect of wasting time.FindingsThe authors find that power structure only changes the optimal prices, instead of the waiting time. The selling price mainly influences consumer demands, instead of the price discount of group buying. The SC profits are only positive to the channel preference, and it is the decisive parameter of consumers' choice. The price sensitivity lays a more remarkable impact on the SC compared to the time sensitivity. Above all, the price is the main factor of group buying, instead of time.Originality/valueThese results underscore the improvement for the dual-channel SC of group buying, providing managerial insights for the group-buying industry.

Pricing decision making and coordination of a dual‐channel supply chain considering online reviews and channel preferences

AbstractMany problems regarding channel conflicts exist in the pricing process of a manufacturer‐led dual‐channel supply chain. By considering the fact that online reviews and channel preferences are the important factors that influence consumer purchasing behaviors and the decision‐making of the supply chain, this paper deals with these problems through the development of a model involving online reviews and channel preferences. It then analyzes optimal decisions under either decentralized or centralized decision‐making scenarios. The impact of online review service input and consumer channel preference on optimal supply chain decisions and profits is further analyzed. Finally, based on the developed model, a revenue sharing contract coordination scheme is designed to achieve Pareto improvements in the supply chain. The results show that the degree of consumer preference for online channels affects the best consumer decisions and the overall profit of the supply chain. The impact coefficient of online reviews is positively correlated with the manufacturer's direct selling price, the level of input to online review services, and the profit of the entire supply chain. The provision of online review services can significantly increase channel prices, market sales, and profits compared to channel preferences. The overall profit of the supply chain under centralized decision‐making is significantly greater than that under decentralized decision‐making, and the coordination model can effectively coordinate the supply chain and alleviate conflicts.

Technology Acceptance among Farmers: Examples of Agricultural Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Agricultural drones (AUAVs) contribute greatly to sustainable agriculture by reducing input use. The literature on this topic is scarce, so there is little information on the adoption of agricultural drones by farmers. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors affecting farmers’ intention to adopt drones for agricultural tasks. Within the scope of this study, face-to-face surveys with 384 farmers were conducted. The obtained data were analyzed using different statistical, econometric, and decision techniques, including the conditional valuation method, lower payment bound estimation, probit model regression, fuzzy pairwise comparison, and the Vise Kriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje-multi-criteria optimization and compromise (VIKOR) technique. The results showed that government support had a positive impact on AUAV purchasing decisions. Farmers’ primary borrowing channel preference was interest-free loans. The willingness to rent AUAV technology was higher than the willingness to purchase it, with farmers agreeing to pay TRY 287.54 for one hectare. They preferred cooperatives for the provision of rental services. In general, young farmers who were interested in technology and who had a high agricultural income made up the profile of AUAV adoption. The information obtained from this research not only provides new insights for decision-makers regarding the adoption of AUAV technology but also contributes to the preparation of the promotion process for potential market actors.

Research on predicting the impact of promotional activities on consumer behavior in omnichannel retailing

In recent years, the omnichannel sales model has rapidly emerged and is widely used in a context in which consumer buying behavior is influenced by a variety of factors that produce complex changes. Among these factors, the impact of omnichannel promotions on consumer behavior is particularly critical, and thus this research area has received much attention. Predicting the shopping feedback of different types of consumers with different numbers of promotions can help companies develop targeted promotional strategies and improve the consumer shopping experience. In this paper, we classify consumers into different types by clustering them in three dimensions: basic personal information, shopping preference, and shopping channel preference. Based on this, a machine learning prediction model based on the random forest algorithm is built in each of the three dimensions, and the model's performance is evaluated by plotting ROC curves. In order to improve the model's performance, this paper uses the up-and-down sampling method to balance the data. The prediction model based on consumers' "basic personal information", "shopping preference," and "shopping channel preference" has been successfully developed, and the prediction results are excellent. This study provides guidance for companies to develop targeted promotion strategies and offers new ideas and methods for marketing and data analysis. In the future, we can continue to dig deeper into consumer behavior data, classify consumers in more dimensions, build more accurate prediction models, and continue to improve the scientific and accurate promotion decisions of enterprises.

Factors Influencing Preferences of Patients With Rheumatic Diseases Regarding Telehealth Channels for Support With Medication Use: Qualitative Study.

Patients with rheumatic diseases are known to experience drug-related problems at various times during their treatment. As these problems can negatively influence patients' health, they should be prevented or resolved as soon as possible, for which patients might benefit from additional support. Telehealth has the potential to continuously provide information and offers the possibility to easily contact a health care provider in order to support patients with medication use. Knowledge of factors influencing the patient's preference for telehealth channels can improve the actual use of telehealth channels. This study aims to identify factors that influence the preferences of patients with rheumatic diseases regarding telehealth channels for support with medication use. A qualitative study with face-to-face interviews was performed among patients with an inflammatory rheumatic disease in the Netherlands. A total of 4 telehealth channels were used: a frequently asked questions page, a digital human, an app for SMS text messaging with health care providers, and an app for video-calling with health care providers. Using a semistructured interview guide based on domains of the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, and Behavior (COM-B) model, participants were questioned about (1) their general opinion on the 4 telehealth channels, (2) factors influencing preference for individual telehealth channels, and (3) factors influencing preference for individual telehealth channels in relation to the other available channels. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and categorically analyzed. A total of 15 patients were interviewed (female: n=8, 53%; male: n=7, 47%; mean age 55, SD 16.8 years; median treatment duration of 41, IQR 12-106 months). The following 3 categories of factors influencing patient preference regarding telehealth channels were identified: (1) problem-related factors included problems needing a visual check, problems specifically related to the patient, and urgency of the problem; (2) patient-related factors included personal communication preference and patient characteristics; and (3) channel-related factors included familiarity with the telehealth channel, direct communication with a health care provider, methods of searching, and conversation history. Preference for telehealth channels is influenced by factors related to the problem experienced, the patient experiencing the problem, and telehealth channel characteristics. As the preference for telehealth channels varies between these categories, multiple telehealth channels should be offered to enable patients to tailor the support with their medication use to their needs.

Pendekatan Violin Plot sebagai Pengenalan Pola untuk Interpretasi Data Penjualan Spare Part Komputer

This study examines the use of visual modeling in understanding the sales patterns of computer spare parts at PT Prima Krida Solusindo. The use of violin plots serves as a method for data interpretation, focusing on the distribution of sales data to gain a deeper understanding of customer needs. This study involves 3893 samples with eight features being analyzed. Initial results show a broad variation in the sales of computer spare parts. For example, the highest unit sales occur in the first quarter, but the sales volume tends to be low. Opposite, sales in the second quarter tend to focus on purchases with a relatively similar volume. In addition, preferences for distribution channels, sales segmentation, sub-segmentation, and product types also vary in sales volume. While the violin plot aids in visualizing data distribution, this study also found that this method has limitations, such as category overlapping, that complicate interpretation. The inclusion of additional plots can facilitate a more detailed interpretation

Are short food supply chains a sustainable alternative to traditional retailing? A choice experiment study on olive oil in Spain

This paper examines the consumers purchasing behaviour on Short Food Supply Chains (SFSC) using a choice experiment for extra virgin olive oil, as one of the most regularly food supplied through SFSC in Spain, and a cluster analysis to segment consumers by their perceptions and behavior. Results reveal that consumers` distribution channel preferences are similar although there is a negative reaction to online purchasing. Additionally, since there are consumers willing to pay more for local and organic food, opens opportunities for SFSC development. Hence, the implementation of policies encouraging the use of eco-environmental labeling, can foster SFSC development.

Dynamic evolutionary game and simulation with embedded pricing model for channel selection in shipping supply chain

In the context of the “Internet +” era, the shipping industry, which is struggling to survive due to economic weakness and excess capacity, is also actively seeking transformation to enhance core competitiveness of enterprises. This paper embeds the evolutionary game theory in the pricing model to explore the dynamic interaction mechanism between shipping companies and freight forwarders in channel selection. The conditions for shipping companies to choose different channel strategies in the long-term dynamic evolution process are derived. Then, we apply system dynamics to simulate the evolution model, and analyzes the influence of factors such as channel preference, operating cost and perceived loss on the dynamic evolution process. It is concluded that shipping companies and forwarders have different channel choices at different development stages, and when shipping companies choose to invade online platform, forwarders are motivated to choose online channel to obtain lower freight rates. When the channel preference of forwarders is moderate, the two channels coexist; when the channel preference of forwarders is high, the final stabilization strategy evolves to only the online channel. Furthermore, the channel preference of shippers has a greater impact on the evolutionary mechanism than that of forwarders.

Dual-channel supply chain coordination with online reviews

The strategic interactions of consumers and supply chain (SC) players are significantly influenced by online reviews. This study develops centralized and decentralized dual-channel SC game models with one manufacturer and one retailer, and explores the impacts of online reviews on the manufacturer’s channel strategies and SC coordination. The following conclusions were drawn: First, when online reviews are sufficiently favorable, the manufacturer chooses a dual-channel strategy under a centralized model. In the decentralized model, the manufacturer’s optimal channel strategy depends on the joint effects of online reviews and customers’ channel preference. As more consumers prefer the direct channel with online reviews, the dominance interval of the dual channel strategy widens. A higher review accuracy, on the other hand, may not be enough to incentivize a manufacturer to choose the dual channel strategy. Second, the dual channel mode can effectively improve SC efficiency only when online reviews are sufficiently favorable to the manufacturer and consumers’ acceptance of the direct channel is low. Third, we propose a revenue-sharing contract with a fixed transfer payment that can fully coordinate a dual-channel SC in the presence of online reviews. Our findings not only complement the dual-channel SC literature but also provide insights into how manufacturers can use online reviews to drive marketing strategies and design dual-channel SC coordinating contracts.

COVID-19 communication management in Europe: a comparative analysis of the effect of information-seeking in the public’s sense-making in Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom

PurposeGovernments around the world have shown poor capabilities in responding effectively to the COVID-19 health emergency outbreaks. After the declaration of COVID-19 as an international pandemic by the World Health Organization on January 31, 2020, three countries experienced the greatest initial impact in Europe. Sequentially Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom (UK) were hit by the highest numbers of contagion and death in the first few months in Europe. The aim of this paper is to assess how information channels and sources influenced the public’s evaluation of the three government’s communication response strategies.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey was conducted between March 14 and April 14, 2020, during the first wave of lockdowns and declarations of States of Emergency in the three countries.FindingsFindings show particularities for the different countries, but also similarities in response and reactions of the public in the three scenarios. The response strategy of the UK Government was the most untrusted and criticized by citizens. In contrast, the Italian and Spanish Governments, which both chose to respond with the severest restrictions, attracted more support from citizens, especially in Italy, which was the first to close borders and impose lockdowns for the population.Research limitations/implicationsDespite the national differences in the preference of information channels and sources, overall, an empirical relationship between government communication assessment and media use were found in all the scenarios.Practical implicationsThis empirical study has theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, findings will add evidence of implications of the Channel Complementary Theory to the field of risk, crisis and emergency communication. The results also provide insights for communication practitioners in the public sector on how forms of information and trust in sources influence the public’s assessment of authorities’ communication.Originality/valueImplications for theory and empirical research about communication during a health pandemic are identified and discussed.HighlightsCitizens engage at a high level and synchronize their use of multiple media and platforms in all the three national scenarios.Stronger criticism is provided by online media, especially social media and online press in the different national contexts.Results corroborate that factors related to media choice need to be operationalized for risk and crisis communication research.When public health depends on people understanding the actions they need to take, the possibility of disobedience is highly dependent on trust.Compared with Spain and the United Kingdom (UK), trust in government institutions in Italy was stronger and could be explained by the higher use of owned media for information-seeking.

Inventory strategy of fresh products for omni-channel supply chains

By constructing the consumers’ utility function, this article calculates the optimal order quantity and optimal expected profit of a fresh retailer under the centralized and decentralized inventory strategy in an omni-channel supply chain. In addition, the impact of consumers’ channel preference, consumers’ demand transfer behavior, and the "buy-online-pickup-in-store" (BOPS) service on retailers’ inventory strategy are analyzed. The results show that opening a BOPS service is not always beneficial to retailers. However, it is always beneficial for retailers to eliminate the differences between channels. Under the centralized inventory strategy, the optimal order quantity and expected profit are only affected by the freshness-keeping cost, while under the decentralized inventory strategy, they are affected by various consumer behaviors. A reasonable inventory management strategy should be adopted according to the product type, inventory cost, consumer preferences, and order quantity.

Enhancing Listeners’ Social Well-Being through Radio Listening: A Qualitative Study Among Klang Valley Radio Listeners

Radio has been known as one of the oldest forms of mass communication. It has served its purpose of entertaining and informing people for decades. With the advancement of technology, audiences now have more ways to access an increasing amount of information. However, radio continues to play an important role in today's world. Radio is about more than just announcers, news, and music. Radio is about companionship and connecting emotionally with the listener. Previous research discovered that radio has a significant impact on people's lives. Thus, this research aims to comprehend people's preferences for listening to Astro radio stations in the current environment. Besides, it aims to explore the impact of streaming on listeners’ listening experiences. This research employed a qualitative research method using focus group discussion. Thirty ASTRO radio listeners were recruited based on criteria including age, radio channel preference, and SYOK app usage. This research is expected to discover the radio listeners’ motivations for listening to ASTRO Radio channels, understand the impact of the SYOK app in influencing their preference towards radio listening, and discover the role of radio content in enhancing the listeners’ well-being. It is expected that the research findings obtained from the focus group discussion can provide some recommendations to improve the radio content and the SYOK app content. Keywords: Focus group discussion, radio listening, listeners, social well-being, segment.

Improving Health Information for Rare Disease Patients and Caregivers: A Survey of Preferences for Health Information Seeking Channels and Formats

ABSTRACT Understanding rare disease patients’ and caregivers’ health information-seeking behavior is essential for creating useful resources. Due to the rarity of the diseases, available information can be scarce and lead to non-traditional, untrustworthy sources. A survey of 136 RASopathies caregivers was conducted via social media. The findings indicate that health information needs pertained to information about specialized medical practitioners and self-care support, while preferred information formats included visual media like images and links to helpful health articles. Caregivers were less interested in physical or print resources related to health and medical conditions when compared to digital resources and social media health information. Parents were more likely to share peer-reviewed or vetted health articles as opposed to media reports and other sources that may be more prone to disseminating fake news or disinformation about rare health conditions. This study has implications both for information professionals and eHealth professionals.

Optimal two-period pricing strategies in a dual-channel supply chain considering market change

This paper considers a dual-channel supply chain consisting of one manufacturer with an online direct channel and one offline retailer who distributes the manufacturer’s products, both of whom may adopt a Different or Same price strategy over two periods (Strategy D or S). Strategy D(S) means that the manufacturer and retailer set different(same) retail prices for online and offline channels in the two sales periods. The main purposes of this research are to identify the manufacturer’s and the retailer’s optimal two-period pricing strategy and explore how consumers’ channel preference, price competition, and market change affect the strategy equilibrium. We derive and compare the equilibrium outcomes by establishing four game models: (1) Model SS, both the manufacturer and retailer adopt Strategy S; (2) Model SD, the manufacturer chooses Strategy S while the retailer selects Strategy D; (3) Model DS, the manufacturer chooses Strategy D while the retailer selects Strategy S; (4) Model DD, both choose Strategy D. The research findings demonstrate that most prices increase as the market change rate raises, except for the first-period prices under Model DD, which remain unchanged. Under the different prices settings, a shrinking market would impel supply chain members to utilize a skimming pricing strategy, while a growing market drives them to select a penetration pricing strategy. Different from traditional wisdom, Strategy D would always benefit the manufacturer, while it may hurt the retailer and the whole supply chain under certain conditions. Accordingly, either Strategy DS or DD may be the Nash equilibrium. After considering the consumers’ channel switching behavior, the retailer has more incentive to adopt Strategy S in a shrinking market.

Examining channel choice preferences for grocery shopping during the Covid-19 pandemic

Research on grocery shopping channel preferences has been growing in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, few studies have utilized the discrete choice experiment (DCE) to elicit choices in hypothetical scenarios. Moreover, attitudinal factors, which may better explain preference heterogeneity, are rarely considered. Given that the evolution of shopping behavior in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic has huge implications for transportation planning and modeling, this study aims to examine consumers’ grocery shopping channel preferences through a DCE that was constructed with three grocery shopping channels (home delivery, curbside pickup, and in-store) and five time–cost attributes (product price, shopping time, delivery time, delivery cost, and travel time). 8 603 responses were elicited from 1 229 Florida residents between February and April 2021. Information on various aspects of respondents’ shopping attitudes as well as their socio-demographic and household attributes, grocery shopping activities, and distance to the grocery store were also collected. Using mixed logit modeling for analyses, results indicate that individuals with low education, in low- to middle-income earning households, with three or more household vehicles, and having full access to a vehicle tended to prefer in-store shopping. Also, perceived security risk, pro-alternative mobility options, pro-local store shopping, and shorter distances to grocery stores predisposed individuals toward in-store shopping. Alternatively, females, young and middle-aged individuals, workers, and individuals in large households tended to prefer home delivery and curbside pickup. Technology savviness, pro-environment, pro-online shopping, and shopping enjoyment were also drivers of home delivery and curbside pickup purchases, while cost and time consciousness did not show significant effects. Overall, the findings in this study have implications for retailers, transportation planners, and policymakers.

Marketing Channel Preferences of Cut Flower Producers: A Case Study of Turkey

This study aims to determine the preferred criteria of cut flower producers when choosing marketing channels, and the degrees of importance of these criteria. In this study, the levels of importance of the different marketing criteria used by cut flower producers and their marketplace preferences were analyzed using the analytic hierarchy process. The data used in this study were obtained from questionnaires completed by 82 cut flower producers in İzmir province. The most preferred marketing criterion for producers was payment guarantee, followed by ease of marketing and price. When producers’ marketplace preferences were ranked according to the different criteria, cooperatives ranked first, followed by wholesalers and exporters. The Tobit model was employed to reveal the socio-economic variables that affected the producers’ choices and the criteria considered in the analytic hierarchy process. It was established that cooperatives play an important role in marketing cut flowers and developing this sector in Turkey.

Research on Pricing and Coordination of Dual-Channel Green Supply Chain

In recent years, environmental pollution and resource waste have become the focus of heated discussion around the world. In order to realize green and sustainable development, the development of green supply chain (GSC) has attracted the attention of many scholars. The research object of this paper is the dual-channel green supply chain (DGSC) composed of online channels and offline channels. The supplier is the leader of the entire DGSC, and it needs to optimize the wholesale price of the product and the level of green investment to maximize its own benefit. In addition, the supplier also needs to establish contracts with network sales platform (NSP) and store sales platform (SSP) to increase the benefit of NSP and SSP, and ultimately increase the benefit level of the entire DGSC. Among them, we constructed a centralized decision (CD) model and a decentralized decision (DD) model, and obtained the optimal pricing, optimal greenness and optimal benefit of the supplier, NSP and SSP under the two models. We found that the benefits of SC members under the DD model are generally lower than those of the CC model. Therefore, we built contracts between the supplier, NSP and SSP to coordinate. Finally, we substituted specific parameters to verify the model. The following conclusions are drawn: (i) When consumers prefer online sales channels, it will positively affect the online sales price, online sales volume and greenness level of DGSC. At the same time, it negatively affects offline sales price and sales volume. (ii) The benefit of DGSC and the benefit of NSP, SSP, and the supplier show a phenomenon of decline first and then increase with respect to consumers’ preference for online sales channels. (iii) Under the coordination contract, the subsidy factor positively affects the benefits of the supplier and online and offline wholesale prices, and negatively affects the benefits of online platforms and physical stores.

Manufacturer Channel Encroachment and Evolution in E-Platform Supply Chain: An Agent-Based Model

Manufacturer channel encroachment is a common phenomenon in the current e-commerce supply chain, which has been well studied. This study develops a multi-agent-based model of the e-platform supply chain to analyse manufacturers’ channel encroachment strategies and supply chain evolution. Through both direct sales channels and e-commerce platforms, manufacturers can sell two complementary products of varying quality. Consumers who have preferences compare the pricing information gathered from manufacturers through different channels before selecting the one that generates the best utility. At the end of each period, the manufacturers make a price adjustment using the genetic algorithm. We look at the supply chain evolution process through multi-period simulations and discuss the factors that influence encroachment decisions. We find that manufacturers’ channel encroachment is detrimental to the profitability of the e-commerce platform. Consumers’ channel preferences and quality preferences benefit the e-commerce platform and can discourage manufacturers’ encroachment decisions. In addition, increases in encroachment costs and commission rates can reduce manufacturers’ propensity for channel encroachment.

Achieving Triple Benefits in a Platform-Based Closed-Loop Supply Chain: The Optimal Combination between Recycling Channel and Blockchain

In order to solve the problem of false recycling, where the real recycling volume does not match the theoretical one, blockchain is widely used in practice due to its characteristics of transparency, traceability, and tamper resistance. To study its value in academics, this paper focuses on a closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) consisting of a manufacturer and an online platform. This paper discusses the implementation conditions of blockchain, the impact on enterprise decision making, and manufacturer recycling channel selection, and the triple benefits of economy, environment, and society in the CLSC with blockchain empowerment are achieved. Because of the nontransparency of the supply chain, the problem of false recycling is always present. To further solve the problem of false recycling, the recycler decides whether to implement blockchain or not. Through analysis and numerical examples, it is concluded that the greater the difference between real and theoretical recycling volumes, the greater the need for blockchain implementation. At the same time, three major effects of blockchain implementation are defined as decision incentive effect, marketing leverage effect, and incentive alignment effect, which reveal the impact of blockchain on increasing the motivation of CLSC members to make efforts, expanding the market size by improving brand goodwill, and avoiding the inconsistency between the manufacturer and the platform in the preference of the recycling channel. In addition, under blockchain empowerment, a cost range of blockchain implementation is defined, where both the manufacturer and the platform are better off, as well as the optimal recycling channel, which achieves the triple benefits of the CLSC.