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Consumer Perceptions of Grocery Retail Formats in Romania: The Varying Impact of Retailer Attributes

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European Retail Research

Part of the book series: European Retail Research ((ERR))

Abstract

This article asked from the consumer perspective how retailer attributes impact on store image, comparing five grocery retail formats in Romania. In retailing research, retail formatspecific studies are scarce, and the present and very first empirical study in Romania is therefore interesting because most grocery companies are based in Western Europe and adapt or standardize their concepts to foreign markets on a different level. Empirical data, analysed in a multi-group structural equation approach (N=2,825), that allow comparison of the retail formats based on one empirical model, demonstrate different and sometimes surprising impacts of perceived retailer attributes on store image. The perception differences between hypermarkets, supermarkets, discounters, neighbourhood stores, and cash & carry stores (which are also used by consumers as retailing outlets) provide insights into retail format characteristics that are not usual in Western Europe. The results provide managerial implications for controlling store image in a dynamic retailing country market.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chair of Marketing and Retailing, Trier University, Trier, Germany

    Bernhard Swoboda & Bettina Berg

  2. Faculty of Business Administration in Foreign Languages, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania

    Nicolae Alexandru Pop

  3. Faculty of Marketing, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania

    Christian Dabija

Authors
  1. Bernhard Swoboda
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  2. Bettina Berg
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  3. Nicolae Alexandru Pop
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  4. Christian Dabija
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Correspondence to Bettina Berg .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Fribourg, Switzerland

    Dirk Morschett

  2. University of St. Gallen, Switzerland

    Thomas Rudolph

  3. Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, Austria

    Peter Schnedlitz

  4. Saarland University, Germany

    Hanna Schramm-Klein

  5. University of Trier, Germany

    Bernhard Swoboda

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Swoboda, B., Berg, B., Pop, N.A., Dabija, C. (2009). Consumer Perceptions of Grocery Retail Formats in Romania: The Varying Impact of Retailer Attributes. In: Morschett, D., Rudolph, T., Schnedlitz, P., Schramm-Klein, H., Swoboda, B. (eds) European Retail Research. European Retail Research. Gabler Verlag, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-8349-8203-2_6

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