Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to show how purchasing behavior is approached as a customer-perceived need to reciprocate for services received. The study seeks to examine involvement, knowledge, and identity as predictors of reciprocal consumer behavior. Two components of reciprocity -gratitude and obligation -are expected to mediate the relationships. The effect is expected to be different for men and women. Design/methodology/approach -Wine was chosen as a product category to test the relationships in the models. Data collection was conducted via distribution of surveys to tasting room visitors at six wineries. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings -The impact of knowledge, identity, and involvement were important findings from the research. The differences between males and females with regard to their feelings of gratitude and obligation and the impact on purchasing are pronounced. Obligation to make a purchase had a stronger effect on the purchasing behavior of women. In contrast, gratitude (feeling appreciation and thankfulness to personnel) was a stronger reason for men to make a purchase. Practical implications -Knowledge about different ways in which men and women reciprocate could be useful for researchers and practitioners. Free samples provided to potential buyers, tours of industrial factories where products are also sold, and a variety of service situations are all possible contexts where gratitude and obligation may occur. Purchases are likely to be the result at least in part because of these feelings. Originality/value -The major contribution of this research is to highlight the role of gender in reciprocity research and to demonstrate the application of this effect in consumer behavior.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence on search behavior of gender, purchase confidence, and internal knowledge in different purchase situations. It is expected that there will be gender differences on search behavior, particularly given different purchase situations. Design/methodology/approach -Multivariate analysis of variance was used to analyze the main and interaction effects of the independent categorical variables on multiple dependent interval variables. An online survey was distributed to employees in different geographic locations in the USA. Findings -The results of situational use indicate that sources of information are perceived differently by males and females depending on their levels of purchase confidence and internal knowledge, suggesting that, when consumers consider sources of information, such as retail clerk, family/friends or themselves, the purchase situation influences that decision.Research limitations/implications -The measure of the situational influence through brief descriptions of hypothetical consumption situations was required. Such descriptions could not include every possible feature of a natural setting, resulting in subjective interpretation by respondents of what are socially acceptable, possibly confounding results. Practical implications -Consumers bring to the buying decision different types of experiences and expectations. Understanding how males and females seek varied sources of external information is relevant to the service industry in designing promotional plans, whether the product of choice is a restaurant, vacation resort, and hotel or tourism destination such as a winery. Originality/value -The contribution of the research is to broaden the understanding of search behavior and the role gender plays, particularly in different purchase situations.

This article investigates the motivations of young visitors (35 years old and under) at two wine festivals in Texas and Indiana. Fourteen motivational items were identified in which tasting wine, being entertained, and being with friends were perceived to be important motives for young visitors. In addition, differences were compared between the young and older visitors. Young people were found to attach more importance to enjoying entertainment, finding thrills and excitement, and being with friends. Interestingly, young visitors also viewed tasting wine more importantly than their older counterparts. The findings are discussed in comparison with those of the extant literature on event motivations and young visitors to wineries. Practical implications of the study's findings are presented.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how brand equity influences brand survival in the wine industry. Specifically, the aim is to investigate the influence of two key facets of brand equity (brand awareness and perceived quality) on brand survival.Design/methodology/approachTwo types of data were used: consumer survey data and longitudinal data on brand survival over a 16‐year period. Perceptions of quality and brand recognition data were collected via survey at the beginning of the time frame (1991), longitudinal data regarding the brand survival were obtained for the years through 2006 and survey data were again collected in 2006. Twenty‐seven brands from wineries of a specific region were used for the study. Brand survival (measured in years) was analyzed using logistic regression with brand recognition and perceived quality as the predictors.FindingsA slightly positive relationship between consumer ratings of perceived quality and the probability of brand survival was found. However, a strong positive relationship was found between brand recognition and probability of brand survival.Originality/valueThe results offer insights into long‐term brand management and what marketers can do over time to reinforce brand equity and brand survival. Specifically, brand awareness is a better predictor of brand survival than perceived quality for these emerging brands.

Purpose -The current study is an initial attempt to segment the wine market in an emerging region and examine local residents' attitudes towards local wines. Design/methodology/approach -The study was conducted using data collected from US households through a telephone survey. Consumer attitudes towards local wines were operationalized through assessment of local wines; recommendation of local wines to others; and rating of quality of local wines. The K-means clustering algorithm was applied to classify the respondents into clusters. Findings -The developing wine market was segmented into four clusters: ''local enthusiasts'', ''local detractors'', ''local advocates'' and ''local non-advocates''. Socio-demographic and wine consumption profiles for each segment are developed. Of particular interest was the difference in recommendation behavior between two of groups of consumers with similar relatively high-quality ratings and assessments of the local wines. Despite the similarity in attitudes, local advocates are willing to recommend the regional wines to other people, whereas non-advocates would not recommend them. Practical implications -By better understanding how information is transferred from one person to the next will assist marketers in their efforts to establish new products or introduce new brands or regional wines. Originality/value -The market segmentation approach taken in this study is based on local residents' attitudes towards local wines. The study sets the starting point in investigating new markets consumer characteristics and reasons for their behavior. Of particular interest for future research is consumer recommendation behavior.