| Small, rural retailers are more likely to be involved in their communities. They are neighbors, friends, relatives, and family members to local residents; the retail owner and store staff have personal relationships with many local consumers. As such, these relationships are part of the community social capital. According to the logic of social capital, social connections embedded in the social structure influence behavior of rural citizens, both retailers and consumers. Rural retailers play an important role in boosting the community economy by generating local employment and paying taxes. In turn, their survival will affect the long-term health of the community. Losing small, rural retailers will ultimately affect the quality of local consumers. lives. According to the logic of institutional theory, rural consumers are likely to patronize local retailers who they believe appropriately perform task-oriented actions such as offering fair prices and appropriate product assortments as well as institutional actions such as supporting the community. Consumer perceptions of rural retailer actions are formed under the influence of social capital in the community. However, social capital perceived by consumers will be different depending on what motivation they have for shopping at rural retailers. Thus, the objectives of this study are to examine (1) how social capital influences consumer motivations that lead to consumer loyalty and (2) how social capital influences consumer perceptions of retailers. institutional and performative actions that lead to consumer loyalty. |
