Retail Marketing and Sales Performance: A Definitive Guide to Optimizing Service Quality and Sales Effectiveness

238 Pages·2014·42.76 MB·English

by  Christoph Preuss (auth.)

Retail Marketing and Sales Performance
Christoph Preuss
Retail Marketing
and Sales Performance
A Defi nitive Guide
to Optimizing Service
Quality and Sales Effectiveness
Christoph Preuss
Bradford, UK
PhD T esis, University of Bradford, School of Management, 2013
ISBN 978-3-658-04629-3 ISBN 978-3-658-04630-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-658-04630-9
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Abstract
Retail Marketing and Sales Peiformance: A Comparison ofB ranch and
Franchise Effectiveness (Christoph Preuss)
Keywords: Retail marketing, retail management, sales peiformance
The purpose of this research project is to contribute to effective retail by de-
termining the impacts of the elements of retail marketing interventions on sales
performance in franchises and branches. The approach comprises a series of
complementary surveys of franchisees (n=85), branch managers (n=307), shop
visitors (n=86l) and customers (n=IOOO). This is enriched with secondary data
and sector-specific structoral detail (sales, store location and environment) to
determine the direct and mediating effects of retail marketing on sales per-
formance. Through factor analysis results provide evidence that RM has a high
and positive, direct-structoral impact on sales performance. Furthermore, in
branches there is also a lesser, indirect effect on sales through the attitude of
sales staff. Despite high internal construct validity, the findings are unproven in
the retail context external to the retail network that was the focus of the investi-
gation and so the genera1izability could be considered to be limited. Future
research should examine if the findings can be replicated in different retail sec-
tors. This research contributes to the development of the dichotomy of branch
and franchise management by exploring their operational differences. Retailers
can exploit retail marketing more effectively if they understand that structural
retail marketing parameters make the greatest impact on an outlet's sales per-
formance. For the development of customer and shop visitor loyalty the main
factor is the attitude of sales staff. Theoretically, this research contributes to
understanding the effectiveness of retail marketing in plural-form networks.
Acknowledgements
The completion of this thesis has ultimately been possible with the continued
help and support of a number of people. To them I owe honest thanks.
First and foremost, I am greatly indebted to Professor Gillian H. Wright for
guiding me successfully through the demanding times of my studies, with much
appreciated expertise. Her guidance, honesty and encouragement have pushed
me intellectually and have ultimately made this a better work of research. The
long evenings and weekends filled with lots of espresso and few glasses of red
wine and away from normal family life have finally paid off! I extend this grati-
tude to my second supervisor, Professor Nancy Harding and Program Director,
Dr. Eva Niemann for their insightful comments, support and enthusiasm.
A special thank goes to my very good friend and mentor Samuel D. Chinque
for proof-reading the thesis and for making this thesis far more readable a well as
for his challenging me on the key concepts in my research project!
As well as the practical, special thanks are extended to all those who have
provided encouragement and support. Thanks to my greatest gift in life, my be-
loved wife Svetla, for her constant encouragement and taking care of our three
beautiful daughters who on weekends for the last four years have seen their dad
mostly working on this research project at his desk. I love you, Svetla! Thanks
also to my mum and dad for their belief in me and to family and friends who I
have neglected over the last four years.
Christoph Preuss
This thesis is dedicated to Svetla Preuss
- my beloved wife-
who surely wins the award of the most wonderful wife in the world!
Table of Contents
Abstract ................................................................................................................ V
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................ VII
List of Figures .................................................................................................... XV
List of Tables .................................................................................................. XV1l
List of Appendices ........................................................................................... XXI
List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................... XXIII
1 Introduction. ................................................................................................ 1
1.1 Background and Research Drivers ........................................................ I
1.2 The Telecommunications Industry as Research Context ...................... 5
1.3 Company Context and Challenges: Freenet Group
and mobilcom-debitel Retail Limited Company ................................... 6
1.3.1 Company Context ...................................................................... 6
1.3.2 Cha1lenges .................................................................................. 7
1.4 Research Aims and Objectives .............................................................. 9
1.5 Research Design Stages and Thesis Structure ..................................... 10
1.6 Methodology and Research Methods .................................................. 13
1.7 Contributions ....................................................................................... 14
1.7.1 Contribution to Management Practice ..................................... 14
1.7.2 Contribution to Theory and Conceptual Development.. .......... 15
1.7.3 Contribution to Research Methods .......................................... 16
1.8 Summary ............................................................................................. 16
2 Retail marketing, concepts and research model. .................................... 19
2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 19
2.2 Retail marketing .................................................................................. 20
2.2.1 Defining retail and internal marketing ..................................... 20
2.2.2 Clarifying the relevance of intema1 marketing ........................ 21
2.2.3 Defining franchising and branch management ........................ 21
2.2.4 Targeting through retail marketing .......................................... 22
2.2.5 Managing the elements of retail marketing .............................. 23
2.3 Concepts .............................................................................................. 27
2.3.1 Retail marketing and the service profit chain .......................... 27
2.3.2 The loyally and commitment index ......................................... 28
2.3.3 Findings of retail and internal marketing research ................... 31
XlI Table of Contents
2.3.4 Identification of research needs ............................................... 33
2.3.5 Deduction of research questions .............................................. 36
2.4 Research modeL ................................................................................ 39
2.4.1 Direct, mediating and moderating effecta ................................ 39
2.4.2 Research model: retail marketing, attitude and sales
performance ............................................................................. 40
2.4.3 Research questions and associated research hypotheses .......... 41
2.5 Summary of research questions and associated hypotheses ................ 46
2.6 Summary ............................................................................................. 48
3 Methodology and methods ....................................................................... 49
3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 49
3.2 Methodological considerations ........................................................... 49
3.3 Methodological approach .................................................................... 50
3.4 Methods and research design .............................................................. 53
3.4.1 Information needs .................................................................... 53
3.4.2 Approach ................................................................................. 59
3.4.3 instrument development .......................................................... 63
3.4.4 Construct measurement ........................................................... 66
3.4.5 Samples .................................................................................... 68
3.4.6 Implementation ........................................................................ 70
3.4.7 Data management .................................................................... 71
3.4.8 Validity and reliability ............................................................. 72
3.4.9 Analysis procedures ................................................................. 78
3.5 Summary ............................................................................................. 87
4 Results ........................................................................................................ 89
4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 89
4.2 Overview of measurement concepts, research questions and
hypotheses ........................................................................................... 89
4.3 Construct profiles ................................................................................ 91
4.3.1 Sales staffsurvey ..................................................................... 91
4.3.2 Shop visitor survey ................................................................ 101
4.3.3 Customer survey .................................................................... 103
4.4 Research objective 1: relationship between retail
marketing and sales performance ...................................................... 106
4.4.1 Sales staff. .............................................................................. 106
4.4.2 Shop visitors .......................................................................... 128
4.4.3 Customers .............................................................................. 138
Table of Contents XIII
4.4.4 Overview of relationship results ............................................ 148
4.5 Research objective 2: testing of hypotheses of retail
marketing and sales performance ...................................................... 151
4.5.1 The direct and mediating effects of retail
marketing on sales performance ............................................ 151
4.5.2 The modemting impact of the sales format on
attitude and sales performance ............................................... 152
4.5.3 Summary of hypotheses testing and research results ............. 154
4.6 Overview of results ........................................................................... 156
4.7 Summary ........................................................................................... 157
5 Di.cu• •i on of re.ult• ................................................................................ 163
5.1 Introduction ....................................................................................... 163
5.2 Research objective 1: relationship betweeo retail marketing
and sales performance ....................................................................... 164
5.2.1 Sales staff. .............................................................................. 164
5.2.2 Shop visitors .......................................................................... 167
5.2.3 Customers .............................................................................. 169
5.3 Research objective 2: testing of hypotheses on retail marketing
and sales performance ....................................................................... 171
5.3.1 The direct and mediating effects of retail marketing
on sales performance ............................................................. 171
5.3.2 The modemting effect of the sales format on attitode
and sales performance ............................................................ 173
5.4 Contributions ..................................................................................... 174
5.4.1 Contribution to the practice of management .......................... 174
5.4.2 Contribution to conceptual development.. ............................. 182
5.4.3 Contribution to research methods .......................................... 183
5.5 Research limitations and futore research .......................................... 185
5.6 Conclusions ....................................................................................... 188
6 Reference. ................................................................................................ 193
Appendix. ......................................................................................................... 209