Consumer Studies and Local Market Development

A special issue of Journal of Risk and Financial Management (ISSN 1911-8074). This special issue belongs to the section "Financial Markets".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (21 February 2022) | Viewed by 22850

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Marketing and Trade, Faculty of Economics and Management, Slovak University of Agriculture, 949 76 Nitra, Slovak Republic
Interests: consumer behaviour; food marketing; local markets; support of local producers; intercultural studies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As the guest editor for this Special Issue of JRFM on Consumer studies and Local Market Development, I invite you to submit original scholarly empirical and theoretical research papers in the area of consumer studies related to identifying the factors of success of implementation of local marketing strategies and local market development. As we are currently in the midst of a worldwide, debilitating pandemic in the form of COVID-19, which has led us to consider the importance of strong local business and institutional structures to improve our life standards and ensure we have safe and comfortable places for living with less dependence on global structures, this open call includes research on this topic, too.

The general aim of this Special Edition is to focus on identifying the links and relationships between consumer behavior and local market development. Because companies’ activities are reflected in the market and depend on consumer interest in buying a given product or service, it is important to examine the factors of success of the implementation of local marketing strategies and their attractiveness for local customers. Although consumer behavior is very heterogeneous in many respects due to globalization, consumers should be aware of the value of their purchases by which they can support local producers and, consequently, the community where they live. On the other hand, it should also be the role of national policies to support local SMEs in their efforts to build competitiveness and initiate the social aspects of sustainable local development.

The special edition provides a platform for original research papers in this field from different countries and regions of the world using different scientific approaches to explore this problem. Papers can also focus on the position of local business structures in the COVID-19 era and lessons learnt from latest crises in this field.

Prof. Dr. Elena Horska
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Risk and Financial Management is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

  • Consumer behavior
  • Local market development
  • Consumer perception and value system
  • Market segmentation and target customer
  • Market research techniques
  • Support of local businesses
  • SME
  • Affordable marketing
  • Local marketing strategies
  • Local company and competitiveness
  • Growth strategies and expansion in a local market context
  • Social dimensions of local market development

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 717 KiB  
Article
Consumer Perceptions of the Use of Nondegradable Plastic Packaging and Environmental Pollution: A Review of Theories and Empirical Literature
by Virimai Victor Mugobo, Herbert Ntuli and Chux Gervase Iwu
J. Risk Financial Manag. 2022, 15(6), 244; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm15060244 - 30 May 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 6076
Abstract
Studying people’s perceptions of their attitudes and behaviour toward the use and inappropriate disposal of plastics is necessary because it helps explain the meaning of sustainable environmental behaviour in the context of African countries. Formulating appropriate behavioural change interventions may lead to a [...] Read more.
Studying people’s perceptions of their attitudes and behaviour toward the use and inappropriate disposal of plastics is necessary because it helps explain the meaning of sustainable environmental behaviour in the context of African countries. Formulating appropriate behavioural change interventions may lead to a shift in people’s behaviour in terms of plastic consumption if they become aware of the environmental risk of plastics. Using a qualitative review of literature, relevant materials for this paper were identified using a search strategy that involved keywords and databases. Previous empirical studies employed several theoretical frameworks. However, inconsistences in the use and definition of variables, make comparing the results of these studies difficult. Although the literature is growing, more empirical evidence is still needed to understand the drivers of people’s perceptions toward unsustainable environmental behaviour in the context of African countries and to formulate appropriate behavioural change interventions. A review of the literature determined four broad drivers of people’s perceptions toward unsustainable environmental behaviour. These include policy or institutional variables, product and market attributes, community variables, and individual characteristics. Additionally, we offer a consolidated conceptual framework for analysing consumer perception in relation to the use of nondegradable plastics and environmental pollution and identify the drivers of people’s perceptions. Policy implications for developing countries as well as future research directions are flagged. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer Studies and Local Market Development)
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17 pages, 471 KiB  
Article
Subjective Knowledge, Perceived Risk, and Information Search when Purchasing a Franchise: A Comparative Exploration from Australia
by Peter Balsarini, Claire Lambert, Maria M. Ryan and Martin MacCarthy
J. Risk Financial Manag. 2021, 14(8), 338; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm14080338 - 21 Jul 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2972
Abstract
Franchising has long been a method by which organizations seek to expand and facilitate local market development. However, franchising as a growth strategy can often be hampered by lack of suitable franchisees. To mitigate this shortage, some franchisors have engaged in recruiting franchisees [...] Read more.
Franchising has long been a method by which organizations seek to expand and facilitate local market development. However, franchising as a growth strategy can often be hampered by lack of suitable franchisees. To mitigate this shortage, some franchisors have engaged in recruiting franchisees internally from the ranks of their employees in addition to the traditional approach of recruiting franchisees externally. Predominantly franchisees are individuals rather than corporations and thus purchasing a franchise should most commonly be characterized as a consumer acquisition. To explore the relationship between subjective knowledge, perceived risk, and information search behaviors when purchasing a franchise qualitative interviews were conducted with franchisees from the restaurant industry. Half of these respondents were externally recruited having never worked for the franchisor and half were internally recruited having previously been employees of the franchisor. The external recruits expressed a strong desire to own their own business and engaged in extensive decision-making processes with significant information search when purchasing their franchises. Contrastingly, the internal recruits expressed a strong desire to be their own boss and engaged in limited, bordering on habitual decision-making processes with negligible information search when acquiring their franchises. The results reveal that differences in subjective knowledge and perceived risk appear to significantly impact the extent of information search between these two groups. A model of the relationship between subjective knowledge, perceived risk and information search in the purchasing of a franchise is developed that reconciles these findings. The findings also have practical implications for franchisors’ franchisee recruiting efforts which are integral to their capacity to develop local markets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer Studies and Local Market Development)
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12 pages, 973 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Brand Equity on Employee’s Opportunistic Behavior: A Case Study on Enterprises in Vietnam
by Quang Bach Tran, Quoc Hoi Le, Hoai Nam Nguyen, Dieu Linh Tran, Thi Thuy Quynh Nguyen and Thi Thanh Thuy Tran
J. Risk Financial Manag. 2021, 14(4), 164; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm14040164 - 6 Apr 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4036
Abstract
Brand is considered a valuable asset that a business wants to create and maintain growth throughout its business cycle. This paper examines the impact of corporate brand equity on employees’ opportunistic behavior. The paper uses quantitative research methods, through linear SEM (Structural Equation [...] Read more.
Brand is considered a valuable asset that a business wants to create and maintain growth throughout its business cycle. This paper examines the impact of corporate brand equity on employees’ opportunistic behavior. The paper uses quantitative research methods, through linear SEM (Structural Equation Modelling) analysis of structural model with a scale of 609 samples of employees of enterprises in Vietnam. The research results show that corporate brand equity has a negative impact on employees’ opportunistic behavior. In the relationship between these two factors, trust and emotional engagement act as intermediate factors. Additionally, the research demonstrates that trust has a positive effect on all three components of employee engagement, including emotional engagement, computational engagement, and standards-based engagement. On that basis, the research suggests a number of recommendations to minimize the opportunistic behavior of employees in the enterprise. The findings of this study have shown the importance and impact of brand equity on employee opportunistic behavior. These are meaningful contributions in both theory and practice to help businesses gain deeper insight into brand equity and the need to pay attention to building and developing durable brand equity for businesses. At the same time, it is an important basis for the next research projects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer Studies and Local Market Development)
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16 pages, 1375 KiB  
Article
Communication as a Part of Identity of Sustainable Subjects in Fashion
by Alena Kusá and Marianna Urmínová
J. Risk Financial Manag. 2020, 13(12), 305; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm13120305 - 2 Dec 2020
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 8148
Abstract
Sustainability and corporate social responsibility have today become key assets of many successful businesses and corporations. Despite constantly growing environmental awareness, we are still facing the issue of overconsumption in both the textile and fashion industries. This is mainly due to improper marketing [...] Read more.
Sustainability and corporate social responsibility have today become key assets of many successful businesses and corporations. Despite constantly growing environmental awareness, we are still facing the issue of overconsumption in both the textile and fashion industries. This is mainly due to improper marketing communication of sustainable subjects or a rather low level of consumers’ awareness of sustainability issues. The main objective of the research is, through the opinions of selected authors and their studies, to compare the results of our own research focusing on Generations Y and Z and dealing with marketing communication of sustainable fashion. As part of the above objective, we attempt to propose the general trend in marketing communication of sustainable subjects. In order to reach this objective, we use the method of description and comparison of opinions of various authors, the analysis of the research questionnaire into the impact of marketing communication of sustainable fashion houses on consumers from Generations Y and Z and its comparison with previous research for the last three years. Thanks to the results of the research, we could observe that tools, media or forms of marketing communication of sustainable fashion producers have certainly changed. The research also provides answers to some of our questions in relation to the general interest of consumers in fashion sustainability, price as a decisive factor in the purchase of sustainable goods and the need for proper education in the field of sustainable fashion or any corresponding forms of marketing communication of sustainable subjects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer Studies and Local Market Development)
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