Explaining small-retailer patronage through social capital theory

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand why people shop at small retailers in their community. The authors investigate the influence of consumers’ civic commitment, measured at behavioural and perceptual levels, on small-retailer patronage (SRP). Design/methodology/approach Data from 984 respondents represent four French cities that host common town-centre shopping streets and large out-of-town retail parks. A structural equation model applied to the theoretical framework tests the relationships between civic behavioural commitment (CBC), civic perceptual commitment (CPC) and declared SRP. Findings The more an individual consumer exhibits civic behavioural commitment (CBC) to his/her community, the greater his/her small-retailer patronage (SRP). Furthermore, consumers who express strong civic perceptual commitment (CPC) prefer to patronise small retailers. Results show that CPC has a stronger impact on SRP than CBC does. Practical implications If the CPC has stronger effects on SRP than CBC does, town managers can catch people’s attention by communicating civic commitment to enhance CPC. Solidarity could be developed through large-scale social projects to send a strong signal to consumers regarding retailers’ commitment in the community. Finally, the study highlights the role businesses, retailers and consumers play in building communities. Partnerships across all local stakeholders should be built. Originality/value This paper is the first to define civic behavioural commitment within consumers’ life place based on social capital theory. Moreover, it offers a new framework for understanding perception of commitment within a community, and its impact on SRP. This measurement scale allows more efficient capturing of civic commitment to communities.

How do cultural factors affect loyalty behaviour in retailing? The central role of social proximity

“…Indeed, retail chains need to understand how to adapt retail practices to build loyalty both across and within emerging markets. Second, based on social capital theory (Lin, 1999;Yildiz et al, 2017) and construal-level theory (Liberman and Trope, 2008), we show that "social proximity" is a significant positive mediator in the relationship between cultural factors and loyalty. The social proximity, specifically with the store personnel, reflects relational feelings, which contributes to a good experience.…”

“…Despite the relevance of this theory in retail experiences to a better understanding of the effect of social interactions and commitment on loyalty (or patronage) to the retailer (Kim et al. , 2014; Seevers et al ., 2010; Yildiz et al. , 2017), few studies investigated social proximity, its antecedent and its effect on customer’s loyalty (Labbé-Pinlon et al.…”

“…We consider that retailers and their consumers share resources or benefits in social interactions and networking. Ghahtarani et al (2020) and Yildiz et al (2017) also applied this theory in the retail context.…”

“…In the context of retailing, some researchers have adopted the social capital theory to explore how the salespeople can influence customers to make a purchase using different communication and selling tactics (Argo and Dhal, 2020). Despite the relevance of this theory in retail experiences to a better understanding of the effect of social interactions and commitment on loyalty (or patronage) to the retailer (Kim et al, 2014;Seevers et al, 2010;Yildiz et al, 2017), few studies investigated social proximity, its antecedent and its effect on customer's loyalty (Labb e-Pinlon et al, 2016). Labb e-Pinlon et al (2016) showed the impact of the perceived store proximity of a food convenience store chain on customers' loyalty, specifically the dimension of the immaterial proximity, evaluated by social and identity proximity.…”

Consumer Sustainable Shopping Practices for Small Business during COVID-19

“…Based on previous research [2,17], this study focuses on small retail businesses (i.e., operations with fewer than 250 employees) at the onset of the pandemic, since these firms are most likely to be affected by COVID-19 [18], while having meaningful associations with consumers' sustainable consumption practices [19,20]. This includes micro (fewer than 10 employees), small (10-49 employees), and medium enterprises (50-249 employees) [21].…”