IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/joreco/v32y2016icp218-226.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An integrative perspective of closeness in retailing: From retailers' sense-giving to consumers' sense-making

Author

Listed:
  • Schultz, Maryline
  • Chaney, Damien
  • Debenedetti, Alain

Abstract

This research investigates the concept of closeness in retailing. While previous research on closeness has tended to adopt only consumers' point of view, in-depth interviews with managers and customers of a French supermarket chain show that both parties interpret and define closeness differently. Analysis reveals that “store closeness†comprises a complex set of meanings that are not limited to a geographical notion but rather encompass functional, relational, and integration notions. Furthermore, retailers define store closeness very broadly, which contributes to nurturing their positioning but also leads them to idealize their role in the marketplace. In contrast, consumers’ definition of store closeness is more limited and mainly focuses on the functional features of the store, thus highlighting a discrepancy between retailers’ sense-giving and consumers’ sense-making.

Suggested Citation

  • Schultz, Maryline & Chaney, Damien & Debenedetti, Alain, 2016. "An integrative perspective of closeness in retailing: From retailers' sense-giving to consumers' sense-making," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 218-226.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:32:y:2016:i:c:p:218-226
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2016.06.016
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969698916301333
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jretconser.2016.06.016?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Babin, Barry J & Darden, William R & Griffin, Mitch, 1994. "Work and/or Fun: Measuring Hedonic and Utilitarian Shopping Value," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 20(4), pages 644-656, March.
    2. Catherine Hérault-Fournier & Aurélie Merle & Anne-Hélène Prigent-Simonin, 2014. "Assessing the perceived proximity in direct selling of food products [Diagnostiquer la proximité perçue en vente directe de produits alimentaires]," Post-Print hal-02629995, HAL.
    3. Merja Lähdesmäki & Timo Suutari, 2012. "Keeping at Arm’s Length or Searching for Social Proximity? Corporate Social Responsibility as a Reciprocal Process Between Small Businesses and the Local Community," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 108(4), pages 481-493, July.
    4. Bove, Liliana L. & Johnson, Lester W., 2001. "Customer relationships with service personnel: do we measure closeness, quality or strength?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 54(3), pages 189-197, December.
    5. Alain Debenedetti & Harmen Oppewal & Zeynep Arsel, 2014. "Place Attachment in Commercial Settings: A Gift Economy Perspective," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 40(5), pages 904-923.
    6. Sherry, John F, Jr, 1990. "A Sociocultural Analysis of a Midwestern American Flea Market," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 17(1), pages 13-30, June.
    7. Swoboda, Bernhard & Berg, Bettina & Schramm-Klein, Hanna & Foscht, Thomas, 2013. "The importance of retail brand equity and store accessibility for store loyalty in local competition," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 251-262.
    8. Chaney, Damien & Lunardo, Renaud & Saintives, Camille, 2015. "In-store quality (in)congruency as a driver of perceived legitimacy and shopping behavior," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 51-59.
    9. Thompson, Craig J & Locander, William B & Pollio, Howard R, 1989. "Putting Consumer Experience Back into Consumer Research: The Philosophy and Method of Existential-Phenomenology," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 16(2), pages 133-146, September.
    10. Pratima Bansal & Geoffrey Kistruck, 2006. "Seeing Is (Not) Believing: Managing the Impressions of the Firm’s Commitment to the Natural Environment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(2), pages 165-180, August.
    11. Ron Boschma, 2005. "Proximity and Innovation: A Critical Assessment," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(1), pages 61-74.
    12. Catherine Hérault-Fournier & Aurélie Merle & Anne-Hélène Prigent-Simonin, 2014. "Assessing the perceived proximity in direct selling of food products [Diagnostiquer la proximité perçue en vente directe de produits alimentaires]," Grenoble Ecole de Management (Post-Print) hal-02629995, HAL.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cerio, Eva & Debenedetti, Alain, 2021. "“Should I give it away or sell it?” A strategic perspective on consumers’ redistribution of their unused objects," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 581-591.
    2. Aversa, Joseph & Hernandez, Tony & Doherty, Sean, 2021. "Incorporating big data within retail organizations: A case study approach," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    3. De Devitiis, Biagia & Viscecchia, Rosaria & Carfora, Valentina & Cavallo, Carla & Cicia, Gianna & Del Giudice, Teresa & Menna, Concetta & Nardone, Gianluca & Secca, Antonio, 2021. "Parents’ trust in food safety and healthiness of children’s diets: A TPB model explaining the role of retailers and government," Economia agro-alimentare / Food Economy, Italian Society of Agri-food Economics/Società Italiana di Economia Agro-Alimentare (SIEA), vol. 23(2), July.
    4. Dany Vyt & Magali Jara & Olivier Mevel & Thierry Morvan & Nélida Morvan, 2017. "Des distributeurs toujours plus proches du consommateur ? Le cas du drive alimentaire," Post-Print halshs-01806406, HAL.
    5. François Maon & Valérie Swaen & Kenneth de Roeck, 2021. "Coporate branding and corporate social responsibility: Toward a multi-stakeholder interpretive perspective," Post-Print hal-03275858, HAL.
    6. Vyt, Dany & Jara, Magali & Cliquet, Gérard, 2017. "Grocery pickup creation of value: Customers’ benefits vs. spatial dimension," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 145-153.
    7. Debenedetti, Alain, 2021. "Luxury stores as home-like places: How domestic meanings are staged and mobilized in luxury retail," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 304-313.
    8. Byun, Sang-Eun & Han, Siyuan & Kim, Hyejeong & Centrallo, Carol, 2020. "US small retail businesses’ perception of competition: Looking through a lens of fear, confidence, or cooperation," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    9. Li, Huajun & Lei, Yueqiu & Zhou, Qi & Yuan, Hong, 2023. "Can you sense without being human? Comparing virtual and human influencers endorsement effectiveness," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    10. Alain Debenedetti, 2021. "Luxury stores as home-like places: How domestic meanings are staged and mobilized in luxury retail," Post-Print hal-03171771, HAL.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hietanen, Joel & Mattila, Pekka & Schouten, John W. & Sihvonen, Antti & Toyoki, Sammy, 2016. "Reimagining Society Through Retail Practice," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 92(4), pages 411-425.
    2. Cerio, Eva & Debenedetti, Alain, 2021. "“Should I give it away or sell it?” A strategic perspective on consumers’ redistribution of their unused objects," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 581-591.
    3. Bäckström, Kristina, 2011. "“Shopping as leisure: An exploration of manifoldness and dynamics in consumers shopping experiencesâ€," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 200-209.
    4. Lo, Ada & Qu, Hailin, 2015. "A theoretical model of the impact of a bundle of determinants on tourists’ visiting and shopping intentions: A case of mainland Chinese tourists," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 231-243.
    5. Rudkowski, Janice, 2024. "Measuring employee-consumer integrated retailer brand equity," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    6. A. K. S. Suryavanshi & Viral Bhatt & Sujo Thomas & Ritesh Patel & Twinkle Trivedi, 2024. "Predicting CRM purchase intention by examining congruence, shopping orientation and mood moderation: Applying congruence theory with SEM-ANN-NCA method," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 21(3), pages 565-594, September.
    7. Carpenter, Jason M. & Moore, Marguerite, 2009. "Utilitarian and hedonic shopping value in the US discount sector," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 68-74.
    8. İpek, İlayda & Aşkın, Nilay & İlter, Burcu, 2016. "Private label usage and store loyalty: The moderating impact of shopping value," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 72-79.
    9. Peter H. Bloch & Omid Kamran-Disfani, 2018. "A framework for studying the impact of outdoor atmospherics in retailing," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 8(3), pages 195-213, December.
    10. Ran Pan & Juan Feng & Zhenling Zhao, 2022. "Fly with the wings of live‐stream selling—Channel strategies with/without switching demand," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 31(9), pages 3387-3399, September.
    11. Debenedetti, Alain & Chaney, Damien, 2024. "From feeling like home to being at home: The negative outcomes of attachment to commercial places," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    12. Valérie Guillard & Céline del Bucchia, 2012. ""How About Giving My Things Away Over The Internet? " When Internet Makes It Easier To Give Things Away," Post-Print hal-00909262, HAL.
    13. Lacœuilhe, Jérôme & Louis, Didier & Lombart, Cindy, 2017. "Impacts of product, store and retailer perceptions on consumers’ relationship to terroir store brand," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 43-53.
    14. Anjali Singh & Ajay Kumar, 2021. "Designing the marketspace for millennials: fun, functionality or risk?," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(4), pages 311-327, December.
    15. Chae Hyun Lee & Han Na Lee & Jeong Il Choi, 2023. "The Influence of Characteristics of Mobile Live Commerce on Purchase Intention," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-13, March.
    16. Merja Lähdesmäki & Marjo Siltaoja & Laura J. Spence, 2019. "Stakeholder Salience for Small Businesses: A Social Proximity Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(2), pages 373-385, August.
    17. Angela Eliza Micu & Olfa Bouzaabia & Rym Bouzaabia & Adrian Micu & Alexandru Capatina, 2019. "Online customer experience in e-retailing: implications for web entrepreneurship," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 651-675, June.
    18. Demoulin, Nathalie & Willems, Kim, 2019. "Servicescape irritants and customer satisfaction: The moderating role of shopping motives and involvement," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 295-306.
    19. Chaney, Damien & Lunardo, Renaud & Bressolles, Grégory, 2016. "Making the store a place of learning: The effects of in-store educational activities on retailer legitimacy and shopping intentions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(12), pages 5886-5893.
    20. Cemil Selcuk & Bilal Gokpinar, 2018. "Fixed vs. Flexible Pricing in a Competitive Market," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(12), pages 5584-5598, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:32:y:2016:i:c:p:218-226. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-retailing-and-consumer-services .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.