The Impact Of Cluster Image Over Store Image Based On Shopping Goods

Customers'image of store will affect their store loyalty, store attitudes, and store choice in shopping (Brown and Dacin, 1997; Osman, 1993; Zimmer and Golden, 1988; Stanley, T. and Sewall, M., 1976; Nevin, J. and Houston, M., 1980; Malhotra, N., 1983). This means, from the retailers'angle, it will improve the operation performance of the stores by actively understanding and controlling the customers'image of the store and continuously raise their expectations for the retailer (Robert et.al., 2005; Steenkamp and Wedel, 1991; Ellis and Kelly, 1992). According to the past studies, consumers'formation and changes in their image of a store are affected by many factors, which mainly come from the store attributes and the information transfer of other people concerned. In addition, this paper holds that one of the major factors that influence the customers'image of a store comes from the image of business cluster where the store is located or the customers'image of the agglomeration.Based on the analyses on the past documents, this paper specifies how the image of business cluster affects the customers'store image from the perspective of shopping goods. The study involves the three levels of the system which is composed of business cluster– store– commodity. To make our research clearer, we focus on the transfer from the commodity image formed in the business cluster to the store image, and put forward that the commodity image of the business cluster of different types or different grades has different effects on the store image under various formats. Regarding its nature as the consumers'different perception of shopping risk, we introduce the consumers'perception of shopping risk as the middle variable into the model. According to the theory of consumers'perception of shopping risk, the generation and the consumers'perception of shopping risk are different in different background, and the consumers'shopping risk of store commodities may be strengthened or weakened by some factor (e.g., brand goods or brand stores, store ambience, retail formats, perception of store quality, and consumers'shopping experience) (Dash, Schiffman, and Berenson, 1976; Baron and Kenny, 1986; Mitchell and McGoldrick, 1996). Obviously, a high-grade department store is better than the specialty store of general goods in terms of these factors. If the consumers'feeling of shopping security resulting from the brand goods, high store quality, and nice store environment of the high-grade department store can offset their perception of shopping risk brought about by the image of business cluster, it can be concluded that the risk perception is a moderator variable in the influence that the commodity image of different-type or different-grade business cluster has on that of the high-grade department store, while it is an mediator variable in the influence on the commodity image of specialty stores.With the lab experiments of 2*2 with the former"2"including the high-grade commercial concentration and low-grade one while the latter including the department stores and specialty stores, 89 junior and senior university students were divided at random into four groups, with each group being supplied with the different pictures of clusters and stores, and asked to fill in the investigation form.Based on the t-test and multiple regression analysis, we reach the following conclusions.(1) The image of business cluster has different effects on the stores of various formats. When resisting the influence of business cluster image, the stability of stores of various formats is different. The image of price and quality of small- and medium-scale specialty stores is greatly affected by the commodity image of business cluster. In contrast, the price image of large department stores is greatly affected by the image of business cluster, while the quality image is not.(2)The perception of shopping risk has a different role in the transfer of store image. The shopping risk perception of specialty stores is greatly affected by the business cluster, whether it is the perception of financial risk, perception of functional risk, perception of social risk, or perception of total risk. While the shopping risk perception of department stores is not obviously affected by the business cluster, except the perception of functional risk. In terms of the influence that the price image of cluster has on that of specialty stores, the functional risk perception, social risk perception and total risk perception are complete mediator variables, while the financial risk perception is a partial mediator variable. The financial risk perception, functional risk perception, and social risk perception are moderator variables in the influence of the price image of cluster on that of department store. And the total risk perception is the moderator variable in the influence of the commodity image of cluster on that of department store.(3) The price and quality attributes of the commodities have different influences on the store image transfer. The price image of business cluster has an obviously negative effect on both the specialty stores and department stores. Namely, customers will consider the prices of the commodities reasonable in the stores (both the department stores and the specialty ones) located in the high-grade business cluster, while the same prices of the same commodities much higher in the low-grade business cluster. The quality image of business cluster has a significant positive effect on that of specialty stores, and has no great effect on that of department stores. This study is significant in two aspects. Firstly, from the perspective of commodity attribute, it elevates the effects that the commodity image of business cluster has on that of the stores, and introduces the theory of the consumers'perception of shopping risk into the model of store image transfer, thus making the development of this theory more explanatory in the customers'shopping behavior and psychology. And the model of store image transfer can help retailers estimate the effects of business cluster correctly and thus complete their stock. Secondly, from the angle of consumers'perception of shopping risk, it points out the reasons for and consequences of the store image transfer, i.e., it explains why the image of business cluster gives the customers a false image of the stores.Although this paper has its limitations as any research may have, it also points out the direction for the follow-up studies.Firstly, as this study chooses only the junior and senior university students as its sample, it is not convincing in terms of the consumers of different occupations, educations, and ages. Therefore, the follow-up studies should expand the range of interviewees to improve the persuasion.Secondly, the study selects only department stores and general non-brand specialty stores, without consideration of other formats (such as shopping malls, brand stores, discount stores, warehouse clubs, supermarkets, tele-shopping, TV-shopping, online-shopping, etc.). So the follow-up studies should be expanded to the research on effects and degrees that the image transfer brings to the different format of stores. Thirdly, the study selects the apparel commodities as sample commodities, without consideration of other types such as household goods, electric goods, cosmetics, office supplies, etc. Thus the conclusions of this research are suitable only for apparel commodities, not applicable to other types of goods. As a result, the follow-up studies should take different kinds of goods into consideration so as to enrich the content of store image transfer model.Finally, the dimensions of business cluster and store image are very complicated. The study selects and measures only two major dimensions in store image transfer model, i.e., the price image and the quality image. Meanwhile, this study holds that from the angle of logic reasoning, in the effect that the business cluster has on the store image, there is no image transfer existing in the other image dimensions (such as store ambience, parking, stock width, etc.), which, however, is unconfirmed here. So the follow-up studies should confirm this point.