Wal‐Mart is coming to Guelph: hedonic to utilitarian shoppers' perceptions

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -To date few research studies exist on consumers' responses to the adoption of Wal-Mart into towns and cities. This paper seeks to examine the expected impact of a Wal-Mart store in a community before its arrival. Design/methodology/approach -Media reviews, participant observations and in-depth interviews were applied. Positive and negative articles relating to Wal-Mart as exhibited in the newspapers -the Guelph Tribune and the Guelph Mercury -were reviewed. Participant observations were conducted in three different shopping areas of Guelph: the Downtown area, the Stone Road mall area and the Willow West mall area. A total of 13 participants from these shopping areas were interviewed. Findings -Overall, this study found that the participants were receptive to the notion of Wal-Mart coming to Guelph despite the negative publicity and strong opposition Wal-Mart had faced in the media. Additionally, this study offered insights for this marketplace based on the consumption context of hedonic and utilitarian shoppers. The intensity of these shoppers' perceptions and beliefs were found to be different for different contexts such as retail shopping, businesses and social. Research limitations/implications -This study demonstrates the importance of wider contextual comprehension when trying to understand what values consumers hold for retailers in the marketplace. However, these findings are restricted by the limited range of opinions captured. A fully holistic view is only possible when taking into account the perspectives of local business owners, future Wal-Mart employees and managers, activists, or politicians -all of whom have an impact on the situation of Wal-Mart in Guelph. Practical implications -Insights from this study can assist management personnel for their future expansion plans. Originality/value -This study extends the application of consumers' value dimensions by focusing not only on consumers' hedonic and utilitarian values but also by incorporating the community context. Furthermore, it offers a multi-method qualitative market research approach for discovering insights that would not have emerged from utilizing just one method of data collection. This is also...

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